Ways to keep busy with the dismal weather

As I write this, the weather is overcast with a forecast of mixed rain and snow for the Valley. The temperatures are above freezing during the day and not too much below freezing at night. Conditions for riding a snowmachine are dismal and, while the ice is still fine for icefishing, who wants to sit out in mixed rain/snow precipitation, especially if the winds are blowing to any degree?

The drawing permit winners were announced a couple of weeks ago and, as usual, I didn’t win anything! I know two folks who drew bison permits and a couple more that hold antlerless moose permits for our local areas. I’m researching some local areas to get a sense of where I might want to hunt come fall. I’m currently talking with one of my friends with a bison permit about “helping” with his hunt. That could be both a lot of fun and a lot of work.

I’ve also been reorganizing my “man cave” so I can actually locate stuff I thought I had but haven’t been able to find. I’m still looking for a half-dozen handgun magazines I bought over a decade ago and put away for “safe keeping!” I’m organizing and reorganizing reloading components and loaded ammunition into GI ammo cans (labeled as I fill them) and setting up shelving to hold everything. I’m discovering that, while I’m in fairly decent shape for loaded ammo, I have a lot of empty cases begging to be reloaded.

I’ve been reloading both handgun and rifle cartridges for nearly fifty years now. While I have never done much shotshell reloading, I’m venturing more into that arena because of a shotgun I bought for goose hunting and to create some blackpowder shotgun shells.

One of the few advantages to being a senior is that I’ve had a lot of time to accumulate stuff over the years. Along the way, I acquired a newly built Spanish 12 gauge, double barreled, exposed hammer shotgun and hunted ducks with it back when lead shot was still legal. I enjoyed shooting it. I bought a box of empty brass 12 gauge shells years ago and recently (that means within the last 5-10 years) bought a set of dies for reloading those brass shells.

While I’ve been organizing stuff, I came across the dies and wads I had for reloading the brass cases. The dies are what is referred to as oversize: standard metallic reloading die threads measure 7/8 by 14 and virtually all reloading presses are designed to use that size die body. These oversize die threads measure 1¼ by 12. I have a press which uses a bushing that, when removed, allows the oversize dies to fit and function. I figured I was good to go with the brass shotshell project – then I hit a snag!

The press with the bushing is in what is called an “O” configuration. The way the ram is oriented in relation to the press structure means I can’t fit the oversized shellholder into the ram to hold the case. It would take a significant amount of machining of the press frame to allow the shellholder to fit and function, or a significant amount of material would need to be machined off the shellholder, perhaps to the point of ruining it.

I went online to research single-stage reloading presses to see if somebody made one which would work for this project. Many folks who own and shoot 50-caliber BMG chambered firearms can relate to my problem because reloading for this caliber requires oversize dies also. A couple of mainstream reloading equipment manufacturers make a press which allows oversize die use and with a ram orientation which would allow the oversize shellholder to function.

It’s a good thing the Palmer Lions are sponsoring a gun show this weekend at Raven Hall on the state fairgrounds in Palmer. If I can find the exact make and model press I have decided to buy, I’m home free and can start reloading those brass shotshells. If nothing is available locally, I’ll have to order from a catalog and pay the shipping to get it here.

Is the financial investment worth it? If I shoot the blackpowder loads enough, over time, I might break even. If not, it will have been fun to create a load not readily available to the average shooter and the whole idea of shooting brass blackpowder shotshells fits in with my fascination for shooting blackpowder cartridge firearms.