Recent content by An Old Ranger

Whole heartily agree on the full resizing and trimming every time. As some had stated, this cartridge is well known to be thin and will stretch and wear out quickly. Have loaded this round for years and also the .32 Spl., a similar round. When reforming 30-30 brass into .32 Spl., it was very...

Hunting only hogs and coyotes now. Use a Marlin XL7C in .30'06. It's a 2009 mfg so it's not a "Remlin"! Handloads are the only thing I shoot and hogs are in serious trouble out to 300 or so at work. Beyond that, I can't see!! Hogs and coyotes at the homefront (my 8 acres in the woods) get...

I suppose I'm from the very old school here. I've cast my own for over 4 1/2 decades. Now sources for my lead has been, until the past few years, from folks that are in the home remodeling business and such. All that lead used on the roof items and plumbing and such. That has dried up. WW's...

There are very few powders that react badly that we use, for the most part, if we have just a hint less than what is 'The Norm"...however, I've seen were some try to reverse this thought! Now that's dumb! Knew a fella some years ago that would not listen to ANY oldtime reloader and he insisted...

That load is a dream come true in my 4" 629 and the old Browning B92 I have. In the rifle, it's great. Since the B92 will not chamber Mag cases with the 429421 (unless seated deep) I use the spl's alot with this one. HS6 gives great performance for both weapons. It does produce a bit of soot in...

Just spotted this thread. Good info. Been loading 2400 in the 44 since about 1974. Always in a 4" M29. My pet load was 21 gr. with a Keith bullet and standard primers of many makes. Always had a touch of unburnt powder left in the barrel. Never thought much about it. 2400 always gave me the...

Worst oil? Remoil. It invites rust in like a drunk Secret Service agent does ladies of the evening! The worst excuse of oil I've ever seen in nearly 50 years. My step-son loves the stuff. His weapons are rust buckets too! He often askes why my weapons are always spotless. I've told him, but he...

Dishwashing soap and warm water. You said you wanted to retain the original finish. That's the best method known. ogilvyspecial had it pegged! Don't use solvents as this will pull your original finish. I've restored dozens of weapons dating back to 1860 and never had a problem with using soap...

Well Larry, if they did, it was done several decades ago!! The stamping is consistant with the patina on the backstrap. Further, the wear can be seen closer to the butt where more hand and fabric contact was made while ridding in the holster. The stamping in not new by any means..it was there...

I am quite sure that the stamping on THIS weapon is not that from a G.I. source. At least not our own. That said, I get the impression that it was an issue piece somewhere, and could not be the only one out there as the numbers following the lettering is in the 8,000 range! So there has to be...

One can never go wrong using Unique. A standard for decades. Consult your loading manual and have fun. Wade

That area where the lead has settled usually indicates either an undersized bullet or one that is cast very hard and the lube failed. There are several casting companies that use very very hard mixture along with lube that resembles crayons! This practice is done to insure that the bullets can...

Being an old lead shooter in BP cartridge and tons of rounds in old 29's and such I never, ever, used an abrasive to remove lead. In the years of gunsmithing as well I found the best way to remove lead is with either: Pure Gum Spirits of Turpentine or with Kroil. Use a pointed jag and not a...

Carried a 4" 29 and later 29-2's as a peace officer for years. Then the PD said no more BIG bore. Then went to a 4" M28...I retired a few years after they began to say we all "needed" auto loaders and 9mm at that! That said, I never had a 629 until the first of last month. Bought a new 4" 629-6...

If I were able to take decent photos, I could post a pic of this stamping. But all I have is a camera in my phone and it is not what one can call great...This stamping runs the length of the backstrap and the lettering is about 1/8th of an inch high. The weapon is a straight up M&P model and not...