If you reload, PLEASE stay within the published loads of any decent reloading manual. The following pics are from a Smith & Wesson 629 which was subjected to creative reloading by its owner. According to the email that I got with the pics, the owner got a good whack on the forehead but nothing more.

That is a painful thing to look at. Please be careful.

I am lucky to have been laid off and found a job again when the unemployment and the economy is so crappy. But I have to say that working 2300 to 0070 does put your life in a spin cycle specially since I ain’t a young pup anymore. It has taken almost a month to adapt to the concept that I am a pumpkin and the rest of the world is not. Add to it that the body tends to reboot once it sees sunlight but the reboot is less than satisfactory due to working like a vampire and what you get is the brain of a zombie trying to get things done and my mind suffers the equivalent of Windows Blue Screen of Death.

But now that I am somewhat used to the new routine, I realized I am so behind in several things, I am ashamed I let everything go. My shooting has gone to crap. Even though I managed to set one day off to be able to attend my IDPA matches, the change in schedule compounded with the nasty heat and humidity of South Florida brought what appeared to be cluster headaches (at least according to WebMD.) I had headaches before but having a headache lasting 16 hours is not an enjoyable experience. I became light and sound sensitive so you can imagine this fool bravely attempting to get a day in the range, failing miserably and having to run home crying like a teenage girl watching Twilight.  Let’s see if I can make it up this Saturday.

I need to reload. God I am so low in ammo that I might make one IDPA match and one ICORE match… barely. Reloading components are still hard to get, specially primers. I am well stocked in brass and lead for casting bullets, somewhat OK in powder but awfully short on primers. And I refuse to buy primers at stupid prices so I am caught between the anvil and the executioner’s axe. Anyway, that will be first on my To Do List.

I got a 24×12 (or something like that) sheet of airplane kydex for under $15. I’ve been meaning to retake my speed loader and AK mag pouch projects but lack of inexpensive materials with a crappy income put aq stop to that. I do need at least 4 more speed loader pouches for ICORE and I will try to duplicate an AK Mag holder that Rob of Tactical Yellow Visor was kind enough to loan me. I swear the first company that figures there is a huge need for inexpensive AK gear will make friging millions.

I did order EOTAC’s Vickers Duty Gloves from Dale who is our local Tactical Gear Pusher and duly sworn EOTAC dealer. I am still smarting from the last rifle drills night a couple of months ago. WASRs are tough, reliable but murder for the hands. A review will be forthcoming before it is against the law to do so.

I do want to happily announce that the last barrier has collapsed and my dear wife has finally agreed to get her Concealed Weapons Permit. She will be the third student to get training from this NRA instructor. If I want to be accurate, she has been getting the training for the last year a bit at a time although not in a class format. I think by now she must have somewhere in the vicinity of 50 hours of me talking about guns and self-defense but needs some range time (Honey, expect some 200 rounds worth of active shooting) plus a last minute overdose of Florida Statutes 790.

If you done any kind of browsing over the most popular gun & ammo sales websites, I am sure you are finding that firearms and ammunition stocks are disappearing as fast as the Visa Headquarters can process credit cards charges. Larry Correia cannot take a breather and his shop is just about sold out with people mobbing around the store like a bad zombie movie and phones ringing off the hook with customers begging for anything that goes bang and might be banned under the rule of The Great and Powerful Ozbama.

Since I am tapped out budget wise from getting any more firearm, I aimed my limited resources to get all the stuff required to cast my own bullets. I’ve been collecting brass like there is no tomorrow but I’ve been buying my bullets online from Midway and that has been a decent solution. But the price went up 30% in the last month alone, the demand increasing even more and the dreaded Status: Out of Stock is popping up more frequently.

And now I shall start the obligatory safari through Dade and Broward counties visiting any place that might have lead available for cheap, misplaced or just ignored. I will also continue with the brass collection (catching the darn things as they come out of the ejection port of fellow shooters if necessary) and increase my stocks of powder & primers.

Get your stuff while you can. Stay away from my brass.