The Pissed Off Tree Rat

To the Tree Rat.

Because I miss the sumbitch.

I need another drink.

Marcus

Okay, so I’ve had an RCBS Rock Chucker Supreme reloading set for over three years now. My dad used RCBS and that’s what I cut my teeth on–so when I finally had the time and the disposable income I finally broke down and bought some reloading equipment for myself. I told the Old Lady that it would save money over time, and she agreed to let me go out and get it. And the dies. And the powders. And the bullets. And… well, you get the picture.

I’ve now loaded literally thousands of rounds with it, and over all this time I actually kept a log of every round loaded and fired. Then I tabulated how much money I have saved–and no kidding, I am one range trip away from breaking even on the cost. One more range trip and the gear has paid for itself. That’s a pretty cool feeling I am here to tell you.

Over the last few years I’ve chatted with other shooters who have expressed an interested in handloading and I’ve made it clear that if your goal is to save money, then you’re really not in it for the right reasons. I can assure you that yes, while my gear is on the verge of paying for itself, I will undoubtedly expand or upgrade my operation, therefore kicking the proverbial can down the road once again. So I have always advised potential handloaders to get into the hobby for the fun of it, not to save cash. Saving money at this probably isn’t realistic.

There’s another crowd that I’ve had opportunity to chat with, and that’s the prepper crowd. There seems to be this misconception that if the Shit Hits The Fan (SHTF), then reloading would be some sort of super valuable skill to have after the apocalypse. As an experienced handloader I would have to disagree. You see, while reloading your own ammo is kind of a neat skill to have, you still need consumables to create ammunition. While you can reuse brass or shotgun hulls, you still need to load primers, powder, and bullets or shot. And those items simply do not grow on trees. While I can resize brass, and trim the neck, and do some rudimentary tasks, what I cannot do is build primers or create smokeless powder. An alchemist I am not. One might get away with casting lead bullets (and I know I guy who does this) you can’t get around the powder and primer dilema. So if we have a TEOWAWKI or SHTF event, being a reloader will be a valuable skill for about as long as your supplies last. Just like being a truck driver will be valuable until you run out of diesel fuel.

On a completely different note, I do have a gripe about the hobby that has always bothered me. And maybe it’s because I use RCBS equipment. My complaint is that when you buy a reloading kit, you don’t get directions on how to use it. Now, you might say that if you are doing something as complicated (it’s not really) or as potentially dangerous as loading ammunition, you ought to know what you’re doing ahead of time. Okay, sure… but not necessarily. If you are selling an entire handloading kit to a customer, I think it’s a reasonable assumption that that person is getting into the hobby for the first time and may not know much about it. So including an instruction manual might be kind of cool. But RCBS does not do this. Or at least they weren’t when I bought my gear.

Now, like I said before my dad taught me how to do this stuff. But over the years I’ve run into situations with my gear that Dad never talked to me about. Like what to do if a casing gets stuck in a resizing die. Thank goodness for Youtube or else you might be up Shit Creek. Because I’m here to tell you, RCBS doesn’t give you a pamphlet with a FAQ guide. Ever wonder why you need to trim your brass casings or how to what length? Yeah, you’re going to have to research that one on your own too. The bottom line is that there ought to be a basic instruction manual included with these kits with a “how to” guide and some basic troubleshooting info. Oh, and a link to a website with good information couldn’t hurt either. I’m just sayin’.

Anyway, I really enjoy reloading ammo, but I do have some issues. And since I’ve added a fricking crew-served weapon to my collection I may need to revisit my reloading operation and upgrade a bit. Quite a bit actually, since my .30 Cal eats ammo like the Old Lady eats crabs legs at the buffet (I swear, whenever we go to the casino for “crab leg night” she will consume her own body weight in king crab… it’s absolutely amazing).

Something to ponder anyway.

Marcus

P.S. The post was sponsored by Jim Beam and Coke Zero. Another booze-inspired blog post of excellence.

Marcus

Now that I have your attention, it appears that POTR is malingering and has better things to do than honor his responsibilities and post some new content on his own blog.  I have just one word…  slacker.  No wait… SLACKER.

That’s better.

Anyway, since he can’t be bothered to post anything here today I guess I will.

You’re welcome.

Marcus

Nothing witty today Freaks……

I think I can deal with a whole bunch of shamblers with this baby.

Next stop, Walmart for some friggin’ ammo.

Marcus

Once upon a time… in the dim mists of antiquity (as Tom Kratman likes to say) I had a concealed carry permit. It was a wondrous thing which allowed me to carry my Ruger in the console of my truck and the Glock on my person. Glorious it was. And I enjoyed said permit for a time whilst living somewhat north of my current location here in Eastern Krasnovia. Well, one PCS move followed another, and ultimately I ended up here–and with an expired permit to boot. Not that it would have mattered, reciprocity being what it is I would have been boned anyway in my current locale.

Time went on and getting a new permit simply did not make it to the top of my priorities of work. Plus I had that little deployment to Pashtun-Playland where I got to carry lots of loaded guns all the time without any permit at all… joy unbounded! After my little stint in Central Asia where things were somewhat interesting, I came back here and felt a bit safer. So again, the permit didn’t rise above many other things on the “Honey Do” list.

Well, the boys at work (those that hunt and enjoy firearms) have decided to descend upon a local CCW class in force and I was asked to participate in this coordinated effort. I readily agreed, since A) I probably need to get this done and B) it’ll be much more fun attending the class with the boys from work, as opposed the usual crowd of middle-aged gun nerds who spend their free time hanging out at the local gun store discussing the latest tactical kit to best defend their double-wides against platoons of marauding felons and Soviet paratroopers. My Mall Ninja-Wannabe tolerance only goes so high… which is why I don’t go to gun stores anymore, but I digress.

So anyway, it’ll be nice to get a permit again. I probably won’t carry a weapon around any more often than I already do, but if I need to go somewhere strange I can take along my piece. Which will be a bit reassuring and nice.

I’ll be sure to let you all know how the class goes.

Marcus

Okay, full disclosure you magnificent bastards… when I was growing up I was a huge James Bond fan. And by huge I mean super-fuckin’ epic-type huge. I used to run James Bond music as the soundtrack to my life.

Why?

Because it was fucking badass… that’s why.

Anyway, at some point I realized that James Bond was nothing more than a live-action cartoon character that did utterly retarded shit that would never fly in the real world. I guess it was the end of the honeymoon at that point. That was probably around the same time Michael Myers was making The Spy Who Shagged Me or some such. It was also during that timeframe when I saw the movie Ronin and described to people as “James Bond for grown-ups.” Yup, the honeymoon was really over by that point.

Recently I broke down and started watching the Daniel Craig versions of Bond, and I have to say that they are actually quite good. So I may have been suckered back into the franchise, but only time will tell.

But in the meantime, I leave you with this… utterly fucking hilarious Youtube clip.

Marcus

(H/T Ace)

Update: Aw hell… how can I not love these movies?

(H/T Ace)

Marcus