What did you do at your reloading bench today?

[Rifletom]

Loaded up 60 rounds of 69gr Sierra HPBT .223 rounds this afternoon.

Jake, what platform are you shooting and what is the barrel twist.

Hey, good to see ya back on r n g! Been out to the desert lately?

[runnin n gunnin]

No, its a long and sad story. I had to work . . . .

I have been bumping around the country training, three weeks ago during training, I stepped on a 1/2 inch piece of pipe in the gutter during a rain storm and rolled into the street. That left me a broken rib on the left side. Completed the contract and moved on to the next.

Last December I broke a tooth and in January lost the filling next in the tooth next to it. Since I have been working non stop, no time for the dentist. Finished a course last Friday and my jaw started hurting. By Monday it was swollen up like a poisoned dog. Canceled the second day of training yesterday and went to the dentist (first time since 2013) I have an abscessed tooth, and will have two root canals and three crowns next week.

The good news, I had to cancel training this week and next, so I am finally getting some rest, bad news is, won't get paid.

Did I mention, I HATE DENTISTS ! ! !

I am finishing up this session of contracts by Mid June and plan on three months of R&R and back to the bench and range. Hopefully the primer issue will have lightened up. I also have a CZ-USA exposed hammer 12 gauge coach gun on order. I am looking at components and load data to load up some Brass hulls. (I'm a traditionalist). Interestingly, I still have a Lee Loader I bought for twenty bucks in 1973 for the 12 gauge and turns out its the go to system for brass hulls. Who knew?

Thanks for asking RT,

[JEBar]

I also have a CZ-USA exposed hammer 12 gauge coach gun on order.

I'm really looking forward to your reports on your exposed hammer shotgun ... I've always wanted one

[Rifletom]

You got it r n g! You hang in there, take care of yourself and keep us posted when you can. Heading to the desert in a couple of weeks[finally!], and can't wait! We'll be talking.

[runnin n gunnin]

You bet, weather should be great for ya. I'll post up when I get the Coach gun. Its been a long wait but I am really looking forward to it. One of the reasons I've been working !

[Hatchdog]

Loaded up 60 rounds of 69gr Sierra HPBT .223 rounds this afternoon.
Jake

Hi Jake,

What do you shoot those 69 SMK’s in and what powder do you use?

I'm using 23.0 gr of Norma 201 powder, CCI BR primer, and Norma brass (from factory loads). I shoot them through my Ruger American All Weather with a Burris 9 powered scope. It's a very accurate rifle for a the price point.
Jake

Yeah, those Rugers are pretty incredible for accuracy. I love loading for the .223, huge variety of bullets available and low powder consumption. I was just reading a post on here about loading for 300 win mag and watching the powder disappear into the cases at an alarming rate.

R-N-G, I use the 69’s in 1-9 rate, both a bolt Ruger and a Mini 14 Ruger. I shoot the 77 grain Sierra SMK in a 1-9 Savage 30” heavy barrel match rifle and they are scary accurate. Sierra states to use the 77 in a 1-8 or faster but for me and my rifle they work great.

[runnin n gunnin]

Thanks Hatchdog, I bought a box of 100 and loaded them up and just could not find a load that would center, but was shooting from an AR platform with a 1 in 8 twist.

[Grunt67]

Well, the 4 lbs of IMR 4198 I had ordered from Hogdon a couple of weeks ago, has been cancelled. Seems they over allocated & when they went to fill the order, there was none available.
I'll have to try later.

[Grunt67]

Receive the 100 pcs, Hornady 300gr. JHP bullets I had ordered from Midway.

[gpraceman]

I've been spending too much time online buying this and that, not reloading. Some bullets here, a trimmer there, and so on. Also eyeing a chronograph. Not much more that I can do right now while I recover from knee surgery (6 weeks on crutches). I'd rather be making up some more rounds for my Henry BB.