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Old 05-18-2017, 04:54 PM
hdwhit hdwhit is offline
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Join Date: Sep 2016
Location: North Texas
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Quote:
Average Ed wrote:
Something that always puzzles me is a poster saying he can only use a certain bushing or other measuring device because it is the only one he has. Why can't he buy more bushings? Why can't he buy a powder measure?
Sometimes the children need new shoes more than I need a powder measure.

Sometimes a new tire is more urgent than a set of bushings.

Quote:
Certainly anyone who has the financial ability to own a Smith & Wesson revolver and reload for it is able to make those purchases.
I inherited my S&W revolver from my grandmother. At the time my wife and I had less than $300 a month to live on after we paid our mortgage and utilities.

There was no money for reloading equipment.

Quote:
It troubles me to read about handloaders "settling" on a given recipe because it is the only one they have the tools or components to load.
Why? If it is a safe load using components and equipment from reputable companies and prepared according to published data would there be any cause for concern?

I started out reloading using an original Lee Loader. Over two years I loaded roughly 800 rounds of 30 Carbine with no:
  • case tumbler,
  • case trimmer,
  • powder scale,
  • powder measure, or
  • press.
It was just:
  • The one Lee die,
  • A hammer,
  • Powder dipper and
  • A Dixie cup.
Over the 36 years it took to use them all up, every one went bang just like they were supposed to and there were no ammunition-related failures of any kind.

When I started loading .223 Remington, the only powder I could initially get that had a recipe in the one manual I had at the time was IMR-4198. In the mid-1980's it disappeared from store shelves for some time. The only thing I could get then was WW748, so I redeveloped a load to match the performance of the IMR-4198 loadings. I shot what I had the components to load.

The bottom line is that we all do the best we can with the equipment and supplies we have and some of us, perhaps inspired by the challenge, craft some very beautiful and functional ammunition. I applaud noshow for his ingenuity in figuring out a load that would work with what he had. The fact someone was able to supply him with his missing bushing just gives me more possibilities.
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