Reload'n And Levergun'n

Pic Of The Month: July 4, 2007

2007-07-04T15:00:00.000-04:00

This months Pic Of The Month features my stainless 92 chambered in 44Mag. Let us not forget our troops past and present on this day and the men and women who have fought, fallen, and are now fighting for this great country.

Rifles And Handguns: An American Freedom

2007-06-08T00:10:00.000-04:00

I recently received my signed collectors edition of Rifles And Handguns: An American Freedom, and folks, this is a dandy! This 284 page book is written by the legendary Frank "Paco" Kelly and is a must have for your collection.

The Winchester 1892 or 92 has always been my favorite leveraction design and I was pleasantly surprised to get # 92 out of 100...THANK YOU MY FRIEND!

Paco takes you from his early days overseas in the military, to the concrete jungles of New York City as an undercover agent, Commissioner of Narcotics living in the deep wilds of Virginia's Western foothills, to DEA agent in Tucson Arizona ,and to the plains of Africa and everywhere in between. Rifles And Handguns, An American Freedom, is a compilation of Paco's life experiences, hunting adventures, while sharing his hand loading and shooting knowledge throughout.

Rifles And Handguns features a two part casting and cast bullet section, hand loading and cartridge sections with tips throughout, and much much more. A couple of chapters that will really have a fella drooling is Paco's Handguns and Special Handguns.

This book is a valuable resource of information on accuracy, handloading, and casting your own.

It features pics of fine sixguns and leverguns throughout, and gives you a look inside the life of the man, the legend, Paco Kelly.

I am happy to have this fine read in my collection. The first 100 copies are hardbound, signed and numbered, with standard editions following. The collector edition is $52.50 shipped and the standard edition is $42.50 shipped.

To order a copy of Rifles And Handguns: An American Freedom, Send cash, check, or money order to

Paco Kelly

P.O. Box 1170

Cortaro, AZ 85652

Pic Of The Month: June 2007

2007-06-01T23:10:00.001-04:00

This installment of Pic Of The Month features a 1953 vintage Winchester 94, chambered in 32 Winchester Special. This pic provided by our Canadian friend Badbrass. Thanks Paul!

Its been a long time comin

2007-05-24T21:44:00.000-04:00

From the Indiana DNR website.

Administrative Rule (Regulation) Changes
RIFLES WITH PISTOL CARTRIDGES
The Natural Resources Commission approved the proposal to allow rifles with pistol cartridges on May 22. Once the rule changes are approved by the Attorney General’s Office and Governor’s office, they will become law later this year. The rifles with pistol cartridges that meet the specifications listed below will be allowed during this year’s deer firearms season which takes place from November 17 through December 2.
The rifle must fire a cartridge that meets the following specifications:
A) fire a bullet of three hundred fifty-seven thousandths of an inch (.357) diameter or larger;
(B) have a minimum case length of one and sixteen hundredths (1.16) inches; and
(C) have a maximum case length of one and six hundred twenty-five thousandths (1.625) inches.
Some cartridges that will be legal include the following:
.357 Magnum
.38-40 Winchester
.41 Magnum
.41 Special
.44 Magnum
.44 Special
.44-.40 Winchester
.45 Colt
.454 Casull
.480 Ruger
.475 Linebaugh
.50 Action Express
.500 S&W

It's about time! :-)

Pic Of The Month: May 2007

2007-05-02T14:51:00.000-04:00

This installment of Pic Of The Month features a beautiful Marlin Cowboy model chambered in 38-55 and is courtesy of our friend and fellow forum member of the www.leverguns.com forum, badbrass.

(Click to enlarge)

Thanks Paul!

Virginia Tech Shooting

2007-04-16T19:03:00.000-04:00

A shooting accured today at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg Virginia which resulted in the loss of 32 lives. First and foremost, my heart goes out to the victims and their families. That being said, it is a right out shame that these young men and women had to die because they couldnt defend themselves from some crazy nut job by carrying on campus. If students or faculty members with a CCW had been able to carry a firearm for personal protection on campus, this could have turned out very different. Pelosi and the other gun grabbing liberals will be using this very tragedy against us law abiding gun owners by pushing for even stricter gun laws or gun bans. They want you to believe that if guns where banned this wouldn't have happened in the first place. WAKE UP FOLKS!!! These young men and women were denied their right to carry and to protect themselves in a "gun free zone" in favor of someone elses failed saftey policies. It is a sad day indeed... Again, my heart goes out to the victims and their families.

Ruger SP101 Eye Candy

2007-04-14T14:59:00.000-04:00

Thursday was a beautiful day here in Southern Indiana and I got out and took a few pics of my stainless Ruger Sp101 chambered in 357Mag. This Ruger SP101 has a five shot cylinder , 2.25" barrel and features a no snag spurless hammer. Enjoy!

(Click photos to enlarge)

Winchester/Miroku '86 Mods/Custom Work/Continued

2007-04-08T16:38:00.000-04:00

I sent my Winchester/Miroku 1886 Extra Light off to Mike Hunter of Hunter Restorations to have some custom work done. Mike filled in the ugly historically incorrect tang safety, remarked the tang and barrel and reblued. All Jap markings are now gone. I got her back and heres what she looks like.

Before:

After:

While the '86 was away I stripped the stock and added Herters French Red and a nice hand rubbed Tru Oil finish. It feels like it has been a long journey with this rifle but well worth the wait. Now its time to start on load development for this fine rifle.

Thanks Mike!

Springfield Armory XD-45 Compact

2007-04-03T14:33:00.000-04:00

(Click Photos To Enlarge)

I have always been fond of metal and wood on my firearms but polymer has its place among my collection too. I have heard nothing but good reviews on the new Springfield XD-45's and wanted to try one out. When I got my hands around the pistol grip, I knew right then I was leaving the local shop with it. It feels much better than the Glock model 30 I had. The XD-45 has a thinner, more comfortable grip, better pointability, and way better trigger. Matter of fact the Springfield XD has just as good a trigger as my Glock model 30 did with the compitition trigger installed. The Springfield Armory XD's started life back in 2000 as the HS2000 . Made in Croatia, these polymer framed pistols have many features and is a definate upgrade to the Glock design in my opinion.

Like the Glock, there is no need for tools to fieldstrip. Fieldstripping and assembly is quick and easy due to the takedown latch.
(Takedown Latch)

Some of the other features of the Sprinfield Armory XD-45

(Tactical/Visual Loaded Chamber Indicator)

(Tactical/Visual Striker Status Indicator)

Ultra Safety Assurance (U.S.A.) Trigger

(Grip Safety)

(Springfield XD-45 with 13+1 magazine)

The new XD-45's also come supplied with an extra stainless magazine( one 10+1 and one 13+1), holster, magazine pouch, clip loader, lock, and cleaning brush.

Specs from the Springfield Armory website:

CALIBER: 45 ACP

MAGAZINES: 1-10 round compact, 1-13 round with XD gear grip extension

BARREL: 4.04 inch, steel, melonite, fully supported ramp

SIGHTS: Dovetail front and rear steel 3 dot

TRIGGER PULL: 5.5-7.7 lbs.

FRAME: Black polymer

SLIDE: Forged steel, melonite finish

RECOIL SYSTEM: Dual spring with full length guide rod

LENGTH: 7.3"

HEIGHT: 5" w/compact mag-5.75 w/extended mag

WEIGHT: With empty mag 29.oz--30 oz. With extended mag

All the new XD-45's feature a Melonite finish. From what I gather it is basically the same process as Glocks Tennifer finish. A salt bath nitrate. MELONITE is a thermochemical treatment for improving surface properties of metal parts. It exhibits predictable and repeatable results in the treating of low and medium carbon steels, alloy steels, stainless and austenitic steels, tool and die steels, cast and sintered iron.

I am looking forward to getting some more trigger time and accuracy tests done with this fantastic pistol. Range reports will follow. I put 100 rounds through the pistol with zero malfunctions. Due to the improved erogonomics of the grip(over the Glock grip angle and design), the Springfield XD-45 is a natural pointer in my hand and fits me like a glove.

Pic Of The Month: April 2007

2007-04-02T15:21:00.000-04:00

This installment of Pic Of The Month features a beautiful Rossi 92 chambered in 45 Colt and is courtesy of our friend and fellow leverguns forum member Ben T. This Rossi 92 was imported through LSI and features a blued 24" octagon barrel and beautiful color case hardened receiver.

(Photo courtesy of Ben T)

Thanks for sharing the great pic Ben!

Winchester/Miroku '86 Mods/Custom Work/Stock Refinish

2007-03-09T09:32:00.000-05:00

With the rebounding hammer feature gone and with the new Browning hammer installed and sear modification, I now have a true half cock safety on this rifle. But now what to do with that ugly, unhistoricaly correct tang safety?

Fellow friend and leverguns forum member MikeD has been on a similar modification journey with his Winchester/Miroku '86 Extra Light and had the tang safety slot filled in, and tang and barrel remarked by Hunter Restorations. I really liked the way Mike's turned out. This is how Winchester/Miroku should have done the '86 and '92's to begin with. Click photos to enlarge.

(Photos of barrel and tang remarkings courtesy of MikeD)

I liked the look of Mikes '86 Extra Light so well that I also ended up sending my '86 Extra Light to Colt1849 of Hunter Restorations. I'm having the tang safety filled in and the tang and barrel remarked, and re blued. Colt1849 does outstanding work and I'm looking forward to having the work done.

