Science/Engineering/Technical forums

Hi,

I'm a 22 years old software developper from Quebec. I specialize in web and server side applications development, mostly Microsoft/.NET(not my fault, that's were the money lies up here) but I'm also proficient in java.

Besides computers, I have interests in robotic, mechanic, shooting, scuba diving and things that does cool stuff in general.

PS: Since I'm missing the space/equipement to reload my own ammo right now, I'm looking to buy CHEAP remanufactured 9mm 115gr copper plated/lead core ammo. If someone knows suppliers in canada that fit this and are not out of stock, feel free to PM me

Have a nice day,
Mikael

Only place I know of that's usually cheap is "Cheaper than Dirt". Dunno what the shipping regs are for that kind of thing.
You can do reloading, particularly of pistol rounds, for very cheap with a Lee hand press and kit....as in a couple boxes of ammo pay for it all. You really don't need the super fancy stuff I use to make competition rifle rounds.

Do any perl? I've been doing a lot of that of late, as it seems to fit the problem-space I'm working in these days - duct-taping big other programs together in useful ways. Also a lot of C and C++ for micros where you really need the speed and determinism.

Yeah, I wish I could purchase from there but the US export regulations on ammo are tight and I can't buy from the US.
A reloading kit would be great, but since I'm stuck in a small apartment I don't really know how I could find the space for that.

Never done any perl, I did some c for fun however on a texas instrument microcontroller. I've also done some win32 api with c++ on another project.

A reloading setup doesn't take much room. You could have a nice little station in about 32 square feet, including you and your elbows. Maybe not your cat.

Lee's hand press is the size of a monkey wrench, including the dies. They even still sell a pliers version for handguns. There's a tale about an old guy who used to reload on a bar stool for his neighbors in Alaska with just that. In a lot of cases, it's all you need other than fresh primers, powder, bullets, and for one caliber, we're talking about a shoebox total size of stuff. Again, you can't do the super-fancy high precision stuff I do for matches with long-range rifles (off sandbags), but you can certainly do any handgun, and perfectly serviceable handgun ammo - where in most cases, it's not the ammo that limits the accuracy anyway. Ditto hunting ammo, since you rarely have things like sandbags - the limit is how well you can hold more often than not.

All you need is a table you can sit at. You don't need a bolt-down press or any of that to just be in the game at all. I do have all the fancy stuff - some of it turned out to be a waste, FWIW.
Though, having said that, sometimes I'll even bring my big lathe into the job. I use it for neck turning brass with a special quick release brass holder and a fancy Sinclair turner($), and for turning the bases of cast bullets flat before putting on a gas check, also using a special quick-release collet I made in the shop. But all that is venturing into the land of "tweaking for the extreme at heart", not actually required for most uses.

I'm still working on my video series about reloading, and have had some other requests along the minimalist line - I think I'll pay attention and make a few about how to do it with as little as possible. For the main series, I am awaiting a disk drive with a bunch of video the Vice guys shot on my main rigs - they did a better job (by far) than I can do talking to a camera on a tripod.

Really, it often does turn into a hobby all its own, and can easily become a case of "space for it is the final frontier" but it need not, there's just a lotta guys who do take it that far. I have to admit it's confidence-building when you're at a long range match - say 400 meters and above - to know you've got the very best, tuned to your rifle which is also the very best. But...that's the exception for most people.

While you can mail-order the "goes bang" parts here (primers and powder), the hazmat fee is crazy, so I most often get those things from dealers at gun shows, since that fee is amortized over a ton of stuff - it's cheaper there. If you mailorder, you have to pay it twice, as they won't ship primers and powder in the same shipment. Which is nuts, but who ever said the lawmakers knew anything? A can of black powder, which is a heck of a lot more dangerous (would open a UPS truck like a can-opener) costs the same to ship. Smokeless powder just burns and pops the can open gently under the very same conditions.

Yeah.. I just checked out those "monkey wrench sized" kit and I could gear up on that. Reloading without an automatic powder dispenser looks quite long however but It could do the trick for now since I'm space-limited. Thanks for the info

I had a buddy who reloaded off his kitchen table. He kept everything in a tool box and could be setup in about 5 minutes.

While I definitely don't endorse the brand for everything (Lee's priming tools and big progressive presses suck really badly), with a little practice, the powder dippers are just as good as my $400 powder dispensing robot, or my $200 benchrest totally-beautiful machined powder volume-based dispensers. His "perfect" powder measure, is. Looks like crap, works fantastically well.

Weighing powder isn't the right way except to be sure you're all on the same page and such. Volume is better than nothing, and better than weighing. You know why? Damp powder weighs more, but burns slower, so weighing it is the exactly opposite of correct. What you have to live with is consistent filling the shell the correct amount. You will still have humidity and temperature effects, but not as bad as if you weigh some on a damp day, and some on a dry day - difference there is huge.