FIRST TARGETS

Somehow this post stayed in the Draft folder and never got published... perhaps it's a bit late to be adding it now, but I was rather pleased with the results of my first attempt at making ammo so I'll still share the pics:

The first batch of reloads:

And the first 10 targets:


Over the past month I've been experimenting with powder levels, and have also tried cheaper lead bullets. So far, 5.9gr of HS-6 shoots the best. FMJ-ENC bullets have given me more consistent rounds - both dimensionally and in groupings. Overall, buying a press has greatly improved my shooting. Though it was a much greater expense than a couple of boxes of WWB, it was a very good decision in the end.

READY TO LOCK-N-LOAD.

The final box of necessities arrived this week, and I was able to take the first steps away from "relying" on factory 9mm. I'm taking the process very slowly - not only for safety reasons, but also to be become very familiar with how to best approach the process.

I've spent a few hours with some cleaned shells, the seating and crimp dies, and a caliper. Along the way, I've learned that OAL for 9mm is a rather relative thing depending on who writes the load data. It's a place where the process becomes a combination of science and intuition, backed up by a lot of careful testing and observation at the range. Most people entering the world of reloading have little difficulty understanding the importance of min/max powder loads, but proper seating depth takes more study and research.

After much reading and seeking advice from experienced reloaders, I believe I have a good starting point for loads. My first rounds will be using HS-6 powder, CCI primers, and Hornady 124gr FMJ bullets. I'm also going to stick with small batches - perhaps 5-10 of each version, using near-minimum powder levels.

I'm still pondering which variable to adjust first, but I believe that I'll leave the powder weight as a constant, first concentrating on finding the best OAL for my P99. Once that's established, I'll slowly experiment with varying the powder amount.

Though I'm anxious to begin, it will be put aside for a couple of days... I'm getting away for the weekend with The Bethy, and quite honestly the reloading can wait a bit longer. ;)

On a side note - if you want to learn more about reloading and are looking for a good community of people to discuss it with, I recommend stopping by a recently-created forum - GlockPost.com. Don't let the name fool you... it isn't a Glock-specific forum in the least. No one cares what gun you own nor what press you use; you'll find fun conversation with a very diverse membership, as well a lot of valuable advice for starting this hobby. Whether you are new to the hobby or have reloaded for years, we'd like to have you stop by.

You won't find a lot of KoolAid at GlockPost.com... but if you BBQ, we'd love to hear your recipe. ;)

ALMOST THERE

When I decided to start reloading, I made the decision to purchase the equipment in stages. Budget-wise this was a smart thing, and gave me extra time to do a lot of reading before starting to work with explosive components. In the meantime, I'd created shopping lists on Midway and Midsouth Shooter's Supply. Dies, a shellplate, a caliper and other various parts were on the lists. A couple of items - such as the pistol measuring rotor - were on "out of stock", but I decided by the time I was ready to purchase the retailers would have everything available.

Last week, I checked the lists again for completeness and was troubled to see that not only were certain items still not in stock, but others had either become "out of stock" or gone on backorder. Apparently I'm not the only person taking a step away from factory ammo, as rather common items (such as 9mm dies) were completely out of stock.

After a lot of searching, I came upon Grafs.com and found everything I needed was in-stock. However, some items were nearly sold out. I decided it was time to finish purchasing what I needed, else run the risk of having to wait until retailer back orders arrived (whenever that might be).

The package arrived on Monday, and I spent the evening prepping all the dies and installing them into the press. Along with the parts, I ordered a can of Hornady One-Shot Gun Cleaner & Dry Lube. It absolutely degreased the parts, and left a very slight dry film for protection and lubrication. Avoid the brake cleaner, the teflon spray and the alcohol... this product is simply wonderful, and I wish I had used it from the beginning.

The caliper, scale, and a small order of bullets should arrive by Friday - so unless I've left something off the list, I'll be ready to start making some test rounds.

AEROSOL TEFLON

I called Hornady on Monday to order a replacement powder rotor. The conversation went something like this:

thorn: Hi Karen. A screw in the rotor was too tight, and by the time I removed it I'd stripped the hole. I need to order a new rotor and some screws.

Karen: Ok, let me start with your address.

thorn: Blah blah blah Cincinnati, Ohio.

