They stand behind their product, very nice:thumbsup:Update: As ya'll know, I had some issues with the Winchester 9 mm ammo in bulk white box of 100 (1 deform at the neck, 19 of rusty cases). Today I just received a check for $35 and a code for 20% off of anything in Winchester online store. I sent back the bad ones and kept the good ones (about 80 left).
Not too shabby.
Since the "Great Ammo Shortage of 2013", I now have a significant back stock as well But I suppose I could have found ammo at a local gun store as well anytime if I was prepared to pay their astronomical prices, I just wasn't that desperate
My local Wal-Marts have had good stock on cheap range ammo for a while now and the Academy store has dropped box limits on everything except .22 even though their prices are a little higher...but I am in a small town and there's only a couple gun stores, their prices are outrageous for ammo even before the shortage, I can't imagine what they were during it...I'm now sitting on 1-3k for every caliber I have except .38 and I'll just keep it there, but I'll keep buying bulk anytime I can, since I don't reload yet it's the only way I can save a little, and 10% is 10%I think we are seeing the YMMV part of this. Bulk range ammo is still $20 for 50 rounds for .40 and a bit cheaper for 9mm. Carry ammo is between $20 and $30 for a box of 20 or 25 depending on brand and caliber.
I started hunting for bulk when I heard about the shortage and stocked up on what I could get a deal on. But then every time I went to the gun store they had all kinds of ammo at OK prices. I just couldn't see the value in dropping $300 on bulk ammo to save maybe 10% after shipping.
WTF does reloading have to do with Sandy Hook?
Midway USA, Natchez, X-Treme Bullets, Rocky Mountain Reloading, Diamond K Brass, Dardas Cast Bullets, are a few I've used.
If you buy primer or powder online you have to pay a hazmat fee on the shipping (flat $28 fee for up to 50 lbs, IIRC) so you have to do very large orders to make it worthwhile... my reloading volume is still fairly small so I'm just buying those locally.
I think we are seeing the YMMV part of this. Bulk range ammo is still $20 for 50 rounds for .40 and a bit cheaper for 9mm. Carry ammo is between $20 and $30 for a box of 20 or 25 depending on brand and caliber.
I started hunting for bulk when I heard about the shortage and stocked up on what I could get a deal on. But then every time I went to the gun store they had all kinds of ammo at OK prices. I just couldn't see the value in dropping $300 on bulk ammo to save maybe 10% after shipping.
You could try asking nicely. Right after Sandy Hook the Obama admin started to make a lot of noise (along with Feinstein and the likes) about gun control. People freaked out (and this was following an election, so supplies were already a little sparse.) They bought up every ounce of powder and every bullet. You could barely find Dillon or Lee presses in stock. The only way you got supplies was by finding that ONE website with supplies, or knowing someone at a local shop. Moreover, there's the 2 billion round order by the federal government that was essentially an end around on gun control.
Since that all blew over, reloading supplies have become easier to find, but still not as good as 2 years ago.
Of course, realize that cast bullets aren't exactly the best option if you care about your health.
Sorry...I didn't realize that it looked like I was yelling at you. Was yelling at a shooting causing an ammo shortage. Probably should have made that a bit more clear.
Rudeguy living up to his name and living in apparently a completely different world if he didn't notice the number the shootings did on availability.
Contacted S&W about a new barrel for my 3 1/2 year old M&P,
"Dear Customer,
Barrels are factory fit and would need the gun to be sent in. This is a charge and current backlog is about 6 months."
Like I thought, nope. Ordered a KKM barrel, see how this works out. I love the thing except for its horrid accuracy >10 yards.
Hand it over to someone who is very accurate at distances, see if they can get a good grouping. It's how I verified my 1911 is in great shape, and my hand isn't.
I'm plenty accurate with the G19 I have and my buddy's G21, and Beretta 92. This is definitely a firearm issue.
No one is really questioning your skills on some personal level, but it seems like the majority of the time people blame a gun for accuracy it ends up being the shooter.
