Throwin Lead

Where did you get the $25 scale? Ebay vendor? I do the "throw ten ten & average" method. Using a balacnce scale it gets to be a tedious process. That's my primary reason to switch to a digital and check with my balance scale.

Jennings does make a 100g scale in this model as well. The difference is the grain read out is measured to the nearest 10th instead of 100th. It's about $80. I may go with the Mack 100 due to the increased capacity. Beside weighing powder I would like to get an average weight of say 5 180 gr bullets. The other one that I listed a link to limits max weight to 308.6 gr. I couldn't weigh 2 180 grain bullets with that scale. Jennings Mack series scales

I currently load using a beam scale - I'm looking to buy a digital scale for reloading. While researching different scales from Dillon, Hornady, Rcbs & Lyman I came across a Jennings scale that seems to fit my needs. This scale measures in grains to 2 decimal places (0.00) and priced resonable. I do realize that for what we reload measuring accurately to the nearest tenth of a grain(0.0) seems to be the standard. Prior to finding this scale I was leaning towards the Dillon scale but the Jennings scale is about $50 cheaper. Jennings scale Any thoughts on this scale or any of others? One thing that is important to me is a windscreen. My reloader is set up in a finished basement and I do notice air moving when the furnace/AC turns on.

Simply pure class Linda!

Try this link to an eariler thread Link loading 40 SW minor in a M&P,

Growing up Mom was a big believer in the hot toddies for colds. She used whatever whiskey Dad had around at the time either CC or Seagrams 7 in a receipe similar to yours Brian. She may have used ginger in place of one of the ingredients you mention - I'll have to ask her. I can remember the aroma & taste as I type this and that was a long, long, long time ago. The key to toddies is not to get outright drunk but enough whiskey to to get a mellow feeling. Don't know how those things worked but they helped one to get over a cold in a timely fashion. Try brewing a small pot of tea of your choice, and add your ingredients to the tea - make enough for a couple of servings or use a big mug. The tea seems to work magic in getting rid of colds.

Doug forgot a few other things about living in Washington PA. The Pens Iron City beer Fantastic fireworks displays in Pittsburgh A chance to expand the English language with terms like Yinz, N'at, redd up, dahntown(down town) A chance to sample cusine like perogies and Primanti Bros "Almost famous sandwiches" Friendly folks Great bike trails if you are into biking/trail riding. Rumor has it that there is a Major League Baseball team in Pittsburgh but I don't think they have showed up for several years. That's OK as there is the Washington Wild Things a minor league team that provides great games and fun right in Washington, PA. The PONY League World Series is held in Washington, PA Great place to raise kids Affordable housing. Cabella's is less than an hour away in Wheeling, WVA You don't pay sales tax on food or clothes but you can't beer in a grocery store. If you live in south western PA you learn early in life to appreciate sunny days. Sunny days can get to be as rare as hen's teeth at times! With the profession you are in, the healthcare that is available in the Pittsbugh area is arguably second to none anywhere in the country. Places like UPMC & Allegheny General are world renowned for their achieviements in medicine such as cancer research, organ transplant, burn clinics, children's hospital and cardiology. Let us know what you decide - I'm sure Mike, Doug or I can help you out in some way if you make the move here Good luck in your decision & residency wherever you decide to go.

Doug, My thoughts and condolences on the loss of your your wife.

I had a similar problem with my 550. What I found was that the shell plate was a bit loose. I removed the set screw in the ram, tightened down the shell plate until it wouldn't move then backed off the center bolt ever so slightly until it indexed rather tight. I reset the set screw in the ram, re-adjusted all the dies, set up for OAL with a full shell plate and was good to go. This was a result of calling Dillon customer service. My OAL has been running within .003 using mixed brass. Another cause can be slightly too much belling of the case and when you get to the crimp station the crimp die nudges the bullet down a bit. Check a round after seating - then check size after crimping that should tell the tale there. One last tihng to check before tearing into shell plate set up - check the internal part of the seating die to determine if you are seating with the RN insert or the SWC insert - that can make OAL differences too. On a dillion die there should be a hairpin clip that when removed will let the actual seating assembly drop out. One side is blunt one side is concave. I have the best luck with the blunt side loading RN, RNFP, &TC styles of bullets. Hope this helps.

The CED 8000 shouldn't be overlooked. It comes with ear buds so you can practice dry fire without disturbing others in the house. If you are considering airsoft practice with a gas blowback pistol it records the "shots" with the sensitivity set to the highest setting - can't say the same for the 7000. The only disadvantage to the 8000 is it is rather bulky compared to the 7000 and others mentioned but can clip onto your pants pocket to operate and read the display. CED sells a harness that holds the 8000 device on your chest area (timer bra?) but I don't think that it's really a must have accessory. Check out the websites of each model mentioned and decide which one will work out the best. I purchased the CED 8000 through Shooters Connection. It was cheaper for me to do so rather than deal direct with the factory. CED and I are both located in PA - I would have to pay 6% sales tax if I bought factory direct - no sales tax buying at SC. There is another timer out there that is in a bright yellow case - I think it is RU Ready timer - that may work for you as well. A BEnos forum member has a timer posted 4 sale in the classified section recently - I'm not sure of the brand but it may work for you as well.

Easily --- the reduced size insert doesn't match the size and contour of any of the factory offered inserts, hence, welcome to Open, if discovered during a match..... Bury it under grip tape?

I use WST for cast practice rounds, Precision and Masterblaster bullets. Clean shooting, low smoke, accurate and cheap. I'm loading minor 40 SW at around 135PF. Another powder that I tried was Clays for low PF loads. It was clean but the accuracy wasn't there. I plan to pick up a pound of Solo 1000 in the near future and see how it works out.

