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Posted: 5/20/2018 10:22:05 AM EDT
[#1]
Seems the rain will never stop, so instead of working, I’m sorting more brass.....
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Posted: 5/20/2018 3:37:06 PM EDT
[Last Edit: AeroEngineer]
[#2]
Tried a simple wash solution on three coffe cans with of random range pickup brass.
Solution was water/vinegar/salt/detergent and I let it soak for about 30 minutes. The brass came out much cleaner than it went in, although a few pieces turned a strange shade of pink. I had read this might happen, so I wasn’t too surprised. Next time I’ll soak for less time. Also, I’ll separate by caliber before I ever work with brass again, because pulling apart 9mm inside .40 inside .45 gets real old, real fast. |
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Posted: 5/20/2018 4:01:31 PM EDT
[#3]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By AeroEngineer:
Solution was water/vinegar/salt/detergent and I let it soak for about 30 minutes. Vinegar is acetic acid. It’s good for getting old crud off of brass, but it can over-clean, with pink cases the result. And the problem is that all vinegar does is remove the tarnish. Alternatively, citric acid (the main ingredient in Lemishine) both removes tarnish AND protects the brass from further tarnish. It isn’t as effective as the old (around 1905 or so) arsenal brass cleaner, a hot dip in a mixture of nitric and sulfuric acids, but it’s pretty darn good. Today’s reloading accomplishment for me: I figured out where to store my lead ingots - the muffin cup ones - and then got started thoroughly sorting my collection of wheel weights. I bought a butt-load of them, and some are definitely zinc... So far I’m doing well at it, with a combination of scratch, squish and bend testing (depending on the size of the weight). |
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Posted: 5/20/2018 7:05:47 PM EDT
[#4]
Just discovered what happens when a .357 case sneaks in to the .38 Special loafing cycle.
 Attached File |
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Posted: 5/20/2018 8:17:21 PM EDT
[#5]
Shot my first ever 458 Socom loads. I think I need a harder alloy or a gas check. Got some severe leading even after 2 coats of PC.
Then, back at home, I resized the 50 pieces of socom brass I used and then annealed them. They are tumbling now. After that, I took about 70 bullets cast from the same mould as before but with a harder alloy and PC them, sized them and then started a second coat. They should be just about ready for a 3rd coat now... |
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Posted: 5/20/2018 9:38:31 PM EDT
[#6]
I finished carefully sorting my wheel weights. Out of a total of about 50+ pounds, I wound up with only 22 ounces of zinc, and none of any other material. I think I came out good on that.
While I was sorting, I did find the world's smallest wheel weights in that batch though: 
These little buggers are spec'd at 7 grams each , or 1/4 ounce (which includes the weight of the steel clip). I swear a couple of them look like they just dipped the clip in a vat of molten lead. OK, maybe they dipped them twice. 
Anyway, now that I don't have to worry about accidentally tossing the wrong materials into my pot, I also separated the smallest weights (.75 ounces and less) because of their low "lead to clip" proportion. In my first melting day, I seemed to spend a huge amount of time just skimming clips off of the melt so I'd have room to put in more wheel weights. With the weights sorted like this, I can better control how often I'll have to clear a space to add weights. And even though I was wearing gloves the whole time, I washed my hands eight times after I finished. DANG that stuff was nasty! |
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Posted: 5/21/2018 12:41:33 AM EDT
[#7]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By boman250:
Shot my first ever 458 Socom loads. I think I need a harder alloy or a gas check. Got some severe leading even after 2 coats of PC. Then, back at home, I resized the 50 pieces of socom brass I used and then annealed them. They are tumbling now. After that, I took about 70 bullets cast from the same mould as before but with a harder alloy and PC them, sized them and then started a second coat. They should be just about ready for a 3rd coat now... Something is wrong. |
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TX, USA
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Posted: 5/21/2018 10:36:57 PM EDT
[#8]
Over the weekend sized & trimmed 250 ------223 cases and 150 ----308 cases.
