RPatton

I don't want to sound pedantic here but I'm getting really tired of seeing this because it's something of an urban myth and detracts from an understanding of how guns are designed. There are a lot of guns that have a chamber that is slightly undersized at the base to allow a smoother feed of rounds from the magazines. And that brass will reload without extra steps or special dies and run in a lot of guns just fine. However, some designs have a tighter chamber and need brass that's been sized a bit further down. I could easily say that the problem is not the brass but the tight chambers on some peoples guns. But I won't because tighter chambers are common on some guns, particularly competition guns. For example, KKM barrels for Glocks have a tighter chamber than the factory barrel. Part of reloading is to know just what you need to do for the ammo to work in your gun. I would have thought by now, with all the discussion on this topic, that anyone with a gun that has a tight chamber, like the .40 Gold Team, would already be using either using a 'U' die or something similar. Or buying brass that's been roll sized. Pedantic, you don't see that word often, that said, I have come to believe that reloading may be recondite for a lot of people

I never had to get the trigger job redone after installing one. I don't see a potential problem since you have an over travel adjustment available and I have used that.

+1 A good succinct description of the problems associated with reloading bottleneck semi auto ammo. When I was loading for a bolt action rifle I would resize brass only enough to get the action to close without any effort. I figured that was working the brass less and I got a lot of use out of every piece of brass. I can't remember ever hearing or reading about using a case gauge back then(1967). Hardly anyone I knew shot a semi auto or slide action center fire and they didn't reload. Getting an AR made the case gauge a necessity. I got my case gauge after a couple of case head separations and had found a few more incipient case head separations. If you don't have a gauge you don't know if you are pushing the shoulder back too far.

I've had both but it hard to beat the value of the STI.

Oh...that's cute.... This one has 5 years of 3 gunning on it! AHHHHHHHHHHHH the gun that drove John Browning to part company with Winchester. Talk about the test of time......

So much for the "If you get one of those you can't be my friend." comment. Sorry Dean, I just couldn't resist.

Nothing creates ingenuity like necessity.

+1 That is true about the One Shot but if you spray lightly with One Shot AFTER using the Dillon lube it makes resizing soooo much easier.

+1 for the RCBS SBD New dies won't fix what ain't broke.

I does take more force to size rifle brass and that last 10% of the stroke is where all the sizing gets done Using too much lube will give your brass grease dents and too little will give you stuck cases. I went to Dillons spray long ago and it works well.

When loading for a big match where they were going to Chrono I always loaded a few and tested them even if it was the same load I had always used. I had to adjust the charge more than once to keep the PF where it should be. Can't say for sure it was a powder lot or the barrel but chronoing before loading a large batch seems to work out.

Maybe in your world it won't but in mine a 147gr Xtreme will "get there". I have put piece of 9X21 brass in the chamber and I know you won't believe it but it sticks out past the hood 2MM because it has a 9X19 chamber. Something tells me a 9X23 is going to be 4MM past the hood for the same reason and I don't have to but any 9X23 to prove it to myself.

In 1965 I watched a co-worker putting a trailer hitch on a car. It was jacked up high enough to get the drill in place with him under it . This was an early '60s 1/2" 120 volt drill with a LOT of torque. The drill had one of the old handles on the back of the motor. The bit was dull and in order to get the last hole drilled in the frame he had the trigger locked back, the handle in his shoulder like a rifle, and was using both hands to pull it into the frame. The bit grabbed just as it went through the frame and the drill promptly knocked out a tooth. It was still going and continued to whip his ass until it wrapped up all the slack in the power cord and unplugged itself. Having it on video would have been awesome.

If you don't like the MEC9000 and want your $200 instead just let me know. I may want to upgrade. LOL

Your actual chamber length is probably .755" +or- .005" which is the length of the brass. What determines the max bullet length you can actually chamber ANY bullet is determined by where that particular profile comes into contact with the lands.

STI got the memo from SAAMI and I have the barrel in my Eagle that CAME from STI and it is NOT a 9X23 nor is it a 9X21. It is a 9X19 with a chamber length of.760". You can load a 147g Xtreme at 1.3" and it drops in with a thud with the case head even with the hood. Just because I said I could get bullets that long in my barrel, it doesn't make my chamber into a 9X23. Just because you see a SAAMI drawing for 9x23 ammo having a max length of 1.3" that does not make my chamber into a 9X23 either. As for STI knowing what specifications are then why did this Eagle come with a slide stop having a pin diameter which measured anywhere from .197" to .193". That's right it wasn't even round. The pin hole diameter is .200" just like JB intended it to be.

