Stealsack

I have an old one, bought new in 1988 or so. Runs great as long as I use 240gn bullets.

Thanks Cha-Lee, as always your advice is much appreciated! @ATLDave Hahaha! Indeed! @echotango That would be slick. My 1050 did find one that slipped through, but after looking at many examples, I can see how many could make it past my current setup. Hit me up when you are ready for testing or production!

As a follow up. Measured 6 cases from rounds in the magazine left over from the match ammo. Measured each case three places, just after the rim, mid-point, just back from the mouth. Marked the cases and fired, recorded each case measurement again. Loaded - Min/max across all 6 cases. Case rim: min-.385 max-.388 Mid-point: min-.372 max-.375 Mouth: min-.374 max-.377 Empty Brass Case rim: min-.389 max-.390 Mid-point: all were exactly .390 Mouth: The mouth of the cases were slightly out of round with the largest min/max being .380-.386 on the same brass I didn't measure any out of round or bulges at or near the base of the cases. I expect that this makes a "stepped case" the likely cause of the failure. Thanks all for the input! I'll have him inspect cases before loading and have him shoot the gun.

I guess some do (obviously) but the only time I caught one trying to sneak through, it stopped on either the decap or the primer resize, I don't remember which. It was like hitting stainless media in the primer pocket, you FEEL it when it happens. It could be that many have made it through or that I get very few from my brass bandit. I'd guess the latter, as while I don't sort by headstamp, I do look at the brass pretty hard several times before it gets loaded, and I have only had to toss a few.

Nice, thanks for the quick response. I didn't think stepped brass would go through my machine, at least not without feeling very different, but now I will have to test that. It would certainly fit the facts. It is a VERY clean-cut ring. I don't really check for them except by sound, into the washer, into the dryer, into the tray, into the hopper. I hear steel, cracks, the odd case that just sounds wrong but looks ok. If I had one make it into the press I never noticed. Yikes! I'll measure some shot brass tomorrow CHA-LEE and see how it compares. That makes sense. I should have thought of that. RIA tac ultra 9mm. Mixed brass. Certainly possible that a stepped case slipped through. The gun looked like it was in battery at ignition on camera, but you know...

So, a friend of mine has a 2 month old RIA tac ultra 9mm. A few weeks ago the gun rather exploded in his hands. It blew the corners off the hand grips, burnt his hands a bit, singed his face, and toasted a mag. No witnesses. Now he is newish to reloading and wasn't really aware to watch his range brass for cracks. The recovered case was blown out a bit above the base, about where I've seen other brass crack. I was pretty sure that he loaded a cracked case and had an unusual failure. Case er, closed. So it was a surprise when during a match yesterday he had another very fast mag change. This one we have on video from two cameras. I'm surprised because I "supervised" him loading the rounds on my 1050. I can definitively say that there were no double charged rounds. The powder I was using overflows in a double charge and I was watching even closer that I would if I were loading myself. The failure on camera sounds a bit different because of the energy going down as well as forward, but not louder. I was his RO, and I heard it, but it was not very noticeable. Not like a squib or overcharge. The round prior went down range as did the failed round. Not a driven squib. On the video you can see that the slide only came back about 1/4 to 1/3 of the normal motion. No brass ejected out of the port that I could see. Checked the barrel clear, at the safety table and put him back in for the next stage. Round wouldn't chamber. Looked really closely and there was a brass ring normal thickness and 3/16" wide that looked to be cut with a tube cutter still in the chamber. Very nearly perfect cut around the circumference up tight to the end of the chamber. Had to remove that on the work bench after the match. It was essentially invisible as it just looked like the chamber step. I'm not sure what to think at this point. I have had a case fail while shooting, I heard it hit the ground, it made a very distinct sound and was cracked from the mouth downward. No drama. The gun is stock but for a little polish and an Aftec extractor. Why would his gun fail twice in such a spectacular fashion? Video can be available if it will help diagnose the issue. I feel like I'm missing something obvious. I suppose that it could be two really rare occurrences that my brain will not accept as rare because they were close together, but I'd rather not ignore the warnings. Thoughts?

Heh, Yeah I thought we were going to get some useful info there for a minute... "Son" if it makes you feel any better, I didn't see it coming either

Sorry, I missed the notify button, so I missed your question. I'd have to check for sure, I tried springs 2# up and down from factory, but I don't remember for sure which I left in the gun. It was really close between 1# lighter and the stock spring with the springer guide rod. Sheesh, my memory is toast.

Good to hear, I'll try a FF3.

Thanks Karl! I can watch for your name and make a note that it is a donation. That is a very kind gesture

Thanks zzt, I'll try that. The optic hits the brass on the way back to battery. I heard back from Vortex today. Very helpful. Offered to change my optics to venoms for no charge including immediate shipping with a return label for my dead vipers. Also will personally insure that the new optics are working before shipping. They also offered to upgrade me to the Razor for a nominal charge. I've not used one so I went the venom route.

They decided to try something a little different, so $50 each. The idea being that they wouldn't limit the number of guns you can shoot, but it will cost a little more to help make money for the kids. All proceeds go to the youth shooting team. If that is a deal breaker for anyone, please let me know, and I'll pass it along!