Went shooting made a sizable amount of empty cases in 9mm,38 special,223 and 30 carbine. Picked up little over 200 extra pieces of 223. Brother ordered some 7.5 swiss dies for his K31. |
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Posted: 5/22/2018 12:24:11 AM EDT
[#9]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By dryflash3:
Start a thread and we can help you with your powder coating. Something is wrong. Today I slugged the bore of the 458 Socom, found it was about .4585" so I started honing my .457 lee sizing die out with 400 grit and then 1000 grit sand paper. Got it to size to .4585", just a single thousands to go... Tried a new tumble method for powdercoating and got a much better powder coat on my newest batch of 330g bullets. I think I was over tumbling them before and it was causing thin coatings that tore too easily. They passed the hammer test, but leaded my bore... |
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Posted: 5/22/2018 7:58:06 PM EDT
[#10]
Deprimed a bunch of .45 brass to wet tumble.
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TX, USA
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Posted: 5/22/2018 9:38:50 PM EDT
[#11]
Sorted my 223 range pick ups from this weekend.
The 60 lake city cases were a bad joke bust almost all of them have split necks and shoulders. They all went in the scrap bucket
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Posted: 5/23/2018 10:26:03 AM EDT
[#12]
Bought 1K ea of .380 & 9mm Ni Starline brass and .5K of Ni .357 casings.
Made some 'procurement' lists to stay organized with everything. Bought 250 185gr Barnes .45 ACP bullets. |
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Posted: 5/23/2018 11:52:35 AM EDT
[Last Edit: AeroEngineer]
[#13]
Managed to get my Lee Safety Prime working. Ran through about 35 .38 specials on my Classic Turret to verify functionality, and the priming was 100%.
Pleased to say I finally worked out the last kinks to have my Classic Turret working 100% auto indexing. |
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Posted: 5/23/2018 12:43:07 PM EDT
[#14]
Last night I deprimed 50 pieces of 458 socom.
I finished honing my sizing die out to .459". I may end up honing it out another .0005" but not today. I sized about 60 330gr PCC bullets. Trying to find out the source of my leading. |
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Posted: 5/23/2018 6:47:41 PM EDT
[#15]
Got the .45 brass I deprimed last night going in the wet tumbler now.
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TX, USA
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Posted: 5/23/2018 9:57:39 PM EDT
[#16]
Deprimed 150 ---223 cases tonight
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Posted: 5/23/2018 11:06:38 PM EDT
[#17]
Loaded 50 more .38 spl with 158 gr Xtreme SWC.
Starting to actually make a dent in my cutrent box of 500 Xtreme plated bullets. In my case the adage of “you won’t reallly spend less money you’ll just shoot a lot more” is coming true. |
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Posted: 5/25/2018 5:07:07 PM EDT
[#18]
Did some work at the range with the Labradar to determine where I need to be to duplicate 135 GDHP out of my LCR.
I had some factory 158s that are within 10 foot pounds of the GDHP at the muzzle, now off to the press to get that dialed in. This will be the first attempt at anything other than blasting loads. Should be fun to figure this out. Also picked up a full set of 45 dies, tool head, stand, and powder dispenser for the 550. The new 325 TR is a hungry beast 
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Posted: 5/26/2018 7:45:25 AM EDT
[#19]
Bought 250 180 gr TTSX bullets
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Posted: 5/26/2018 10:14:58 AM EDT
[#20]
Deprimed and wet tumbling a load of 9mm range pick ups.
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Posted: 5/26/2018 6:29:44 PM EDT
[#21]
Went squirrel hunting and decidied after the hunt to test my Creedmoor out to about 1000 yards.