Karen: I'll ship it today. Need anything else?

No charge, even for shipping. This is how a company creates a customer for life.

The parts arrived on Friday afternoon, and today I degreased the powder funnel system and installed everything into place. Observant readers will notice a few things are missing in the photo... for example, dies and a shellplate. I'll be ordering them sometime in the next week or so, and should actually be making ammunition within a couple of weeks.

Oh, as to the title...

If you should ever find yourself lubricating steel parts with aerosol teflon drylube - read the can. It probably says "shake well". Be sure you do this. And while spraying: if you start to see the spray take on the appearance of white foam, stop spraying and shake the can for a minute. The foam is NOT your friend.

Should you forget this quality advice, be aware that the parts will be coated in solidified white gunk. Brake cleaner will not remove this substance. Scrub with a towel and rubbing alcohol.

Dried teflon foam is a very bad thing.

LOCK-N-LOAD, DAY 1

Saturday morning arrived, and I was anxious to get the new press off the top of the filing cabinet and mounted. The first problem was where to mount it; I had absolutely no flat surface suitable for such a purpose... nor a basement or spare closet to add a table. One might think I would have solved that particular problem before buying a press, but no.

Finally, inspiration struck. I decided to place a board on top of a counter hutch, and keep it in place with weights instead of clamps. I headed off to the hardware store and purchased a large sheet of 3/4" MDF along with various bolts and a couple of large drill bits, cans of brake cleaner and drylube to prep the components.

Several things I learned in the first few minutes:

- It helps to have someone hold the press while you're putting in the bolts.
- 7/16 Wrenches don't fit on the heads of 7/16 bolts.
- Holes drilled in MDF are much cleaner when the drill speed is fast instead of slow.
- Reading the directions 3 times beats taking the bolts out twice.
- You can indeed use too many washers.

I was a bit worried that the press would be too heavy for the counter-weight i was relying on, but it worked out well. Feeling victorious, I turned my attention to the powder measure assembly.

Hornady ships the parts coated in grease/oil to protect from rust, and the manual instructs the user to clean it off before use. The manual could be a bit more descriptive, but after a couple of minutes the method to disassemble was clear.

- Remove powder measure - check.
- Remove hex bolt #1 from rotor with included wrench - check.
- Remove hex bolt #2... remove hex bolt #2... why won't the damned bolt turn...?

The bolt was stuck. And by stuck, I don't mean difficult to turn. It was stuck to the degree that the wrench was nearly stripping the hex hole without turning. After 20 mins and nearly ripping the skin from my palm, I gave up. It would have to be exchanged for a replacement part. I put the other pieces back in. Hex #1 didn't quite fit in the hole anymore, and in my annoyance i just turned it hard a couple of times and went on about my evening.

This morning, a bit of inspiration struck. I grabbed a small hammer and tapped the bar that hex #2 was holding. It rotated just a bit, and as a result the bolt began turning freely. With amazement and glee, I put the wrench in hex #1 and ... oh, great. Hex #1 had gone in the hole diagonally the night before, and the hole was stripped at the crown and no longer straight. It's now unusable. I need another powder rotor and 2-3 hex screws.

So in the end of all this, ordering a new part is more due to my breaking it that the part being defective from the factory. I'm told Hornady's customer service and warranty is outstanding, so tomorrow at 9am I'll find out how forgiving they are in such matters.

GOODBYE, WINCHESTER WHITE BOX.

Dear WWB,

When our association began some 2-3 years ago, I found you to be a somewhat acceptable candidate for the position of "target practice ammo". Though you arrived crudely packaged in an unimpressive box, your regular availability combined with affordable pricing nonetheless gained my respect.

Unfortunately, your performance has become less satisfactory with each passing month.

Your hygienic practices have always been undesirable, ranging from unclean to completely filthy. While many of your peers occasionally share a similar problem, they nonetheless have generally offered something you can only deliver in brief spurts:

Accuracy.

Certainly, there were times in the early days in which I cursed myself or the gun for the poor results on the target. But over time, I have realized that although I and the Walther are not always in sync - you are never in sync with yourself from month-to-month.

When combined with your recent demands for a 30% salary increase, I find that our relationship must come to an end. Please clean out your desk immediately; your replacement will be starting this weekend.

Regards,

thorn