ChrisStock
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:::Range Report:::
Took the first test rounds out to the range today to test with the FNP9. I used 4.5 grains of Promo pushing a 115GR FMJ Winchester bulk bullet with mixed headstamp brass {Yes, I'm the range brass scrounging whore}. OAL between 1.140 and 1.145. Everything went flawlessly with significantly less recoil than the WWB that I followed these up with. No smoke, no excess filth, no scorched cases. By no excess filth, I mean no more than I experienced with Ramshot Zip or Titegroup. Posted data from Alliant puts this load at 1150 FPS, and since the recoil was so low, it could be bumped up easily if you feel the need for speed. For target/training ammo, it performed spectacularly. I wish that my chrono was here already so that I could provide more specific data.
The 2 biggest differences I noted when preparing these loads were: 1.) the powder granules seemed a tad coarser, and didn't flow as easily as the Ramshot seemed to. 2.) Though the powder weight was identical to the Ramshot and TG loads, the case was 80% full versus 35% with the other two. In hindsight, I don't know how much you could bump up the load if you were to use 124 GR or 147 GR bullets. I don't have any to test with right now, and I found the load that I'm happy with right out of the gate. At 15 yd, shooting in strings of 3 shots, accuracy wasn't an issue, as each string was under 2.5" shooting from the bench, and my beat up hands.
T & T Reloading is having a decent special on it right now at under $77 for 8 lbs. Since I bought a few K of primers, and they shipped together, no extra hazmat fee. Hopefully this helps someone looking to get started or practice on a tighter budget.
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Ensure that there are NO foreign objects in your powder.
I recently sat down and had a 2 hour ^%$%#ed up rounds pulling job that I have been putting off for a bit. After feeling very satisfied that I had cleared my bench of all the garbage rounds, I put the reclaimed powder back in the powder tube, and the bullets in the tray. I noticed that a lot of my rounds semed to be low in powder, and was getting a tad frustrated having to constantly stop operation, back the rounds up, dump the powder out of the case and try again. After getting 10 different measurements, I cleaned the powder die and bar thoroughly. Same problem. I dumped the powder in the tube out, and what did I find? One of the hundred or so bullets that I had pulled had slipped into the powder supply causing uneven measures to be thrown. All I could say was "asshattery". I removed the offending piece of lead, and measured a half dozen pulls in a row. Everything back to normal.
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The first 500 rds or so that I loaded, I didn't even use that PITA overgrown paperclip. I was able to more accurately align the brass properly with my thumb when seating primers. I got wise after speaking with another local reloader, and have been much faster as a result. Thanks for taking the time to place a nice example of what it should look like...we're all new reloaders at one time or another
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It is also possible to load .380 rounds on your 9MM die set. I did this today during one of those "the range closes in 2 hours and I need to make some ammo NOW" bursts. With a 115 GR lead bullet being pushed by 4.7 GR of TG, it would've made a *&(k of a noise, and probably blown my wife's Bersa to shreds. I guess this yet another thing that can go wrong...the brass went through all stations flawlessly, and I caught them in the sizing die. No more 200 rounds in 20 minute sessions for me for a bit. Safety first
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Can we have another contest please? Mental exercise here in the Benosverse is quite welcome!
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My pet idea has been for quite some time to have "one gun" and make it work. So, we're going to see how setting up one pistol actually works for everything from 10mm to 170 PF competiton. I'm not sure if anything will be lightenend or shortened during that process, but we'll see. With the right belt and the right holster, I think it's going to work out just fine.
Already there
FN-FNP9 fulfills all duties at the moment, but it is a bit of a bear to disguise unless I'm wearing one of my untucked button down shirts. I figure that by putting 500 rds/week through it, disassembling/reassembling blindfolded, that I know it intimately enough to depend on it if anything went terribly wrong and I needed it. -
So sorry to hear about your loss. Many of us here have been down that road, some of us more than once. It sure as hell doesn't get any easier, but know that you did the best thing that you could do for him, regardless of your personal pain. Black Labs..best breed in the world, hands down... I've sent 2 on to meet their maker, and can empathize with you completely. My thoughts are with you.
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Right handed, left eye dominant here. I shoot pistol primarily RH, but rifle and shotgun primarily, but not always, LH. Now for the zen-like thoughts: You have to do what feels natural, otherwise you're fighting your body, and will have great difficulty becoming one with your weapon. I surrendered to my left eye with long guns 20+ years ago, and have no regrets. It might sound odd, but that's my $.02.
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Right handed, left eye dominant here. I shoot pistol primarily RH, but rifle and shotgun primarily, but not always, LH. Now for the zen-like thoughts: You have to do what feels natural, otherwise you're fighting your body, and will have great difficulty becoming one with your weapon. I surrendered to my left eye with long guns 20+ years ago, and have no regrets. It might sound odd, but that's my $.02.
