Warning: Swap Meet Bullets

[soldernut]

This is probably just common sense to most of you, but it recently happended to me: Being a little too trusting of a seller.

This happened at our shooting club's swap meet and could happen just as easily at a gun show.

A guy was selling a baggie full of .38/357 mag bullets. He didn't know the brand but said they were "pulled" from factory ammo. They were 158 gr Jacketed Hollow Points - and looked fine. So I bought them.

Lucky for me, I checked them for both weight and diameter before loading them into anything. They were 158 gr. all right, but they were all only 0.355" in diameter!

That's proper for a 9mm, but two thou shy of a proper .38/.357 jacketed bullet. And nobody shoots 158 gr in a 9mm.

So I have a few pounds of junk. About all I can do is melt them down.

My only consolation is that it was only $5 down the drain.

Moral of this story? Take a caliper of micrometer with you!

"Trust, but verify." Ronald Reagan

 

[GP100man]

Probably pulled from 357 cases that were crimped in a misadjusted Taper Crimp Die !!!!

Yrs ago,`83 I bought some cast 357swc , leaded everything up from 1 end to the other!!!

Mic`ed em .355 up to 357 on a few out of a K, I`ve cast my own since !!!

 

[mattsbox99]

They'll shoot just fine! Load 'em up and shoot away! Jacketed bullets don't suffer from the same problems as lead bullets. I'm more than willing to bet they will be just fine.

 

[Snake45]

They'll shoot just fine! Load 'em up and shoot away! Jacketed bullets don't suffer from the same problems as lead bullets. I'm more than willing to bet they will be just fine.

I agree completely. Load up a couple dozen of 'em and see what happens. They might shoot fine in YOUR gun, you'll never know till you try.

And even if they only shoot 4"-6" at 25 yards, you can still use 'em up in 5-7 yard "point shooting" practice. :wink:

Time to make some lemonade! :wink: :lol:

 

[soldernut]

Probably pulled from 357 cases that were crimped in a misadjusted Taper Crimp Die !!!!

Yrs ago,`83 I bought some cast 357swc , leaded everything up from 1 end to the other!!!

Mic`ed em .355 up to 357 on a few out of a K, I`ve cast my own since !!!

This sounds like another educational opportunity for me. Who uses a taper crimp on .357?

I thought that cartridge called for a roll crimp.

 

[soldernut]

They'll shoot just fine! Load 'em up and shoot away! Jacketed bullets don't suffer from the same problems as lead bullets. I'm more than willing to bet they will be just fine.

I agree completely. Load up a couple dozen of 'em and see what happens. They might shoot fine in YOUR gun, you'll never know till you try.

And even if they only shoot 4"-6" at 25 yards, you can still use 'em up in 5-7 yard "point shooting" practice. :wink:

Time to make some lemonade! :wink: :lol:

Okay, I'll try 'em. Just for grins, I think I'll slug my barrrel first; never have done it.

Re "point shooting" practice:

Point shooting is something that's interested me for some time, but I've never had any idea how to go about learning it. Somebody told me that an AirSoft pistol and a bunch of ping-pong balls was one way to start. But, really, I have no idea.

Tips? Suggestions?

 

[Snake45]

Point shooting is something that's interested me for some time, but I've never had any idea how to go about learning it. Somebody told me that an AirSoft pistol and a bunch of ping-pong balls was one way to start. But, really, I have no idea.

Tips? Suggestions?

1. Forget airsoft guns. They're way too light. A great deal of point shooting is "feel," so you want a gun that weighs the same as your "real" gun. Either your real gun itself, or a .22 version of it.

2. Forget ping pong balls on the ground. Are you training to shoot an attacker in the toe? Groove yourself into getting hits at chest or solar plexus level. A paper plate or common typing paper is a good target to start with.

3. Forget starting at 7 yards, or even 5. Start at ONE yard, or even closer--almost contact distance. When you can get all your hits on the paper in a group the size of your fist, take one step back. Repeat as necessary. You'll be surprised at how fast you can work yourself back to 4 or 5 yards--maybe even in your first range session, depending on your natural talent. Being able to accurately point-shoot at 10 to 20 feet is a VERY usable real-world skill. It will probably take you several sessions to be able to keep EVERY shot on the paper plate or typing paper at a full 7 yards, but this will not take you thousands of rounds. You should be doing it in the low to mid hundreds.

4. Don't "walk" your bullets into the center, correcting as you go, until the gun is empty. Fire one or at most TWO shots from the leather or from a "low ready" position. You won't be able to "walk" your rounds in in a gunfight; you need to be grooving yourself in to hitting on the FIRST shot. One or two shots, then start over. Make your corrections mentally, between your strings.

 

[Jimbo357mag]

Re "point shooting" practice:

Point shooting is something that's interested me for some time, but I've never had any idea how to go about learning it. Somebody told me that an AirSoft pistol and a bunch of ping-pong balls was one way to start. But, really, I have no idea.

Tips? Suggestions?

I am no expert but this is what I do. Point the gun without using the sights and shoot. Look at the target to see where you hit, then adjust. Shoot two handed, one handed, and with your off hand. Hold the gun in as many positions as you can to get a feel for where it shoots without aiming. Practice the draw and presentation also if possible, but be careful.

This is where it doesn't pay to practice with a bunch of different guns. Practice point shooting only with your home defense/self defense guns. :D

...jimbo

 

[Snake45]

This is where it doesn't pay to practice with a bunch of different guns. Practice point shooting only with your home defense/self defense guns. :D

...jimbo

This is good advice. Stick with ONE gun until you master it.

 

[Yosemite Sam]

This is where it doesn't pay to practice with a bunch of different guns. Practice point shooting only with your home defense/self defense guns. :D

...jimbo

This is good advice. Stick with ONE gun until you master it.

This is true in general. Each gun has it's own idiosyncrasies, and I find the more time I spend with any one gun the better I get with it. Including some of those I've thought of selling off at one time or another because "I just don't shoot it well".

-- Sam

 

[Jimbo357mag]

Who said, "Fear the man who has but one gun and knows how to use it?" :D :D

...Jimbo

 

[WESHOOT2]

I cannot stop myself; I compete with all my centerfire guns.

I ain't too awful with any.

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