Author Topic: Guns and Blowin Shit Up!  (Read 79249 times)

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Offline alta

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Re: Guns and Blowin Shit Up!
« Reply #140 on: Tuesday March 23, 2021, 08:19:23 PM Eastern »
The AR15 is smaller and lighter than the AR pattern rifle that shoots the .308 NATO. That's the main reason people want to shoot a bigger bullet out of the AR15, and Virginia is one of a handful of states that requires a .240 or bigger bullet to hunt bambi with. That's the main reason I got into the 6.8. Plus it's just fun playing with different calibers.
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Online richkrt99

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Re: Guns and Blowin Shit Up!
« Reply #141 on: Thursday March 25, 2021, 06:35:55 PM Eastern »
I saw a very nice looking sharps rifle go at online auction ...last night in Woodstock, VA 
It looked to be in very good condition.  Went for about $4500 I think.  25-06 caliber.  It was pretty.  I know very little about Sharps


I was watching a Marlin 336C  30-30, nice walnut, good condition.  (2007 year model)  Went for $525 which was just a bit rich for me site unseen in online auction.  (plus additional 13% auction fee)  I kind of regret it but I keep reading there's a million of them out there easily available and only worth $350-400 which I find hard to believe


Had I not gone a little over last year in gun/reloading spending I might have chased the Marlin a little more.  I had it as high bidder at $400 for most of the day.  THen the sharks came in with 10 minutes left and bid it up to $525.  One of the reasons I don't like auction sites.


...like I need ANOTHER caliber gun to load for (I don't own a 30-30).  My buddy decided to keep his dad's Henry centennial edition Railroad spike gun and NOT sell it to me last year for our agreed $600.  He took it to a dealer and they told him it was worth $400-$550 without the original box.  It's never been fired and he has no real use or desire for it, but he's afraid his dad might not like him getting rid of it.



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Online richkrt99

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Re: Guns and Blowin Shit Up!
« Reply #142 on: Thursday March 25, 2021, 06:52:27 PM Eastern »
The Marlin that got away... (No Mick...NOT a fish)


https://laughlinauctions.hibid.com/lot/85579777/marlin-rifle

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Online richkrt99

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Re: Guns and Blowin Shit Up!
« Reply #143 on: Thursday March 25, 2021, 06:58:14 PM Eastern »
Four boxes of primers sold at that auction yesterday too (separately)


CCI Large Pistol - $140 box (1000)
CCI Small RIfle - $190 box (1000)
Federal SR Match - $170 (1000)
Federal SR Match - $160 (1000)

I bid with them up to $85 and said bye.  Too rich for my blood.  Guess some peeps need them more than I do.
Actually those are cheaper than they've been selling on GunBroker lately, but still.

They also had a nice SIG 226 in .40 S&W  (I'm very fond of the Sigs)  Went for $585 I think.  I didn't even bid, but I really thought about that .40.  ONE MORE caliber I really NEED  :uh-huh:
Looking back, I wish I'd had more time to think about that Marlin....

I'm done buying for a while...Went bonkers last year
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Offline alta

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Re: Guns and Blowin Shit Up!
« Reply #144 on: Thursday March 25, 2021, 07:44:10 PM Eastern »
You didn't miss out, but that is about the high side of what a decent Marlin .30-30 should cost, without a scope. The pre safety ones go for a few dollars more, but not much.

Remington bought Marlin in late '06ish. I believe 2007 is the first year of Remlins. I wouldnt buy one unless you can put your hands on it first to check fit & finish and to see if the action is smooth. When Reminton took it over they canned all the Marlin workers and installed their own. To make things worse Marlin didn't tell anyone how worn out all their equipment was, the old Marlin guys were highly skilled rifle builders. The Remington people were parts assemblers that were given worn out tooling and the product showed, though that's not a good excuse for not properly fitting a wood stock. Most of the early Remlins have had the actions smoothed out by now, but not all. Remington fixed most of those problems within two years, having spent a large fortune for new tooling.

The Marlin made rifles have a circled JM stamp on top the barrel where it screws into the receiver, the vast majority on the left side but there are a bunch stamped on the right. I think the factory had a left handed QC guy. The Remiln guns have a circled REP in the same place.