Hi All, It looks like Steel Challenge announcements go here? If not, let me know and I'll happily move it. We are having a All steel challenge 8 stage match at Custer Sportsmen's Club on Sat. June 28 This is a fundraiser for our youth speed steel rifle team "Custer's Chain Blue Lightning" There will be dedicated RO's and score keepers on each stage as well as a fantastic food truck. We are planning to have a trainer in the front of the range to introduce new people to the sport and allow them to shoot a stage separate from the match. Trophy awarded to top two spots in each division. Practiscore link: https://practiscore.com/custer-s-chain-blue-lightning-steel-challenge-fund-raiser-2019/register

I have been shooting a Sig x5 with a vortex viper for a bit more than a year. I love the combo, and setting aside the 2011s for a bit to really focus on the Sig. For me the slow heavy bullet feels best in my hands, and I'm happiest with a 147 using VV320 just above min PF. However, the optic often hits the brass with this combo. I shot thousands of rounds and the right side of the vortex was raw aluminum from the brass strikes until finally I cracked the glass. I wrote vortex and said that I would be happy to pay for the repair since I really did abuse the sight. They said send it in no cost. I did, and ordered a second so I could keep a backup and started shooting my backup sight. The backup failed in a month. Sent it in, used the returned sight and changed my loads to my pcc loads, a 124gn with TG to help with the strikes. I get fewer strikes now but still some, failed the replacement in about a month, put my backup on and it wouldn't stay lit. I sent the two failed sights in and used my third, it failed first match with no visible strikes. received the replacements and one is about half as bright on max, set it aside and used the other. It failed this weekend, dot turning on and off during shooting. I always use new batteries not the ones from vortex, and have checked the tabs. Soooo, two questions for you folks: What can I do to reduce the slide hitting the brass? What should I do about the optics? I feel like they are sending me poorly repaired sights? Should I pick a different optic? Which would you recommend? Ok, that was 5 questions. Thoughts?

Pick a target that allows you to aim very small. Aim small, miss small. I use a neon target paster on any background. It allows me to have a very clear and reproducible sight picture. Much better if you have access to a mechanical rest, you can rule out the shooter and see if it is the gun/load. On my best day, I add a fair bit to the group size at 25

Agreed! I did order one yesterday to test on my latest pcc. Currently shooting c-more for steel, and vipers for run and gun. We shall see

Seated with my left hand on the case feeder stand (1050) Keeps my eyes down close to the action so I can pay atten.......Hey a squirrel!

Sorry Boss, I didn't think about it, was just trying to be helpful.

I will second the use of the FA dryer, or any food dehydrator. It works awesome. I have a cheap timer that I set to two hours and the brass is really dry. I use whatever is cheap car wash with liquid wax in the wet tumbler and the brass comes out very clean and runs through the press reasonably well. It also stays pretty If I'm out of the wax, I use one shot. It makes the brass slip through the press like butter but leaves it much less shiny.

Teach your shooters how to paint! You will go through a fair bit, but much less if your shooters don't paint the steel bottom to top after each shooter. Also show them how to clear the paint can. When the cans get messy they get tossed, and that adds a lot to the cost. Good steel last's pretty well, do flip the plates to slow the "dish effect" We shoot ~80 to 100 a month on 6 stages and the steel is good for years.

I agree with twice a month with a $10 fee for the reasons stated above. We use survey whiskers in different colors for stage layout, that way anyone can use the cheat sheet to setup a stage with no measuring, and you can pre-set multiple stages in each bay. Setup is quick if you have access to a gator, tractor with a bucket, or pickup truck. Get the match info out to the local gun stores\other ranges. Absolutely keep score! Everyone wants to see how they did. You already have tablets setup, so get them posted! Go to your club's other matches and advertise your match at the shooters briefing. SC is far and away the easiest match to run, quick setup and tear down (get the squads used to carrying your steel to the front of the bay after the match) Don't leave the steel out in the bays, some jackass will test his AR on it and you will have swiss plates. Have a table/barrel setup at the shooting box to set gun bags etc. Make sure it is stable. Take the time to talk with new shooters about reloading and 180/aiming over the berm. Make a safety checklist/shooters briefing checklist so you know you covered all the basics with the shooters. After a shoot or two, grab the shooters most excited about the match and recruit them to help. Help your most active shooters to understand the rules and get them involved running stages\squads.

++ I have many, many rounds through the pcc, AR, and AR-.22 conversion kit with Hiperfire triggers. No issues with "gunking up" even running dirty titegroup. That said, it does seem to eat pins and springs in the conversion kits after ~10k rounds. You want to see dirty, shoot a few thousand rimfire cartridges in the AR...

Having run the original 550 for 31 years, I thought I was fast. 6 months ago I finally bought the 1050 with bullet feeder. You simply can not overstate the ease and speed over setting a bullet by hand. Also as stated before, the handle has fantastic leverage and no forward push to seat the primer like on the 550. Once I had everything adjusted, I sat down and started pulling the handle. I was giggling like a crazy person. It was glorious! Bullets simply poured out of the press. It still makes me happy every time I make bullets. Worth every penny.

Ok, gotcha. Peak/best ever time per stage. To classify you need to have shot 4 unique (of the 8 stages). Thanks for the clarification! Todd

Thanks Zach, but I'm even more confused now. I get that your classification is the peak/shot time. I'm having trouble understanding what happens as you shoot the same stages again in the same division with regard to your classification. As I read the above post, it sounds like for your overall classification you keep track of the stages individually, and only the best score on each stage is used to calculate your percentage for Class. This seems to reinforce that each stage is calculated individually and the percentages of your best ever times on each stage is your classification. So, If you shoot the same 4 stages in SS again tomorrow, and you shoot Accelerator - 14 Showdown - 14 S&H - 27 Roundabout - 28 Total 83/43 = 51.8 You are still C class for the match, but your time on Accelerator and Showdown are much faster. You again shoot the same 4 stages and get Accelerator - 28 Showdown - 27 S&H - 14 Roundabout - 14 Total 83/43 = 51.8 Again C class for the match, but now you have recorded a best time of 14 seconds for all 4 stages which gives you a best time of 56 or 76.7% "A" class. If you average the match times you are a solid "C", but best times on each stage "A". Which would be the calculated Classification? Thanks so much for taking the time to help! Todd