Greetings,
This forum doesn't see a lot of action these days, but CLMI04 is the guy I would reach out to. I would be interested in pictures of the clips just for my own edification, but I am unlikely to be able to do more than say "yup, those look like stripper clips".

I'm not really sure inexpensive and noncorrosive go together in 54R.  I am also not sure why you would bother since it is easy enough to clean up any bolt action you'd be firing.  I can't think of anything else that shoots 54R, but I'm a newb myself, so if you're looking at something firing 54R semi-auto then yeah, noncorrosive would be important.

For ammo in general I have an RSS feed on slickguns.com and I watch for deals there.  http://www.gunbot.net/ammo/rifle/762x54/ might also be of use to you.  Generally speaking shows are going to be the best deal because of the way shipping costs jack up the price per round.  That said http://palmettostatearmory.com/ periodically has free shipping deals and so do some of the others.

Hope that helps.

Welcome!  I too am a newb, having been in the game for just over a year.  The more you learn the more questions you have, keep at it!

-db

Went to a show in Richmond, checked for the Chiappa to no avail, and stopped off at Green Top on the way home to look at reloading supplies.  Picked up http://heritagemfg.com/product_detail.cfm?prod_id=5 for $191 (includes tax, $179 w/o).  Solid feel, we'll see how it shoots.

I've got a Type 99, but the stock was heavily sanded.  This makes me a sad panda.  If anyone has one they are looking to unload please contact me.

While I'm posting, I am also looking for a forend front cap (http://www.gunpartscorp.com/Manufacturers/Arisaka-33127/Type99-34711.htm?page=3 part# 49).

Thanks,
D.E.B

I'd love to hear what you think of it, I have been looking into a similar piece to practice shooting fundamentals.  I love shooting my Tokarev TTC, but throwing a lot of ammo down range gets pricey and finding a place that lets me shoot it is harder than expected.

Welcome aboard. How do you grow your own tobacco? Seems like it's a little too cold up my wait (West Central Wisconsin).

I start from seeds in mid-February under a grow-light in my office (I keep my house around 60F, which is below the ideal temp).  People got used to tobacco in my cubical pretty quickly.  Once they've got leaves about 2in. long I transplant the stronger ones to larger pots, and once the ground is warm I plant them outside.  This is only my second season, so I hope to build a shed to properly cure it this year.  It is definitely a resource intensive plant, the big trick to growing it is keeping the caterpillars off of them.  We'll see how curing goes.