GET READY GUYS

[25yretcoastie]

I was at GM today buying ammo and the prices I saw made me get Lyman 49th. AT over a dollar a round for 30.carbine if I what to shoot and get ahead on it,the only way I can do it is to start reloading my own.

I learn by doing and reading so I may be posting a few questions.

Steve

[gdmoody]

You started out right. Getting a copy of a reloading manual was the first step and I always recommend that one. Read the book then ask away.

[JLA]

Yep, read it thru then read it thru again.

Welcome to the wonderful addiction of handloading. ;)

[BlackEagle]

If there's someone near you that reloads get their input. This forum has a tremendous amount of freely given expertise.

When getting started reloading it's better to ask lots of questions than guess wrong.

[Zhurh]

All the lead talk over last couple weeks, nothing would surprise me. Might be a back door attack on fmj's too. I mostly use Barnes & Hornady anyway, but I'm still a long time believer in Nosler Partitions (boy have they went up in price) so I always add 2-3 hundred noslers in every order I make. At least I have the comfort in knowing my grandkids will still be killin moose & caribou with the bullets I bought before they were born.

Blk Eag, that CED chrono finally came in on mail plane. Nice dvd explaining everything too. I'm not even foolin around with it until she warms up in May. I got up this morn, at 6am, it was minus 22 F. And you live as close to the arctic circle as I do, ha ha. I bet caribou do just fine in those Islands you mentioned, livin off the moss & lichen.

[BlackEagle]

Blk Eag, that CED chrono finally came in on mail plane. Nice dvd explaining everything too. I'm not even foolin around with it until she warms up in May. I got up this morn, at 6am, it was minus 22 F. And you live as close to the arctic circle as I do, ha ha. I bet caribou do just fine in those Islands you mentioned, livin off the moss & lichen.

Glad you got it. The software that comes with it is useful.

I actually live on the mainland of Scotland; just have family and friends in Shetland that I get up to visit from time to time.

Caribou?? in Shetland? the largest animals there are cattle and Shetland ponies. :)

Not much moss and lichen there; only heather and peatmoss. Lots of sheep, rabbits and seals, and some otters. That Gulf Stream has kept us in a nice warm water bath this winter. Of course it doesn't get very hot in the summer either.

Scotland has some deer. The first one I saw, I thouht it was a greyhound. There are some areas they are becoming enough of a problem that the local government is talking about a cull. Of course the bambi huggers protest and can't understand things like overpopulation and overgrazing.

A number of guys in my gun club manage the deer population for estates in this region. They sell the meat to hotels and restaurants.

[Zhurh]

I'll never have enough bullets piled up in boxes on the bench shelves; have 80 some little boxes now; need a couple hundred to believe my grandkids be well supplied.

Here in rural Alaska, when the caribou show up (around late July-August) on their annual migration into Canada; even the greenies (we got them here in Alaska too, German Socialists that I always tell that if life was so good back in Germany with govt giving them everything; why don't they head on back, ha ha. Once at a school board meeting, this kooky German lady was saying that in Germany the fat people pay more than the skinny people, taxes and such, and I told her in USA you work hard and get fat. Then I told her she was one the Russkies didn't get and she stormed outta the school, got to just luv the greenies) want to get some meat put up. I think they saw the noble Indians shooting a bunch and figured it must be spiritually acceptable. Ya know how Indians think, no limits, you keep shooting until outta ammo or caribou; creator takes care of management issues, not man's domain. Then us White People arrived here and we either over populated or are better shots. It just don't work out as good for the caribou over the long term with license & state F&G limits, but has to be that way for us Whites or wouldn't be any bou for anybody.

Funny thing about them greenies is they ain't natural born hunters. I see them when there's literally thousands of caribou wandering aimlessly and they hardly ever get any, no joke. I've seen them sit by fire along road waiting for bou to cross for days at a time. Then, I'll be with some of the local Indians and we'll be on our way back down off the summit in my crew cab filled with caribou hanging over the side boards and they'll just look; they hadn't seen a one, quite the harr. We always drop caribou off at elders & old folks cabins so they have fresh meat. Ya, them greenies, they think they know so much about nature don't they; but they'll be the first to fall by the wayside and become statistics if it ever gets to be hungry country out there. I'd hate to have a hard landing with one of them and be stuck 100 miles from anywheres; maybe I'd have to eat them, ha ha.

What's everybody use as far as calibers in Scotland for deer and do you have stag there too? Have a good weekend B. E.

[BlackEagle]

Hi Zhurh;
I was talking to some of the guys at the club, (I don't have police permission to hunt yet. It's more complicated than I want to get involved in right now.:( ) Their input:

.308 is a fairly universal caliber, although for Roe deer (that weigh in at around 70 lbs.) the rules say you can use .222 or .223. For anything larger the caliber needs to be at least .240. They were saying that a .30-30 won't qualify for legal deer hunting in Scotland.

The British Association of Shooting and Conservation has some of the legal guidelines http://www.basc.org.uk/en/codes-of-practice/deer-stalking.cfm
(Scotland, England, Ireland and Wales all have different requirements)...

and a link to Best Practice Guides:
http://www.bestpracticeguides.org.uk/firearms_rifles.aspx
For the killing or taking of deer in Scotland, firearms, ammunition and sights must conform to requirements, laid down in the Deer (Firearms etc.)(Scotland) Order1985. These are stated as follows:
Rifles:
Deer Species Min Bullet Weight Min Muzzle Velocity Min Muzzle Energy

for all species 100grains 2,450 ft/sec 1,750 foot pounds

for Roe only 50grains 2,450 ft/sec 1,000 foot pounds

NB. Ensure that all three minimum conditions are met for your chosen calibre of rifle
Rifle bullets should be of an expanding type designed to deform in a predictable manner.