SWshooter

The AR's both 10 & 15 are great platforms to start building rifles. The 15's are probably better for a first effort, a lot more parts available at a lot cheaper prices. Anything 15 that's mil spec should be interchangeable with anything else mil spec. I just finished an M4 clone with a piston kit and have just $706 in the whole gun. It functions well is is surprisingly accurate. The 10's take alot more study as not all uppers and lowers are interchangeable, nor magazines, nor barrel nuts. Right now I would try to find a lower that would take G-3 mags as they are plentifull and cheap.

Welcome Fine New Guy, you'll like it here.

Buy a good barrel, and a good trigger. You can live with just about anything else.

You might as well shoot it in the same gun, it ain't gonna get any better.

That ain't nothin', you should see what a HK-91 does to brass. As long as they will resize without a problem you should be OK. If you have a sharp edge on your deflector you could round it off and it would probably help. A heavier buffer or an Enidine AResstor might slow the bolt and help some. I've loaded a lot worse looking brass than that without a problem, the pressure will remove the existing dent, and the deflector will add a new one.

The original 45 Colt load was 40 grs of FFFg and a 246 grain bulllet, about 900-950 fps. This is not a load to sneeze at. It was the most potent handgun load up to the 357 mag came along. Triple seven is nice stuff, I use it in my 50 cal traditional rifle.

Can't go wrong with Wilson Combat.

loaded in stacking ammo cans seems to work well. helps solve the problem of what to do with all the ammo too.

I told my wife I needed to buy another safe and she asked me how I broke the old one. I told it wasn't broken, and she said why do you need a new one then? I decided that discretion was the better part of valor and ended the discussion there.

Flap holsters are good for keeping a handgun clean and dry. I prefer a shoulder holster worn under the jacket to protect the gun. Most of our big game hunting is in the worst winter weather however. For discreet carry I prefer an inside the waistband holster. Alessi leather, near Buffalo NY, make a good holster for the N frames. Any Safariland holster I've ever had have been good too. A couple custom makers use horse hide for their holsters and it is the best, it doesn't absorb sweat and get damp. If you have friends that carry ask if you can wear their rig for a while, you will save alot on leather that way. It usually takes me about three tries to find a holster I like. A WARNING too, buying S&W's can become an expensive habit, and ruin you for any other brand of revolver. A 240 gr Keith style cast bullet and 9-10 grs of Unique make a great practice load for your 4" gun.

The powder is what I use. Just read the label, there should be nothing but a fine abrasive listed as ingredients. I don't wipe my cases after tumbling, and before sizing. My personnel opinion is that the abrasive is soft enough that it would have no effect on a hardened sizing die except to polish it a little. I do wipe my loaded cartridges before shooting. I like to know they are completely dry and clean, and it serves as a final visual inspection. AN oily or greasy cartridge increases bolt thrust enormously. The habit of running AR's wet is, IN MY OPINION, the reason a lot of people have bolt failures. The British proof houses traditionally use a well oiled standard cartridge for proof firing small arms.

The advantage to the Lee die is that it puts no strain on the shoulder of the casing. You can put a very heavy crimp, even on a bullet with no canelure, without damaging the case in any way. I would not use a a small base die unless I had to, it puts a lot of strain on the brass and may prematurely work harden the cases, especially in the head area. I've loaded for dozens of autoloaders and never found it necessary to use small base dies. I do however full length resize for my autoloaders. The RCBS dies will be fine for crimping with a canelured bullet. Use care when adjusting them, and be aware that overall length is critical with that type of die. Another reason I like the Lee dies, case length has no effect on the crimp.

Dandy, thanks.

I have been hearing about how those S&W's won't hold up for years, but I have never heard from anyone who has actually shot one loose. I prefer the Smith, it is lighter and has a better trigger. The new ones have a couple upgrades to make them even better. I shoot the Hornady 265 gr flat nose, made for the 444 Marlin, with a full load of H-110. Shoot in both my pistol and a Ruger 44 Deerstalker carbine, does 1630 fps out of the carbine and 1400 fps out of the 4" Smith. Drops deer like the hammer of Thor, if you hit them at all well.

I have a short barrel, and it's not too big around , but I don't have to please anyone but me with it either

I think you will find that a Lee 38 special shell plate also fits a 40 s&w, if a 40 fits a 6.8 ergo a 38 should fit a 6.8.

I think Brasso contains ammonia, I wouldn't use it to polish MY brass. I use a commercial product called Bon-Ammi. Yuo should be able to find it in the grocery store with the other cleansers like Comet. Bon-Ami contains nothing but a very mild abrasive. I add some to my corn cob when I want to clean fast. I've been using it for many years with no problems.

unless your loading some real precision loads, I wouldn't trickle 'em either. My RCBS measures are within 1/10 gr with any decent measuring powder.

I had the same problem. It turned out to be bullets getting pushed back into the case when chambered from the mag. I put all my uncrimped ammo through a Lee factory sizer snd that cured the problem. Thats why I recommend crimping all 308 ammo used in semi auto battle rifles.

I'm a fan of Mercedes and Ferarri, but I don't drive one.

I'm new to the AR-10 type rifles also. Can't give you much help with the gas block except for general gas adjust wisdom. Start with the gas set low and slowly increase until positive functioning achieved. Whatever you use for a float tube, use the three piece type that allows you to index the rails or swivels. Use a good barrel nut wrench or you can damage the barrel nut. I have a DPMS and it works well. I didn't need to heat mine, it came off fairly easily. I suppose it depends on the rifle and who put it together. I think Hogue makes a rubber cover for the aluminum float tubes, should help. Look around and you will find a number of threads on reloading.

Sounds like an adjustable gas block might solve your problem better than a buffer weight change.

I have Dewey and Tipton. Both are good. If your wallet will handle it, the carbon fiber rods are tops. They are almost indestructible and will not take a set. Buy a really good rod and you will only ever buy one. You will also be surprised how much more you will enjoy cleaning a rifle.

My advice is to keep the Varget and try some other bullets, when you find one your rifle seems to like then try several popular powders. When you find the powder it likes then try several different primers. Most rifles will show more of a preference for bullets than any thing else followed by powder then primers.

A couple good loading manuals will give you all the info you need. If you know anyone that loads, ask if you can watch the next time they load. I learned from a book and never had a problem. Agood single stage press is always useful and will last several lifetimes. Beginners should always start with loading blocks. The first tool you should buy is a kinetic bullet puller. The first time you need it you will understand why. If you don't have a good reloader to guide you, buy all your equipment brand new. If you have a good reloader to guide you, buy your equipment used and save a lot of money. Lock the door and don't let anyone watch you or talk to you while you load. Distraction is the mother of destruction in the loading room. Secure your equipment behind locked doors, especially primers and powders. Get a notebook and log every round you load, just a one line entry with the date, caliber, number of rounds loaded, and the recipe used. Take your time, and enjoy the process, loading is very relaxing. For even more fun try casting your own bullets.