Huh, maybe the blight is over.

[Bret4207]

Went to town yesterday. the BIG CITY! Was looking for bike parts for my boy and wandered into the sporting goods aisles at Wally World. Last time I looked 22LR was going for about $45-50 per 500. I bought 1 50 round box of the cheap stuff some months back and paid $12 and change. Yesterday I bought 3 boxes of Federal, 325 rounds, for $14.88 each. That's more like it! But I still don't see how they can charge $4.89 for a box of 25 12 gauge shotshells with more brass, more lead, more powder and primer material! Makes no sense. Seems like gouging.

 

[Rick]

That's retailing Bret. Which is more in demand? I would think far more people buying 22lr than 12 gauge. In the past month my Wally's has had 22's on the shelf, first time in a few years. I picked up a box of Rem 100 count for like $12. Didn't need them, just bought them because, well because I could.

 

[Maven]

Bret, If you are able to repair the bike yourself, there are several bike shops on line, e.g., Nashbar is one I've dealt with and can recommend them.

 

[fiver]

most of those shot shells don't have brass in them anymore.
they are using steel for the heads and sometimes they brass plate the steel for the better shells.
I only know of 2 hulls being made that still use solid brass.

I'm confused that they haven't brought back the Active hull it was all plastic with a steel insert in the base.
Winchester bought the rights and equipment to them years ago.

 

[Ian]

I liked the Activ hulls, still are a few on the ground up at Dad's place from over 30 years ago. What was the deal with them? Semi-auto restricted or just not reloadable? There was some big downside that I can't remember now. Winchester probably bought them just to shut them up and eliminate the competition.

 

[Ian]

Ok, I was wrong, BP says they are super-reloadable and feed in everything.

 

[uncle jimbo]

Back a long time ago, I heard that people didn't like because they didn't have that brass on them. Afraid of blowing up or something. I remember the old terms of high brass, low brass, and medium brass. What people didn't know was that the brass was put there in the paper hull days for two reasons. One was for extraction and the other was to help keep burn though from happening in the paper hulls. When I first started to reload shotshells, 56 years ago, I remember those paper hulls with burn though pin holes all around the top of the brass. I also remember pulling the resized hull out of the sizer die with my fingers because the extractor rod stroke was not long enough to push it all the way out. When I could get low brass back then, it was the cat's meow.

 

[fiver]

they were coveted around my parts for duck hunting because they didn't corrode in the high salt water environment of the great salt lake.
the hulls reload like a champ and you got about 10 loads out of them.
many were afraid they wouldn't work in their guns because of the plastic base surrounding the steel head.
it was an unfounded fear and about the time the fact from the fiction was sorted out and they started to take off Winchester bought them out and shut them down.

I think the idea was just a bit ahead of it's time for public acceptance, had they hung on for another 5-7 years or been able to get more product into more peoples hands I really think they would have taken off and become a mainstream company much like star-line is finally becoming.

 

[Bret4207]

Bret, If you are able to repair the bike yourself, there are several bike shops on line, e.g., Nashbar is one I've dealt with and can recommend them.

Hey Maven! Long time, no see. The kid busted what I think is a proprietary part on the seat mount. Pretty sure it's a "special order from the maker if you can get it at all" type of thing. But thanks for the tip. He's harder on bikes than any kid I've ever seen.

 

[freebullet]

Let "kid" pay for hardness of use &/or head. S'what my old man did. You either learn to take care of, or have broken stuff.
He wouldn't let me park my trucks in his driveway after I'd go muddin. Had to pressure wash broken mud trucks just to fix them. It's amazing where mud can get when driving through a river with 44" boggers.

Don't even own a 22lr, it's very freeing to be insulated from that hysteria. Do have 1 wmr, it just sits around even though we have plenty of ammo for it.

 

[Pistolero]

Yes, we have been able to get decent priced .22 for a few months now. I think the
hoarders finally have their entire basements full, and the factories keep churning it
out. I never ran out, shot what I wanted to, so didn't buy the crazy expensive stuff.

I love plinking. I did buy a couple of bricks of .22 shorts last GShow, $27 a brick.
They are wonderful in my new Rem 34. Feed perfectly in that jewel, need no ear
plugs, it holds about 21 or 22 of them, too. They are high vel, unfortunately, still a
crack, but no real muzzle blast. I wish I could find std vel shorts at good prices, I'd
buy a bunch. Seems like they are just gone, these were Mexican stuff, shoot well
tho.

Bill

 

[Brad]

The Mexican subsonic HP is my preferred squirrel ammo. Anchors a rat quite well but without blowing huge holes. Must be why I have a couple bricks of it?

 

[Pistolero]

I only take head shots on tree rats. I take it as a personal challenge. When I am really
in the mood, I take my old 6" Ruger std auto with the Phantom scope. Head shots only.
Best ever was a 75 yd hit on first try. Squirrel sat on a big old live oak branch, running horizonal,
with the sun setting behind him. That was a memorable shot.

I like tree rats.

Bill

 

[Brad]

I have probably shot more with a 40 cal flinter than anything. Rarely used a shotgun, dad didn't find that sporting. Have shot a few with the Ruger 22 auto and a few with the 10" contender in K Hornet. Really sporting burns were the 32 muzzleloading pistol. Reloads were not fast.

Those were some of my fondest memories of hunting with my dad.

 

[Pistolero]

Now, I got to say, shooting tree rats with a rocklock is darned sporting. That requires some
REAL follow through. Manly hunting, no doubt. If you are actually managing to hit
any, I AM impressed. I have to agree, anyone can sluice them out of the tree with a 12 ga,
plus I hate biting down on shot. Contender sounds pretty cool, too. 32 muzzle loading pistol....
sounds like real challenge, too. Are these grays or the big reds?

Bill

 

[Brad]

Fox squirrels here. Well, until the last year or two when we saw greys start moving into areas along the river.
Got 2-4 many days with the flinter. Shot out a 32 cal barrel on the rifle the. Replaced it with the 40. A rat at 25 was not a tough shot at all.
A good flinter is as fast as a caplock. Mine meets that standard easily.

 

[Pistolero]

OK, fox squirrels are a good bit bigger target. We have them in Fla, but they were comparatively
rare, so I never shot one, only the little grays. Up here in KS we have grays and big red squirrels
about twice the size of a gray, or at least twice the weight. Haven't been squirrel hunting in about
6-8 years. Last time was with my Rem Rolling block #4. Wonderful little rifle, did good service on
the grays. I always just watched the beautiful fox squirrels in FL, couldn't bring myself
to shoot one.

Impressed with shooting squirrels with a flint lock, they always make me flinch just a bit,
but then again, I have only shot about 4 or 5 shots through one. Maybe you get used to
it.

Bill

 

[Pistolero]

Maybe I just need to shoot a really good flintlock. The one I shot was not nearly
as quick as a caplock.

Bill

 

[Brad]

Makes all the difference in the world. The lock is a huge part of it. Mine is a small Siler and it just flat works. Good flints help too. Load it right, prime it right, and they just go off reliably.
A 42" barrel gives a nice sight radius too.

 

[Pistolero]

Maybe when I come up to show you some handgun stuff, you can teach me some
flinter stuff.

Bill