The following before and after photos is of an original Winchester '86 chambered in .40-82. This beautiful restored rifle was made in 1889 and belongs to fellow friend and leverguns member Kirk. Here is a taste of Colt1849's work.

(Before and after photos courtesy of Kirk)

In the meantime while my '86 is away I have refinished the stock and forend. During the process of removing the rebounding hammer feature I chipped the stock when putting it back on the receiver. It was time to fix the chip and I also wanted the stock and forend to have more of an older Winchester color and look. I used Herters French Red stock filler and stain, and, as always, I added a hand rubbed Tru Oil finish.

This rifle is starting to come together. :-)

Winchester/Miroku '86 Mods/ Hammer Swap And Sear

2007-03-08T17:18:00.000-05:00

After removing the rebounding hammer feature, I still did not have a true half cock per say. The Winchester/Miroku hammer has a ledge or shelf, but not a full half cock notch cut in the hammer.

(Winchester/Miroku hammer without half cock notch)

With the Winchester/Miroku hammer, the trigger could still be pulled with some effort in the half cock position. Now it takes a good amount of pressure to pull the trigger, but nevertheless it will slip off the ledge when enough pressure is applied. I ended up ordering a Browning '86 hammer to replace the Winchester/Miroku hammer. The Browning hammer has the half cock safety notch and doesn't have the ugly cut out on the side of the hammer to accommodate Miroku's tang safety, and it just looks better IMO.

(Browning hammer/Winchester hammer)

(Browning hammer showing the half cock notch)

The Winchester/Miroku sear was to thick to fit the new Browning hammer and was not fully slipping into the half cock notch. This allowed the trigger to still be pulled in the half cock position. A little file time later on the Winchester sear, and I now have a true half cock safety. The sear now slips in and stays in like it should.

(Before and after the hammer swap and sear modification)

Winchester/Miroku '86 Mods/Rebounding Hammer Fix

2007-03-06T17:00:00.000-05:00

Since my Winchester/Miroku 1886 Extra Light arrived, I have have been busy with a few modifications. The Winchester/Miroku '86 Extra Light is a strong fine quality firearm ,but it had all the modern laywer induced safty crap on it such as firearms do these days. First the Winchester/Miroku '86 had the rebounding hammer, which resulted in a terrible trigger pull, and in my case, misfires due to light primer strikes. First thing I knew was, the rebounding hammer feature had to go. From the help of an article by SAAJim on Winchester/Miroku 1892 Hammer And Trigger Modifications I found that this info and easy fix can be applied to the Miroku 86 as well.

STEP ONE:Remove the upper and lower tang screws and pull buttstock off. The upper tang screw goes all the way through and screws in the bottom tang. The lower tang screw is a wood screw.
With the buttstock removed you can see the Hammer Strut and mainspring. The culprit is the lower leg of the Hammer Strut pushing against the the hammer causing it to rebound or bounce back.
STEP TWO:With the action closed pull hammer to rear and remove the receiver (hammer) screw. You may want to captivate the mainspring before removing the receiver (hammer) screw. This coil mainspring is strong and may fly to the next room if not held in place. You can use a paper clip or similar item to hold the mainspring in place.
STEP THREE:After removing the receiver (hammer) screw, open the lever and pull the lower tang straight back out of the receiver. At this time the hammer will drop out as well. Pictured below is the hammer and lower tang assembly.

Take the mainspring off the hammer strut.(Be careful, as this spring is strong and under tension)

STEP FOUR: MODIFYING THE HAMMER STRUT:You want to cut off part of the lower leg of the hammer strut so it doesn’t touch the hammer when the hammer is all the way down. I cut it off to approximately here and rounded off and polished the lower leg to remove any sharp edges where I cut it. The top leg of the hammer strut was already polished from the factory so I left it be. At this point the rebounding feature is GONE!

As far as the mainspring goes I chose to cut a few coils off to lighten it some. If you do this it is best to go slow and have a replacement spring handy just in case. I cut three coils off the mainspring but did so in two different tear downs and it works great with no light primer strikes. Again if you elect to do this it is best to go slow.

STEP FIVE: REASSEMBLY: An easy way to captivate the mainspring for reasembly is to install the hammer in lower tang out side the receiver then insert the reciever (hammer) screw into lower tang, then allow the hammer to fall as far forward as possible and insert the spring and guide into the lower tang.Pull the hammer back compressing the spring. Once the mainspring is captivated pull out the Reciever screw out of lower tang.( thanks for the tip Griff!) Also I found it easier to look at the end or back of the receiver when putting the hammer and lower tang back in to help line up with the carrier. I used a punch to help line up the hammer, carrier, and inserted the receiver (hammer) screw. This modification helped in smoothing the action, and lightening the trigger pull.

Heres the finished product after removing the rebounding hammer feature.

Fieldstripping The Winchester/Miroku 1886

2007-03-06T15:47:00.000-05:00

The following is not new information, but I have found little info with pictures as far as fieldstripping the Winchester/Miroku 1886. I thought it might be helpful to those who own these fine leveractions to have such....Click on images to enlarge.

STEP ONE: Remove the upper and lower tang screws and pull buttstock straight off the rear of the receiver. The upper tang screw goes all the way through and screws in the bottom tang. The lower tang screw is a wood screw.

STEP TWO:With the action closed pull the hammer to rear and remove the receiver (hammer) screw. You want to captivate the mainspring before removing the receiver (hammer) screw. This coil mainspring is strong and may fly to the next room if not held in place. You can use a paper clip or similar item to hold the mainspring in place.

STEP THREE: After removing the receiver (hammer) screw, open the lever and pull the lower tang straight back out of the receiver. At this time the hammer will drop out as well.

Pictured below is the hammer and lower tang assembly. The trigger assembly was not taken apart but it consists of the Trigger, Sear, Trigger Spring and the Pivot (Trigger) Pin.

Action Disassembly

STEP ONE: Remove the Spring Cover Screw from the right hand side of the receiver.

(SPRING COVER ASSEMBLY)

STEP TWO: Unscrew the carrier stop screw and remove the carrier stop from underneath the upper tang.

STEP THREE: With the action part way open, unscrew the locking bolt stop pin screw from the left locking bolt. This will allow the locking bolt pin to be pushed out of the lever and locking bolts from right to left. Now pull out both locking bolts from bottom of receiver.

If you have trouble pulling the right locking bolt out of the bottom of the receiver, move the cartridge guide up or down, whichever is necessary, to allow the locking bolt to be pulled out.

STEP FOUR: Lower the finger lever and slide the Breech Bolt out of the receiver far enough to see the lever and Breech Bolt Pin. Use a punch to drift out the Breech Bolt Pin out of the Breechbolt.

After removing the Breech Bolt Pin, pull lever out of the bottom of the Breechbolt and slide the Breechbolt out of the receiver.

Be careful when pulling out the Breechbolt as the Ejector, Ejector Spring, and Ejector Collar is now loose and can fall out the front of the Breechbolt. Once the Breechbolt is out of the receiver remove the Ejector, Ejector spring, and Ejector Collar out the front of the Breechbolt.

(BREECHBOLT ASSEMBLY)

The firing pin is of the inertia type and can be removed by using a punch to drift out the Extractor pin. Once the Extractor pin and Extractor are removed the inertia firing pin can be pulled out of the rear of the breechbolt.

STEP FIVE: Slide the Lever, Carrier Hook and Carrier out the back of the receiver. Notice how these parts go together for reassembly. The Carrier Hook connects the Lever And Carrier by the lower hole in the lever and (rides in the middle of the Carrier) a channel cut out of the Carrier.

I didn’t take the rifle down any further, but if need be you can remove the Cartridge Guide and Cartridge Stop from the receiver.

To remove the cartridge guide simply unscrew the cartridge guide screw from the right side of the receiver and remove the Cartridge Guide from inside the right hand side of the Receiver.

To remove the Cartridge Stop, unscrew the Cartridge Stop Screw from the left side of the receiver.

The Cartridge Stop is highlighted in the picture below.

Now to get all these parts back in the ’86!
(Click to enlarge)

REASSEMBLY

Reassemble in the reverse order.

To get the Lever, Carrier Hook, and Carrier to stay together for reassembly it is much easier to use a rubber band to hold these parts together. If not, you can become frustrated in short order.

STEP ONE: Slide the Breechbolt assembly partway into the receiver. Slide the Carrier, Carrier Hook, and Lever into the rear of the receiver.

Lineup the Lever and Breechbolt and insert the Breechbolt Pin into the Breech Bolt. You will need to make sure the firing pin, and Ejector is both pushed in far enough into the bolt, and that the lever is lined up at the same time so the Breechbolt Pin can be pushed into the Breechbolt. Fun isn’t it? This is just about the time you wish you had a third hand, but in no time you will have these lined up and the Breechbolt Pin inserted.

(Lever and Breechbolt pin hole lined up and Breechbolt Pin inserted)

Slide the Breechbolt, Lever, and Carrier on in the receiver. Once you get these parts into the receiver far enough discard the rubber band. Now on to the Locking Bolts.

STEP TWO: Insert the Locking Bolts in from the bottom of the receiver and install the Locking Bolt Stop Pin and screw. Again if you have problems inserting the right Locking Bolt, move the Cartridge Guide up or down whichever is necessary to allow the right Locking Bolt to go up into the receiver. The right Locking Bolt has a channel or groove cut into it to move the Cartridge Guide up and down while the action is cycled.

STEP THREE: Install the Spring Cover Assembly.

