The Range Day Handload Project


Saturday is Range Day! Well, it was Range Day. I ordered me up some fun last Saturday and was able to do some relaxed shooting with my friends Mike and Bill. I also field-tested the Impact Sport BOLT hearing protection from Howard Leight by Honeywell. They worked quite well and I have so say I was surprised and impressed. I have a few minor suggestions to improve them, but my ears were protected and that is what counts.

The main reason we went to the dessert was to begin testing our handloads. I am working on a reloading/handload project with different caliber California legal bullets and some different powders for California hunters. I’ll be working on this for the next few months and if there is a bullet you’d like me to test, please let me know. I’ll be loading copper rounds for .223, .270 WIN, and .300 WIN MAG. This is going to be a rad project for California hunters. I have three projectile manufacturers in mind (Cutting Edge Bullets, Barnes Bullets, and Nosler, Inc.). I’ll go into the details of the reloads and testing in the next few months. 


To get a feel for some of my handloads, I shot my .270 handloads with the 130 grain Cutting Edge Bullets with 42 grains of H4895 powder. All five shots hit at the center of my steel gong at 135 yards. The copper marks in the center of the gong were lying prone. I did shoot a couple factory .270 lead rounds and copper .300 WIN MAG rounds for fun. I also toyed around with the Max Ordinate Precision Speed Challenge targets for rapid and controlled shooting. That was challenging and I need work, but I enjoyed it!


On my way out I was confronted with yet another Mylar balloon hiding under a bush. I hate them and they litter the landscape. I stopped my truck and snagged it. One less shiny piece of trash in the wilderness. Others have joined the fight and are entered into my monthly #MylarChallenge2018. Check out my Facebook and Instagram pages for details. Some great prizes will be given away. The more you enter, the better the prize!

Now that I am back, it’s time to put everything on paper, process some brass, and gear up for some seminars, banquets and gear reviews. Who will be attending the West Valley Friends of the NRA Banquet this Saturday? I’ll be there with Bass Pro and hoping to meet as many of you as I can. If you will be there and want to chat, don’t hesitate to come say hi! Have a great week everyone!

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