OneClick

Good for you on this, I'm a fan of Vedder. They are brilliant on their spring clip mount/kydex method. My "chunky" 15 yr old Hk USP 40 compact prints less than all of my friends's Glocks for IWB. (They don't have Vedder IWB). Your jonesing' for a 45 tells me you're not a "just spray lead all over, fast" kind of guy. I've gone so far as to add a wispy thin 1.5" wide strap (front to back over shoulder) on a belly-band holster. It keeps the band up higher to allow for an 'under armpit' all-day ride. My USP never prints. Ever. Actually quite comfy. No need for a size larger waist pant for IWB. The wrap can be a lot looser since it stays up by the over shoulder strap. Just saying. I did it on a whim . .. but daaaaaaaamn.

All my centerfire wheelers are Ruger now. IMO, the top of the heap. Only my Rugers have kept perfect timing after thousands of rounds thru them. The others are sold off. Let's face it, when you need some serious lead, it's hard to match a wheeler. A wheeler with a side plate frame is only a short time away from timing issues. Just saying. Rugers are bottom framers. SWEET.

Ok, I can't let this slip by w/o a 'kudos comment. For Self-D, or in a high-stress dynamic moment in general: those DA/SA's you mention are brilliant. I grew up using Smith's Mod 19 wheel guns, then to the 40 via Berretta, then the USP., late 90's. My EDC is USP 40 Compact. Many thousand rds thru it. "Fits me", like my old 19, but with 13x available. IMHO, any DA/SA rocks. Protected me from close quarter friendly fire, beyond doubt.

X'lent choice for a tux gun. I found a Kimber s-a Micro 9 a couple years ago and sometimes vary with my PPK. Hard to top that DA/SA PPK for a tux carry tho. I use a high belly band at my armpit for "No-can-see". That may be a two seconds slower access, but it's way better than my Kung-foo.

Totally agree . . . But, there are those moments in life in the brush that for a few seconds your life passes before yours eyes. Out from the brush , 30 yds, --> It's about four feet high at the shoulders and charging. . .thinking: "Yummy, soft on the outside and crunchy on the insides". None of my kicker big bores have or ever had, scopes, for a reason. I prefer a big ghost peep, but express V notches work great too. Sometimes it's mom with cubs, sometimes a 500 lb gone feral boar thats' really really really pissed off at you. That's where a healthy practice with non-bench shooting is a good routine. Less pain is good. I've had moments, not embarrassed to admit, that I was 1/2 a second from pissing my skivvies. I do a LOT of standing, not bench rest, shooting. Once bench sighted to my likes , standing is wonderful field practice . I suppose it matters where/ why we are practicing. Deer don't bite, thank goodness.

I was told to use 15 max' pads when I shot a fellow's, back 15 years ago.(Member Rotten is "The Rock" ? ) I called DHS: Semi officially-> 50 BNG 15 pads. 458 Mag '10', 7.62 AP's '3', 5.56 1x certified Tampon from Tampon Tim's office. Let's be safe , people. Joint problems will haunt you later. I know this.

I suppose we all have our niche use, or not.. Being a reloader and caster, I shoot a LOT. . perhaps 300x rounds of big-bore a month. Back in the day I bought (cheap) a LOT of kegs of powder, primer, cases, so my shots are in the .05 to .10 cents per for big bores.. Less if I account for my 2,000 lbs of free scrap lead I smelted for my 'bores. In my case, I have zero thoughts of stock finish, LOL, that ship sailed a looong time ago. That black 308 is a Rem model 660, bought new in 1969, now painted with 98 cent/can of Krylon flat black from Home Depot. Used wood epoxy putty to fill the gouges. The Marlins are 35 years old, have replacement stocks, and are now Tung oiled "pieces of wood in the back". A few thousand rounds through each, and mostly using the stock to keep brush & limbs from my legs. Sort of pathetic I suppose. My sold Pedersoli Sharps "Pride of the Plains" was a different matter. THAT was a thing of beauty, never to be insulted with a $13 girly pad. I wore my Palma comp harness pad. Even I won't stoop that low.