STEP FOUR: Install the Carrier Stop and Carrier Stop Screw to the underside of the Upper Tang

STEP FIVE: Install the Hammer and Lower Tang Assembly back in the rear of the receiver. Again this is somewhat of a juggling act and a third hand could come in handy at this point. You need to keep the Lower Tang pressed in while making sure the Trigger is pulled back while aligning the holes in the Hammer and Carrier. Use a punch to help align the parts.

When you get the Receiver Screw pushed halfway in take a punch and align the carrier so the Receiver Screw can be pushed on in and screwed in the Receiver. If you removed the Mainspring during this process it needs to be captivated. An easy way to captivate the Mainspring for reassembly is to install the hammer in the Lower Tang outside the Receiver, then insert the Receiver (Hammer) Screw into the Lower Tang, then allow the Hammer to fall as far forward as possible and insert the Mainspring and Hammer Strut in the Lower Tang. Pull the Hammer back compressing the Mainspring. Once the Mainspring is captivated, pull the Receiver (Hammer) Screw out of the Lower Tang. (Thanks for the tip Griff!)

STEP SIX: Install the Buttstock.

Pic Of The Month: March 2007

2007-03-01T15:18:00.000-05:00

This edition of Pic Of The Month features a Winchester model 1894 chambered in 38-55. This ole gal was made in 1909.

(Photo courtesy of Badbrass)

Thanks for sharing Paul!

Pic Of The Month: Feb 2007

2007-02-01T14:28:00.000-05:00

This edition of Pic Of The Month is courtesy of friend and fellow leverguns forum member, TxPete and features a beautiful Rossi 92 imported through Navy Arms. The color case hardening on the reciever is just beautiful. This fine carbine is chambered in 44 W.C.F.

(Photos courtesy of Pete T)

Thanks for sharing Pete!

A new year of Reload'n And Levergun'n

2007-01-11T14:00:00.000-05:00

Wow! A year, and over six thousand views later, another year is over. I'm looking forward to what this new year brings and hope if you have any comments, suggestions, or would like to share a pic of your favorite leveraction rifle for Pic Of The Month, you will do so. I doesnt matter if they are Winchesters, Marlins, Savages, etc. If you would like to have them posted for Pic Of The Month, send them to reloadingandlevergunning@yahoo Thanks for all of your support for this site. Its appreciated!....Steve.

U.S. Repeating Arms 1886 Extra Light/Lyman 66WB

2006-12-09T23:03:00.000-05:00

I have been lusting after an 1886 chambered in 45/70 Government for quite some time but an original Winnie 86 was definitely out of my price range. I had handled and shot a friends Miroku made deluxe 86 back in July and have wanted one in a bad way ever since. For a long while I wanted nothing to do with the jap made Winchesters for the simple fact they are no more a Winchester than what my Rossi 92's are in my opinion. But the Winchesters made at the Miroku plant in Japan are a fine quality reproduction all the way. When I got a chance to feel and shoot one it was all over but the wanting. The U.S. Repeating Arms 1886 Extra Lights had a limited run in 2001 of 3500 grade I, and 1000 grade II. I run across a grade I Extra Light and jumped at the chance to get it.

Like its little brother (the model 1892), the model 1886 has two locking lugs that come up through the bolt that makes for a strong tight lockup. The modern Winchester and Browning 86's are the strongest leveractions out there. A fellow forum member of Paco Kelly's leverguns summed it up when he desribed the 1892's and 1886's as perfection, and perfections template. It cant be described any better for these two fine John Moses Browning leveraction designs in my opinion.

The '86 Extra Light chambered in 45/70 Government weighs in at 7 1/4 lbs and features a beautiful deep blued finish,

22 inch tapered round barrel with a one in 22 inch twist rate, buckhorn rear and an ivory bead front site.

The '86 Extra Light also has a half tube magazine for a 4+1 capacity, and a straight grip walnut stock. Originally this '86 had a shotgun style buttstock but was replaced with a cresent style. I prefer the crestent style buttstock as recoil seems to be more spread out and has a more comfortable fit to my shoulder. Plus they just right out look nice!

(For comparision: Ranch Dog TLC432-285-RF 44Mag and the RNFP-BB 405 grain 45/70)

LYMAN 66WB:

The 86 reciever was drilled and tapped from the factory so it was between the Williams FP (Fool Proof) or the Lyman 66WB reciever peep sight.

I have the Williams FP on one of my Rossi 92's and it is a great reciever peep site but for this fine rifle I opted for the Lyman 66WB. I got it for a good price (Thanks Ben T!) and just like the overall looks of it. Tools are not needed for adjusting elevation and windage with the target knobs plus I really like the quick disconnect feature this sight offers.

Pic Of The Month:December 2006

2006-12-03T20:02:00.000-05:00

This pic of the month features an old Winchester 92 chambered for the grand ole 44 W.C.F. cartridge(44-40). This old 92 dates back to around 1914. What a great pic of a nice ole levergun to bring in the holidays. Thanks for sharing Kirk!

(click to enlarge)

(photo courtesy of Kirk)

RELATED ARTICLES

Winchester 1892: Dates Of Manufacture

The 44-40 (44 W.C.F.) For Beginners

Two Peas In A Pod:Winchester's 44 W.C.F. & Marlin/U.M.C.'s 44-40

If you have a photograph you would like to share of your favorite leveraction and would like it featured on Pic Of The Month drop me an email at reloadingandlevergunning@yahoo.com

Friends And Leverguns: November 2006

2006-11-25T20:52:00.000-05:00

I got a chance to meet Duff L Bagg, a fellow friend and Florida levergunner from the leverguns forum . Larry had come up from Florida to visit relatives and I was anxious to meet him. It was a rainy cold November day and the weather didnt cooperate with us to well but it was still a fine day for some good conversation, hot coffee , and friends and leverguns.

Larry brought an assortment of goodies with him for our shooting pleasure.I got to try out two cartridges I had never shot before. The .375 Winchester (introduced in 1978)and the .41 Reminton Magnum(introduced in 1964).

The Ruger blackhwak chambered in .41 Mag was a pleasure to shoot with the 210 grain Hornady XTP's.

It was also the first time I had shot the .375 Winchester cartridge. Pictured is a Winchester 94 chambered in .375 Winchester.

Larry also brought his Marlin 1894cb chambered in 44Mag.

(Larry's first shots out of his new Marlin Cowboy)

(Larry with my Rossi 92 chambered in 44Mag)

We also shot Larry's Ruger Blackhawk chambered in 45 colt. It was a hoot to shoot although recoil was stiff with the 300 grain cast bullet hunting loads.

Larry is a kind, generous, and funny guy and it was a pleasure meeting him. It was a fine day for friends and leverguns. Till the next time Larry.

RELATED LINKS:

ROSSI:
The Rossi 92

Fieldstripping the model 92

Exploded view of 92

MARLIN:

Marlin 1894

The story of Marlin and the levergun

Marlin resources

WINCHESTER:

Winchester levergun resources

Pic Of The Month: November 2006

2006-11-03T10:46:00.000-05:00

Featured in this installment of pic of the month is an Winchester 1886 Extra Light takedown model chambered in 45/70.
(photo courtesy of Kirk)

(click photo to enlarge)

This ole girl is a real beauty and was shipped out on a cold February day in 1902.
This Winchester 1886 Extra Light takedown model features the 22" round barrel, 1/2 mag, plain pistol grip and shotgun butt. Another thing is the excellent picture itself. Kirk takes outstanding photographs and we sure appreciate him sharing this one.

Thanks Kirk!

RELATED LINKS:

Dates of manufacture: Winchester 1886

Winchester parts

Cartridge and chamber dimensions

The 45-70 Govt

If you have a photograph you would like to share of your favorite leveraction and would like it featured on Pic Of The Month drop me an email at reloadingandlevergunning@yahoo.com

Another Fine Day For Friends And Leverguns

2006-10-08T23:15:00.000-04:00

It was a beautiful fall day here in southern Indiana, a fine day for some shooting and good conversation. A fine fall day for friends and leverguns. My good friend Dave just got himself a 44 caliber cap and ball pistol and wanted to see how it handled and shot. Daves dad also brought a very special treat with him but more on that in a bit.

The revolver is an italian replica of a 1858 Remignton. Although historically incorrect, this cap and ball pistol is an Buffalo model with the 12 inch blued barrel and features the brass frame with adjustable rear sights, and case color hardened hammer. It weighs in at 2 pounds 10 ounces. This was actually the first cap and ball pistol I had shot and although I favor the looks of the 1860 Army better this pistol had a very nice feel to it.

(David shooting his sons pistol)

(Dave shooting his cap and ball pistol for the first time)
David also brought his 45 auto to add to the fun. Heres a pict of him with brass in the air.

I was very excited when David got out his old Winnie 73. The old girl is 124 years old and is a real beauty. This Winchester 1873 chambered in 44-40 was made in 1882 and was a right out pleasure to shoot, feel, and hold. If only this ole girl could talk.

(David with his one hundred and twenty four year old Winchester )

In the last installment of Friends and Leverguns I had the pleasure of handling and shooting a Uberti model 66 toggle link replica in my hands but it doesnt compare to the real thing. Boys, it just dont get much better than this. To have an old classic in your hands is a real treat.
The Rifle held steady with the 24" octagon barrel

The Winchester 1873 had a production life of over 50 years with more than 700,000 made, the rifle was made in .32-20 WCF, .38-40 WCF and .44-40 WCF calibers. There were also three basic models. The rifle, carbine, and musket.

