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With the nights drawing in and the weather set to change do you have any winter shooting related projects for the next couple of months? Our reloading area is dotted around all over the place with presses in different corners and the tumbler somewhere else so I would like to get most of it in one location. I have a BSA .303 I am going to shift to cast bullets so that needs some load development and a couple of rifle projects kicking off and a couple more finishing.

What about you?

To catch up with all the stuff I didn't get done for my summer and last winter shooting and gun projects.

After having nearly a year away from cartridge hand loading due to my arthritic hands I am going to try and ease myself back into it, I will need to approach it differently and with different expectations now. The year off on BP was to try and give me some distance from cartridge handloading to try and start afresh with different ways that my hands, patience and frustration can manage. So I will be working, hopefully on some cast loads for my 7mm Boer, OVD, Mauser.

BP shooting will however now be my main staple and I hoping to get some Figure of Merit data from my Enfields and their NOE bullet Pritchett cartridges, so basically lots of shooting, plotting, recording and analysing.

Probably buy another cheap old English shotgun and sympathetically restore it. Then take it outside and shot the bugger at anything that moves*


*clays, pigeons and any lawful quarry of course.

Mine is getting ready for target/practical shotgun next year.

I've got a S2 Mossberg 500 pump which I use for vermin as I don't mind it taking a few scratches in the woods. The stock is a little short for me (think gorilla length arms).
Stage 1 is to convert it into S1 . . . I've just got the variation through (Surrey Police did it in 10 days from posting). Unrestricted magazine tubes are £30 from Brownells, then it's a quick trip to an RFD to get it moved from my SGC to my FAC and it should take 6 shots of 2.5" bangs, which will do me as a starter for TSG/PSG.

While I'm ordering the mag tube from Brownells, I might as well get the other bits & pieces and save myself the delivery charge if I get over £100's worth. They do a walnut stock which together with a rubber buttplate should sort out my length issues. Or I could go for one of the black plastic jobbies, I'm not 100% sure yet.

With sights I'm minded to KISS and stay with iron sights, perhaps replacing the standard bead with a fiber one. Although typically the thread is an obscure one with limited availability . . . perhaps I'll drill and tap the rib to take a more standard thread. I'm thinking of an 'Ace-in-the-hole' rail for the rear, then that give me flexibility to put an optic on for ammo testing but have the ghost-ring for speed.

Finally there's ammo as commercial slug is a bit rich for my pocket and apparently a bit hard on the shoulder. I can easily see a Lee Load-all, 7/8 oz slug mould and a roll crimper coming in my Christmas stocking.

Happy days.

Triffid

Setting up my new progressive press and loading heaps of ammunition.

My casting facility is under a steel extractor fan hood upstairs in the garage. Works well, but during the warmer months it is too hot up there. At this time of year, I cast thousands of bullets and round balls. Just coming to the end of this programme having started mid-October. Winter on the range starts with finishing the Midland League cards and then experimenting with loads and bullets. Sample Snider and 38-40 Remington Hepburn black powder loads are already waiting.
Fred

My winter shooting project is to carry on shooting.

moving from large bore to small bore

greenshoots

Sorting out the 4 suitcases full of shooting stuff we're bringing back from the USA in mid December :)

Setting up a better system for case cleaning/prep etc. as using the new larger SS tumbler with kitchen sink and worktops will be a little short of space, unfortunately living in a 2 bed bungalow there's not a lot of spare room anywhere.

Possibly boarding the loft out to at least give me some storage space and maybe somewhere else to reload.

Other than that having a good sit down with my son and trying to find out why the recent drop in interest in going shooting, I suspect it's because of the interview we had last year with Durhams FLM and the way they keep moving the goalposts with regard to his application. I'm sure this has had more of an effect on him than he's admitting.

Airbrush wrote:My winter shooting project is to carry on shooting.

+1 as well as re sorting loads for my No4 and M67.

Trying out some of the bloody great box of blackhills M262 Mod 1 I was given

And suss out the L98A2 as its bloody odd after 20 years and having got used to an AR

and lose some more weight/get fitter/remain upright with this goddamn back!!

Oh yea...get muddy shooting CSR