What makes those numbers good? That said what would be a range of good numbers (acceptable) regarding SD & ES. Doing the math the ES is about 5% of the average velocity. Is there a cutoff in % where the load is deemed NFG? I thought that the SD value should be 10 or less to be a good load. Anyone know where there is more info that explains what to look for regarding SD & ES?

A dedicated press per caliber is a luxury not a necessity in my book. Do what you can afford to do. My thoughts would be to re-tool the 650 for $275 & spend the difference ($275)of the cost of the 550 on ever increasing reloading component costs in the caliber flavor of your choice. I would think converting a press to another caliber and making a mass production run of any caliber would be the way to go. Once converted to .223 you could bang out a few thousand rounds rather easily, then switch back to the 40 SW.

I just tried to place an order for MB bullets. The website is down so I tried calling them and received the "This number is no longer in service" message. I hope they didn't decide to close up shop. Anybody know whats going on with them?

I worked the chrono stage at the Western PA Sectionals. Highest PF for the weekend came from a 45 load that clocked in at 205 PF. Didn't bother the shooter at all. He said that's what he and the the gun likes. Different strokes for different folks I guess.

I have been researching the use of a magnum small pistol primer. What exactly will it do for ballistic performance? According to my research I have been seeing the phrase “it should help clean up” loads. What does the term clean up exactly mean? For example I have a minor .40 load as follows: 3.45 g WST, 180g Masterblaster bullet, WSP, Mixed brass 1.125 OAL Low Velocity= 758.26 High Velocity= 798.37 Avg Velocity= 771.49 Extreme Spread= 40.11 SD= 13.00 PF = 771.49 X 178.2(avg. weight of MB) = 137.47 PF If I use a SPM primer will it shrink the Extreme Spread value & lower the SD value making for more consistent rounds? Is this an example of “cleaning up” a load? If I use a magnum primer will I have to tweak the charge weight to stay within the desired velocity? In other words will the magnum primer add more velocity to the load? My guess would be yes.

I shoot a MP 40 (full size) in production and have found several different loads that work well. My favorite is 3.45 g of WST, WSP primer Masterblaster 180gr bullet OAL 1.125 makes 135 PF. Although I didn't have any feeding issues I changed the spring to a 13#. The spring change made a positive difference in the cycling action of the gun. Check out the posted link - I listed several different minor loads in that thread that I worked up this season. What ever you load a chrono is a must - there lies the proof! YMMV

Edited for double post

+10 on the CR belt!

The match staff kicked off the Western Pa Sectional this afternoon. For those of you attending you are in for a fun and challenging match. All of the stages are well planned- my favorite being Stage 4 Amnesia. The stage name lives up to its meaning! The Airport Area Speedshooters deserve recognition for hosting the match and providing great courses of fire. Thanks Dave, Mike and all of you that shouldered the responsibility to host the match. Looks like the weather will cooperate Saturday & Sunday...a bit cool Saturday(50's) and a beautiful fall day predicted for Sunday(60's). Looking forward to seeing the BEr's over the weekend!

The M&P is a fine choice. If the weapon needs a trigger job I highly recommend the work that Dan Burwell does. The stock trigger is a bit gritty and is about 6 lbs. The trigger job gets the pull down to about 3.5 - 4 lbs and a very short reset. I would also think about removing the stock sights and going with a FO front and a Warren Tactical rear or a Burwell rear sight. The stock Novak sights are not competition friendly. One last purchase would be Tru-grip Tape and she'll be good to go. Blade tek make a decent DOH for the M&P and their revolution mag pouches are an inexpensive solution as well. I shoot a M&P .40 in production using 135 PF loads. I changed the spring to 13 lb to compensate for the low PF - made a huge difference in the cadence of the gun as opposed to the stock spring with a light load. I didn't opt for the tungsten guide rod but that may be the next thing I experiment with. I purchased the M&P in .40 to play in both production & L-10. Overall the M&P is a good shooting platform for what I'm doing. Good luck in your endeavor! I think that it is great that you will be spending quality time time with your daughter at the range & in competition. Imagine that, quality family time with guns in today's society! There is a forum devoted to all things M&P MP forum Regards, TL

I have had good success with WST using both Master Blaster & Precision bullets. My load is for minor - 3.3 g of WST gets me in the 135ish PF range with either bullet (Precision is 185 gr) out of my MP. WST is relatively clean burning, cheap, accurate, and soft shooting. I have noticed that the smoke issues are way down as well. I'm sure you could make major with WST. UC should be a good powder for that bullet. Don't forget to make a good crimp (.420-.421). I think you just need to tweak what you have a bit. As stated earlier moly bullets run faster than plated by about 5 - 10% FPS. Your velocity has increased by about 6%. 4.2 to 4.3 should get you back to 950 FPS. BTW the MB's weigh in under 180 gr.....I weighed a random sample of about 10 or so and found them to be about 178 gr. Tom of MB & Dave of Precision suggest Ramshot Competition for major loads. I would like to try some but it is rare in my area. Just my thoughts - YMMV

Wurd x2...and our coach can beat up your coach! WHOO HOO! STILLERS ARE 3 & 0! While all the hype is directed at the Patriots and Colts they are quietly gaining momentum. With the schedule they have they could be 5 & 0 at their bye week - Oct 14. Could get real interesting in November! As for Cowher - Looks like the going rate for an accomplished Super Bowl coach will be at least 8 Mil/year......I say he goes to either Washington as Gibbs re-retires or to New York to replace Coughlin. He says he enjoys what he is doing now - no stress or pressure - a 40-50 Mil contract with guaranteed money up front will get him out of the analyst seat in a heartbeat!

Yes we will but its going to be a fun match. +1 on fun matches All the club matches that Airport Area has put on this season have been fun matches