Before you go all-out and replace the barrel I would try shooting from a rest. My range has a sandbag, where you can rest your forearms on it for accuracy testing. Maybe have a gunsmith check barrel I.D.
No one is really questioning your skills on some personal level, but it seems like the majority of the time people blame a gun for accuracy it ends up being the shooter.
Before you go all-out and replace the barrel I would try shooting from a rest. My range has a sandbag, where you can rest your forearms on it for accuracy testing. Maybe have a gunsmith check barrel I.D.
And I'm not taking it personally, too much.
But these pistols from the earlier production runs are pretty much confirmed to be poor shooters - http://modernserviceweapons.com/?p=159
Of course, realize that cast bullets aren't exactly the best option if you care about your health.
Not really an issue unless you don't know how to wash your hands or are shooting at a poorly ventilated indoor range 3 times a week.
Ahh, OK. Sorry for not quite getting the meaning
Completely agreed on the ammo shortage, I've become used to the election price spikes, but what followed Sandy Hook was pretty terrible. I stopped shooting after Sandy Hook, and haven't really started up again. I dug into my ammo reserves a little and I'm rebuilding them. I really just need to get into reloading since my rifles are all expensive rounds (30-06, 7.62, 303, 30carbine.)
I don't really care if they're up to NIOSH standards (and incidentally NIOSH says soap and water isn't enough to clean your hands) all you need is enough of a cloud hanging there to inhale it. A lot of indoor ranges flat out ban non-jacketed rounds. Can't blame them.
So after SH, Congress tried to ban some guns. Was ammo ever in danger of getting banned? Or was there a massive increase in gun owners causing the shortage? Or did people start hording out of fear?
I just don't get how the two are connected.
I guess this is one of the few reasons to live in MI. No ammo shortage and if some nutter does something stupid, no one blames the gun.
So after SH, Congress tried to ban some guns. Was ammo ever in danger of getting banned? Or was there a massive increase in gun owners causing the shortage? Or did people start hording out of fear?
I just don't get how the two are connected.
Seriously? Have you been living under a rock for the last year?
Yes. The abbreviated version goes something like:
ATF looked into banning lead, but they're prevented from doing that (about all they can do is ban lead sinkers used for fishing, but cannot ban lead usage in bullets)
Requiring permits for ammo sales, banning online sale of ammo, limits on how much ammo you could buy and so forth were considered.
When it looked like this wouldn't pass (who the eff ever thought it would?!) the Obama admin had a temper tantrum like a 5 year old who starts throwing stuff on the floor when denied a candy bar in a grocery store....and bought something like 2 billion rounds. By law/previous agreements, Federal and other suppliers had to service the government's order BEFORE they could sell to individuals again, which essentially meant once the shelves were emptied in gun stores, there was no more until the government's order was filled.
As such, the smart people bought a bunch in bulk, and then price per round just skyrocketed. Rounds like 7.62 NATO became prohibitively expensive unless you were shooting prvi branded rounds of iffy quality. Reloading supplies just vanished.
So it was both: people started hording, followed by the government doing it's best to prevent sales to individuals and some more hording. By the time prices start dropping to early 2012 prices, we'll be knee deep in the 2014 election with the house at risk (and if the house goes D, we will see another push for gun control, and as such before the election we'll see prices rise; if Ds win the house we'll see massive price spikes as people freak out. Again.)
So, back to guns...
...sort of...
...anyone know where to get little tiny ball bearings? Like ones that are about 2-3mm in diameter and commonly used in conjunction with a spring to make detents for safeties and other gun controls. Among other stuff...seems like anytime I take something apart that has a spring and a ball in it somewhere, I lose that damn little ball. More common than one would think...but in this case, yeah, it's for a safety lever.
I'm sure there's some specialty place I can buy them from online (or get it from the firearm manufacturer), but I'm wondering where I might find something like that locally. Or what I could cannibalize for what I need.
.177 BB's would almost work sometimes. But this one is just a wee bit smaller.
I don't know the actual size; I lost the goddamn thing. ;P
I'm going off of the hole the spring goes in. It is very close to .125 (1/8)". But the ball was not quite so big.