Remington bought everything they could in the early 2000s, overextended themselves, and went bankrupt two years ago. This at time of record firearm and ammo sales. Poor management. Late last year Ruger bought Marlin. Ruger has said they are dedicated to restoring the Marlin brand but it will be at least 12 months before they manufacture any new rifles. Anything new on a dealers rack now is old stock Remington. Word is Ruger received over 100 tractor trailers of Marlin stuff, they need to build a facility to set up production and go through all that inventory.
Knowledge is knowing that the Tomato is a fruit; Wisdom is knowing that you shouldn't include it in a Fruit Salad; Philosophy is wondering if a Bloody Mary counts as smoothie

"Oh bother" said Poo, as he chambered another round

Offline alta

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Re: Guns and Blowin Shit Up!
« Reply #145 on: Thursday March 25, 2021, 07:52:40 PM Eastern »
I prefer Marlin over Winchester. I think the actions are a lot smoother and I don’t like the top eject. For such an iconic rifle I find the action too clunky. Marlin Company is only two years younger than Winchester company.


 all my Marlins are JM stamped
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"Oh bother" said Poo, as he chambered another round

Online richkrt99

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Re: Guns and Blowin Shit Up!
« Reply #146 on: Friday March 26, 2021, 10:44:58 AM Eastern »
I inquired about a JM stamp on it and never got a response...but it was day of the auction.  I only happened across the auction - friend of mine spotted the primers and told me the day of which is what led me there.  Always liked the Marlins as a kid...never owned one.  Really have no need, but what's need got to do with it?


I "read" anything up to 2009 was still Marlin...so 07 should be okay, but....not like a could see it first hand or really know what I was looking at anyway for that matter.  I really wasn't in the market for another gun...but it caught my attention.


So I looked it up and Remington bought Marlin December 07 and closed the Marlin plant by end of 08 so sounds to me like 09 would certainly be suspect (despite most saying up through 09 is Marlin ok)
Anything 07 would have been made by the Marlin guys and in the Marlin plant, and probably 08 as well.  Not sure how much inventory and parts would be built up but I'd guess an 09 would maybe have the right parts but the wrong hands assembling them (and probably retain the JM stamp if using inventory parts) so I'll keep that in mind





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Offline alta

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Re: Guns and Blowin Shit Up!
« Reply #147 on: Friday March 26, 2021, 11:50:47 AM Eastern »
That doesn’t mean the first couple years of REP stamped rifles are all junk, but they should be examined hands on before buying one. The other reason I prefer the JM rifles, there are far more caliber choices. Unless someone is shooting cowboy action games, it’s damn near impossible to wear out a lever gun, no matter who makes it. Some will have a lot of cosmetic damage from years of hunting, but the internals are what matters most. As I’ve said, I got no problem buying used, and sometimes that’s the only to get what you’re looking for.

I think you’d like a .40. I prefer it over the 9mm. I’ve never been to fond of the 9, always thought it underpowered for a self defense round. Santo John Paul was shot 4 times with one, though there may have been a higher power involved. But, I’ve read the modern 9 is much improved both in power and bullet design/construction. The .40 is also one of the few rounds that isn’t 100 years old, literally. It’s a cut down 10mm, because the 10 was deemed to hard to handle for female agents(fbi), and the 10 was introduced in the early ‘80s.

Before my tragic boating accident, I had a CZ 75B and a S&W Shield in .40. Everyone that I let shoot the CZ loved it, being full size and all steel helped though. The Shield I surprisingly thought was easy to control as well, and not the snappy little POS a .380 is. Even the plastic guns like XDm and Block are easy to handle in .40.

Knowledge is knowing that the Tomato is a fruit; Wisdom is knowing that you shouldn't include it in a Fruit Salad; Philosophy is wondering if a Bloody Mary counts as smoothie

"Oh bother" said Poo, as he chambered another round

Online richkrt99

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Re: Guns and Blowin Shit Up!
« Reply #148 on: Monday April 26, 2021, 08:04:07 PM Eastern »
Don't know what happened...started this post and it disappeared.  Someone let me know if I put it in a random thread somewhere.


Loaded some 357 Magnum rounds yesterday - 16 gr W296 powder, new Winchester Brass, X-treme158GR RNHP bullets.
Fired a few to test them and they are pretty hot/heavy.  Shoots harder than one of the 2 factory magnum loads compared them to.  Both factory are 158Gr bullets.  THe Sellior Bellot are fairly mid range, but the Magtech boxes I have are as heavy as any 357 mag loads I've seen.  Not sure why that is, but both the flash and recoil are way heavier than any other factory loads I've ever fired.


