RPatton

Young guy to old rich guy: So how did you make your money? Old guy: Good judgement. Young guy: How did you get good judgement? Old guy: Experience. Young guy: How did you get experience? Old guy: From bad judgement.

If you don't want your brass to look like this, look at the breechface before you buy. If you don't reload then it doesn't matter.

The first USPSA match I ever saw I shot in. I showed up with an Uncle Mikes holster and a hip pocket full of mags. I didn't have a clue and I was my squads entertainment for the day. They fast became some really great friends. I wouldn't want to change anything about that experience.

As for JM, I see him at every big 3gun I attend. You might out hustle him but you better bring your 'A' game if you intend to out shoot him 'cause that's gonna be tough to do.

Interesting reading. Maybe I'm the only one that ever had a C/P lower lug crack. By the way it was not a Schuemann but the barrel maker did replace it when they were told who the installer was.

Pick it up at the range or buy it cheap. I've been reloading pistol since 1970 and 454 Casull is the only new brass I can remember buying. No one I know throws brass away just because it has been "shot a lot". They throw it away when it cracks, splits, or gets damaged but usually they just lose it in the grass and someone else takes it home and the process is repeated. Save your money and become part of the brass cycle of life.

I have an STI Eagle and the throat is so long I can drop a 147gr RN Xtreme in the barrel, drop a 9mm case in behind it, and the case won't even hit the bullet. It shoots just fine. I shoot Xtreme 124 and 147gr bullets loaded to 1.180 and don't run spacers in the mags.

I have used a hot water bath with citric acid. The hotter the better. Dump the brass and water from bucket to bucket 5 or 6 times over a 5 minute period, or longer depending upon the condition of the brass, by then the water is blue and the brass is clean. Strain off the water and rinse the brass in water with baking soda to neutralize the acid. Dry. Works great. Some brass may turn slightly pink but it never caused me a problem. If you don't deprime before cleaning you may need to do so without waiting too long. I have had several primers which had the primer caps punched off when reloading. That brass came from an outdoor range and some had been outdoors in the elements for a long time which may have been the root cause of the primer cap issue. I can clean 2 full 7 gallon buckets of brass in about an hour. It won't make it look like new brass without polishing but that "new" look is just so it's aesthetically pleasing and not worth the effort....to me.

Invest in or make a stuck case removal tool. Pretty simple and sooner or later you will need it. The one I made allows me to remove the case without removing the die from the tool head, eliminating the pain of resetting the die.

Grip first, yeah, that problem would eventually, as you say, "work itself out". LOL By the way, how wide are the paddles on those safeties?

Interesting. If it were to slide into a dump bucket what keeps it "On" as it slides to the bottom of the bucket, i.e. how much force is required to make the safety go into the fire position. I'm not sure I would drive 400+ miles to shoot a 2 or 3 day match and bet that cost that it would be a sure thing just throwing it in a dump bucket like a Glock.

You would have to be an idiot to pay almost 2K, or more, for a pistol while KNOWING that it isn't going to run. Mine would probably have run until it broke because it was locking up on the link and slide stop instead of the lugs. Inferior critical parts with improper dimensions would lead to early failure. A slid stop pin wallowing around in the frame with every shot isn't going to last long and "appropriate" ammo won't fix that. As for the mags I haven't touched them and they worked even with the STI followers that I don't like.

I bought an Eagle 2 years ago because it was a "deal" at $1720 shipped. A Tri-topped slide, 6" 9MM. I took it apart to clean it before I ever shot it. The slide stop pin was egg shapped and .003 to .007" undersized. After a conversation with STI they said they would send me a new slide stop. I explained that if install a real .200" diameter slide stop the slide would no longer go into battery. (Barrel lugs would need to be re-cut.) I sent it back. It came back with an invoice that said,"Installed a new Wilson slide stop. No Charge." That slide stop was also undersized and it too was not round. My gunsmith fixed it. But he couldn't fix the crappy slide to frame fit. The chamber throat was cut so deep I can load a 147gr Xtreme bullet out to 1.3" before it would touch the lands. It wasn't that good a "deal" after all.

Look up Tarheel 3Gun. It's in Apex outside Raleigh. They put on a great 3gun on natural terrain with plenty of distance every month. It's worth the drive. USPSA match on the 2nd Sat at Rowan County Wildlife and Statesville is 3rd Sunday.

Did the rim come off the case or did the case head actually come off? If you pulled the head off the case you may have been resizing a case with the makings of a case head separation. I haven't had a case head actually come off in the die......yet.

Hull? Primer? Roll or Fold Crimp? How do they group at 50 / 100 yards? Just curious because I've been rolling my own Lyman 525 gr sabot slugs for a long time and have shot some sub 3" groups at 50 yards with my recipe.

There used to be a sign on one of the interstates running through Charlotte NC that read "16 South, Northwest Freeway East".

Have those "several different people" who have done it on a 2011 show you the results.

An extended firing pin from Dawson on Shooters Connection usually fixes such ills, or put in a 19# mainspring.

Just be aware that crimp or lack of it will not prevent bullet setback. Crimp can cause your gun to key hole. And by the way, 9mm has a tapered case so you can't check that the sides are parallel. Agree with your first statement, except to add that lack of crimp will also lock a gun up tighter than Dick's hat band Crimp is what goes in a cannelure, like that on some jacketed bullets.

My M1 was never 100% with the pistol grip. Went to a straight stock and that fixed it. I don't know why it did, don't really care.

Just be aware that crimp or lack of it will not prevent bullet setback. Crimp can cause your gun to key hole. And by the way, 9mm has a tapered case so you can't check that the sides are parallel.

I never noticed the gun getting dirty. I really noticed the smoke when shooting into the early morning or late afternoon sun.

This is what happens when you ask a question that only requires a YES / NO answer. LOL

When jacking up a 9MM to make major, one should expect to have some issues that you wouldn't otherwise have.