LEGEND The "Last Thing I Bought" Thread

[CeeZar]

I want to get up to that 1k mark per session. At first there will likely be a lot of dialing in though. I have a couple of RCBS sorting trays and priming guns for my hunting rounds. I wonder if I can get an attachment for filling tubes.

But yeah... My turret press has a primer tube. That's why I went to the guns.

I had to order the shell plates so I won't be setting up for a few days.

Cool. When I'm all prepped and ready, I crank out about 600/hr pistol rounds. Rifle is slower because I don't have the stuff for the bullet feeder for rifle. But I don't need to load at the same rate, so no biggy.

 

[RamFan503]

Ooh boy. Getting closer. Now I'm just waiting for BATFE to show up at my door wanting to know why - as a "civilian" ordered 24 pounds of powder.

 

[Loyal]

Last Thing I bought of consequence, is a 2006 Lexus GX 470 (true 4 x4)with only 136, 000 miles on it. Sounds like a lot, right? I've been researching so hard about getting a vehicle with extreme reliability, and we settled on this one.

I wanted a a fairly new GMC Terrain, originally. But then my wife weighed in about wanting a vehicle with a great paint job and no rust. That ruled out GMC and Chrysler products for us. I have a 2006 Sierra 1500 4x4 with a spray on liner (Line-X) and it still rusted. Same for a 2007 Chrysler Town and Country. We talked to her brother and he recommended Toyota 4Runners or Lexus GX-470's. 4-Runners are hard to find and are normally beat to death because of what owners buy them for...towing, 4-wheeling, offroading....They are still great, but their luxurious brother, the Lexus GX was actually treated less harshly and can be cheaper than a 4-Runner! (also, easier to source than a 4-Runner)

It seems that Toyota and Lexus vehicles receive more coats of paint than American cars. My 2006 Lexus' paint job still looks fantastic, with no rust. The 2 UZ-E.S V-8 engine's lower half is carved out of iron for stability. High torque at low RPM's, makes it ideal for offroading. The Lexus GX-470 is built on a truck frame, with a 6 speed auto transmission. It is essentially a Toyota 4-Runner, except that it is more luxurious (wood accents and leather seats). It originally cost 45-60 grand, and so soccer moms took it to their Lexus dealers for service and probably NEVER went off road. The GX-470 that you buy, has probably never experienced the abuse of it's Toyota cousin. It's just getting broken in at 250K miles! With correct service and timing belt changes, it will last 500,000 miles and beyond.

The biggest problems that I see are the air bags in the rear, may need to be replaced with a spring suspension, which is a good thing for offroading anyway. The other thing is that beautiful V-8 drinks the gas. I'll get around 15-17 mpg without upgrading its offroad capabilities. If I do? It gets about 10 mpg with a 23 gallon tank. Looks like a lot of offroaders carry mounted gas cans to extend range.

Can you tell I'm now a Lexus fanboy? lol

 

[snackdaddy]

I didn't buy this. My grandson bought it for me for my birthday. But I had to show it. He wasn't aware of the logo change. But I prefer this bag anyway. Not to mention the very first hole I played with it I birdied. And I rarely birdie any holes.

 

[Selassie I]

Just bought these Ram flavored damsels for my lionfish to hunt and eat. Here's some action shots. It's fun to watch the hunt.

 

[Selassie I]

Also got this guy a few days ago.

 

[CeeZar]

I bought this three months ago and it finally got deliver yesterday. It was a total impulse buy from a Facebook ad (which I NEVER do).

It's going to take some getting used to and I'm not sure if I'm going to like it or not.

 

[RamFan503]

Got it started. The primer feeder is a little finicky but it works pretty well. First 200 rounds in the can.

 

[CeeZar]

Got it started. The primer feeder is a little finicky but it works pretty well. First 200 rounds in the can.

Primers feeding or seating issues? I'm curious what bullets you are loading and for what purpose,

 

[RamFan503]

Primers feeding or seating issues? I'm curious what bullets you are loading and for what purpose,

Right now I'm just loading .223 FMJs for plinking and to get my set up straight. I think mostly my primer issues are because the feeder has some burrs. I put some break free on the parts and it seems to be working better. It also seems that the military brass sucks ass when it comes to seating the primers.

 

[CeeZar]

When I started reloading 5.56 I bought 1000 once-fired military Lake City brass cases. So they all needed swaging. This is the process I use and also use it for all range pickup brass. I try to collect all the brass I shoot, so I know which ones have been swaged. I have a bunch of different buckets to keep my brass straight and know which ones need what prep. I keep the Lake City brass separate because that is what I am currently using for my "precision" rounds. Misc brass and range pickups are for plinking rounds.