Yeah, I'm sure it's a 9X19 barrel.

I didn't say I run my bullets at 1.3" but they will pass the plunk test if loaded that long. I never bothered to put one in a magazine. My 124 and 147g Xtremes are both loaded at 1.180 which gives me .120+" of freebore. I wonder what SAAMI based the 1.169 OAL maximum on. OK, so why is the chamber reamed to 1.300"? SAAMI based it on the 9mm Luger dimensions since 1902. Try loading a 1.300" in your magazine to see if it works. I tried a 1.3" bullet and it looks like 1.280 is as long a bullet as you can get in MY SV mags As for why the chamber is what it is, I don't really know. That is how it came from STI. Obviously STI didn't get the memo from SAAMI.

When I was a senior in high school my brother found an article about making solid rocket fuel using powdered zinc and sulfur. One night while they were practicing for the senior play I went to the school even though I wasn't in the play. I was taking chemistry and wandered into the lab where I found a bottle in a cabinet and turned it around to see what it was because it was really heavy. It was powdered zinc. Remembering the rocket fuel article I looked around the lab it wasn't hard to find some sulfur. Not knowing the ratio I needed to get a rocket moving I opted for a couple tablespoons of each and went outside. After mixing I poured it on the sidewalk and tried to light it several times with a match. Nothing. With the last match I jammed it into the mixture with the phosphorus still burning. It was dark outside and there was a blinding flash. My pupils slammed shut, I could smell hair burning, and I couldn't see anything. Luckily I only lost my eyebrows, eyelashes, some hair off the top and I looked sunburned. A fireman once told me there were 2 things he never wanted to roll up on. A dumpster or a high school chemistry lab on fire.

When I was in high school several of us had finished a day of deer hunting with a pack of hounds and were standing around the edge of a soybean field. The remains of an old chimney were standing about 4 feet high and 150 yards out. Everyone started taking shots at it. One guy had a 12Ga and was trying to hit it with a slug. Not having any success, he decided to take a rest off the left rear fin of his '57 Chevy and being right handed he was shooting across the right side fin. The hole that 12ga put in the fin was most impressive. I still laugh when I think about it 50 years later. That sight over bore lesson has come in handy.

I didn't say I run my bullets at 1.3" but they will pass the plunk test if loaded that long. I never bothered to put one in a magazine. My 124 and 147g Xtremes are both loaded at 1.180 which gives me .120+" of freebore. I wonder what SAAMI based the 1.169 OAL maximum on.

Bought an 8MM Mauser in 1967 for $15 but 8MM ammo in MS was hard to come by. Bought everything needed to reload for it from Herter's. Saved a ton of $. More guns and stuff followed. Started shooting USPSA in 1992. Promptly got a Dillon 550 and have spent 10 tons of $ since on more stuff. You can't have too much stuff.

My STI Eagle barrel has a max OAL of 1.305. Your barrel has a max acceptable OAL. Your magazine has a max acceptable OAL. Somewhere between those two dimensions is where you must find your guns sweet spot that feeds reliably and is accurate. Loading as long as possible will minimize pressure. I think that many of the 1911 style makers of today have figured out that short 9MM bullets don't feed so well in 1911 frames. By making the throats longer guns will accept heavier bullets, a longer OAL, and feed more reliably. The Speer Manual #8 of 1970 doesn't even have OAL mentioned in the "Glossary of Terms Most Commonly Used by Reloaders". OAL was something you had to figure out on your own if you shot a semi auto. If you made bullets and they jammed in the mag you made'em shorter. If they wouldn't go into battery, you made'em shorter. The first mention of any bullets OAL I can find is in the 9MM section of the Speer #10 manual. Back then revolvers were the pistol of the day and OAL was pretty easy to determine. If the cylinder wouldn't rotate because the bullet was sticking out the front of the cylinder that could be a clue to your problem. Life was more simple back then.

In an old Speer #8 manual they list a 125g Speer Jacketed Soft Point with Unique. 4.7gr min & 6.0g max I treat plated bullets like cast bullets and would start at the bottom and work up.

Idiocracy After you are about 30 minutes in you can't stop watching because you start to realize you actually living in it every day.