Tumbling all the brass I made today. |
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Posted: 5/26/2018 9:28:12 PM EDT
[#22]
 Attached FileCleaned some brass so I can load tomorrow and shoot Monday. ~2K 45ACP, ~3K 9mm, ~1K 300BO, ~ 1K unsorted misc. range pickups Plus, I'm trying out an annealer I got a couple of weeks ago. I think tomorrow might be busy. |
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Posted: 5/26/2018 9:50:56 PM EDT
[#23]
Made my first batches of .223!
Some 62gr fmjbt Some 55gr fmjbt Don’t want to get too carried away until I know what shoots the best. Taking the family first thing Monday morning to the range.  Attached File |
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Posted: 5/27/2018 5:44:18 AM EDT
[#24]
I loaded my first ever 450/400 3" Nitro Express.
Quitting a two pack a day habit a year ago left me with some extra funds to indulge myself and I used a bit of it to buy a Ruger No.1 that came with dies and a shell holder, a lifetime supply of bullets, and forty Hornady cases. |
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Posted: 5/27/2018 6:51:18 PM EDT
[#25]
Loading .223 today.
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Posted: 5/27/2018 7:27:34 PM EDT
[#26]
Went to the range and tested some 100gr Nosler bullets in 6.5 Creedmoor. Found a couple nodes I will explore more later.
Then, came home, tumbled, sized, tumbled, trimmed, annealed, and loaded 80 rounds of creedmoor in 140g RDF and 100g CC flavors. Had more bad luck with my 458 Socom at the range today. Wasn't even hitting a 4' x 3' target at 50 yards from the bench with a scope. And velocities were all over the place. Looking at gas checks now... |
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GA, USA
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Posted: 5/27/2018 11:25:49 PM EDT
[#27]
Yesterday I loaded my first ever reloads 50 9mm, 125g cast lead powder coated all by me. Went to a range this morning to test them out and everything went good they were all perfect. So today I loaded 1000 9mm.
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TX, USA
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Posted: 5/28/2018 12:13:08 AM EDT
[#28]
Loaded 7.5 swiss for the first time ever.
Loaded 200 rounds of 44 mag. Tumbled 1500 various types of brass and still going. 223-45-9mm |
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Posted: 5/28/2018 11:36:55 AM EDT
[#29]
Finally got around to tumbling and sorting my accumulated range brass. Also ran my mil-surp calibers through the sizing die in preparation for loading later on. Spent the rest of the afternoon getting my new AR10 in 6.5 Creedmoor reassembled after a good cleaning.
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Posted: 5/28/2018 7:25:38 PM EDT
[#30]
Brass prep today.
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Posted: 5/28/2018 8:51:12 PM EDT
[#31]
Churned out 300 .357 today, finished up ~650 .38 last night.
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Posted: 5/28/2018 11:49:00 PM EDT
[#32]
Loaded a batch of 500, 9mm for the AR9. Win cases, 115 gr Extreme RN, 6.6 grs Power Pistol, OAL 1.10. My OAL is to allow these loads to be shot in a CZ 85. (they have short throats) |
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TX, USA
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Posted: 5/29/2018 12:02:40 AM EDT
[#33]
Deprimed , swaged then wet tumbled 60 pieces of filthy range pick up 223 wcc case today
Organized a few things to make ease of use for the new vibratory tumbler arriving tomorrow. We don't wet tumble much so the new tumbler will allow us to do two separate things at once. |
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AR, USA
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Posted: 5/29/2018 10:37:15 AM EDT
[#34]
I've been having problems with my 650 loading 9mm. Tried a couple of weeks ago and it took me almost an hour to load 100 rounds. I got frustrated and just walked away for a few days and thought about it.
I decided Saturday morn to take everything 100% down and start from the ground up. Even took the dies out of the tool head. I took the shell plate off, cleaned and lubed everything, reset the dies and readjusted everything. Loaded 1000 rounds of 124 gr 9mm Saturday eve in less than 2 hours. I guess sometimes it just needs a deep cleaning and complete readjustment. This press is probably 20 years old or more so a deep cleaning and good relube was probably due. |
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Posted: 5/29/2018 9:48:00 PM EDT
[#35]
I've collected a little over 600 small primer .45 cases over the years so tonight I deprimed and wet tumbled them. I'll load them up before I change the 550 over to large primers.
