LeadWaster

Unfortunately, I keep pouring money into my machine, but no money comes out!

I bought a used one off the classifieds here back in Dec. (Remember, Taurus warranty extends to future owners as well!) It's a joy to shoot. Easy on recoil, and after putting 300 to 400 rounds thru it, I can't complain. Had a couple of failures because I hit the mag release button with my big meathooks, my fault. I think I've had the slide lock back with one round left in the mag twice. That's it. It does shoot a little low, but I took the front sight off and whittled a bit off the bottom. Haven't been back to the range yet, but I suspect it will help. Even my 15 year old loves shooting it!

I bought an NC Star reflex type on Amazon for $30 (and free shipping). I put it on my model 41 and have had it to the range once. Worked great. It has a lifetime warranty.... if it ever goes tango uniform, send it and $10 and get a new/refurbished one! I figured I couldn't loose with that deal. Only time will tell if it lasts.

I saw one back in Dec. at Frontier Firearms. Very lightweight.... almost felt like an airsoft gun. Not exactly what I was expecting. However, I think it would be great fun!!! Just think, you could put as much lead down range as the A Team (who never seemed to need to reload!). I'd just hope your aim is better!

It's biting the brass because the nose of the extractor is too long. Check the Taurus Armed forum. There's a good explanation of this in either the 700 series or gunsmithing section. I filed my extractor down and it now allows the case head to sit completely against the bolt face without digging into the brass. Reworking the extractor didn't stop mine from dumping the brass on my head! It is supposed to improve reliability though.

Having loaded on single stage and progressives for years, I was always of the opinion that you should start with a single stage. Well, I think I've changed my mind. With my Dillon Square Deal, I can load one round at a time, cycling it thru all of the stations before putting another empty brass in the fist station. If you are new to the game, go one round at a time until you have a good feel for what is happening at each station. Build some confidence, then go "progressive" with it. Dillon presses are great. If you are doing a lot of rifle cartridges, single stage may still be a good idea, but for higher volume pistol production, nothing beats a progressive.

I'll second the Taurusarmed.net web site. Good information in the gunsmithing section. My TCP has functioned great all along, but it was digging a divot in the brass where the extractor was grabbing it. I followed the information about removing some of the "nose" off of the extractor with a file, and polished it, and no more divot! IT still ejects on top of my head though. But, the extractor tends to hold the brass off of the face of the slide, so when it slams into battery, the extractor digs into the brass. Apparently, this is one of the "fixes" done at Taurus when they are sent back with issues. Mine is an "A" as well. I also bought a used 709 (from a fellow forum member) and it's a joy to shoot. The TCP can be a little snappy with heavy loads, but I'm loading my own and can tame it down a bit.

Yes, and that is one of the reasons I traded it. Plus, it was a CQC-7 tanto, and the blade was just too thick for me. I prefer a thinner knife blade. So, I traded it to a gentleman at a show for a handmade liner lock that I do carry and use every day! I still like the D/A and may own another someday, but right now, I've got too many knives that are worth too much to carry, or are blatantly illegal to carry! I've got a Microtech Makora (double edge, out the front design) that there's now way I'd ever carry. Just can't see myself sitting on a bench out in public playing with that one! Never carried it. Should sell it and turn it into something I'll use.

If you were to carry an automatic, I think the dual action knives (D/A) would be of great interest, although just as illegal as a regular automatic. They are typically "scale release", a design I believe was perfected by Butch Vallotton. He does a lot of conversions of existing knives. I had an Emerson D/A for a while (never carried it though). A number of companies offer these. One of my favorites was Lone Wolf, who has been bought out by Benchmade. THe neat thing about D/A knives is there is no apparent opening device, other than a thumb stud or such. You can flick it open like any other folder. Usually a liner lock. Closes normally too. But push down on the scale (usually hinged in the middle of the knife) and it comes open automatically. When you close it, you'll feel some resistance as it cocks the internal spring for the next auto deployment. A very cool design.

I wonder if he's the guy that usually sets up at the Knoxville shows? I hope he's back at future shows. A month or so ago I bought 5000 from Graf and Son.... about $150 with a $10 hazmat fee (special deal). These were Federal primers. Should last me a while. I've seen some gun shops charging as much as $47.50/1000. Getting a little steep!

I plan on going. THis will make about the 4th or 5th Blade show for me and my boys. Take plenty of money! Some of the big knife companies won't be selling there, some will. The ones that don't usually have a dealer on site (A-G-Russell) were you can buy their knives. However, you can buy from individual makers and prices start aroun d $75 for really nice fixed blade all the way up to, well, the sky is the limit!

If you want to see everything (and I mean EVERYTHING) under one roof, go to the Blade Show in Atlanta in June..... custom made knives too, but all the big companies are there as well. Blade Magazine - BLADE Show June 10-12. There is a tactical gear show at the same time this year (same location). You should go at least once.

There is a hardware store in Cookeville, Highland, I think. They have a separate building for knives. I didn't stop in, but will next time I'm in the area. Looked like a pretty good size knife shop. Nothing like SMKW, but better than most any other place you'll find. I looked it up, Highland Hardware, 219 E. Spring St. Cookeville.

