rsrocket1

This is a Quickload run I made a little while ago. It is purely theoretical but it does give an idea that the velocity is fairly linear but the pressure increase is more exponential.

Titewad (not Titegroup) is an excellent substitute for Clays. I use it in 3/4 oz 12 gauge target loads and low velocity/low recoil handgun loads. Red Dot/Promo is also a good powder to use in lite 40 cal loads, although it doesn't peak in pressure quite as soon as Clays/Titewad. You can also use Trail Boss, but it costs quite a bit more per grain than most powders. 3.0g Clays/Titewad/Red Dot/Promo/e3/Extra Lite/Clay Dot/700X are all good 180g 40 S&W low recoil loads for me.

My M&P40FS was purchased in June 2011. It had and still has a 4.3 lb break. Originally it had a very slight gritty feel to it, but now it breaks like glass. I would say that at least back then, the breaks were variable because prior to purchasing, I tried the same model gun at other stores and the trigger break was bigger at some places and smaller at others.

You have to adjust the drum so that it is as tight as possible while it can still move easily. If it is new, make sure it is lubed with graphite, either powdered graphite or a pound of powder run through it. Then some trial and error in drum adjustments. Mine runs fine with H335 now, but when I first got it, it was either too tight or too loose and I would find those little balls of powder lying on the base when I was sure I didn't spill any. I cut out a paper plate to catch the spilled powder and found that I was dropping only a dozen or so after 100 cases. After a couple of adjustments, I have no more powder lost and very smooth operation with very accurate and consistent drops. Perfect out of the box? No. Perfectly adequate at a great price? Yes

This is why I enter all my data into a spreadsheet when I get home. I also enter the bullet weight, powder name, charge, OAL, temperature and gun. For rifle rounds, I also note how far off bullseye each round landed. I have a running record of every shot the chrony captured. With the spreadsheet you can simply add a column to the string of shots and see if all of them made PF or what the muzzle energy was or even if temperature affected the load compared to another session on another day. With a spreadsheet you can also combine data from many hundreds of shots with similar loads under conditions throughout the year to see how a particular load will behave. It only takes about 5-10 minutes to enter the data from a session and it comes in real handy when making decisions on what a "favorite" load is.

Stainless Steel media is definitely NOT the stuff you use in a vibratory tumbler. It is to be used in a rotary tumbler with soapy water. You should be using either corn cob media or crushed walnut shells with a vibratory tumbler. You could have used one of the single or dual drum rotary tumblers from Harbor Freight with the stainless steel pins, but most people buy the Thumler's Tumbler which is much more rugged and expensive. You can buy the media from pet stores sometimes called "lizard bedding" or animal feed stores. I bought 50 pounds of crushed walnut shells form a local feed store for $17. The good news is you can probably salvage that brass by running it overnight in a batch of crushed walnut shells and it would probably clean up. The cut up used dryer sheet picks up a lot of the walnut dust as well as the burned powder and primer soot. Just make sure you wash your hands after handling the stuff because the primer soot contains lead.

That's great (hopefully). I was out with my Beta Master today and was being extra careful not to pull down on the gun when shooting it (which I still have a tendency to do). 100 shots of .38 special and 40 S&W and perfect readouts on each shot. Most importantly, a full intact chronograph at the end of the day with no additional holes.

I hit my rod (twice) before making my own out of thick shish-kabob skewers. I also made a set using Panda Express chopsticks. You need three per leg, two back to back with one set in the middle for reinforcement. The wooden legs shatter and splinter, but will not harm the plastic inserts. I'm glad my Chrony Beta Master has a remote read out. Not only can I control it without walking in front of the range firing line, but when I do shoot it, the replacement cost of the housing is much cheaper than one with the built in display/computer.

I was meaning to replace the rods on my Beta Master before I shot them out. Well, this past week after I shot the second one clean off I figured I'd better because the second shot rod flew out so far I couldn't find it. The first hit only bent a rod, so I bent it back. I didn't find dowels strong enough (I tried shish kabob sticks and they were too flimsy). I got three take-out chop sticks from Panda Express and super glued them together. Two back to back is exactly the right length. I added a 3rd one half way between the two along side for support. The "pointy ends" fit the holes perfectly and the whole thing is stiff enough for support, yet flexes enough for a perfect fit. A hit to one of these sticks will probably break it without breaking either the sunscreen or the plastic chrony rod base.

The cheaper Hornady and the 2.5 qt HF cleaners use a 60 Watt ultrasonic transducer. The 160 Watt rating of the HF cleaner includes the 100 Watt heater. You can buy a 1 year no questions asked warranty for the HF for about $10. You can also buy the HF cleaner for $56 before tax when it goes on sale and with a 20% off coupon. The HF cleaner is OK for about 20 cases of .308 or 30 cases of 45ACP and four 8 minute cycles if you don't use additional cleaning solutions. Primer pockets come out very clean. With a cleaning solution or dilute citric acid, you can clean a lot more and they come out almost as shiny as a vibratory tumbler with walnut. Don't use vinegar unless you keep the cleaning time to a minimum and are sure to neutralize with a baking soda solution. Otherwise the cases will eventually turn pink and oxidize. The US cleaners are great for cleaning out 1911 barrels and frames and AR bolt carriers. I prefer to use it for that purpose and simply use the vibratory tumbler for cleaning brass.

Funny, I bought 1000 Large Pistol primers at a Cabela's in Nevada and didn't know until I got home that the guy behind the counter gave me a box of Large Magnum Pistol primers. After carefully working up loads, the bottom line was they made no difference and worked perfectly fine with medium loads of 45ACP.

The dies will work. The LnL bushings will work, but you will have to readjust the die height when going from the LnL classic to the AP unless you machine a custom bushing to raise the die when going from one press to another. Although a progressive press is awesome, everyone benefits from having at least one single stage press on hand and the LnL classic is about as good as any other SS press. After a few hundred rounds of loading on a SS press you will probably be ready to comfortably load on the AP. You would probably still prefer to load the 300 mag on the SS press.

Do you mean an additional washer like a lock washer? The LnL AP with the EZject already comes with a washer that sits between the shellplate and the socket head bolt. It's seen in #9 of the instructional video. The shellplate bolt should be tightened just enough to turn the shellplate and not so tight that you need to hold the shellplate to torque down the bolt. Admittedly, sometimes I need to check the bolt tightness and sometimes retorque it after 100 or so shells (about the same time I reload the primers). If the bolt is too tight, I think it would add undue stress to the advancement mechanism. If it simply makes the downstroke and upstroke a little stiffer, then I guess it's not important.

Oops. Before you did this, did you try adjusting the advancement prawls on the bottom? My shellplates had a little "snap" in them and sometimes didn't advance that last 1/16" which meant the primer wasn't always perfectly lined up on the backstroke and the sizing die wasn't always perfectly lined up when I pulled the handle down. After a bit of troubleshooting, I tried adjusting the prawls a little at a time, then returning them to their original position. I found that just a small twist on one prawl eliminated that "jump" or lack of advancement. The plate moved to each station in a completely controlled smooth motion. I don't think there should be any jump in the LnL AP advancement at all. You should be able to move the handle as slow as you wish and the shellplate should be under complete control at all times.

OK,I think I understand now. It was probably powder that was clumping or stuck to the sides of the cases near the bullet that weren't igniting with the rest of the charge. That would explain a "light" load.