Are You OnPoint?

David Deering is a friend of mine and a master of making custom bullets.  He recently started his aptly named company, Custom Bullets, after being frustrated with the high cost, low quality, and lack of variety in bullets available to today’s reloader. An avid shooter, hunter, collector and reloader since age 12, Dave’s philosophy is that a hand-loader that shells out a lot of hard-earned money for reloading components deserves something special: a bullet that is consistent, reliable and accurate, and available in a variety of weights and diameters that fit his or her firearm. The hand-loader does NOT want the same run-of-the-mill bullet the factories and high volume casters offer. For this reason, Dave turned to swaging, a process that produces bullets with a high degree of precision and the flexibility to be customized for the discriminating shooter. Like Dave says, “custom bullets may cost a little more, but like the hair care product ad says, ‘we’re worth it!’”  Right now, we’re carrying a few of his specific bullets.  If you or someone you know if needing bullets like this, please contact us and we can get you sorted with what you need.  Thanks again and God bless.
– Evan

.3575″ Diameter - 190 grain jacketed RNFP
A superb choice for the .357 Maximum!  The cannelure can be located in standard COAL for .357 magnum (also for use in .35 Remington Marlin lever actions) or for long seating in Thompson/Center Contenders.  Just the ticket for deer hunting or knocking over those big heavy rams in silhoutte shooting.  All of our bullets hold a weight variation tolerance of  +/-  2 tenths of a grain - you just can’t get that with a factory bullet!

Only $35 per 100  [click here to order]

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.401″ Diameter - 182 grain jacketed TCFP
THE bullet for reloading the vintage .38-40 lever action rifles. Also an excellent choice for 10mm auto pistols. Cannelure is located for correct COAL and feeding in lever actions.  Many older .38-40 rifles have somewhat pitted bores and need a jacketed bullet for best accuracy. Until now there has been no commercially available .401″ jacketed bullet with proper cannelure for .38-40!

$35 per 100 [click here to order]

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.431″ Diameter - 270 grain jacketed RNFP
This bullet is designed specifically for Marlin lever actions in .44 Mag and .444 Marlin, which typically feature .432″ groove diameters. Also a great choice for the silhoutte shooter in .445 Supermag out of the T/C Contender (cannelures can be custom placed for long seating in the Contender). Put the hammer down on deer and hogs with this baby!  All of our bullets over 260 grains feature +/- 3 tenths of a grain weight tolerance - you can’t get that with a factory bullet!

$35 per 50 [click here to order]

A couple of new books just hit the shelves and recently made my reading list.  Chances are, you might be interested in them too.
The first is Long Rifle: A Sniper’s Story in Iraq and Afghanistan by Joe LeBleu.  LeBleu is an Army Ranger and Sniper School grad that saw action in the War on Terror.  There’s plenty of action in the book, which is only 187-pages.  It’s the perfect length for a Sunday afternoon.  You’ll enjoy a lot of shooter jargon, details on kit, as well as interesting stories of his interaction with members of the 10th MTN and his transition back to civilian life.  It’s a good, quick read.  I was actually looking for the next title on my list, but this caught my eye, so I decided to pick it up.

Securing the City: Inside America’s Best Counterterror Force—the NYPD was recently reviewed in the Economist, so I was out looking for a copy this weekend.  Unfortunately, it’s too new, so I had to back order it with my bookstore.  You might want to save yourself the hassle and order online.  It’s about the NYPD’s counter-terrorism division– apparently one of the best outfits in the business.  The author, Christopher Dickey, is an expert in the field– and was writing about UBL for almost a decade before the attacks on September 11, 2001.  His style has a quick and thrilling pace, so it should to be a good one.

That’s all for now.  I just wanted to give you guys a couple of options in case you didn’t make the switch to digital and recently “went dark” like we did.  It’s all rabbit ears and candles at my house, guys.  Gotta go beat my clothes against some rocks and shoot me something for dinner now.  Have a good one!

