Have you ever wondered what is different about a "match" primer? Primers work by igniting the powder within the cartridge case. There are many variations of primers and how they ignite. This depends mostly on the temperature and/or rate at which the primer will ignite the powder. Match primers are designed to ignite more consistently and more uniform than standard primers.

Why would you need this? More consistent reactions are going to produce more consistent results. A primer that ignites and burns powder more consistently will produce a much smaller variation of muzzle velocity. In turn, this leads to greater accuracy and consistent groups on target.

So I was at my local gun store (LGS) last week and noticed something interesting. A customer was waiting paper work for a new gun purchase. Now, usually you see a member of the staff with a phone in their ear waiting for the background check approval number.

However, due to the crazy volume of gun purchases over the past several months, the FDLE has now switched to an online automation system to speed up requests. Once the buyers information in entered into the system, it's simply a matter of hitting the refresh button until it comes back approved or not. The overall process seemed to take just as long if not longer than a usual call but I thought it was interesting a government entity could actually pull together an initiative so quickly.

So you want to start shooting lead bullet huh? Using lead bullets is a great way to save money over using jacketed or plated bullets. However, there are a few things to look for when buying lead bullets.

First, you don't want pure lead bullets. In fact, you'd probably have a hard time finding any. Pure lead is soft. It will deform when heat is applied or impact and are not suitable for most shooters. Pure lead bullets will leave liberal amounts of fouling in your barrel and can create an unsafe condition in your barrel.

Cast lead bullets are what you want. Cast lead is mixed with Antimony and Tin. By combining the 3 ingredients it yields a much harder bullet which is much better at resisting heat and deformity. Cast lead bullets are usually rated with a hardness. Known as the Brinell Hardness Number (BHN) a scale between 6 and 40 rates the hardness of the projectile.

Pure lead comes in between 4 and 5 BHN. A good cast lead bullet should have a BHN rating around 18. Bullets with a rating of 18 usually contain somewhere between 5-7% antimony and 2-3% tin. Purchasing cast lead .45 ACP bullets in bulk can be done for between $.08 and $.12 per projectile. Jacketed bullets can cost anywhere from $.20-.30 which makes cast lead attractive for reloading.

Remember to always wear gloves or wash your hands after handling lead products.