gunsablazin

Yes, if you have the backer rod and swage engauged in your loading head, you don't need to expand the neck prior to that.jj Thank you, I think I'm going to use a Lyman M die any way, I have heard it is helpful with the Mr. Bulletfeeder which is coming in soon anyway.

I am using a Lee size die, with the de-capping pin broken off on the last station on my 1050 .223 prep head to expand the neck. Is this necessary? Will the swage back up rod expand the neck sufficiently on the loading pass to eliminate the Lee die?

I wanted to use the swage function on both passes, just to be sure to get 'em all. I turned the expander on the swage back up rod down, so it does not open the neck, works like a charm. I use the standard back up rod on tool head #2

Is it safe to use reloaded .223 ammo in a M16 full auto? I would guess that ammo loaded properly, and with good brass it should not be an issue, but I thought if I am wrong, this would be a good place to find out.

The 550 is a great press, I have two of them, the oldest is 30 years old! I have two 1050's, and just ordered a 3rd, but both of the 550's still get used on a weekly basis. When you add another press down the road, you'll always have a use for the old 550!

Thanks for the info.

I ordered my 3rd Super 1050 from Brian this week. The best service and support to be had anywhere, and since he provides us with this forum so we can help each other with our loading and shooting it seems only fair to give him as much business as possible! I'm saving up for 1050 #4, and #3 has not even shipped yet!

I would be interested in an answer for this too. I have a couple of buddies who have had metering problems with CFE223 in Dillon powder dispensers, and don't recommend it. I have used neither of these powders, but am thinking of giving the H335 o try, based on what I have read on this forum.

Do you need the special short tool head for prepping .223 brass on the 1050?

I use them in my .38spl loads, I have found with the small powder charges and large case capacity they give me much more uniform velocities. I am not talking about +P loads either, just standard pressure practice ammo.

I use WW231, 3.9 grs. gives me 740 fps with a 175gr cast bullet. It works fine for plinkin/IDPA . A double would be noticeable, but still possible to seat a bullet, so pay attention, always a must when reloading.

When I switch from the 1911 to the Glock in IDPA, I stick with one or the other for dry fire, live practice etc. it takes me a few weeks to get comfy with the Glock, but the 1911 is always like coming home. I shot my first match back with the Glock last saturday, after about 3 weeks of practice, I never felt like I was in tune with it and thought I shot pretty poorly. When the scores were posted I finished 2nd overall out of 72 shooters. So sure you can shoot anything well, it's as others have said, when you feel "lost" stick to the fundamentals, front sight press will work when all else fails.

I have shot our local IDPA match the last two months, (May,June) after a 14 month lay off. I forgot how much fun not only the shooting is, but getting to see a bunch of old squad buddies as well. I did manage to tromp CDP class, and finish fifth overall at both matches! That was was pretty fun too. Good luck to all, and have FUN!

There is no better place than this on the internet to learn about shooting, I've been competing off and on since 1985 and I still get more from this place than I could ever give back. Someone on here says "The journey is the reward", enjoy yours. Welcome to the benosphere.

Wasn't worth it! I'll be shooting on a good nights sleep and hot pre match breakfast in the future. I've won matches in much better shape before, and enjoyed the day a whole lot more. I shoot to relax and have fun with my range buddies, winning occasionally is a happy side effect!

This is me dressed to kill at an IDPA match last fall. I was shooting a Colt 1911 that was made in 1918, you got to look good to shoot a classic like that!

This is not what I would call the best pre-match prep, but you can't argue with the results. Last Friday night after a bad day at work (this was the night before our local IDPA match) I decided to have a few beers and unwind, I wound up on the phone with a co-worker and talked until 1:20am, and drank alot more than a few beers. I woke up late Sat. morning badly hungover with no time or inclination to eat breakfast, made it to the range in time to help set up etc. I was in bad shape. I shot 5 stages in the main event CDP and stayed for a 6 stage BUG match. I ended up 1st CDP and high overall of 53 shooters in the main match and 2nd overall in the BUG match shooting a j-frame .38 I shot one of the best stages of my life, CDP firing 16 rds at 8 targets from 2 positions in 8.24 sec. down 0 ! The only thing I can figure is the misery from the hangover blocked out any desire to try or even care and left only the shooting. I don't plan to make an experiment to see if it works again, ZEN without alcohol is better, but I still can't get over shooting that well feeling that bad. YMMV

Once new a soccer ref named Richard Edward B#*#***, we could not refer to him as Dick Ed to his face however, as he was rather large, mean and could also out run us!

I use a 6 cavity Lee mold and can cast 250 per hour at a cost of 1/2 penny a bullet. That makes my .45 ACP ammo 6 cents per round. I can find time to cast at that price, how about you?

Stones, when I was a boy we couldn't afford stones, if we wanted to get stoned we had to grow our own.......... stones......

"prancing pony or it's a phony"

When I first started shooting competitively I was almost always a nervous wreck before each stage, really to the point I almost gave it up at one point, as the years and matches have rolled by, and I have learned to have fun shooting I'm usually cool and calm now. On the rare occasion that I feel nervous before a stage, I don't worry, because I know from experience that when the buzzer sounds that feeling will be gone. The only time the adrenaline flows now is after I have "burned down" a stage, and that feeling is one reason I keep shooting.

It might "feel" slower at first, but if you can manage just to call every shot and shoot with as few points down as you can, in a short time your match standings will improve. Try not to think about fast or slow when you shoot, just shoot zero's as soon as you see them. I have had shooters ask me how I ever manage to win a match because I "don't look that fast", I take that as a compliment. Smooth and accurate is better than "fast", and takes less time than it looks.

Here is what I do: I shoot a Glock 35 and use a Lone Wolf barrel for shooting reloaded ammo. The chamber has much more support than than the stock barrel, brass from the Lone wolf will drop all the way into my chamber check gauge, brass from the stock barrel will only go in about a third of the way. By using the after market barrel the brass is not being worked as much during the sizing step and should have a much longer life, I shoot reduced power loads for IDPA, and treat the brass like it was .45ACP, and shoot it until it splits. The extra cost of the barrel is relatively cheap insurance against a case failure, which could damage your pistol. That's my 2 cents.

Remember to have fun! The last thing I do when I say "shooter ready" and am waiting for the "beep", is to smile. When I quit having fun doing this I quit! I'd be willing to bet your problem goes away after you've shot some more matches.