This old Winchester sports the original front and rear iron sights.
The whole rifle is just plum brown with its age and patina.

(Dave shooting the 73)

It sure was a great day with some good conversation, friends, and leverguns.
(Thanks David for bringing such a fine piece of history with you, and I'm looking foward to our next get together....Steve.)

Winchester 1873 Info

Toggle Link Action

Winchester resources

1873 Uberti Winchester....Today

Pic Of The Month: October 2006

2006-09-30T21:27:00.000-04:00

This installment of photo of the month features a custom Marlin 1895GS. (Photo courtesy of 45-70)

This custom Marlin features a Dave Clay loop lever, full action tune with 2-1/2 lb. trigger, Leupold 4X Compact, original stock/forearm, with removed checkering, slimmed forend and buttstock, fluted comb, epoxy glass-bedded, Sim's Limbsaver butt pad, adjusted LOP. The stock also features a hand-rubbed pure Hope's tung oil finish, wood-burned Acacia Thorn motif to commemorate 45-70's two great hunts in Africa with his rifle.

Thanks 45-70!

If you have a photograph you would like to share of your favorite leveraction and would like it featured on photo of the month drop me an email at reloadingandlevergunning@yahoo.com

Expansion testing the Ranch Dog TLC432-285-RF Part II

2006-09-26T01:53:00.000-04:00

These are what the Ranch Dog TLC432-285 looked like after being recovered from a log after sailing through five jugs of water. The recovered bullets average weight was 225 grains with a completely different nose profile than the ones recovered from the bags of fertilizer.

Expansion testing the Ranch Dog TLC432-285-RF/C358-180-RF Part 1

2006-09-23T04:56:00.000-04:00

I have been casting and loading up the Ranch Dog TLC432-285-RF for my Rossi 92 chambered in 44Mag and also the C358-180-RF for my other Rossi chambered in 357Mag. Im using straight air cooled WW but the only thing I have shot with them is mainly paper for accuracy testing besides a few plastic water filled jugs and my old digital camera. Click here for video.
With the possibility of being able to hunt with my Rossi next year here in Indiana I wanted to see how these expand and hold up with air cooled wheel weights. I used two old bags of fertilizer I had lying around and they went through one bag and just dimpled the other.

The Ranch Dog TLC432-285 weighs around 276 grains without the check and lube and the average velocity is 1470. The recovered cast bullets weight on average was 204 grains and only one recovered had the gas check still attatched on it.

For this test the recovered Ranch Dog cast bullets shed more weight than the C358-180-RF. I think due to the bag being full and more compacted and I tested the 44's first. After five rounds of these flat faced 44's there was plenty of fertilizer that had been turned into dust(OH YEA!). The bag wasnt as full by the time I sent the C358-180-RF sailing through it thus less shearing and weight loss.

The C358-180-RF weighs around 182 grains lubed with Felix lube and the recovered cast bullets weighed on average of 165 grains.
Here is a couple still shots from the video I took of me shooting the jugs filled with water and my old digital camera that laid down on me. I got the camera in the end though.

I will be testing different media as time allows for these cast bullets and will report the results.

A Walk In The Woods With Maggie

2006-09-13T17:56:00.000-04:00

Had a chance to get out in the woods with Maggie and take some picts. The cartridges are my home cast Lee C358-180-RF with a charge of WC820(n). Should be a real flat faced thumper for sure. The Rossi 92 carbine is chambered in 357 Magnum.

Old Bullitts Mill/Spring Mill State Park

2006-09-11T19:10:00.000-04:00

Spent time with family over the weekend and went to Spring Mill State Park located in Mitchell Indiana. I have enjoyed going to Spring Mill Park since being a kid and have some fond memories there from Frost family reunions to exploring the pioneer village and nearby caves. Heres some picts I took of the working grist mill/mueseum, cabins,old ammo, muzzleloaders and such. The grist mill is powered by the water from nearby Hammer cave.

The park is in the heart of Indiana's karst country, an area characterized by caves, sinkholes, disappearing rivers and massive limestone deposits.

(Click pics to enlarge)

Limestone has played an important part in construction and commerce in Indiana. In 1817, Bullitt's Mill (later Hamer's Mill) was constructed of locally quarried blocks of the St. Louis Limestone. It is ironic that this stone was used, for the world-famous Hoosier building stone, the Salem Limestone, is in the park and later was quarried there. The restored mill is now the centerpiece of the pioneer village at Spring Mill State Park near Mitchell.
The mill was immediately successful, and soon a thriving village developed and flourished. After construction of the Ohio and Mississippi Railroad, which bypassed the settlement, the village gradually declined. Abandoned in the 1880's, it became the property of the Lehigh Cement Co., which gave the site to form part of Spring Mill State Park.

Got to listen to some fine music as well. This is my dad and my cousin Carrolls husband Mark playing the banjo.(Thanks for bringin that banjo Mark!)

Some items located in the grist mill.

Spring Mill State Park also has the Virgil "Gus" Grissom memorial and houses the Gemini "Molly Brown" spacecraft.

A memorial to Gus Grissom, one of the original 7 Mercury astronauts and second man in space. Grissom was killed in an Apollo 1 fire on the landing pad, along with Roger Chaffey and Ed White practicing for their next mission.

On the side of Grissom's "Molly Brown" Gemini spacecraft.

The cabin for the pilot in the "Molly Brown" Gemini spacecraft. Virgil "Gus" Grissom flew this into space

No trip to Spring Mill would be complete without a hike to Donaldson cave.

Donaldson Cave, one of at least three caves within the park, is where the northern blind cave fish was discovered, a now endangered species that has no eyes. Spring Mill's historic impact is matched by the heritage of nature that the park preserves.

Containing some virgin timber, the area is pockmarked by sinkholes, and nine named caves lie within the park. These features were formed, and are being modified by rainwater percolating through the soil down into the underlying limestone. The topography was formed during the past few million years, but the bedrock originated in seas that covered Indiana more than 300 million years ago.

Donaldson Cave system and Hamer Cave are the major caves in the park, and both were intimately related to the life of the early residents. Both provided water to power mills; saltpeter for gunpowder was taken from Donaldson; and villagers prepared meat and cooled perishable foods in both.

Related Websites: http://www.stateparks.com/spring_mill.html

http://www.showcaves.com/english/usa/showcaves/SpringMill.html

http://www.indianatraveler.com/state_parks/spring_mill.htm

Contact Information:

Spring Mill State Park
Box 376Mitchell, IN 47446
812-849-4129

Sign of the week

2006-09-04T19:37:00.000-04:00

Thanks Dan!

(click to enlarge)

Pic Of The Month: Sept 2006

2006-08-31T18:47:00.000-04:00

This is the first installment of pic of the month. I ran across this excellent pic over on the leverguns forum posted by friend of the forum Tycer .

The pict shows another friend of the forum Yancy shooting Tycers new Winchester Extra Light 1886 chambered in 45-70. Notice the follow through and Yancy still focused on the target. Also notice the brass in the air and the smoke coming out of the top of receiver. Thanks Tycer!

(Click Pic To Enlarge)

(Photo courtesy of Tycer Lewis)

If any of you have a levergun pict you would like to share for picture of the month drop me an email at steveb3006@yahoo.com

Sign Of The Week

2006-08-20T15:03:00.000-04:00

I've been thinking of adding a new installment called sign of the week. A friend from the leverguns forum posted this and I thought this was a good a pict as any to begin the sign of the week series.

(U.S.M.C. Photo Booth)

Range Report: Ranch Dog TLC432-285-RF

2006-08-15T11:27:00.000-04:00

I finally got to send some of those Ranch Dog TLC432-285-RF out of the end of the barrel on my Rossi 92.

Its been a long journey as some of you already know and now its time to reap the benefits of that long wait. Again this isn't the true Ranch Dog per say as this has the bigger meplat and longer length of the original Ranch Dog TLC432-285-RF but from the range report and accuracy tests it shoots great just the same. This cast bullet weighs right at 282 grains with the Lee liquid alox and gas check with straight air cooled wheel weights of approx 12 Brinnel hardness. Im using a charge of 17.0 grains of WC820(n) to start with. (Again this load is safe in MY rifle and you should always start with a starting charge and work your way up!

For the most part I have dealt with terrible leading and accuracy in this rifle since beginning to casting my own due to the oversize bore of .432 and undersized cast bullets. I had an accurate load with Hodgdons HP38 but wasn't worth the lead I had to clean out from the .429 diameter bullet lobing down the barrel, well not anymore. I finally got this custom bullet mold and I got zero leading with this correct size(.432) cast bullet. I lucked out from the start with a good consistent and accurate load. Heres the chrony and accuracy results from 50 yards.

(My kids got to the target before I did as you can tell. One a pokin and the other a scriblin)

(Click to enlarge and read text)

I entered the data from the chrony into Robs Reloading Organizer to view in a graph format. You can see this is an accurate and consistent load. Also this is the first load I have tried with this powder and cast bullet combination. I lucked out on this one.

Related links: Ranch Dog's Bullet Casting

Handloading Time: Ranch Dog TLC432-285

2006-08-15T00:19:00.000-04:00

After that last casting session I was ready to get some of these Ranch Dog TLC432-285 (modified version) loaded up and see how they shoot. These aren't the true Ranch Dog bullets but that's another story altogether and some of you know just how long of a story it is.

