I've got a cold, and have missed a couple days of work. (I'm hoping that, with the beneficial effects of a 24-hour over-the-counter antihistamine, I can get back to 'normal' Geeking tomorrow.)
While I fret because I'm missing work days, I'm even more disappointed that I haven't felt much like tackling Job One!
That would be catching up on ammunition reloading with my newly refurbished Dillon XL650.
I actually re-assembled the press Sunday evening, but ran out of energy to start loading. Monday, still lethargic. In fact, I had started coughing Monday afternoon at the office, and was so sick that night that I didn't do a thing.
Tuesday I dragged myself out to the garage and loaded 'almost 100 rounds' of .38 Super. It was surprisingly easy, and while I still had to spend some time re-tuning the connection between the case feeder and the press, my only slow-down was that I am loading a mixed bag of .38 Super and .38 Super Comp.
Ask the man who owns one: to load Super Comp, you need to replace the 9mm/Super shellplate with the .223 shellplate. I didn't, so the Comp brass tended to not stay in place when the shellplate rotated from Station 1 (decap/size) to Station 2 (prime/load powder). The few minor problems I experienced slowed me down and frustrated me sufficiently that I quit after about 15 minutes. But at least I was reassured that the improvement gained in reliability was well worth the realoading time lost by shipping the press back to the factory.
My health was improved enough that I got about 3 hours sleep that night (as opposed to zero hours sleep the night before), so today (Wednesday) I spent an incredible 35 minutes loading mixed .38 ammunition.
The delays associated with loading Comp brass on the wrong shellplate were slightly exasperating, and this was when I discovered that I hadn't aligned the Case Feed correctly. But at the end I had 400 loaded rounds complete, only 4 of which were discarded because of no primer having been inserted. (I haven't discovered why this happened, but again I was forcing myself to go slow while I re-learned how to use a press that actually works correctly, so I may have been distracted.)
I ran out of steam before I loaded the last of my batch of mixed brass, there are probably no more than 50 rounds left. I'll reload them tomorrow (Thursday) and then load up another 400 rounds using brand new Winchester .38 Super brass. That should require less than an hour, after I've recharged some primer feed tubes with Winchester primers.
Friday night I'll take the loaded ammo to SWMBO, and we'll inspect, box and mark the (already gauged) cases.
Between this new reload batch, and the ammo we already have, we should have plenty of ammunition for both of us to shoot the ARPC Club Match on Saturday. We need this range time; both of us have been AWOL from local matches for most of the past six months.
About the .38 SUPER vs SUPER COMP brass:
The STI race gun I'm using has an AFTEC extractor installed. With both springs installed, it extracts both the rimless Super Comp and the rimmed Comp brass with equal alacrity. Also, the barrel is old and the chamber is relatively loose; ammunition which doesn't seat in my Dillon Case Gauge still chambers easily in all but the most extreme circumstances.
On the other hand, the STI race gun that SWMBO is using has a standard-design STI extractor, and will not reliably extract Super Comp brass. Also, the chamber fits the case dimensions as per specifications, and will not chamber the same brass which feeds reliably in the other STI.
Consequently, we have to make two inspection passes:
First, we case-gauge all of the ammunition. Everything that passes goes into SWMBO's ammo box; everything that is 'fat' goes into my ammo box.
In the first inspection of the 400 loaded rounds, less than 100 rounds went to her ammo box.
Then we check the headstamp on SWMBO's ammunition. Anything that suggests it is Super Comp (including AP ammunition) moves over to the Geek ammo box.
I haven't made this test yet, so I don't know how many rounds will be available for her to shoot on Saturday, but one thing is sure: we don't have enough.
(As a rule of thumb, I figure it will require a minimum of 150 rounds to get through any Club Match in this Section. Reshoots can increase the requirement by up to 20%, so we feel marginally comfortable with 200 rounds, preferably 300 rounds for each pistol at a single Club Match.)
About the Super Comp Gunsmithing Situation:
However, the STI I'm using is currently being worked on by Rob Shepherd of Major Nyne Guns, a local gunsmith (and USPSA GM Competitor). I've had problems with the C-More Scope Mount lately so I sent the pistol to him last month to fix the problems with the mount. Also, re-sight the gun after the mount is properly fixed in place, and to do a general inspection and detail cleaning in preparation for the 2008 Competitive Season.
I told him there was "no hurry, as long as the pistol was available to shoot in the next month's ARPC match".
In Gunsmith Terms, this means "MAJOR EMERGENCY! I NEED THIS BACK IMMEDIATELY!"
In correspondence last week, Rob informed me that (a) the scope mount was cracked and (b) the scope-mount screw holes were 'elongated', and did I want a new scope mount? Also, (c) the guide rod was missing, and did I want to supply my own replacement or use one that he had in stock?
Later Rob discovered that the holes only seemed to be elongated, because a couple of the mounting screws had been replaced with screws of the 'wrong diameter'. This was my fault; I'm not at all good with Things Mechanical, and this is the reason why I sent my firearms to a qualified gunsmith rather than work on them myself. If there's any way to screw it up (pun almost unintended), I'll screw it up wrong. So the original scope mount may stay on the gun, unless Rob determines that the crack in the mount (from the rear mounting screw to the rear of the mount) may, in his judgment, cause later problems.
As for the missing guide rod, I have NO IDEA how that was lost. Yes, it was a screw-in guide rod and yes, the base of the guide rod is still in the gun. I told Rob to put it together with his guide rod and if I could find my spare between then and the delivery of the pistol, I would replace it with mine.
I cannot conceive of the pistol functioning without a guide rod, but it must have, somehow, at the February club match in Dundee ... for the one stage I shot it in before changing to SWMBO's pistol.
So, if Rob can get the Geek STI ready for delivery by this weekend, we will probably have plenty of ammunition for SWMBO and I each to shoot with our own pistols.
If not, if I can get enough (400 rounds) .38 Super ammunition in SWMBO's ammo box by the weekend, we'll share a gun.
And if that doesn't work out, SWMBO will shoot 'her' pistol, and I'll shoot the GeekGun ... the 10mm STI Edge.
That pistol runs perfectly, and I have plenty of ammunition loaded for it.
Of course, I can't see the iron sights well enough to shoot it accurately, consistently, and quickly, which is why I went to The Dark Side in 2003.
But at least we'll both get to shoot, and that's the main thing.
Besides, if I shoot the GeekGun, that ol' thang flings 10mm brass so far that it's easy to pick up brass. My 10mm brass is easily distinguishable from all other brass, in that it can be found 10 meters from the firing point.
We usually just start looking for it on the Frontage Road, and work our way in from there.
If you're at the April 2008 ARPC club match, come by and say howdy. Feel free to laugh at me; I'm a Geek, I've become accustomed to it.
Then I'll post videos of your worst stage on You Tube.
Geeks do that.
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