docatru

3.6 Clays. 1.25 OAL works splendidly in my 1911's and functions with standard recoil spring weights. The stiff recoil springs in my FNP-45 needs 4.1 Clays to cycle reliably. One nice thing about Bayou at higher velocities is minimal smoke and no worries about possible leading.

Thanks Sarge.....idiot mistake. I put the fail safe rod in from right to left when I changed set ups. Just goes to show you....no how many times we have done something correctly, we can still mess it up. A good reminder to ALWAYS sweat EVERY DETA

I have a 550b that just recently started having a problem with the fail safe rod sticking in the slotted bell crank assembly. The problem is intermittent. As the ram handle is being lowered on the downward stroke the "s" curved part of the rod occasionally slips into the matching slot of the bell crank assembly and gets hung up stopping the smooth cycling of the press. I have tried tightening and loosening the bolt that holds the bell crank assembly to the power measure. I have also tried rotating the powder measure position n the powder die and the tension of the rod adjustment screw. No consistent fix has resulted. It is a 10 year old press with approx. 20,000 rounds reloaded. Stock handle and no strong mount. Currently set up for 9mm. As of yet, I have not tried it with one of the other calibers I reload. Please advise. DOC

All of the advice above is valuable in my experience. I have loaded .45 for 10 years and just recently started loading 9mm for an M&P 9c. My personal and limited experience with 9mm in this gun is that OAL, powder type and weight of charge affect accuracy MORE than with my .45 1911's. I am still in the process of doing substantial load testing (following the highly informational posts by all of the forum members but special kudos to Darrell's charts). My experience may be helpful, but the conclusion so far is that for 9mm in this M&P9c (with DYI Burwell trigger job) I'm using these components: Bayou Bullets 125 and 147; Power Pistol, N350, WST, Clays. There seemed to be no pattern to the differing results achieved by changing variables. * The size of groups shooting 50' from a rested position swing widely (from a minimum of 1.5" to 5") by changing the OAL from 1.116, 1.12, 1.131, 1.14, 1.169. * Changing powder type radically alters group size, even if I keep the charge weight producing fps that are similar. This M&P9c seems to like 125 better than 147. It likes shorter OAL the best (1.116 in the 124), but a medium OAL in the 147 (1.4 in the 147). It likes N350 and WST the best (Power Pistol is LOUD out of the compact barrel!). I can't find N320 locally. Trying the same load with the Lee FCD and with the standard Dillon crimp die has resulted in only minor fluctuations in group size (+/- .2"). Best load so far: Bayou Bullets 125 N350 4.6 gr. 1.116 OAL 1.5 inch rested @ 50' Bayou Bullets 125 WST 4.2 gr 1.12 OAL 1.9 inch rested @ 50' Hope this information is helpful. My conclusion is that a systematic load development carefully documenting the variables is allowing me to find the most accurate load. DOC

I have several 1911's and an FNP-45 in which I use reloads. All loads are with 200 gr. LSWC or 200 gr. Hornady XTP. OAL is 1.25. Light taper crimp. 3.7 Clays cycles the 1911s but won't cycle the FNP 3.9 Clays cycles the FNP but drops spent casings 1-2' feet away. 4.2 Clays, 6.9-7.3 gr of N350 all cycle the FNP but still only through the casings a few feet away. Everything is reliable in the FNP as long as he powder is above 3.9 gr of Clays. I really like how the FNP shoots. It is accurate and soft shooting. With full power loads it recoils about the same as a full size, steel framed 1911. Let me know if I can help further. DOC

I use the Penn target grade 200 gr. LSWC with 3.7 to 4.0 gr. of Clays in 5" 1911's (Springfield steel frame and Kimber alloy frame) and a FNP-45. The 3.7 is soft shooting and accurate in the 1911's. The FNP-45 needs a minimum of 3.9 gr. of Clays to cycle reliably. Good bullet, good powder. DOC

Folks: A short time ago I started a thread about .45 feeding problems in a FNP-45. One of the replies suggested that I get a case gauge and another suggested the Lee Carbide Factory Crimp Die. Picked up a Lyman case gauge and a Lee die from Mid-South. Installed on the 550B and it works great. Resized the case and crimp. Rounds now drop into the case gauge perfectly. One anomaly....new Winchester white box .45 does NOT drop into the Lyman case gauge. (Go figure. Thanks for the advice. DOC

I have loaded 2000 rounds of .45 200gr LSWC with Clays. Like it a whole lot, it's clean, economical, accurate. Can't find Clays locally or at Powder Valley, but Universal Clays is available. Knowing that I'll have to change load recipes is there any up or downside to switching to Universal Clays? Thanks, DOC

Folks: Needing a new supply of .45 200 gr. LSWC I am trying to economize without sacrificing too much in quality. There is a bewildering number of bullet suppliers available on the web. I have shot and been pleased with Oregon Trail Lasercast 200 gr. LSWC. But I am an average bullseye and IDPA shooter. These will be for Springfield and Kimber 1911's and an FNP-45USG. Any comparative experiences with these products: 200 gr. LSWC 1000 ct. (all prices include shipping) Oregon Trail Lasercast $111/1000 Meister Bullets $108/1000 Penn Bullets $81/1000 (target grade) $91/1000 (match grade) CB Bullets (Gorhem, ME) $78/1000 Thanks in advance, DOC