After seeing a handful of (younger by 35 years) gents wince and start flinching after popping off their levers and larger AR's, I offered up one of my slip-on thick gooey recoil pads I had on my 45-70. I'm not built like non-human Dwayne "The Rock". They popped a couple shots. "OMG" . . It's was like they were in high school again and it was a "SHE SAID YES !" moment. Or something close. I kinda recall that day in high school, 1972, and these guys were having that moment. I have a variety of gooey-thick pads, most with either cartridge loops, pouches, a combo, or a gooey heel-only. These semi-tame even my absolutely brutal 458 Win Mag with its 70 lbs of recoil hit. Luckily I left it with a lifer' friend up north for his grizzly issues. He thinks I'm just so generous, but I have my own girly-man issues with that gun. BTW: My circa '71 A5 12ga w/slugs recoils at 30#, my 308 at 20#, my 45-70 440gr hardcasts at 40#. They all feel like a hard shove now and not a bone explosion. Ok, you won't need a pad for a 5# hit 5.56, but guys with 450 BM may like a pad. (20# -ish). Note the Ruger bolt has a 20rd mag stuffed in there, just in case it's a grab&go from a rabid squirrel, zombie, etc attack . I didn't need a pad in high school for my A5, nor that 308 in pic. Hard plastic was quite manly, steel even more manly yet.

If I recall, that .348 case has a rim that is bigger than a 45-70 .. and THAT alone is huge. Many guys here go; "Meh, only a 35 cal.". Ha ! That case is frikken FAT, with a wonderfully Loooooong neck: Perfect for any size lead slug, keeping any gas-check up from the shoulder, allowing a super heavy slug, 'ala 30-30. That's a match made in heaven. Hmmmm, .348. Hmmm .. . .348. Hmmmmm. I have 2,000 lbs of lead. Hmmm.

NICE score Ten years ago I was working out west and hit a huge huge gun show/expo and a gent had a handful of Win' 71's offered. HOLY cow. . all were near $3000. I'm a fan of the .348 after shooting my buddy's 71, but I'm champaign tastes with a beer budget. My buddy , like myself, cast our own 80% of the time. He had a 250gr mold made and was popping them out at 2,250+ fps using Varget. That's outrageously impressive, matching 450 Bushmaster's impressive specs. I'm a lever fan (Got five JM Marlins bought in the early 90's) . . .always wanted that 71 in a 348 to fill that mid-bore heavy hitter category.

I Lee Collet neck-size only, 98% of the time, assuming I don't need a 'small base, and the arms have similar chambers. (I've head space checked them also, via Hornady gauges). I do it all in 200 & 100x batches, unless it's a special run. If I ever need a lube: Imperial. I pre-tumble 100% of the time. . . . I literally triple my case life by neck sizing only, and I keep pretty good records of the batches. I'm REALLY lazy, so the LEE Collet die is the Boobies, IMHO. Brass flow & trimming sucks. If I have to 'Body Bump'. . .Imperial.

Very very nice, TNPhil. Since a gent I met a couple of months ago had AGM night vision on his AR . . .Ohhhhhh the temptation. I mean, limit yourself to only daylight with the acreage you have? Just think: Delilah would cost only half as much because of twice her possibilities. Using my math, the Night Scope would be 'free'.

Speaking of Ruger's Gen 2 stuff. . .I wanted a good short bolt (mag fed) to consume up some of my long ago purchased 77gr SMK in .224” ( I have several thousand, embarrassed to admit) . I’ve got several built 223’s, single shot, 30” bbl, made for + 600yd metallic sight comp and 80GR pills .. . That 30yr addiction is over. So, bought a Ruger Ranch Gen 2 5.56, 16”, . two mo's ago. HolyMoly, out of the Ruger box a sub 1” for the past 500 rounds. WTH ?. I’m not used to that without some serious garage work with pillar & steel epoxy bedding, etc, etc, custom bbl, Jewel or Timney triggers, brass all weighed and sorted, everything blessed by the Pope, etc. I put a 35 yr old $100 Bushnell Banner scope on it that used to be on my 264 Win “coyote gun” decades ago, just to have a nice view in the real world. At 350 yds it’s still holding 1 moa, so it obviously likes the 77gr SMKs, Varget, and 2,550 fps. . .but maybe these days “Life is Better” out of the box, and I just missed the memo a while back. AR buffs may know better, having no wood, but I’m impressed. If AR’s shoot like this, generally, I bow three times in your general direction(s) in awe. I have not yet popped off any 55gr slugs in this Ruger, but the odds are good.

Yeah, such brilliance. , IMHO. And to put it in real life from my house (considering my wife is only 5' tall) and considering OP's shoulder issue: . . . The 18" cut bbl 12ga &12.5" stock & an AR's OAL is lethal via my wife, in the confines of a house:. . The stock tucked FULLY UNDER armpit & back , she looking down the barrel, is lethal . Dark of night, outside, inside, whatever. That's the more likely wielding of any longarm in close quarters anyway. No shoulder issues. Easier than a pistol via a noob. Projectile doesn't leave your zip-code either, like that AR. Ohhh man, I'm talking myself into yet another 12ga. This forum is a curse, kinda.