Military brass, and some commercial brass, will have crimped primer pockets so the cases will need to be swaged. You only have to do this once, but it makes everything go much smoother. I do all by brass prep in one run then go back and load in a second. This is my process.

Clean
Lube
1st pass - decap/resize and swage using on the first two stations in the press.
Remove lube
Check overall length and trim or set aside long ones
2nd pass - load.

Generally I check case length and set aside the ones that are too long and put them in a bucket and will eventually trim them. For now I am just collecting the ones that are too long. Sooner or later I will buy an electric case trimmer for the 650 and trim to length in the first pass. For now I just have a contraption that attaches to a drill and will have to handle each case manually whenever I get around to it.

I bought a swage it that replaces the primer seat mechanism in the 650. So I do bulk brass prep. It only takes about 5 minutes to install/uninstall. But you obviously can't load with it in there.
https://swageit.com/swagers/dillon-xl650/

It looks like Hornady makes a swager but it works differently.
https://www.hornady.com/reloading/presses/lock-n-load-accessories/primer-pocket-swage-tool

Or you can buy a separate swager.
https://www.dillonprecision.com/super-swage-600_8_8_25263.html

I chose the swage it because it is easy enough to install and lets me use the case feeder. Since I do this in bulk, it is worth the effort to install/uninstall. I also like to do the brass prep in a separate operation because it allow me to remove the lube needed for resizing before loading and takes much less effort when loading since the cases are already resized.

 

[Force16X]

 

[RamFan503]

When I started reloading 5.56 I bought 1000 once-fired military Lake City brass cases. So they all needed swaging. This is the process I use and also use it for all range pickup brass. I try to collect all the brass I shoot, so I know which ones have been swaged. I have a bunch of different buckets to keep my brass straight and know which ones need what prep. I keep the Lake City brass separate because that is what I am currently using for my "precision" rounds. Misc brass and range pickups are for plinking rounds.

View attachment 37502

Military brass, and some commercial brass, will have crimped primer pockets so the cases will need to be swaged. You only have to do this once, but it makes everything go much smoother. I do all by brass prep in one run then go back and load in a second. This is my process.

Clean
Lube
1st pass - decap/resize and swage using on the first two stations in the press.
Remove lube
Check overall length and trim or set aside long ones
2nd pass - load.

Generally I check case length and set aside the ones that are too long and put them in a bucket and will eventually trim them. For now I am just collecting the ones that are too long. Sooner or later I will buy an electric case trimmer for the 650 and trim to length in the first pass. For now I just have a contraption that attaches to a drill and will have to handle each case manually whenever I get around to it.

I bought a swage it that replaces the primer seat mechanism in the 650. So I do bulk brass prep. It only takes about 5 minutes to install/uninstall. But you obviously can't load with it in there.
https://swageit.com/swagers/dillon-xl650/

It looks like Hornady makes a swager but it works differently.
https://www.hornady.com/reloading/presses/lock-n-load-accessories/primer-pocket-swage-tool

Or you can buy a separate swager.
https://www.dillonprecision.com/super-swage-600_8_8_25263.html

I chose the swage it because it is easy enough to install and lets me use the case feeder. Since I do this in bulk, it is worth the effort to install/uninstall. I also like to do the brass prep in a separate operation because it allow me to remove the lube needed for resizing before loading and takes much less effort when loading since the cases are already resized.

I think I will buy the one for my press. All I'll have to do is pop the powder measurer, and the seating die out and I can deprime a bunch at a time then put in the swage unit and run them through again with just that.

Do you tumble all your brass?

 

[Selassie I]

Added this bug to the tank today since it's Mini Season here in F-L-A...

 

[Selassie I]

 

[Loyal]

View attachment 37839

blue lobster! Dinner at Selassi's!

 

[Loyal]

$23 for white socks...SONOFA...

 

[Memento]

Added this bug to the tank today since it's Mini Season here in F-L-A...

View attachment 37838

Ooh, aren't blue lobsters supposed to be really rare? Like a one-in-a-million chance?

The reason I say this is because there were a few rare lobsters in an article, including two calicos and a black-and-red split lobster.

 

[Selassie I]

Ooh, aren't blue lobsters supposed to be really rare? Like a one-in-a-million chance?

The reason I say this is because there were a few rare lobsters in an article, including two calicos and a black-and-red split lobster.

Those blue bugs are cold water bugs. They are the rare ones.

This is an actual species that is common. It's a warm water bug... no claws.

 

[Memento]

Those blue bugs are cold water bugs. They are the rare ones.

This is an actual species that is common. It's a warm water bug... no claws.

Oh, okay. Understood. Learn something new every day.