Indoor activities for the outdoor enthusiasts

Happy New Year! Winter has arrived with a vengeance. We’ve seen temperatures reaching twenty-two below zero at my home in Big Lake already. We’ve also got nearly two feet of snow on the ground as well. That’s more than enough snow to go riding my snowmobile in the country west of here. However, I’ll need to dig my machine, stored in a covered trailer, out of a snowbank before I can do so. In the meantime, I’ll keep busy with some indoor projects.

Over time, I’ve mentioned various indoor activities you could do to benefit your outdoor interests – things like rod building, fly tying, archery leagues and such. A couple of activities I missed were shooting and reloading. The Matanuska Valley Sportsman’s Association has an indoor shooting range located on the Glenn Highway a couple of miles south of Palmer.

You can check their website for hours of operation, shooting fees, membership costs and requirements, and other general information. The website also describes the types of firearms and ammunition allowed on the range. You could also try calling them and seeing if someone answers the phone and your questions. I believe their phone number is listed in the book.

I went over on a Friday afternoon a while back and enjoyed shooting several revolvers I hadn’t fired in a while. I used up several boxes of reloaded ammunition I had assembled over the years. I got some much-needed shooting practice and now have a pile of empty cartridge cases to reload.

I’ve been reloading ammunition since the 1960’s and rarely buy a box of factory centerfire ammunition. I started reloading to save money and to improve the accuracy of the ammo I shot. I’ve learned a few things over the years.

Regarding accuracy, you can duplicate factory accuracy levels with your best quality reloads, but in most cases, you won’t significantly improve on the accuracy level of current high-quality factory ammunition. However, you can tailor-make a reload with a specific bullet type and weight that your firearm likes, and which suits your shooting needs, i.e., hunting.

I have a custom-built 35 Whelen caliber rifle for which I needed a hunting load. After consulting the loading manuals, I first tried a recommended powder and weight for a specific bullet I wanted to use. When the test shooting showed groups you could cover with a quarter at a hundred yards, I never even tried another load. I had my desired load.

You will save money over buying factory ammunition. There is a catch – you won’t start saving the big bucks until you have reloaded and fired a few thousand rounds of reloads. If you figure the new price of a reloading press, powder measure, powder scale, reloading dies for each caliber, a case-priming set-up, case cleaning equipment, reloading manuals, plus the powder, primers, cases, and bullets, and all the other necessary items to safely and properly produce quality reloaded ammunition, you see that you can make a substantial investment.

As a hobby within a hobby, you can get further involved by making your own lead bullets by bullet casting with all its related equipment. You can also buy equipment to swage bullets, producing either straight lead or jacketed finished bullets.

If you shoot a lot, you will save money in the long run reloading your ammunition. If you only shoot a hundred rounds a year or less, you will never realize the cost of your investment, savings wise, but you will have discovered another fascinating activity related to the shooting sports.

If you think you may want to try reloading, my first suggestion is to buy a couple of different reloading manuals and read them cover-to-cover. You will better understand the process, the safety concerns, and will gain an insight into the equipment necessary to get started.

My second suggestion is to call the Palmer Department of Fish and Game office at 746-6300 and ask about attending a reloading clinic sponsored by the Hunter Information and Training section of the Wildlife Conservation Division. Chances are, you’ll be put on a list of folks requesting this training. When enough people have signed up, a clinic could be scheduled. The Mat Valley range may also sponsor a reloading clinic. Ask about it.

The Wasilla Gun Show, held annually at Wasilla High School, will be happening the second weekend of January this year (the 13th and 14th). That might be a suitable time to get out and price reloading equipment, look for deals, and shake off some of those winter blahs. I’ll see you there.