Question:  Are yuns (who load) roll crimping 357 Mag loads?  I have a progressive press and I seat and crimp in the same station.  I don't have room to do them separately.  (1-resize, 2-expand/powder charge, 3-RCBS Lockout (checks charge), 4-bullet feeder, 5 - seat/crimp)
I believe the taper/crimp die I have is what they call a "modified" crimp which starts as a taper and if you lower down far enough eventually produces a roll crimp.  (I looked up a Hornady setup video and they called it a roll crimp)
I have never had any trouble with any of my 100's of rounds coming loose, but I don't usually load them this heavy.  It is crimped and I tried taking one apart with a bullet puller and had to hammer that thing about 30 times and it still didn't come loose but it did start to eventually move (lengthen) the bullet out from the shell.


Either I have to lose the RCBS lockout (which works great, and I really want in the setup) or I have to lose the bullet feeder in order to seat/crimp separately.  I guess I could do that but don't really want to.  It is so nice and works so well for dropping bullets.


And if my seating/crimping stations is functioning well, why do separately?  (Every forum I've read says they do theirs separately, but then most are NOT using a progressive press either so it sort of makes a little more sense?
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Offline alta

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Re: Guns and Blowin Shit Up!
« Reply #149 on: Monday April 26, 2021, 09:02:57 PM Eastern »
From what I've read, people crimp separately but only because they are using a different die, a Lee roll crimp die. Supposed to be the best, but you can't roll crimp a case that spaces on the case mouth. I've always done a heavy crimp, the friend that taught me says it actually improves fps a little. And you've got to put a good crimp on magnum rounds or the bullet will move under recoil. I've seen this lock up revolvers before. I've got RCBS dies mostly, they are set to crimp as hard as possible without deforming the case. Had to burn a few cases to get that set. They got crushed. A couple fire formed out, but a couple were to bad to attempt.


My .357 load is just under 16 grains of 296, but I'm using magnum primers. They do add some oomph to the load.


One of the things that's been on my list of things to get are Lee roll crimp dies.
Knowledge is knowing that the Tomato is a fruit; Wisdom is knowing that you shouldn't include it in a Fruit Salad; Philosophy is wondering if a Bloody Mary counts as smoothie

"Oh bother" said Poo, as he chambered another round

Online richkrt99

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Re: Guns and Blowin Shit Up!
« Reply #150 on: Tuesday April 27, 2021, 11:16:15 AM Eastern »
After firing those 16.0 rounds...I tuned it back to 15.6gr of W296  ;D


I read a bunch of forums yesterday and consensus was light crimp on light loads, but heavy crimp/roll crimp on heavy magnum loads especially with slow burning powder - so you don't get any loosening or gas leakage.  Makes sense.  I haven't seen any issues but I've only fired a few and only loaded 100.  It would be easy enough to get the die and just go back an heavy roll crimp them all.


I am using SPM primers as well.


Really wanting a chronograph now.
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Offline alta

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Re: Guns and Blowin Shit Up!
« Reply #151 on: Tuesday April 27, 2021, 12:36:56 PM Eastern »
a chrono has always been low on my list, it would be easier if I had my own back yard range
Knowledge is knowing that the Tomato is a fruit; Wisdom is knowing that you shouldn't include it in a Fruit Salad; Philosophy is wondering if a Bloody Mary counts as smoothie

"Oh bother" said Poo, as he chambered another round

Online richkrt99

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Re: Guns and Blowin Shit Up!
« Reply #152 on: Saturday May 01, 2021, 04:28:31 PM Eastern »
'bout time for another episode in "As Rich's Reloading World Turns"...

So...not reloading, but my latest hobby build...came across a super deal on a new Upper for my AR.  I have an older Bushmaster AR-15 (223/5.56) A2 which is the original classic Colt copy with the carry handle.
I wanted something I could play with a variety of optics and maybe grips on a railed (M-lok) type gun.

Very happy with this on a budget.  I have less than $638 in this completed gun with sites, (plus a $90 scope I already had.)
$179 for complete lower (on sale from $379).  $459 complete upper with Bolt carrier, charging handle AND MBUS pop up sites (on sale from $759).  $90 scope  (purchased year ago at gun show for 1/3 price due to a scratch (which I can barely see)  The upper and lower are PSA which I have read lots of positives about and my local gun shop swears by them.  (Note this is a low-mid level gun, not a high end gun)  I can't afford a high end gun and If I can effectively hit my target at 300yds I am happy and a gun 2x-3x the price wouldn't help my aim any  :snicker:
So I ended up with a $1407 "retail" gun for $728 including the scope.    :uh-huh:
I wasn't planning to get the lower - only the upper and swap it in and out on my existing gun, but for the extra $179 (plus tax stamp) for the new lower, I couldn't resist.  Ordered on Monday and had all in my hands Friday.  Couldn't believe it.