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TX, USA
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Posted: 5/29/2018 11:14:03 PM EDT
[#36]
So the new frankford arsenal dry tumbler arrived today......... JUST DONT DO IT
It's not a dillon or comparable to any other good tumbler. I've been pleased with the few other things i've purchased they make but this is a looser i fear. Got 5 adjustment knobs to go on most of the dillon powder measures. After the tumbler fiasco i didn't even try to put them on. Got a new shellplate for 30 carbine so Deprimed 100 cases to test it. Haven't decided if it's worthwhile to load for yet but we probably will. |
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AL, USA
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Posted: 5/31/2018 9:55:19 PM EDT
[#37]
After getting divorced about a year ago. All of my reloading stuff has sat in boxes. This weekend I am taking my Dillons out and setting up a working bench. Been cleaning out a spot in the garage and sorting through boxes this afternoon. My weekend is dedicated to the project and Monday is off work to have fun at the range.
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Posted: 5/31/2018 10:42:51 PM EDT
[#38]
Seated my first ever gas checks... and plain base gas checks at that.
May do some more casting tomorrow and then do another load work up in 458 socom now that the barrel nut is tight enough to hold the barrel to the receiver and I have some gas checked bullets to test. |
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Posted: 6/1/2018 9:49:10 AM EDT
[#39]
Cranked out 500 rounds of subsonic 9mm using 147 Xtreme last night. It was the second time in 4 years I have reloaded. It felt great to get back into it.
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Posted: 6/1/2018 4:15:42 PM EDT
[#40]
Boxed up my recent .38 Special loads - 158 gr plated SWC over 3.7gr Win 231 and headed to the range.
50 rounds shot perfectly in a 2 3/4” .357 revolver. Extremely accurate in single action. I’ve found my .38 practice load. Cranked out 50 more after returning home, and will continue with this particular load until I run out of brass or billers. |
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CO, USA
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Posted: 6/1/2018 9:12:29 PM EDT
[Last Edit: AZ-AR15]
[#41]
Put together a ladder of 300g Hornady HP's over IMR4198 for my 458 this morning.
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Posted: 6/1/2018 10:54:04 PM EDT
[#42]
Finally....FINALLY!
Made it to the range to shoot some of my .223 reloads after getting my runout or concentricity issue solved...the before:  Attached Fileversus this...the after:  Attached FileI am quite happy now. 
Maybe I finally have something worthy of that 1 MOA all day challenge. I also converted factory 10mm S&B ammo into once fired 10mm brass.
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Posted: 6/1/2018 11:51:55 PM EDT
[Last Edit: boman250]
[#43]
Cast a hundred or so 330gr .458 cal HP "boolets"...
Then, Powder coated them, sized them, gas checked the with plain base gas checks, and sized them again. They are ready to load up tomorrow. Ill post some pics.
 Attached File Attached File Attached File Attached FileCouple of casualties of war
 Attached File |
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Posted: 6/2/2018 5:36:58 PM EDT
[#44]
50 more .38 specials with 158 gr Xtreme SWC.
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Posted: 6/2/2018 6:05:43 PM EDT
[#45]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By WeimaranerDad:
Finally....FINALLY! Made it to the range to shoot some of my .223 reloads after getting my runout or concentricity issue solved...the before: https://www.AR15.Com/media/mediaFiles/369122/20180601_185851-562901.JPG versus this...the after: https://www.AR15.Com/media/mediaFiles/369122/Screenshot_20180601-214847-562903.JPG I am quite happy now. I got shipping notification on a 9mm conversion barrel for my Glock 22. How's that related to reloading? It's a conventionally rifled barrel that'll let me use any darn bullet I want to. I'm also going to do some testing to compare the accuracy of the barrel/pistol system with the factory (Gen4) .40 barrel and then with the conversion. Not exactly apples to oranges, but as long as I get loads dialed in for "best case" in both calibers, it will tell me if the conversion barrel locks up as tightly and consistently as the factory barrel. And hey, it's an excuse to spend more time shooting. Like I need an excuse...
