It has been mentioned that Tim and I are trying to get Live to Shoot the business off the ground. We have been at this for less than a year and have made a lot of mistakes and learned a lot of lessons over this time. One question we have been struggling with is finding the best mix of inventory to carry. I would like to get feedback from you guys on what products you wish you had a trusted source to go to to purchase. Whether it is something that is hard to find, something you just wish you could purchase online, or something you buy frequently.

We appreciate any suggestions you might have.

Thanks
Jeff

Well, considering the way ammo prices are going I've been doing some reloading lately. I've specificly been getting components to reload subsonic .308. There are some special componets for that. Lapua makes a special 200gr subsonic bullet. Also powder is a little different with three that come to mind; red dot, AA 5744, and the latest craze for subsonic is Trailboss.

Don't know if anyone here is a big fan of the Black Rifle but components are big business for them. ie. scopes, lights, different stocks, backup iron sights. Those folks seem to love gadgets for their black rifles.

Well I guess what I would like to suggest is also a qeustion. It is somthing that is easy if you know how to do it already.tactical bolt mods no need to have FFL to do this. This might be an option for your company also, start a precision rifle thread and add this to your online store and maybe do duracoating for the bolts and possibly the weapons. Or moly coating I'm not sure how you guys are set up there yet but with the cost of ammo alot of my friends are all getting rifles for long range target/varmint shooting. kinda like the to ar's your biulding. I know my next rifle is going to be a remington .223 700 and I'm planning on making her look just like my .308 I did up. so it will be like big brother and little brother! .I think the whole .223 will be olive drab moly coated though and duracoat the stock to match. I think it will be sweet. the link is not to advertise his company but to show what he offers in maybe to through some ideas at you. remove it if you like to.

R&D precision

does anyone know if springfield is planning on making an xd in 10mm, now that they have a .45 frame???

this is something i would be interested in.

Can you share that reloading data for your subsonic 308 rounds? I've been doing some research into that very thing and I would love to see what you have worked up.

Here is a link to the basics on sub-sonic loading.

http://members.shaw.ca/cronhelm/DevelopSubsonic.html

I've learned that sub-sonic loading is a science all its own. There are so many variables from one rifle to another, what is a good load in one is not so good in another. Some of the variables are barrel length, can or integral, if intagral - is the barrel ported or not.

My set up is an integral suppressor with 18in barrel that is ported.
Components:
AA5744 powder
Lake city and Winchester brass w/flash holes drilled out (see link)
Winchester magnum primers
Lapua 200gr subsonic bullets

My initial tests were only with Lake City 7.62 military brass.

15 gr Avg 1022 fps
16 gr Avg 1103 fps
17 gr Avg 1168 fps
20 gr Avg 1332 fps

I had some real problems closeing the bolt on the military brass as the chamber was cut on the tight side of .308 winchester specs. So I wanted to try some comercial .308 to see if it'd be easier to close the bolt. It was.

OK the next time out I loaded up with 14.7 grains of AA5744

LC brass around 930 fps (almost perfect)
Winchester brass was 890 fps (a little slow)

Now I'm planning on trying Winchester brass with 15 grains. Don't know when I'll get back out to the range though.


BTW what kind of set up are you running?

We run mostly AR15's and AR10's with 16" or 20" barrels and SMT suppressors. I'm working on a new design for an affordable, adjustable gas system for AR's that will allow them to cycle with subsonic loads. The SMT suppressors are not your average suppressors and they provide some challenges and advantages. We also put them on 20", 22, and 24" Savage bolt guns.

With such tiny powder loads, have you ever considered using a wadding to hold the powder to the back of the cartridge?

We run mostly AR15's and AR10's with 16" or 20" barrels and SMT suppressors. I'm working on a new design for an affordable, adjustable gas system for AR's that will allow them to cycle with subsonic loads. The SMT suppressors are not your average suppressors and they provide some challenges and advantages. We also put them on 20", 22, and 24" Savage bolt guns.

With such tiny powder loads, have you ever considered using a wadding to hold the powder to the back of the cartridge?

Sounds like some cool toys you've got there. Any links to pics or vids?

I've ruled out using any fillers as the new "bulkier" powders are filling the cases better than in the past. Not too long ago the ONLY game in town for sub-sonic loading was Red Dot. That has changed in recent years with the development of AA5744 and more recently TrailBoss. AA5744 was developed as a bulky rifle powder for reduced power loads. The manufacture did not come out and say "for sub-sonic loading" but they made their point. TrailBoss is EXTREMELY bulky and was developed for the cowboy action shooters. Those guys do not have any standerds to meet for velocity like in IPSC so they have been shooting "powder-puff" loads for a while now. Trailboss was made just for them but has been working into sub-sonic rifle loading recently and has a LOT of promise. I'll probably get some when I run out of the AA5744.

The only reason to use fillers is insurance against SEE (secondary explosive effect). The magic number here is 30%. So long as your case volume is greater than 30% you are considered in safe teratory. You can check this using a dowl rod down the case. Measure with the case empty and again with your powder charge in it. If you have filled the case more than 30% you are good to go. The new powders seem to do this fine.

Speaking specifics on some of your cool toys the only thing that would concern me is if you develope a load for you 16in barreled rifles and then tried those loads in the 20+ in barreled rifles. You could have a potential for a stuck bullet. I know the odds are very remote but it has happened. If you check out the link in my previous post there is a picture of one such case. That is also why I use the Lapua sub-sonic bullet. It has rings in it like multiple caniculare(sp?) but their purpose is different. It is so the bullet has less contact area in the barrel to reduce friction. So just keep in mind, that what is good loading in one may not be good in the next.



Good luck
Pic of Lapua sub-sonic