PIC attached of the good ole original and the new kid.  I really like the feel of the new kid.  Can tell already I need a different scope.  The eye relief when fully magnified gets me too close to the gun - have to move my head forward.....but I don't really need 12x magnification anyway.  I want a red dot with clear field of view for quick targeting.  But ....I want a lot of things.


REALLY thought about going to a .300 BO or 6.5 Creedmoor, but decided to stay with a caliber I have for simple economics of ammo and loading.  Maybe someday (soon) I can just get a new upper in another caliber.  Nice thing about the .300 BO is I can use my existing mags as well as legally shoot bambi (if I were a mind to)  I do have the Henry .357 good for that should the need arise, and I do also have an AR-10 in .308.  It is a bit beefier with a stainless barrel and a few other upgrades.

NEXT TIME - I am going to build the whole thing from scratch.  Buy all the parts separately and really build the thing.  Already thinking I need at least 3:  the classic A2 with open sights, plus the new kid with A) red dot sites and grab handles for quick target, and B) optics version and bipod for serious range targeting.  (well it's nice to have dreams)

Now if I could just find a reasonable outdoor range with 300+ yd range somewhat nearby.

Man, I'm really starting to sound like a gun nut.
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Online Mickstix

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Re: Guns and Blowin Shit Up!
« Reply #153 on: Saturday May 01, 2021, 06:50:39 PM Eastern »
Nice! But does it go "bang" every time you pull the trigger? I've shot an AR-15 (.223) and it was butter sweet! But never really trusted all the tinkering you can do with them? I replaced the spring/trigger assembly in a SW 9mm once and it turned it from a confident CCW gun to something that'd fire -almost- all the time.  :snicker:  Trigger felt better tho!  :) :rofl:  Anyway, I've been skeptical on home builds ever since..

Offline alta

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Re: Guns and Blowin Shit Up!
« Reply #154 on: Saturday May 01, 2021, 08:57:36 PM Eastern »
That's the good thing about ARs, to put in a quality trigger all you gotta do is pop three pins. Ain't no bubba tinkering needed.  :snicker:


I've changed a few triggers. ARs damn neer can be done blindfolded. I was told 1911s are a pain to work on by lots of people. So I sent one out to smith to have an ambi safety fit. Took him three weeks of actual tinkering and it still wasn't right. I bought another safety and did it my self. It's much better now. I've put triggers in those too. Not a problem. Revolvers are a touch trickier, but not difficult in my opinion.
Knowledge is knowing that the Tomato is a fruit; Wisdom is knowing that you shouldn't include it in a Fruit Salad; Philosophy is wondering if a Bloody Mary counts as smoothie

"Oh bother" said Poo, as he chambered another round

Offline alta

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Re: Guns and Blowin Shit Up!
« Reply #155 on: Saturday May 01, 2021, 09:02:56 PM Eastern »
I never could understand how people could spend upwards of $2000 on an AR. So I built a couple, with quality top shelf parts. It would've been cheaper to buy one. Same with $1500 AKs.

But I enjoyed building them. Still have a couple receivers left that I need to build too.

I wish I would've bought more receivers a few years ago, and some 1911 blanks as well.
Knowledge is knowing that the Tomato is a fruit; Wisdom is knowing that you shouldn't include it in a Fruit Salad; Philosophy is wondering if a Bloody Mary counts as smoothie

"Oh bother" said Poo, as he chambered another round

Online Mickstix

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Re: Guns and Blowin Shit Up!
« Reply #156 on: Saturday May 01, 2021, 11:15:59 PM Eastern »
Yea, it was easy to change out the 9mm assembly too.. I've had all my guns apart but I'd never even consider trying to "tune" up a revolver. It was a long time ago, but iirc it was just a spring and firing pin swap. Made it ammo sensitive. I put it back to stock. But once a gun misfires for any reason, I healthy scratch it from the CCW roster. Plus it gives ya another excuse to buy a new gun!  :wackysmile:

Chaos43

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Re: Guns and Blowin Shit Up!
« Reply #157 on: Saturday May 01, 2021, 11:57:16 PM Eastern »
How many guns do you guys own?

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Re: Guns and Blowin Shit Up!
« Reply #158 on: Sunday May 02, 2021, 09:17:56 AM Eastern »

Chaos43

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Re: Guns and Blowin Shit Up!
« Reply #159 on: Sunday May 02, 2021, 11:15:41 AM Eastern »

 :-X
   Is that too personal of a question?
Things are alot different here especially if you live in a city. We aren't allowed to carry guns on us.
     It's basically for hunting or recreational use.
 I personally don't own any guns and I haven't in over 30 years.