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i blame s&b brass. in fact, any time anything goes wrong with my press i blame that $%&*in' s&b brass.
And I thought it was just my ineptitude....+1 on the S&B evil.
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Your "primary goal" is probably not achievable with 9-mm - I don't think it is possible to reload for the current price of the WWB 100-round "Value Pack"
I reload 9mm and save $35+ per thousand. Hell, the satisfaction of shooting my own ammo is worth double that in satisfaction.
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Asshattery du jour: removing locator buttons, cleaning the shellplate, then wondering why the powder die just crushed that piece of brass. I forgot to put the locator buttons back in
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Yep, every shop I have been I have seen them. The easiest way that I have found to bring them to the front is to mention WWB - " You actually shoot that sh*# in your guns? It will destroy them!" They say this with heartfelt authority with zero info to back it up.Funny thing is, it has been the ONLY unviversal problem free ammo that has functioned 100% in the Hi Points, Rugers, the FNP, the Berettas. I actually enjoy baiting them with it sometimes.
Being VERY new to reloading, and now being exposed to competition shooting, did I miss something a few years ago with WWB? Did they make a hellacious mistake in the past that I am unaware of? At any rate, all you can do is mentally raise the STFU flag after hearing enough of that sizzling poo.
I need to develop an interest in cheesy lasers or Indian jewelry to do much browsing at a gun show. I go in and pick up my primers and powder and leave.I thought it was just me that felt that way
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Believe me, there are more to be told. Some folks are just too embarrassed, I imagine. Have no fear, these things will slip your mind, THEN you'll remember.
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I guess the answer is as straight from the source as you're likely to get. I just got off of the phone with Ben, the customer service manager at Alliant, and was told when loading Promo for 9MM Luger to use the exact same load data as Red Dot, grain for grain. Thought I'd pass it on to all here. Tons of Red Dot data available on this interwebby thing, so life gets simple for a moment. Enjoy
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I have a chance to pick up 8 lbs. of Alliant Promo for $70 locally, and wanted to know if anyone has much experience with it. It seems like a good price, but I would hate to drop money on a sub standard product if it were that.
I shoot a 50/50 mix of cast lead and FMJ in 115gr. I just finished off a lb. of TG, and it is a smoking horror with the cast lead. It's ok if you're outdoors and no one is downwind, but other than that, too smoky for me.
I believe that I performed due dilligence with a forum search, but didn't find any definite go/no-go information. I know someone here has the information
, just hoping my request finds the right person. Thanks in advance! -
Chris,
Come out to the IPSC match at Ruskin this Sunday and you will meet a ton of folks from this area that both shoot and reload. Bring your buddies and this could be the beginning of a entirely new way to shoot!
Find more information here: http://www.tbpc.org/ and pay particular attention to the Match Info & Results area.
Leo
Leo,
That's my "home" range
Just got in from there a few minutes ago actually after testing my latest batch. PM sent. Thanks to all of you for your advice and help thus far. -
More info....
Brand new reloader, 30+ years of shooting experience.
I am using a 550B and have loaded 1200+- rounds so far. 18 errors total, 3 with deep seating issue, the other 15 with hosed primers. Only 1 of them is upside down. I didn't want to just chuck them in the trash, as it might give the poor guy at the landfill a heart attack if they were to detonate, especially the ones with bullets seated too deep.
I have not made any adjustments to the seating die since the initial setup, and am now leading towards the fact that the 3 bullets may have been slightly undersized. 3 out of 1200 had this issue. Will check with calipers later this p.m.
I suppose having a slop bucket handy for soaking the ones with primer issues is the best way to go, and I am slightly miffed that I didn't think of it myself.
As far as the three that are super deep seated, you think soaking them will disable them? Chucking live rounds isn't a nice thought, but something has to be done with them.I wish that I knew someone in the Tampa Bay area that reloaded, as the curve has been a bit steep, but I am learning. I am somewhat of the pioneer in my circle of friends, so have been on my own throughout this process, with the exception of all here.
I knew that I could count on straight answers here as always, this forum is full of good folks who don't mind sharing knowledge.
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Some say Titegroup is smoky, but that may be mainly in comparison to extremely clean powders like the Viht series, and also depends on the bullet type used (jacketed/plated producing little or no smoke, a bit more for the coated bullets and the most with traditionally lubed cast or swaged lead).
700+ rounds so far out of my first lb. of TG with 115g cast lead bullets, and heavy smoke doesn't say quite enough. Suffice it to say that outdoors with a stiff breeze is a better place than indoor ranges. I have also had a problem with consistency wih my new 550b and this. A lot of my lighter loads zip right through, then some don't produce enough force to cycle the slide fully, causing nasty stovepipes. I will have to invest in an eliminator scale, i suppose.
