Wisconsin Primaries are Tommrow.

I'll trundle myself on down to the city hall to cast my ballot. Seems it counts now more than ever before to get the right people in the office.

On to other things, well.. The 300 WSM is proving to have a new name, The Bastard.
Handholding up the shells for this using Barnes XTPS.... ugh. I keep getting a slight buckle on the top of the case shoulder. Nothing that prevents the case from chambering but its not conductive to accuracy. The only way that those bullets with that long of a shank are able to be seated is to slowly in steps work that bullet in to the case. Having four bloody cannulures makes it more interesting as I get micro copper shavings. 59.5 Grains of IMR 4350 with that bullet fill the case to the brink too. Any one out there have a good ball powder to suggest for Magnum loadings?

So slowly in steps gradually seating the bullet with the crimp seems to help but its a irritation at the best of days. I just hope I get something resembling a starting point for final round honing as well as the barrel break in this week.

I have some 748 backed 30-30s loaded to try out, hoping that this change of powder does the trick for that rifle.

And tonight Ill load up 30 rounds of 223 backed by Varget to see if I can't fine tune my AR loads a bit tighter than what I had with IMR 4895.

And away.

Well the Lady has returned of whence she came. Its a bit of a sad day of course, always is to see someone cared for step away, however brief or long it may last. It was a great week, however all told in the balance of things. Probably one of my better weeks in my life. Good times on the road, its always nice road trip with someone that drives the way you do and thinks similar things of the annoyances on the road. We had a lot of good food and good times and laughs. And shooting as one of the previous posts here illustrates. In preparation for next time and to give me something to do besides clean, and clean guns I think I'll load up some bottom end of powder .38 special wadcutters for the little snubbie. Yes, I know Ides its a bit late but the rounds wont go bad so it will be something for next time, no matter what the weather may be.

As far as other things, It is the continued job hunt, as always of course, the clean up around this place, prepping things for fall and winter.. Though it was very fall like weather this entire week. Go figure the day Ides heads off its back to high 70's and low 80's.

I will polish up Thor, though it may just get called my Bastard Rifle. Time will tell. I'll load up some rounds again to break it in, and then start some Solid Copper 180's as well as some 165's or there abouts. I'll also get Classy, and my 30-30 dialed in this week, I hope anyway. Or at least closer.

One Rifle set for Season.

Well I took my finalized load data for my 30-06 Workhorse.. (Hmm I think it just named itself)
Now This is the current load I'm using. I accept no responsibility for the information I'm posting, as always start out from a manual and work your way up, Don't sue me I haven't any money.. That aside,
IMR 4895 with 46.3 Grains seems to be the way to go. Its to the  bottom of the loading, and I had good groups with 46.2 and 46.4 grains, So I went with the middle. CCI #200 Large Rifle primers, and topped off with a Nosler E tip 150 grain pill. This rifle seems to love the polymer tipped projectiles, its always shot great with ballistic tips, but I found that their performance to be somewhat spotty.
Now every deer that I have shot with them with one exception has gone down rather swiftly, I don't enjoy how the Ballistic tips have shattered apart once inside. While thats effective for varmints and takes a deer down, I want something that holds together a bit better. Hitting a deer in the front shoulders shouldn't mean that I'm pulling copper bits out of the rear quarters. The E Tip I'm shooting this year is a solid copper projectile so I'm hoping there is no outer jacket to separate and splinter from a lead core.
50 rounds later I have a year or two of ammunition and at least one rifle complete, so even if the 300 WSM doesn't get returned in time, Ill have the Workhorse ready, and one or two others as backups.

Reloading..

So I have spent the past few days adjusting loads, researching the one day of shooting I have, Making Mistakes and learning and enjoying myself most of all. I have the final 25 rounds loaded for the 30-06.. Which I have not named.

Carried from my time in the Army for some reason I just feel my weapons should have a name. Some of them I'm still figuring out.

I loaded up the first 15 for the .44 pistol, 30 in three sets of 10 for the AR's, with the focus being right now on the scoped coyote geared rifle. The M4 Style one isn't so picky so I'm betting that If I get a load for the dog gun it will work reasonably well for the M4 battle rifle.

Also, I have some loaded for a .300 Savage, which I think will get the name classy, I have batch number 2 for a 30-30 that I hope I have more success with..

Most of all its been a trial by error sort of thing with me. I'm new at this, learning from books and a bit of Internet information, and just ... doing it.

Its been both a frustrating at times sort of thing but also rewarding and satisfying sort of thing, everything reloading/loading your own ammunition is supposed to be. There is a sense of satisfaction that's addicting to get three rounds key holing each other.

While I don't see myself as a dead on hunter, due to both life circumstances and just plain luck. (Some day Ill knock a buck down that is above 4 points) I do tend to enjoy it. I have not gotten to go hunting since.. 06 at this point so this year I'm looking good for it so far, or at least having a different excuse from finances, or sitting in the sands of Iraq. I would love to knock something down with one of my own rounds, in a gun I have tailored up to me. Or just go out and enjoy things as I can.

Slow descent in to reloading should be completed tommrow.

Seems that many years ago now, oh say seven or eight at this point I got in to reloading. But due to a couple tough financial situations, relationship issues and two Army deployments kept me from actually starting.
Finally I bit the bullet so to speak and set up a table, and loaded up some rounds for the 30-30 and the 30-06.

 With a bit of cooperation with the weather tomorrow I will get a chance to put the rounds on paper, and maybe, just maybe have a worked up load that is cooperating. If not It still will be a nice warm summer day to shoot, get out in the fresh air and have some fun. I also do have to agree with the common consensus that reloading is enjoyable.
Now it is time to make some bacon and eggs for the little spawns and myself and see about getting the day rolling.