After applying the Lee liquid alox and running them through the Lee sizing die to seat the gas checks it was time to lube them once more before moving on over to the Lee Classic turrent press.

I used a hair dryer on the Lee liquid alox because I needed to have these lubed and loaded in the same day. The instructions for Lee liquid alox calls for sitting the bullets on wax paper after lubing to dry overnight and I didn't have that much time.

(Speed drying Lee liquid alox with hair dryer)
The hair dryer speed drying method is quit simple. After you lube the bullets in a bowl with the Lee liquid alox put the hair dryer to them for a minute or so, swirl them around some more in the bowl and hit them again with the hair dryer and add additional Lee liquid alox if necessary. In less than ten minutes I was in front of the turrent press and ready to load some up.

The Ranch Dog TLC432-285-RF weighs right at 282 grains with the Lee liquid alox and gas check. I used a starting charge of 17.0 grains of surplus WC820(n) to start out with.(Remember always use starting loads then if safe work your way up, these loads are safe in MY gun and yours may differ) As usual the Lee Classic turrent press was a pleasure to use and the Lee Pro Autodisk powder measure was throwing very consistent charges of the WC820(n) ball powder. In short this thing Rock-N-Rolls!

(My reloading buddy(dad) watching me load some up)
Now on to the range report!

Related Links: Ranch Dog's Bullet Casting

Casting Time: Ranch Dog TLC432-285-RF

2006-08-11T20:57:00.000-04:00

I got some free time to cast up a few Ranch Dog TLC432-285-RF (the modified version anyway) for My Rossi 92 and I really like the big O pile of bullets the Lee six cavity mould leaves behind.

The cast bullets are weighing right at 282 grains with the Lee liquid alox and gascheck.

(Pictured are the TLC 432-285-RF after being tumble lubed and ran through the Lee sizing die to seat the gas checks. Another coat of Lee liquid alox will be applied before loading.)

Related Links: Ranch Dog's Bullet Casting

A Day For Friends And Leverguns

2006-07-10T23:40:00.000-04:00

It was a beautiful day here in southern Indiana, a fine day for friends and leverguns.

I've been wanting my friend Terry to bring his Winchester model 86 chambered in 45/70 over, so him and a friend stopped by today for some shooting and good conversation.
(click on picts to enlarge)

Terry's Winchester 86 is one of the special runs made in the Miruko plant with the heavy octagon barrel, gold inlay and scroll work. I have been wanting an 86 myself for quite some time and was anxious to see this rifle and was not dissapointed.

The recoil on this fine levergun was very tolerable and was a treat to shoot!

The muzzle on the Winnie 86 compared to a Marlin 30/30 muzzle

I met a fine fellow named Burton who brought his Uberti model 66 chambered in 45 Colt.

Burton had never shot this levergun before and I got the pleasure to see the look on his face the first time he pulled the trigger.

The toggle link action was as slick as snot and was a pleasure to shoot. I had never shot a model 1866 before and was impressed with the way his rifle felt and handled.

Terry also brought his Blackhawk which is always a treat.

I saw an old friend and made a new one. It was a fine day indeed for friends and leverguns.
Thanks Terry and Burton!

God Bless America

2006-07-02T17:36:00.000-04:00

As we enjoy our freedom this holiday weekend in this great country with family and friends lets all remember our troops fighting for this great country and our freedom at home and abroad. God bless America and our troops!!!

Pictured is my Rossi 92 chambered in 44Mag (click to enlarge)

Paco Kelly's Acu'rzr/Marlin Papoose Part II

2006-06-26T19:21:00.000-04:00

For testing Paco Kelly's Acu'rzr I used three different brands of .22 long rifle ammo in my Marlin Papoose. Remington Subsonic, American Eagle, and PMC Sidewinder.

There are good articles that have already been published by Jeff Quinn on this great little tool so I will just go over the basics. For more detailed information about and how how to use this high quality tool and many more products you can visit Gunblast.com the online gun magazine.

The Acu'rzr I will be using is the deluxe model with all three forming rods. The Acu'rzr is a tool for resizing, and reforming the noses of .22 rimfire ammo and is made by a fine gentleman and friend named Paco Kelly of Tuscon Arizona. The tool body is made from high quality copper rod and has three forming rods which are used to resize and reform the nose of the bullet. There are two ends to the tool body with a different size on each end. The one I have is .223 diameter on one end of the tool and .224 on the other, you can also have one custom made to your chamber size. Not only does this tool resize and reform the nose of .22 caliber rimfire ammo but it makes the ammo more accurate!

Pictured is the acu'rzr with all three forming rods with reformed and accurized ammo.

Of the three forming rods one makes a cupped point which used for accuracy and cuts clean holes in paper targets. The second forming rod is for the nasti nose, a cupped deep hollow point that dumps all it's energy into the target. The third rod is for the scorp'n nose, which is a post inside the cupped point.

Pictured are the PMC sidewinders, one with the standard factory nose and the others reformed using the Acu'rzr.

You can see the difference between the standard factory American Eagle hollow point and the NastiNose. BIG difference!

I first tried resizing the American Eagle ammo in the .224 diameter end of the tool and the results where not that great and they actually worked better without resizing . I had problems with the American Eagle feeding and cycling as well. Once I started resizing the ammo to .223 diameter my groups tightened considerably! All shots were taken at 30 Yards.

For the test I used the cupped nose and as you can see the clean cut holes in the paper and the tightened groups.The bottom line is this thing works! This tool has definatly made my Marlin Papoose a tighter shooting rifle.

For more information on this great little tool and how to order Paco Kelly's Acu'rzr click order link. Order

Related Articles:
Paco Kelly's Acu'rzr And NastNose RimFire Bullet Tool

The "Baby Scorp'n" Rimfire Bullet Tool

Marlin Papoose/Paco's Acu'rzr I

2006-06-25T22:43:00.000-04:00

I love my leverguns but my little Marlin Papoose has not been shot in months so I decided to change all that. I have been wanting to test some ammo reformed with Paco's Acu'rzr and thought I would shoot two birds with one stone (pun intended). The Marlin 70PSS or "Papoose" is a lightweight (weighing in at 3.25 lbs) takedown dandy. Its great for hiking, camping, canoeing (with it's floatable condura case) and just about anywhere you would want to take a lightweight compact .22 caliber rifle.

(As pictured on the Marlin website )

The papoose has accompanied me on many canoeing and camping trips and is very quick and easy to takedown and transport. When taken down it easily fits under the car seat, canoe seat, backpack or just about anywhere. It's features include a fiberglass-filled black polycarbonate stock, 16.5 inch stainless barrel,

7 shot nickel plated clip magazine.

The sights consist of an adjustable open folding rear, ramp front sight with high visibility orange post, with a Wide-Scan hood.

The receiver is also grooved for mounting a scope if desired.

I almost forgot how much fun this compact rifle was and I'm sure it will be going on my next camping trip! For a lightweight, compact, camping, hiking, canoeing, survival, takedown semi-auto rifle they are hard to beat.

Now to test some reformed .22 ammo using the Paco Kelly's Acu'rzr to see just how this little rifle will do! On to part two.

Lee Classic Turrent Press

2006-06-19T00:17:00.000-04:00

I have been a satisfied customer of Lee reloading equipment since I started handloading a couple years ago. The standard Lee turrent press I have has served me well and will continue to do so and has cranked out a lot of high quality ammo for me, but when I saw the new cast iron classic turrent press advertised I knew I had to have one. Lee Precision has really upped the ante with this one.

There are several noticeable differences between the standard and the classic Lee turrent press's. First the base of the new classic turrent press is of course made of heavy cast iron whereas the base on the standard turrent press is a light die cast alloy. Both press's feature compound leverage but the classic turrent press has a much more robust linkage than its counterpart and is silky smooth.

The linkage on the standard turrent press is stamped.

The linkage on the new classic turrent press is solid steel and plated in dichromate, an extremely corrosion resistant coating. The handle can be adjusted for different angle and length.

The ram on the new classic turrent is larger as well with an outside diameter of 1.125" and drilled all the way through. On the bottom of the ram is a nipple to attach a PVC tube to allow primers to drop in a trash basket or container.

The standard turrent press has a built in primer catcher but primers dropping right in a trash basket from a drop tube is a much better setup.The new Lee turrent press's also utilize a new LPS (Lever Prime System) priming system. The new lever prime system automates the primer arm function and directs the spent primers to the built in primer catcher, and allows the installation of the Lee Safety Prime. As far as the new priming system I have no experience with it as I don't like priming my cartridges on any press. I use the Lee autoprime exclusively for priming all my cartridges and I think handpriming using the autoprime has a much better feel.As far as the new Lee classic turrent press it has more cartridge clearance, is strong, silky smooth, and most of all very affordable for a cast iron turrent press. For $80.00 through www.midwayusa.com it can not be beat.

For more detailed information on this great press click here

Lee Six Cavity/Cam to mold block fix

2006-05-22T23:07:00.000-04:00

Over the weekend I got around to drilling and tapping the mold block on my Lee 358-158-RF six cavity mold. I installed a setscrew for the cam to push against instead of the cam pushing against the aluminum mold block.

The Lee six cavity molds are good quality aluminum molds with steel bushings and alignment pins that feature a cam operated sprue plate.

The sprue plate is hard anodized and held down with wave washers at each end but the cam itself is steel.

The problem with the steel cam is it will in time begin to erode or cause a depression in the aluminum mold block. You can stop this by drilling and taping the block and installing a simple steel setscrew or steel pin for the cam to push against.

