Bigpike

I feel your pain. Not sure how applicable this is, but I had the exact same problem on my SDB. Taking out the shell plate, cleaning and lubricating it completely solved my problem.

As a fairly old buzzard I remember seeing Dylan live in Baltimore in 1965 or 66. Still have a soft spot in my heart for those early days. Freewheeling probably gives the best music of his earlier acoustic days. Strong on lyrics. Then Highway 61 Revisited samples the early move to electric. Both are still on my playlists and I never tire of listening to them.

I also have switched from Clays to WST. Couldn't make major with my XD-45 and Precision Delta 230 fmj. Am working with 4.4 gr WST and will know more after I chrono it but from the loading data it looks like it should make it. Biggest difference for me is that WST is MUCH more smoky than they Cays ever was. Guess this is what makes life an adventure.

I load to 1.250 for my Taurus 1911. Works with both Montana Gold and Precision Delta FMJ 230 g. Works every time.

Seems like I'm having some difficulty in making Major with my .45 XD, 4". Loading Clays under a Precision Delta 230gr FMJ. I'm loading to COL of 1.25 Went to the range with a friends chrono yesterday and got these numbers (these are average of high 3 of 10). 3.6 gr. 642 fps for PF of 147.8 3.8 gr 671 fps for PF of 154.5 4.0 gr 715 fps for PF of 164.5 I've got a number of options I think. One is changing powder, but I really like using Clays since it's also my shotgun powder so that simplifies my life. It was suggested to me that shortening the COL to 1.20 might increase velocity. Does anyone have any knowledge of just how much of an increase I might get with that adjustment? Any other pros or cons of shortening things up a bit? Another suggestion was loading up 4.1 grains and 4.2 grains of Clays, but I'm a bit leery of that since the Hogdon manual recommends 4.0 as the max. However I've got no flattened primers or other signs of overpressure. Any thoughts will be appreciated. Thanks--Steve

I just took my second batch of loads from my new Square Deal B to the range last night. Ran 50 rounds of 45 ACP thru my Springfield XD45 and had 2 failures to completely chamber. After I took a look at them it appeared that they had not crimped completely and were just a tad big and wouldn't chamber. All the rest of the rounds I shot were just fine and inspecting the rest of the batch (another 25 or so) did not see any issues with them. Am loading 3.8 grains of Clays with a 230 gr Montana Gold at an OAL of 1.25. So am I doing something incorrectly? I could use a bit of advise on this. Thanks--Steve

When I notice my ports getting clogged up I use pipe cleaners dipped in almost any type of cleaning solvent. I know they'll eventually blow themselves out, but I'm a little anal and when I clean a shotgun I clean everything.

OK, finally got the SDB instead of the 550. Love it. Got 1k of the Montana Gold 230gr fmj's and took 'em to the range earlier this week. Loaded up a bunch with 3.8 gr Clays and an OAL of 1.255. Ran about 150 thru both a Springfield XD and Taurus PT 1911. Everything went just fine with the exception of one round that didn't have the primer seated all the way and prevented the gun from going into battery. But everything else was great. Next step is to find someone with a chrono and find out where I need to be powder wise in order to make Major.

Thanks for all the feedback. Looks like I'll try a batch of Precision Delta. --Steve

Thanks for the reply. Hadn't really thought about lead. Thought they fouled a bit more, but I can be corrected on this. What's the consensus? --Steve

I've got a MKII which I've had for a number of years. Still remember when I first got it had difficulty finding ammo it liked. Finally got onto the bulk Federals (36 gr, copper plated hollow point) and have never looked back. It digests them all day long with no problems. A big plus is that they're a relatively clean bullet. Bottom line is experiment until your gun finds something it likes and then stick with it.

After a year of shooting USPSA and buying ammo I'v decided to take some of my Christmas money and invest in a Dillon RL 550. Just spending too much buying factory ammo and would like to fine tune loads a bit. Shooting .45 ACP major. So in looking over bullets it seems like the best options in 230 gr FMJ bullets are Montana Gold and Precision Delta. From what I've been reading here them both seem like good choices. But there is a sizeable difference in price with Montana Golds going for around $174/m and Precision Delta around $114. Or is there another bullet I should be looking at? Was wondering pros and cons of each and if anyone had favorite loads (yes, I've seen lots of them here in the forums so ignore that request if you like and I'll go back and sift thru them myself). Saving money is obviously a big consideration but also want to construct a solid consistent load. It looks like there are lots of recipes using Clays and that would be a bonus as I use that for my shotgun loads and then would have only to stock one powder. But that's the least of my worries. If it makes any difference I'm shooting a Springfield XD45 in limited 10. Thanks.