Survival and Emergency Preparedness

David wrote: ↑Sat Jul 04, 2020 2:54 pm
Fortunately, those that knew this was coming were already stocked up in both categories. And they knew well enough not to just have ONE go-to caliber of choice. Those that didn't learn the lesson from the last go-around and those that are new to the thought process are paying for those decisions.

Years ago when I got back into having and maintaining a handgun I established .40S&W as my go-to round. That said it doesn't mean that I don't have other calibers available. For years my primary back-up calibers have been .357/.38 and .45ACP. And even though I did not own a 9mm until just recently I have had for several years a reasonable amount of 9mm. I gave my daughter a 9mm for her birthday about 7 years ago. I made sure to have ammo should she need it or if we wanted to go shooting. I have, for me, comfortable amounts of ammo in each of those calibers.

As I begin a transition to 9mm as my primary caliber it will be slow. I can wait for prices to become reasonable again before adding other handguns and I have enough ammo that I don't need to be on a constant search for ammo at any price. For the time being my G22 and G23 are still on active duty and my P365 is picking up the role of primary EDC.

When all this cranked up 3+ months ago I asked several of my friends (those to whom this was a pertinent question) if they had enough ammo. I encouraged them to make sure they had enough.

The past few months have made me feel very good about some of the things I have been doing and things I have been putting into place re: prepping over the past decade. Not just from a firearms perspective but other aspects such as food stores, tools, first aid, and water to name a few.

If anyone needs a 19X let me know, local B/S/T has one for the low price of $1300

Some of the prices on Armslist and other sites are ridiculously stupid.

Picked up a couple of boxes of Federal 180g HST. These were in the Federal white box. Did a little research and it seems the white boxes are contract overruns but pretty much the same stats as the ‘premium’ boxed HST’s. Cases are brass instead of nickel, the bullet is the same and velocities consistent. Paid $30 per box.

https://www.ingunowners.com/forums/ammu ... e-box.html

OK...so I recently bought a couple boxes of 180gr Federal HST JHP bullets from a local gun shop. I got one hell of a deal on it and I was looking around and I noticed that the HST was typically sold with nickle coated brass casings and the ones that I purchased were just brass. So I started searching around the net to find out exactly what I had. The answers I came across ranged from "they are factory seconds" to "they are left overs from government contracts made available to the public." After about 45 minutes of searching I came across a post that someone made. This individual had emailed Federal and asked what the difference between the bullets in the white box (XM40HC) and the stuff in the fancy Federal Premium box (P40HST1) was. Here's the answer...

1.. Velocity
P40HST1 990-1025 FPS
XM40HC 1015 +/- 16 FPS

2.. Muzzel Energy
P40HST1 406 ft lbs
XM40HC 410 ft. lbs

3.. Bullet Push
P40HST1 80lb min
XM40HC 70 lb min

This ammunition was made for a customer, whether it was Military or Police was not specified. The ammunition that is available is the excess that was not purchased from the original order and made available for sale. It is HST.

I know this stuff can be hard to find (I know I had a pretty hard time finding it) and I hope this helps someone who had the same questions I did.

I started preparing to load 9mm again. For couple years I've been shooting factory 9mm ammo as I acquired them at very reasonable price but my stock of factory and my reloads is getting smaller.

I have everything set aside to load 1 lot of 5k rounds on my Dillon press.
I set aside...
5k Winchester 115gr JHP bullets (these were purchased back in 2001)
5k Winchester small pistol primers of which 2k primers were loaded into primer tube
4 lb. of Winchester 231 (these were purchased in 2003 or 2004)
5k+ once shot Speer nickel plated brass which I need to tumble
I have loaded a lot of this load in past 25+ years which has given me average velocity of 1,150 -1,170 fps out of my 5" pistols.

After 9mm I'll load 5,000 rounds of 45ACP and 2,000 rounds of 38 Special and 500 rounds of 357 magnum.

Some were in between I need to work up some 45 Super load too.

This winter I want to load enough cast bullets in 9mm, 38 Special, 45 Colt and 45ACP to last me and my family for 2 years of shooting.

At current market price for ammo I can't afford to buy them anymore.

Well I'm seeing Taurus G2's for $450 on AL and of course everyone and his brother has a Glock on there for at least double what they're worth. Funny thing is that if you're patient you can still find guns in shops for normal or just over normal pricing. The Taurus G3 I just bought was $259 and the LCP II was $325. Funny thing is that I could probably flip the G3 for $400 on AL. Not my plan, I actually like this as an inexpensive pistol.

I'm still able to find ammo, but the price has definitely gone up to ridiculous prices on AL. I don't think much of it is selling though as I keep seeing the same ads over and over.

Sorry for dropping off the planet like I did, had some life issues.

Now it is corrected.

So back on release I bought a 5.7 ruger. was worried I could not find ammo but I figured it would come back.

Fast forward to today. Have 2 k rounds for it and it is a ton of fun to shoot. More accurate than I am with a hand gun.

of all the things to stumble in to a pile of 5.7 was not what I would have guessed.

Everything else seems to have dried up, other than some odd balls. (That I have or have owned in the past.) 6.5x55 SM, Wow that was a find. LOL Still a ton on the shelf of the local fun store.

.270 win, seems to be a lot of it on the shelves.

12, 20, and 410, all bird shot and trap loads are every where. Buckshot and Slugs are hens teeth.

Prices on guns that come in to the store is crazy. $780 for a glock 19? may be time to dig up some PVC pipes and sell some things. LOL..... I mean if I had stashes hidden around... Or something....

Strayz wrote: ↑Wed Sep 09, 2020 8:26 pm Sorry for dropping off the planet like I did, had some life issues.

Now it is corrected.

Hope it was nothing serious and glad it's worked out. I know how things happen!

Strayz wrote: ↑Wed Sep 09, 2020 8:26 pm I bought a 5.7 ruger.

Okay, I've heard of them but really know very, very little about them. You'll have to educate me on them.

Strayz wrote: ↑Wed Sep 09, 2020 8:26 pm Prices on guns that come in to the store is crazy.

I use Armslist pretty much for entertainment value right now. Everyone's thinking their used pistol has solid gold barrels

I survived and am a better person for being tested in that manor. Now on to the healing, and healing just takes time.

The Ruger 5.7, is Rugers take on the FN 5.7 semi auto pistol. Think of it as a More reliable, and slightly more powerful .22 mag. It is a centerfire round that shoots a .22 caliber (5.7mm) 35 grn hp pill at around 2300 FPS. Lots of Bark very little recoil. It is fun to shoot. Not recommended for self defence IMO. I bought it for longer range zapping wabbits and anything up to medium/large dog sized. It is not a end of the world zombie zapper. I still buy Firearms that are fun to shoot and give me enjoyment in shooting. This was my once in every 3-4 years whimsical buy. It is also more fn to shoot that I thought it would be.

Take a look here. This guy cracks me up. I do not consider him the end all be all. At least he doesn't drone on like Nut'n I love the sound of my voice.
https://youtu.be/kh_WxeOAcxo

The FN benefit was for the PCC that goes with it.

Bob wrote: ↑Thu Sep 10, 2020 2:39 pm The FN benefit was for the PCC that goes with it.

Also potential to pen soft armor, but not over pen through 2-3 walls and what have ya.