I found this fix over at the cast boolit forum in the group buy section and thought I would give it a try and glad I did. Thanks Buckshot!

Getting the lead out...Out of the pot and into the mold that is.

Lee C358-180-RF

2006-05-09T08:20:00.000-04:00

While waiting on the custom RanchDog TLC432-285-RF for my stainless Rossi 92 I have been experimenting with my new EMF Hartford Rossi 92. This little carbine is just awesome and I love it! I have started using Felix lube with the Lee 358-158-RF using different loads of WC820(n) and Hodgdons HP38. Using 12.8 gr of the WC820(n) I have found that using air cooled cast bullets im getting zero leading and great accuracy.

I also got in on yet another group buy over at the cast boolit forum for this little carbine. This is the Lee C358-180-RF and looks to be a real flat faced gas checked thumper! It also has a 1/10 shorter nose to facilitate feeding.

Photo courtesty Glenn Larson (click on image to enlarge)

Heres a link to a good article about the Lee C358-180-RF and the Rossi 92.

Rossi Model 92 357 Mag Hog Rifle

Maggie Mae

2006-04-28T21:27:00.000-04:00

I've been playing around with different powder charges of WC820(n) and the Lee 358-158-RF air cooled cast bullet. These are the first two groups out of my new EMF Rossi 92. One at 25 yards and the other at 50 yards. I have been tossing around the idea of even naming this levergun and one name keeps coming back in my mind. Maggie Mae, or Maggie for short. The wife thinks im silly but thats o.k. So Maggie Mae it is!

EMF Hartford 92

2006-04-26T22:30:00.000-04:00

Its no secret I like the Rossi 92's as they are fine strong leveractions. The only Rossi's I have had are the ones imported through Legacy Sports International (LSI) which does not have as nice metal to wood fit and have that black finish on the stock and forend LSI puts on them. It was obvious immediately that the ones imported through EMF are different.

The wood to metal fit was great as it has a nice color case hardened finish. Also the 92 has some nice touches that the ones from LSI do not have like the checkered or knurled hammer and nicer front and rear sights. This 92 is chambered in 357 Magnum and features a 20" round blued barrel and color case hardened receiver, lever, hammer, and trigger.I will let the picts speak for themselves. I cant wait to shoot it!

2006-04-19T09:50:00.000-04:00

I ordered my new Rossi 92 from EMF yesterday and cant wait till it arrives. I have been wanting a 357 Mag carbine of my own for a while and could wait no longer, and I'm glad I didn't. I ordered the last one chambered in 357Mag that EMF had similar to the one pictured above. I have heard rumors about EMF having the safeties on top of the bolt like LSI puts on them and sure enough that was confirmed with my order. I was told the next shipment in will have the bolt safeties on them, Im glad I ordered when I did! It has the 20" round barrel with the case hardened reciever. Cant wait to get my hands on it!

Links Added

2006-04-09T23:11:00.000-04:00

I have added two links to the links section. One is the Cast Bullets Notes Page from the LASC site.If you want to know info on cast bullets from common cast bullet alloys, common bullet metal melting temps, to approximate "Maximum" chamber pressure for lead alloys this is THE site to get the info!!! Also another link that is being added is the Cast Bullet Articles Of Glen E. Fryxell Glen is published extensively in Varmit Hunter, The Cast Bullet, The Sixgunner, among others. Check it out!.....Thanks Rick!

Nice Day to Break Out The Hoppes # 9

2006-04-06T00:58:00.000-04:00

Got around to trying a starting charge of HP38 with a well lubed Lee 429-200-RF with some Lee Liquid Alox to see if I could control the leading from the smaller diameter Lee-429-200-RF. There was no lube failure but still some leading right past the chamber. It was a very nice day here in Southern Indiana, a pleasant 70.o degrees so I took the 92 outside to fieldstrip it and get a good look at the chamber and give it a good cleaning with some bore cleaner I have left over from another project. I thought I would break out some good old Hoppes # 9 for cleaning the rest of the gun.

Ahhh that smell, I love it. Really looking forward to getting that custom Ranch Dog TLC432-285-RF mould to fit this .432 diameter bore but in the meantime I will continue experimenting with lighter loads and a softer bullet with this Lee 429-200-RF, and see how the leading problem works out.

Heres a link to a good article by Jim Taylor The Rossi Model 92 that includes step by step instructions for fieldstripping the 92 and how to go about slicking these fine guns up.

Rossi 92 Oversized Bore

2006-03-31T02:43:00.000-05:00

A couple weeks ago I had finally got around to shooting my first cast bullets with the Lee 429-200-RF through my Rossi 92 chambered in 44 Magnum and had experienced some serious pleasure in doing so, but I also experienced serious leading. Im also in the process of developing a load for my dads Rossi 92 chambered in 357 Magnum using the Lee 358-158-RF with no leading whatsoever. As far as my Rossi 92 goes I thought for one it was lube failure along with unburned powder due to the charge being to light for the bullet weight. It may have been lube failure but it was something else as well. I had been needing to slug the bore on my 92 to see what the bore diameter was because when using cast bullets proper fit to the bore is essential. I had found out previously on the leverguns forum that SOME of the Rossi 92's chambered in 44 Magnum could very likely be overbored and sure enough mine was. I have several options on how to make the mold the correct size but havent made up my mind yet on what to do.

I finally made a throat cast and to my surprise it measured .432! No wonder im getting major leading using a .429 diameter cast bullet with a .432 diameater bore.

Pictures of the TLC432-285-RF courtesy of Ranch Dog. Thanks again Michael!!!

But luckily I got in on a group buy on a custom Lee six cavity mold for the 44 caliber. The Ranch Dog TLC432-285-RF which I believe will do nicely for my bore size. From the game this bullet has taken it seems to be a flat faced killer. This is a tumble lube and gas checked designed bullet and I cant wait to get my hands on this mold.

1000 visitors!!!

2006-03-30T01:04:00.000-05:00

WOW , 1000 visitors!!!. I hope all of you have enjoyed this site and keep coming back. Please feel free to leave remarks for any input, suggestions , or opinions you may have. I would like to hear from you. I appreciate the support Thank You!....Steve.

Lee 358-158-RF

2006-03-27T18:20:00.000-05:00

Im in the process of developing a load for dads Rossi 92 (see above photo) chambered in 357 Magnum and got to send a few over the Beta Master Shooting chrony today with an average velocity of 1410 fps out of the 24" barrel.

Im using the Lee 358-158-RF with a dose of WC820(n) surplus powder. Unlike my 92 there was no leading in the barrel. There was some unburned powder due to the lighter starting charge but that will be fixed tomorrow...To Be Continued

Ammo Penetration Testing

2006-03-24T10:49:00.000-05:00

I added a link to The Box'O Truth website in the links section. A very informative site all about ammo penetration testing,Its a very difficult job (Yea Right) but someone has to do it! And these guys do a great job at it. Tests are from pistols, rifles , and shotguns in everything from metal doors, locks, to ballistic resistant glass,Check them out. Thanks again Old Painless!

The BoxO'Truth

Lifetime Concealed Carry Permit Just Passed by Indiana House & Senate

2006-03-18T20:02:00.000-05:00

Lifetime Concealed Carry Permit Just Passed by Indiana House & Senate

Thanks to the tireless efforts of Jim Tomes, the Second Amendment Patriots, Senator Johnny Nugent, and Rep. Troy Woodruff, Indiana has become the first state to pass a lifetime concealed carry permit, which Governor Daniels has said he will sign. Jim suggests that we might want to call the lawmakers and thank them for carrying the ball on this one. The Capitol switchboard is 1-800-382-9467. YES!!!!!!!!

Meet, Greet, Shoot, And Eat Picts Added!!!!

2006-03-18T19:41:00.000-05:00

I added some more EXCELLENT PICTS of the 1st Annual Sixgunner.com/ Leverguns.com Meet, Greet, Shoot, And Eat Picts that I took back in Nov at the Red Brush Rifle Range in Southern Indiana. Click on the title link and check them out!

Shooting My First Handloaded Cast Bullets

2006-03-14T15:04:00.000-05:00

I have been reloading now for going on two years but only started casting my own bullets a little over a month ago. It's really a hobbie in itself, but goes hand in hand with reloading your own. A few years ago I never would have thought I would be casting my own bullets, but I didnt think I would be doing alot of things I do now. I have always been into firearms since my teens but being on the internet and a member of a couple forums and one in particular Paco Kelly's Leverguns I have met and talked to some very knowledgable and kind folks with the same interests as me. And made some good friends along the way. Anyway it all leads me to the point where I am now. Shooting my very first hanloaded cast bullets!!!

I was setting up the chronograph and the anticipation was intense to say the least. Several days ago I loaded my first cast bullets a Lee 429-200-Rn dropped from the mold right at 208 Gr. I had gotten 16lbs of surplus powder and it was time to use some of it. I started off 10% below start charge out of the Lee Modern Reloading Manual for the simple fact I dont know the quickness of this powder but followed AA#9 data as instructed. When I first pulled the trigger on my Rossi I felt just like I did when I began handloading a couple years earlier. My Fun Meter Was Pegged, and the sense of satisfaction was intense. Of course I was just happy they went bang! I knew from a fellow forum member that I probably didnt have the correct bullet powder combo due to the WC820(n) needing more chamber pressure to burn effectivly( Thanks Junior) But I had already loaded these and just couldnt help myself, and if there was any leading from the bullet not having enough lube. After I was done shooting I examined the bore and sure enough there was leading a couple inches from the muzzle and about halfway through the barrel as well. Lube failure was evident as was unburnt powder and residue from a light charge. I was told this would be the case with my bullet and powder weight combination but wanted to try anyway to give me an idea what barrel leading looks like and to give me some experience etc,etc,. Heres a pict that shows the lead deposits in the bore. Another thing is I really didnt know what leading in the bore looks like because I have always shot jacketed bullets in my pistols and rifles. Like I said this is all new to me. But you have to start somewhere.....To Be Continued.