Thanks for all the suggestions. I did increase the belling when I started with these lead SWC because I was getting a small ring of lead protruding or hanging from the case. I will play with the OAL and see if that effects it. It was also suggested that I set the positions of each of the dies when there are shells in each of the stations. Currently, I set up the dies with only a case in only one station at a time. I understand that this can cause some minor inconsistencies with the tolerences. DOC

Those are all good suggestions. I'll try rolling the cartridges. The cases have all been run through a Zip Trim so the length is in spec. I don't have a .45 case gauge, I know I'm a delinquent. (In 10 years never had a problem with any reloads for my 1911's Kinber and Springfield). Looks like I'll be ordering one pronto. Any significant difference between the Lyman case gauge (mid-South $16) vs the $25 Dillon. Yeah, I know the difference is $9. :-{) DOC

Thanks Chillywig. I thought that might be a possibility and wiped down the cartridges, but many still stick until I run them through the taper crimp die again. I'm still puzzled....? DOC

Folks: I have a new FNP 45 that is having some FTF problems with reloads created on my 550B. These are 200 gr LSWC .452 loaded with mixed brass and 4.2 gr of Clays. When I took the first batch to the range some of the rounds FTF completely requiring a tap on the rear of slide to chamber the round the rest of the way. After the range session I miked the chamber (it was .4562 vs my Kimber Custom TLE at .458). I polished the chamber until it miked .4575. At that point it hand cycled full mags of dummy rounds without problems. I went back to range with another batch and had just a few FTF. The pistol cycled 200 gr Speer Gold Dots .451 without any problems. At this point you are probably wondering why this is a question about the 550B....... I returned to the loading bench and loaded another batch of the .452 200 gr. LSWC. This time I removed the barrel from the FNP and test fit the loaded rounds by dropping them into the chamber. Out of 50 newly loaded rounds, 3 failed to drop completely into the chamber. They stuck out about 1/16." As an experiment I went back and ran the three rounds that failed to drop completely in the chamber through the taper crimp die (station 4) for a second time. After a second run through the taper crimp die the rounds dropped in cleanly. So my question is . . . All the rounds went through the taper crimp die the first time, it appears that some were crimped inconsistently enough to the point that they don't drop into the chamber cleanly. Any ideas what could cause this? Thanks, DOC

Does anyone use the RCBS X-die for 223, 308, or 30-06 in a Dillon 550? Does the X-die work as advertised? Getting more reloads out of the brass becasue the X-die keeps it from growing seems a little too good to be true. Thanks, DOC

A low cost, low tech, non-adjustable alternative is a Lee Zip trim. Unless you are doing hundreds of rounds at a time it is only moderately labor intensive. You are stuck with trimming to the length determined by the non-adjustable pilot. $35 will get you up and running for the 2 calibers. DOC

Folks: Because I did something stupid I stuck a .308 case in my sizing die. My home removal attempts were unsuccessful so Dillon authorized a return for removal of the stuck case and replacement of the bent de-capping pin. When the die returned it left vertical striations on 1/2 of the case neck. A call to Dillon authorized a replacement of the die, but the tech support recommend that first I soak the die in solvent for 1 hour and then spin a bronze bore brush in the die with a drill. After an hour in a 50/50 solution of Hoppe's No. 9 and Kroil a .30 bronze bore brush removed some gritty material and most of the striations disappeared. After an additional hour in the solvent solution and spinning a .45 bore brush in the die, newly sized dies showed no signs of the striations. While Dillon is willing to replace the die damaged by my stupidity, their tech support was patient with my questions and had a productive repair suggestion. A fine example of excellent customer service, tech support and warranty. What a company! David

That's great information folks! I'm trying some 155s in my LTR with 40x trigger in the next few weeks. So far it hasn't shown a significant preference for either 168 or 175 SMK or Nosler. However, my local range only goes to 300 yds. and I suspect the preference for weight and bullet type would be much more evident at longer ranges. If the rifle doesn't show a marked preference for 155's then these PRIVI bullets would provide an economical opportunity to get more practice on mechanics in various positions. I also appreciate the load data...I use RE-15. I'd like to try another powder this summer, but Varget is impossible to find at this point. Have you used Benchmark or IMR 4895? Thanks, DOC

Has anyone had experience with these three bulk mil-spec bullets sold by Widener's? They're not Sierra and I know you get what you pay for, but if there is not an enormous difference in quality it might make good quality practice ammunition. MIL-SPEC 30 CAL 168GR BTHP MATCH BULLETS $93.00 per 500 MB118 MIL-SPEC 30 CAL 175GR FMJBT SNIPER BULLET $95.00/500 MB2275HP 500 22CAL 75GR HPBT $65.00 Thanks, DOC

Thanks guys...... I appreciate the information about the die and the OAL. Any other advice you'd like to share about preferred JHP bullets and loads for a 1911 is welcome. DOC

I'm just going to start reloading some gold dot jhp. With the Dillon .45 ACP seating die should I use the flat that I have been using for SWC lead loads or the round head? Thanks, DOC

Folks: I was fascinated by an article on ultrasonic cleaning of brass: http://www.6mmbr.com/ultrasonic.html Recent posts on reloading forums have described the health hazards of exposure to lead styphnate from primers that remains in the cleaning media of vibratory cleaners. Since the dust and contaminants would be in suspension or solution in the ultrasonic cleaner tank liquid, I am guessing the health concerns are greatly diminished. Can anyone support this hypothesis? Secondly, Harbor Freight has a 2.5 L ultrasonic cleaner for $78 (including shipping). Anyone with experience with this device? Thank you, David