I'd think that would be good for external gunk and grime, but not between tight fitting parts, and most likely not for polymer frames. My wife has a household version of that, and it's good on some things like grout, tile, sinks and such. I think jewelers use it for cleaning rings.... might work better than I think. Still not a good idea on plastics.

I'm thinking some dilution of Simple Green would be good. I keep a tub of the stuff for bicycle parts. You don't want to leave aluminum or zinc parts in for long.

This is just the thread I've been waiting for. I'd like to know what kind of solution folks use in these to clean gun parts.... metal and plastic (I assume different solutions?). My S&W model 41 is starting to misfire, and I suspect if I put the slide in one of these things and cleaned it real good, it might go "pop" every time I pull the trigger, again!

... Glocks with sights on the side of the slide? ;>) I've wondered about the price thing too. Maybe the higher priced guys figure they'll pad the prices some so they have some haggle room? Doesn't work with me. I just keep walking until I find the price i want.

Nice... I'm liking the mouseguns more and more all the time, especially since I got my TCP. Lot's of fun to shoot. So, if these are mouseguns, does that make my Taurus 709 a "rat gun"? HA!

+1 on the ventilation! Maybe +4 or 5! Lead vapors are nasty and bad for you. I cast for a short time back in the 80's. Lots of work. Not sure what lead is running these days, but back then I was getting linotype for cheap... around 25 to 50 cents a pound. Made good hard bullets. I'd guess wheel weights are a good choice these days.

+1 for Berry's plated bullets. I'm loading them in 9mm and .380. They have a 100gr RN that works great in both calibers for me. I'm using Win 231 in both and it burns nice and clean. You don't want to load them as hot as FMJ, but like kb4ns said, somewhere between lead and FMJ. One thing you may want to do is back off your crimp die a bit as the Berry's are about 0.001" larger in diameter than a similar FMJ. Taper crimps are by far the prefered method of crimping. A heavy taper crimp or a more aggressive rolled crimp can cut the plating and leave part of it your barrel. I take a pair of dial calipers to the range with me when developing a load. I'll shoot all but the last round in the mag, pull it out and measure it just to assure it hasn't "grown" any from the bullet backing out. If you have no movement, your crimp is fine. Doesn't take much crimp for plinking loads.

I shot some skeet and a LOT of trap back in the 1980's. Got pretty good at trap, shot decent skeet. I started with a Remington 1100 trap gun. For trap, you really need the trap stock for a higher point of impact, for skeet, a field stock will work fine as the target isn't rising as fast or as much as a trap target. Well, the single shot/over/under bug bit. I had a Browning BT-99, Rotweill combo set, Kreighoff combo, K-80 combo, and a Ljutic. I probably shot the K-80 best, but honestly, if I had stuck to the Rem 1100, I'd probably shot it just as good. Of all of those guns, I only have the 1100's left. To me, the big advantage of the O/U is if you reload, you can save your empties easier. When you are shooting in a match, it's frowned upon to hold up the squad to retrieve your empties. Matter of fact, most clubs don't allow it. More of a courtesy thing for the other shooters. In skeet, you'll shoot doubles at 4 stations if I remember correctly. In trap, using an autoloader, it's not so much an issue until you get into double (and you eventually will!). You can stick a shell catcher on for singles and handicap. Nice thing is, with an 1100, you can get a couple of different barrels, a trap stock and a field stock, and configure your gun for about anything.... without breaking the bank. There are nicer autoloaders on the market these days. Benelli and Beretta in particular, but they can cost a lot more than an 1100. Like others have said, fit is the most important thing. You can spend tons of money on a gun, but if it doesn't fit, you won't be breaking as many targets.

JReedEsq... I fired a KeltEC p-11 today. The trigger on it is a very long pull compared to my TCP. I was surprised just how long it is. I also bought a Taurus 709 and while I haven't fired it, the trigger pull is considerably shorter than the P-11.

Ooops.... that 3.2gr load I gave was for the 95gr JHP. The Berry's 100gr RN was a 2.5gr of Win 231. Just loaded some more. JReedEsq.... I have not fired an LCP, but have pulled the trigger a couple of times. I found the TCP trigger to be much more to my liking. It's considerably lighter pull. Perhaps a bit shorter too, but I won't say for sure without trying them side by side. I did have a KelTec and my TCP side by side. A good friend has the 3PAT, and when he pulled the trigger on my TCP, he was amazed how much lighter it was. I know there is more room in the trigger guard on the TCP, and it doesn't bite my trigger finger when I shoot it.

I just had my Taurus TCP out to shoot some at Gunny's this afternoon. I've got about 180 rounds thru it now. Working like a champ. I did have the slide lock back once today before the magazine was empty, but that was with a very light reload... so light that it just kind of dropped the brass at my feet. Having the brass right there nearby was nice, but probably not as much powder as I should be loading. The TCP usually kicks the brass straight back over my head(factory rounds) . I had some heavier reloads that ejected just like factory ammo. I'm loading Berry's 100 gr RN and about 3.2gr of Win 231 makes a nice shooting load. No FTF or FTE. Will probably put another 100 rounds thru it later in the week.

I was thinking about one of the oak Gerstner style tool boxes. Lots of drawers. Gerstner has a more reasonably priced "international" line mode over seas, but Harbor Freight and Grizzly tools has knock off versions around $150. Knife rolls are a good idea too.