Lee Turrent Press/ Auto Disk Pro Powder Measure

2006-03-12T07:57:00.000-05:00

Over the last month my dad and me have melted close to 400 lbs of wheel weights into ingot moulds. Cast A BUNCH!!! of bullets, and learned alot about the entire process.We now have some 350-400 lbs of ingots in our inventory waiting and ready to be cast, and hundreds of bullets ready to load up and shoot.YES!!! Seems like it has taken forever to get to this point.

I finally had a chance to load some of those Lee 429-200-RF cast bullets. I am developing this load using a surplus powder I got from Gibrass out of Owensboro KY. The powder is WC820(n) Orignal application is for the U.S. Cal. .30 Carbine Ball M1 round. This lot loads at 14gr with 110gr FMJ projectile. This is a ball powder which can be loaded using Accurate Arms #9 (AA#9) data. This is new ball powder. It is quite affordable, right at ten dollars a lb delivered to the door.

It felt good being in front of the turrent press again, seems like its been awhile. When I initially got my casting supplies I had purchased a Lee universal expanding die, which I haven't needed to use as my powder through expanding die works great for this without any shaving as the bullet is seated. Another fine piece of Lee equipment I haven't used in a while is the Lee Auto Disk Pro Powder Measure. The Pro Powder Measure screws into the top of the powder through expanding die and the drop tube fits into the end of the hollow expanding plug. The case while being expanded, pushes the expander up and this operates the powder measure through a bell crank.

This setup is absolutely a joy to use!!!. With the Lee turrent press and the Auto Disk Pro Powder Measure I can produce 200-300 cartridges an hour! I got my Lee 44 Mag dies setup for proper amount of flare, bullet seating depth, and crimp and made a couple of dummy rounds to see how they function in my Rossi 92. They functioned flawlessly! I loaded twenty rounds to see how the starting loads will do. Now just finding the time to run them through my chronograph and test them out....To Be Continued.
Heres a link to an interesting article on Testing Surplus Powder WC820(n)

Shooting Chrony
Lee Precision
Gibrass/Surplus powder

Robs Reloading Organizer/Ballistic Software

2006-03-10T16:55:00.000-05:00

There are many ballistic programs out on the market, I have used several including Lee Shooter , Point Blank which is a free program for download, I have tried several of the more expensive ones and trials like the ballistics program from Barnes Ballistic Software .Some are quite expensive while others are free. I have been using a program for over a year now named Robs Reloading Organizer. Out of the programs ive tried this one I like the best. RRO is a combination reloading data storage and ballistics program. While there are other programs out there that cost 50.00 - 100.00 and up that doesn't have the features that RRO has. I will touch on just a few of these but the robsoft website will go into much greater detail and screenshots.

Some of the features I like about this particular program are it has a simple user interface, has the ability to help you when creating a series of loads for testing new powders and bullets. RRO can even help you when testing loads for best free bore (jump to the lands) measurements.

The ballistic section of this program is able to calculate the velocity, energy, trajectory, total drop, time of flight, wind deflection, lead, MOA, and the sight adjustment up to 1000 yd. It is possible to compare up to seven different loads at the same time and save the data as CSV or an image file. The program uses the Ingalls tables for the ballistic calculations. This is identical to the G1 table which most of the bullet manufacturers use to calculate their bullets BC.

One feature I like in particular is RRO is able to communicate with my Beta Master Shooting Chrony . You can download your saved velocity information directly to the program just by connecting a cable from the chronograph to the computer. The program can handle up to 20 shot strings of any length, the program also calculates the average velocity, standard deviation, extremespread and shows the highest and lowest velocity. You can add and delete shots and the program can display a chart with all the velocities in each shot string. If you don't have one of the supported chronographs, you can use the data receiver screen to enter shot velocity information by hand. RRO has databases for your Firearms, Bullets, Powders, Primers, Ammunition, Max & trim to length. You can create loads by Percent, Max and min, weight, and freebore. RRO features calculators for Flight time lead, energy, recoil energy, sectional density, bullet stability, and case capacity.
The program also features a conversion tool for length, weight, velocity, and energy. Anyone may use this software during a test period of 30 days. Following this test period of 30 days, if you wish to continue to use Rob's Reloading Organizer, you MUST register to use all the functions in this software. You can still use the program to save and open your reloading data when the test period is over, but most of the functions will be locked until you have registered the program. For 35.00 bucks this program cant be beat! Heres the link to Robs Reloading Organizer website and free 30 day trial.

I have tried several other brands, and out of those my pick is Robs Reloading Organizer.

Here is a couple more links for reloading software.

Ballistic Software Downloads/Steves Reloading Pages

2006-03-02T09:10:00.000-05:00

Heres some more from my walk yesterday.

2006-03-01T23:59:00.000-05:00

It was such a nice day (almost 70 degrees) that I took a stroll down the ole railroad grade and got some picts of my Winchester 94. I am looking forward to Springtime as I want to get more time in with my 94 and get used to the Williams FP thats on my Rossi 92. Also to work up a nice load for both with all those cast bullets ive been tinkering with! Still gotta get a mould for the 30/30 though.

2006-02-28T00:39:00.000-05:00

I finally got around to sizing all my 44Mag cast bullets today. Ive been so caught up in the casting process I had almost forgotten about the other steps that needed to be done to get them ready to load. After lubricating my bullets with Lee liquid alox and letting them dry overnight it was time to size them. With the Lee resizing die the bullet is pushed nose first into the die so theres no special nose punches needed. After being pushed through the sizing die the bullets are caught in the container above that slips on top of the die. The Lee setup is quick and easy to use. My bullets are now sized at .430 and after lubing them again are ready to be loaded.

Range Report/My New Winchester 94 Ranger

2006-02-23T21:04:00.000-05:00

I couldn't take it any longer, to have my new Winchester Ranger 30-30 just sitting here and not being shot.The anticipation was killing me. So after leaving the store with a box of Winchester Super X 150 Gr. Power Points it was off to the range. The only spot open was the hundred yard so that's what I took. I am looking forward to getting more acquainted with this rifle. Heres the best group I got of the day and a couple picts of my Ranger......To Be Continued

More Bullet Casting

2006-02-19T20:02:00.000-05:00

I had a chance to go spend some time with dad today and cast some bullets.We are casting for the 357 Mag and the 44 Mag with the Lee six cavity moulds, the 357 mould is the 158 gr RN and the 44 is the 200 gr RN. This is my third go at it and its getting better as the first two times I was getting the feel of the melting pot and moulds and the entire process.Last time I casted some I was getting little pits and blemishes in the bullets. I had casted around 800 but only 300 was usable. After some investigating and asking questions on the Leverguns Forum and over at the Cast Boolit Forum I discovered that my mix was dirty. It was not as clean as I had thought, so I cleaned the Lee 20 melting pot and had a better feel for fluxing the metal as well. Another thing we discovered was we were using 10% tin in the mix WAY TO MUCH!, so we dropped that down to 2% and the results between that and cleaning the melting pot seemed to do the trick.Also it seems like the Lee moulds like to be run hot with much better results as well. I am slowly getting the hang of it, this last pict of the semi circle of bullets is what they are turning out like now....One thing I would like to add is while over at the cast boolits forum I ran across a fella by the name of goatlips who has an excellent site Goatlips Blackpowder Tips with tips on smelting, speed casting, and pan lubing all with excellent picts of the process. Check it out, as I have added it to the links section... To Be Continued.

Winchester Model 94 Ranger 30/30

2006-02-15T18:08:00.000-05:00

This is my model 94, chambered in the classic .30 WCF or the 30/30. I recieved a few weeks ago . For $200.00 I could not pass this up , and good timing huh?, This IS my high powered rifle. I have yet to shoot it, as im waiting to get dies, moulds and such. But cant wait to try it out!
Heres some links to some great articles on the .30 WCF and the Winchester Model 94

The .30-30: A Historic Overview
30/30 Varmit Loads
The .30 WCF and the Model 1894 Winchester
Long Range Plinking with the 30-30
Winchester’s Timeless Classic
Winchester Model 94 Disassembly

The Williams FP and Marbles fiberoptic

2006-02-14T13:53:00.000-05:00

As stated earlier I will be adding things i've already done and this is one of them. I never liked the looks of a Williams reciever sight on a levergun and I much prefered the Marbles peep tang sight. But after being a member of Leverguns.com forum for a while and hearing all the talk from fellow forum members (especially one forum member in particular...You know who you are) about the Williams FP I decided to give it a try. Sometimes in life you try new things and realize what you have been missing and this is one of them. As soon as you shoulder the rifle the sight is there. I LIKE IT!!!. Oh by the way, thanks again Hobie! Another thing I wanted to put on my Rossi 92 was a front fiberoptic sight. Some folks like post type sights and others like the beads. Well I opted for the Marbles with the green fiberoptic bead. Heres some picts of the transformation. Though im still getting used to the sight picture of the peep sight, I like it much better than your standard sights that come on the Rossi.