I believe that some VV is in my immediate future, like in tomorrow morning after I shoot off a few hundred more rounds of what I have loaded so far. thanks for sharing the info, folks.
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Ok all... a few questions on how to deal with a few reloading mishaps that I have been able to put off dealing with until now, and I need some wisdom. If at any time a round fails any part of the loading/inspection process, it is kept in the "error box". The box is full, and I need help emptying it. Sages?
I have a few rounds where the primers are in either sideways or upside down. Do not ask how I managed to do this, I don't know. The wife loves running the pickup tubes, but she is very concientous about it, but that's neither here nor there. What do I do with these rounds? Attempt to decap? Will that make things go boom?
Also, I have a few rounds where the primer is, as I say, "smudged". It missed the primer pocket by a hair when being seated, and part of it is outside the pocket, flattened. uneven detonation and a possible squib or hangfire seem highly probable, if it detonates at all.
Lastly, I have 3 loaded rounds where the lip of the case overstretched, causing the bullet to seat WAY deep... I mean the tip of it is barely over the lip of the brass. The bullet puller will not remove these, and I have no desire to fire them. Any suggestions?
Thanks in advance for the assistance, folks.
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The lease on my Accord expired in October and all four tires weren't good enough to pass the turn in inspection. Like you guys they were V rated tires. I bought 4 BF Goodrich V rated tires from COSTCO and with tax, tire disposal fee and installation it came out to $455.36 for all four. Everyone else wanted close to $700. It pays to shop around.
I did in fact look at Costco, but they didn't have them in stock. In fact , they don't keep ANY tires in stock...they have to be ordered. 3 days of skipping work wouldn't be bad, mind you, but the range is 15 miles away!!
a couple hints, buy a cigerette lighter powered air compressor and a tire plug kit. and learn to use it. It is generally eisier to plug a tire on the car than change it. I coulda fixed the pictured tire for 50 cents. Tire shops like to tell people plugs dont work on belted tires, Bull they just wanna sell tires. next hint if you do have to buy one, take the wheel off drop wheel off at shop that way you can get whatever tire you want. and not get gouged by the "Oh that car needs 150mph rated tires. more ripoff BS.I didn't post a pic of the other 6 inches of the aluminum tube...it bulged out of the sidewall. A complete writeoff. Mazda, who actually had the lowest price on the tire and in stock, wouldn't issue a road hazard warranty. I asked
This is the GT model, but in hindsight, I wish I had just bought 4 new tires of a lower speed rating...it would've only cost a c-note more to have a full set. Oh well...something to deal with when the next one gets eaten. -
No-no number one: Spill a bit of powder on your shellplate? Thinking a quick pass with the shopvac will clean that baby up? Yes, it will work, but.....It has been proven that if you fail to remove your locator buttons to a place for safekeeping, they will invariably be sucked up in the 6 gallon shopvac, and you will only have a few words come to mind, most of them consisting of 4 letters. Sometimes these four letter words are so prolific that they will form themselves into a complete sentence. Nothing like digging through 10 lbs. of compressed dog hair, sawdust, and the blown attic insulation that was in the canister looking for the shiny brass buttons.
No-no number two: do NOT put the index ball in the big center hole when piecing together the shellplate assembly. Yes, you should generally aim center mass, but this ain't one of them times.
number 3: when setting up the powder die, do NOT use deprimed brass lest you fall prey to no-no number one, above
(fat finger caused typo)
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Don't forget tire disposal fees and shop supplies that you pay extra for as well.
Just got in from there a few minutes ago actually after testing my latest batch. PM sent. Thanks to all of you for your advice and help thus far. 
As far as the three that are super deep seated, you think soaking them will disable them? Chucking live rounds isn't a nice thought, but something has to be done with them.
This is the GT model, but in hindsight, I wish I had just bought 4 new tires of a lower speed rating...it would've only cost a c-note more to have a full set. Oh well...something to deal with when the next one gets eaten.
Look but no touchy
in What I Hate
Posted
It's all fun and games doing that until monitoring software gets installed like where I work
If you get "targeted", count on your keystroke logs being pulled/reviewed. Most of the anon proxy servers are blocked, and the list is updated daily. Yep, I work at one of those draconian places.
:::slight drift:::You are not allowed to have firearms,knives, or (heaven forbid!) a box cutter even on the property, much less your person. I generally thumb my nose at that silliness, because I use lunch hour to demo new handloads at a nearby indoor range. :::return to course:::
Hmmm RDP'ing one of my home PCs...just might work