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AL, USA
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Posted: 6/2/2018 7:05:04 PM EDT
[#46]
Staged a case of SNS 180 FP's, and a couple thousand pieces of brass, primers and powder on the bench. In the morning before the sun comes up and gets hot, I will be churning out a couple thousand .40 minor loads.
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Posted: 6/3/2018 12:15:21 AM EDT
[#47]
Had a productive day. Finally getting the new bench set up.
Got the Mark 7 set and all adjusted for processing 223. Ran 1000 through that. All trimmed up and swaged. Then the other 1050, got the mister bullet feeder set up for 45. Got it dialed in and loaded up 500 45 ACP. |
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GA, USA
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Posted: 6/3/2018 12:56:55 AM EDT
[#48]
Bagged 1000 rounds of 380.
Deprimed and sonic cleaned 1000 40 cases. Pops while I was doing all of that cast 1000 40 bullets and I chunked them into the vibrating tumbler with a pound of harbor freight red powder coat I'll bake them tomorrow. |
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GA, USA
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Posted: 6/3/2018 1:00:27 AM EDT
[#49]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By GHPorter:
I’ve always found that brass cleaned with vinegar will tarnish almost immediately. If you didn’t rinse the detergent off, that may slow it down, but I don’t think it will prevent it. I tried neutralizing the brass with baking soda without any detectable improvement. Vinegar is acetic acid. It’s good for getting old crud off of brass, but it can over-clean, with pink cases the result. And the problem is that all vinegar does is remove the tarnish. Alternatively, citric acid (the main ingredient in Lemishine) both removes tarnish AND protects the brass from further tarnish. It isn’t as effective as the old (around 1905 or so) arsenal brass cleaner, a hot dip in a mixture of nitric and sulfuric acids, but it’s pretty darn good. Today’s reloading accomplishment for me: I figured out where to store my lead ingots - the muffin cup ones - and then got started thoroughly sorting my collection of wheel weights. I bought a butt-load of them, and some are definitely zinc... So far I’m doing well at it, with a combination of scratch, squish and bend testing (depending on the size of the weight). Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By GHPorter:
Originally Posted By AeroEngineer:
Solution was water/vinegar/salt/detergent and I let it soak for about 30 minutes. Vinegar is acetic acid. It’s good for getting old crud off of brass, but it can over-clean, with pink cases the result. And the problem is that all vinegar does is remove the tarnish. Alternatively, citric acid (the main ingredient in Lemishine) both removes tarnish AND protects the brass from further tarnish. It isn’t as effective as the old (around 1905 or so) arsenal brass cleaner, a hot dip in a mixture of nitric and sulfuric acids, but it’s pretty darn good. Today’s reloading accomplishment for me: I figured out where to store my lead ingots - the muffin cup ones - and then got started thoroughly sorting my collection of wheel weights. I bought a butt-load of them, and some are definitely zinc... So far I’m doing well at it, with a combination of scratch, squish and bend testing (depending on the size of the weight). |
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GA, USA
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Posted: 6/3/2018 1:06:22 AM EDT
[#50]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By acman145acp:
So the new frankford arsenal dry tumbler arrived today......... JUST DONT DO IT
It's not a dillon or comparable to any other good tumbler. I've been pleased with the few other things i've purchased they make but this is a looser i fear. Couple pounds of harbor freight red powder coat powder + several hundred fresh cast bullets = worth the $36 bucks I paid for it. |
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