Gunstock Carving I

2006-02-13T20:44:00.000-05:00

I like wood carving even though I have much to learn but I really enjoy carving gunstocks. These picts here are of my very first stock I carved. This blogging stuff is supposed to be current stuff right??? Well there are things that I would like to add and that I will be adding in the near future that I've already done so im playing catch up! But things I want to share anyway!!!
This stock I carved is from a Savage model 110 chambered in 30/06 with just a plain jain stock. I took a chance and went for it, and heres the results. Any comments appreciated good or bad. Like I said I have lots to learn but I dont think it turned out to bad for my first time. Also I have done a couple other projects besides this but being a father has really slowed my projects down tremendously, add on top of that that I love to reload, beginning to cast my own bullets and my love of shooting leverguns. Kids gotta come first you know. I got to much on the plate but hey, it keeps me busy.

My first cast bullets

2006-02-11T20:44:00.000-05:00

I cast my very first batch of bullets and broke my dads Lee melting pot all in the same day (if anyone can do it I can!) I was casting some bullets for my Rossi 92 chambered in 44 Magnum using a Lee 200 gr six cavity mould. It took me a while to get the feel for filling the mould and to get the mould heated up enough to fill out the cavity's. Several hundred were produced but only a handful of good ones. The Lee 20 lb furnace has an adjustment screw for flow control and after casting a few hundred I decided to fiddle with this and slow down the stream running into the mould. That's when my casting session abruptly ended as I stripped and bent the screw and the lead continuously poured out of the pot. At one point I had the Lee melting pot full and the lead was at the bottom of the adjustment screw and covering it for sometime and heated it up enough when I went to adjust it it stripped and bent right quick. Hopefully my next casting session produces much more usable cast bullets for my shooting pleasure! But I found out that you can produce LOTS of cast bullets in a short period of time with the Lee six cavity moulds. This being the first run at it gave me the feel for it and i'll know what to expect my next casting session.

2006-02-11T01:06:00.000-05:00

These are the first pictures of casting my first ingots. Around eighty lbs of WW and around 50-60 lbs of tin ingots, next it will be in front of a Lee 20lb pot and Lee sixcavity moulds for the 357 and 44Mag. Im getting excited already I cant wait, reloading your own cartridges and then shooting them out of your favorite gun or preferably a levergun is awesome but to be able to cast your own bullets on top of that sure is gonna be quite satisfying to say the least. To melt those wheel weights, flux and skim the dross off the top of the pot only to reveal that shiny silvery molten liquid lead was great. I have a strong feeling I will enjoy making my own cast bullets as much as I like reloading and shooting leverguns as it all just meshes together and goes hand in hand. Another good thing about this venture is I will be spending a lot of good quality time with my dad. He is my shooting, reloading, and now casting buddy. We will be casting our very first batch of bullets today . And I cant wait!

J Stevens Arms & Tool Co.Revived

2006-02-10T21:54:00.000-05:00

Last year when I found this ole girl a (J Stevens Arms & Tool Co. 12 guage singleshot shotgun made around 1913) , I thought of my father, something I could fix up and give it to him as a gift. The stock and foream had seen its better days with scratches and a few cuts and dings throughout . The reciever and barrel had rust pits all over it. So I stripped the stock, sealed it, and added a nice hand rubbed Tru-Oil finish. For the metal finish I chose Oxpho-Blue. I stripped the metal with Naval Jelly which took the rust and what blueing was left off in a jiffy. Once it was down to bare metal I cleaned the metal and put the Oxpho Blue on. Oxpho Blue is the best cold blue on the market in my opinion, as it leaves no after rust and has a nice looking and durable finish. Even though im a levergun nut this is one of my favorite guns. In excellent original condition they are worth no more than 100.00 though its worth much more than that to me. If this gun could only talk. My father was tickled to get it . Heres the results.

United States Fire Arms

2006-02-10T21:30:00.000-05:00

These are some picts I done of a couple of U.S.F.A. pistols. Last November I attended the first annual Sixgunner.com/Leverguns.com Meet, Greet, Shoot, And Eat at the Red Brush Rifle Range in Southern Indiana and had a chance to shoot one of these fine pistols. It was a 20th anniversary 44 spec shootist U.S.F.A. When Jim Taylor ask me if I wanted to shoot it I immediately said..Uh, you bet! It was the slickest single action pistol I've ever had in my hands PERIOD!.

Firearms photographs(digital)

2006-02-10T15:25:00.000-05:00

Here is some of my digital work. The picture of the pistol is a Ruger Police Service Six that I engraved and stippled for my dad and later added the smoke effect. This picture was used on the cover of a western entitled "The Drifter" by a fine gentleman and friend named Paco Kelly. The other picts are of various Winchesters with different effects added to them.

Photographing Firearms

2006-02-10T15:07:00.000-05:00

I like photography, even though I am no pro by any stretch of the imagination, but hey I enjoy it! If I'm not shooting guns I like taking picts of them and I also like digital images as you can do a lot with them. I use a program called Paint Shop Pro and use many plugins (add ons) to extend the capabilities of the program. But sometimes the simple effects are great to. Heres some picts of my dad's stainless Rossi 92, It has the 24" octagon barrel and features a Marbles tang sight.

2006-02-10T12:44:00.000-05:00

This is my first post. Im as new as new can be to this blogger stuff so bear with me. My love for reloading and leverguns has lead me to start a web journal. I will add things like range reports, ballistics, bullet casting, lots of picts of my Rossi 92. The model 92 and clones are my favorite of all the leveractions. Nothing compares to the smoothness and quick handling in my opinion. There is just something about the 92 I love. Heres a pict of my Rossi 92 chambered in 44 Mag, Stainless 20" round barrel. Its as slick as snot on a doorknob thanks to the article by Jim Taylor for fieldstripping and smoothing up the action.Heres a link to that great article.Thanks again Jim!

Meet,Greet,Shoot,And Eat Picts

2005-11-12T00:26:00.000-05:00

These are picts of the Sixgunner.com / Leverguns.com Meet, Greet, Shoot & Eat I attended last November 2005. With picts. (Nevermind the wrong dates on the picts )

It was a beautiful day in November for the first annual sixgunner.com / leverguns.com Meet, Greet, Shoot and Eat for sure, I was lucky as I only had about a two hour drive to get there. As I was getting closer to the Red Brush Rifle Range is was apparent of just how destructive that tornado was in southern Indiana, Folks was out walking in fields looking for whatever was left from their lives before, houses just completely gone, just total devastation in some places. You see things like that on t.v. but it just doesn't hit you till you see it up close. So the closer I got to the range the more my heart sank. I finally started getting a good feeling about the time I was heading through the gate at the range.

(Steveb)

(Tom Linder)

(JMiller with brass in air)

I didn't see many vehicles at first and there was a group of guys to my left. As I walked up I stood there quietly for a moment and asked which one of you fellas is Jim Taylor. There he was,the man himself. I was really nervous as all get out, I asked him if he had his Rossi 92 with him. The Rossi that's on the leverguns.com website that he has slicked up with instructions. It was that article The Rossi Model 92, with picts that I found the courage to slick up my own 92 and my dads Rossi as well, I was just as anxious to see his Rossi as anything else. I knew how slick my 92 was and wanted to compare with his 92. (Thank you again Jim for that article) When Jim ask if I would like to shoot his guns I immediately said uh, uh, uh, you bet. Course I couldn't hit anything with them hardly I mean I had Jim Taylor standing behind me, I was nervous to say the least.

(Jim Taylor with brass in air)

So there I was with Jim shooting his Rossi, and his super slick Marlin levergun chambered in 32-20, AH and there in front of me was his shootists 20th anniversary USFA 44 special sixgun, to be able to stick that pistol in my hands and fire that beautiful piece of work, it is without a doubt the best feeling pistol I've ever had in my hands PERIOD!. Jim was very kind to me and put up with me taking picts of him and the others all day...... There were fine folks at this meet. I met J Miller and his wife. Wonderful couple, friendly and courteous, I was very exited for Joe seeins he lives in Illinois and hadn't had a chance to shoot his beautiful 30/30, to see the excitement on his face was something else. I got a many a good pict of Joe many in full recoil, matter of fact I wasn't even trying to get the picts like that at first, it just seemed every time I took a pict of him it was just right

(Ohio Hunter)

(Jack Ramsey)

(Danny Obrian)

Another very nice couple I met was Ohio Hunter and his wife and daughter, they also were very kind to me as well, Jay had a range bag full of reloads and told me to have at it (thanks again Jay) of course Joel Cosby and his dad which was very kind , Jim T's friend Mr. Linder was also very kind and , I just cant remember all the names (sorry I know im leaving some out}. I also met Danny O'brien another shootist that was there, and I found out we live pretty close to one another just a couple counties apart and he invited me to his home when im in the area to shoot and visit.

I took over a hundred picts of the event and sent them out to Jim T to go through and post. Some of my memories are blurry of the event as I was to busy going back and forth between fine people and fine guns. The moments did not last long enough and before I knew it the day was over and it was time to say goodbye....One thing I want to add is im not very good with people, im somewhat of a loner, just when I get around a crowd I become very nervous and stumble over my words, I just become a wreck I guess...But I felt right at home you could say, like I fitted right in (Thanks Everyone) I really enjoyed my self, it was a wonderful but brief experience and one that I will not soon forget. Thanks Again...........Steve.