– Evan

[ Remington 1187 83602 REALTREE - Click Here to Buy ]

Just after Christmas, a buddy of mine who’s in Special Forces came in and picked up one of these new Remington 1187 cantilever slug guns.  Let me tell you something:  this thing is THE FIRE!  The stock is beautiful and effortlessly comes up into a comfortable and stable firing position.  The length of pull is right– the trigger is crips– it’s dead on.  That’s all there is to it!  We hooked him up with a Nikon SlugHunter 3-9×40 in a matching Realtree pattern, some Warne rings, and he was on his way– ready to take a deer around Ft. Benning.  If you’re a hunter looking for a dedicated slug gun– this is the ticket.  I just wanted to pass along the info.  It’s a great gun.  The shotgun is $761 and the glass is $212.  Thanks again and God bless.
– Evan

[ Nikon SlugHunter 3-9×40 REALTREE - Click Here to Buy ]

Who says product cannibalism is a bad thing?  It sure works out for consumers when it’s time to liquidate redundant stock! Case in point are these Beretta Stampedes we just picked up at closeout prices:  $70 off of dealer cost– only $448!

After watching Appaloosa a few weekends ago, I grew a wild hair up you know where and began hunting for cowboy action guns and a pistolero rig.  I handled dozens of different makes and models at the Shot Show and decided that Uberti, Colt, and the new Italian models from Puma were the best of breed.  From birdshead to Bisley, case hardened to bright nickel, walnut to ivory– the options are overwhelming.  Then, I stumbled upon the Beretta Stampede.

Not unlike the Vaqueros by Ruger– Beretta/Uberti incorporated a transfer bar so you can “safely” load all six chambers.  You won’t be doing this in any matches, but it’s nice to have the option.  The Stampede is made by Uberti in Italy and Beretta, of course, owns Uberti.  Hence, there was no need to manufacturer two similar models under the same company umbrella.

In typical cowboy fashion, the Stampede arrived in a brown cardboard box with brown paper sleeve.  As soon as you open the box, the gleam of bright stainless steel shines through.  This model features a 5.5in barrel and is chambered in .45LC.  You can also shoot .45 Schofield and other cowboy loads if you want, so it’s a versatile platform for the sport.  The trigger is very light and requires your full attention, lest ye be fond of 45cal holes.  The hard black rubber grips are lack-lustre and quite slippery, so these will be one of the first accessories to upgrade.

At the range, I had no problem removing the center of a target at 10-yards.   That was with a two hand grip.  However, my confidence got the best of me.  When, I switched to shooting one-handed, I missed the target so far to the left that I struck a wooden support column– removing several large chunks of wood and littering the range with splinters.  Oops!  The RO on duty told me he’d pretend he didn’t see that.  Apparently, watching a western movie for two hours doesn’t provide adequate training for accurate one-handed pistolero shooting!

So, if you’re ready to “cowboy up,” the Stampedes by Beretta/Uberti are a tremendous value.  That’s all for now.  Have a good one and God bless.

– Evan

ATTENTION! The new Expert GI45 1911 from Para Ordnance is the best 1911 on the market– for the money, that is. Of course, I say this without any hint of hyperbole. We just received the first unit this afternoon, and let me tell you something, my friends: there is not a single gun on the market with as much intrinsic value. New models displayed at Shot Show are smooth as glass, but when the actual production models show up at dealers– it’s often a completely different animal. Not so with the new Para GI45 1911.

Out of the box, fit and finish are superb. The GI45’s slide and frame glide against each another like two sticks of warm butter. The matte black finish is beautiful and contrasts perfectly with the brilliant stainless steel barrel. The Para Expert GI45 sports dovetail, three-dot sights that are quick and easy to acquire. The skeleton hammer and drilled trigger add a modern, semi-custom look. Trigger pull is crisp. However, all the rest of the features are standard mil-spec GI fare– right down to the subdued black plastic grips. No fancy checkering on the frame, but for the price– you don’t expect a lot of custom features. This is a workhorse 1911, and the price cannot be beat: $453 dealer cost! The Para Ordnance Expert GI-45 ships in a hard case with two stainless 7rd magazines.

This one is sold (to me), but we should have more units on the way soon– so stay tuned to the website for more inventory to arrive. [ click here for more info ]

Take care,

– Evan “Haven’t been this excited about a milspec 1911 since…” Kostreva