Amerflyer48

Have always used 231 as my go to powder for my .45,.. get used to it and know it ways and you will be fine USPSA probably burned more 231 back in the day than any other market segment . And most everyone has some for sale. use it for my .38 Spl also John

the 52 fires MID-RANGE .38 Spl. flush seated wadcutters so yeah they are light 148 gr bullet at around 700-850 fps. and I believe S&W Guaranteed 3" or better @ 50 Yds. from a machine rest with most avg. around 2.5" Gil Hebard did a writeup in the 60's about this and handloading for it. and shot a 1.03" 10 round group during testing a 2 MOA handgun ! I love mine. http://s166.photobuc...rflyer48/swm52/ Based on what you say he has spent some time behind it and those fellows are hard to beat once they get used to the 52's peculiarites ( sometimes I swear I can feel the gun cycle.) Depending on the distance you are shooting, there isn't much out there that will touch a 52 without getting into the $ price range but used 52's do come up now and again for around $800-1000.00 a properly "Bullseye tuned" .45 will be above that range but will hold that accuracy most out of the box guns can't hold near that so its another 52 or custom to go up against one Nowadays it seems to be a "reloaders gun" as I think most shops won't stock 148 HBWC flush seated but load data and tips for making it work are easy to find. and work well in any .38 Spl revolver you might have. Someday I need to get a pic of my Bullseye shooting box with the Browning Medalist,S&W 52 and my .45 all set up like it was back in the day. I enjoy the looks when folks see it and a box of revolver ammo laying on the bench and try to wrap their heads around that one John P.S. a lot of dry firing or taking up 10M International Air pistol will help you with the follow through you will need to develop if you want to get the most out of the 52 and be easier on the ammo budget

Guess it is a club,.. My last payment goes in on the 16th. of next month and a month after that 2 CCs will go to 0.00 Time to finish the AR project to celebrate but it will be a cash deal.. and yeah it is a great feeling paying the beasties off.. John

+1 seat then crimp back off the RCBS and just seat with it and then taper crimp with die of choice

Interesting point however I'm thinking a compensator would require baffles and or ports by definition I do see how you would have a slight "comp effect" by having an angled cut,U channel or a protrusion below the barrel however I'm not so sure that the advantage is that great perhaps someone with a ransom rest could map it out someday I am sure someone here has knowledge of fluid dynamics or gas flow and could give us all a headache with the math involved to prove or disprove the action reaction of these mods vs. a traditional port and baffle setup There will always be folks who push the envelope for any perceived "edge" Perhaps they need to redefine a compensator better though I would like to see the numbers on how much the above mentioned mods vs. even an old dual port compensator first might be something might be vapors.. interesting mental excersise though John

1. the decision maker is your barrel most check gauges are smaller and someone elses chamber might be larger than yours, you can just resize range brass and see if it checks in the gauge before adding it to your supply if it bothers you or just set aside the non gauge ones for a barrel check later when you have the pistol broken down for cleaning etc. then you can decide to mark it as practice ammo or just cull it out or it's no big deal.. 2. empty it out it isn't a sealed container so humidity may effect it if left for long periods also if you load more than one powder you may "think" you used it last but I don't want to be nearby if / when you "thought" wrong, and by returning to the container you know exactly how much you have left no math involved 1/2 a container not 1/2 hopper and 1/3 a container ( damn, not enough to load for this weekends match ) also over time some powders stain the plastic and I like my gear to be neat,clean and orderly easier to see when something is thinking about going wrong... 3. I cycle the press about 10-15 times when new powder is poured in or hopper is refilled to settle it all it helps with a consistent weight on the baffle also I charge resized cases to adjust my measure not the same case over and over as the belling in my opinion affects how the measure cycles I have not experimented with this but figure if it charges a resized case you should base your settings off of a resized case not a previously belled case. 4. a tenth either way won't affect accuracy and if it is that close to getting reliable cycling you should be above that enough as reliability is more important than a little extra recoil . 5. freebie but it can bite you ( ask how I know ) some powders are affected by temperature and you will want to research this to avoid missing a PF or causing pressure problems either excessive ( blown case) or deficient (squib) in the extreme circumstance I say this not to freak you out but to illustrate that 4.2 grains in the winter won't act like 4.2 grains in the heat of summer for some powders 231 if I remember is pretty stable but some are verry temperamental Also I clean my primer tubes with long pipe cleaners or a pipe cleaner and a string every 500 or so some folks have posted about primer dust and static discharge I view it as press maintenance again neat, clean and orderly the habits you learn now will stay with you, and cause you joy or grief in the future. Enjoy ! John P.S. take copious notes and record everything you do it helps to figure out if something is amiss or to copy that "dream" loading you find by accident. As I saw on a post one shooter pasted a label on his Dillon "The Match Starts Here" and a good foundation we know makes for a good building..

We need to call someone who can do trig in their head and figure how little you have to move the angle of departure to change the impact point 2-3" on a 50 yd. target or how many thousandths of an inch on a Bo-Mar rear sight on a limited gun to move that distance. Only a minimal amount of recoil needed to do that as recoil is started at the moment the gasses start to expand Newton made a LAW not an idea (action-reaction).. all bullets have a "time in barrel" factor (internal Ballistics) usually slower rounds need more follow through (.45ACP vs. .38Super) either velocity or inertia or both control this time. The question you are posing with same velocity a different effect (Newton again)... Inertia causes the heavier bullet to get up to speed only a fraction slower than the lighter projectile and in that fraction the pistol is recoiling and due the bore being above center line starts to recoil up due to this inertia lag the muzzle travels upwards a few perhaps ten thousandths more and shows as 2-3" higher on target. STI-Edge I agree the videos show the recoil after the bullet leaves but look what happens just before at 1:25 you see things start to move, a "puff" of air then the bullet leaves the gun moves before the bullet leaves ever so slightly and that is where you are getting the vertical difference in the shot groups. as far as time in barrel effecting outcome.. ask someone who shoots 10M air events. nothing is negligible we can only compensate most guns will shoot different from a rest to some extent due to using sights to compensate for something the shooter does during offhand John Try this fun experiment next time at your practice session , go shoot 2 groups one at 25 and one at 50 yds. find center of group and then bench rest shoot 2 groups one at 25 and one at 50 yds. target and compare group centers not sizes, centers might see something interesting

So this is after completion of 1 st. string ( 16 rounds 1 reload) ...and before second string ? Shooter should have talked with RO before "just doing it" if RO OKs it all is well if not shooter would then be DNF for the stage, go to safety area and fix or apply to use a replacement firearm to finish match. As an RO I wouldn't have a problem if the shooter asked between strings to ascertain if his firearm was safe to continue as I don't want an unsafe firearm on my range. (s)he is then unloaded and under an ROs control so the question is can the shooter dryfire facing downrange under the control of an RO ? 8.06 MALFUNCTIONS_In the event of a malfunction, the normal procedure will be for the competitor to rectify the situation, always keeping the muzzle pointing downrange, and carry on with the stage. If he is unable to do so, he will stand fast, lower the handgun safely pointed downrange and signal by raising his free hand. The Range Officer will stop the clock and proceed to examine the handgun. In a Perfect Range : it was the end of the string,before moving to the next shooting box . Shooter asks RO if (s)he can inspect to see what problem is,..in doing so he check/cycle the gun, so (s)he drops the mag, racks the slide, pulls the trigger <- this process is the issue of discussion) twice,.. the RO then gives a "reload if necessary and holster" command in preparation for moving to the next shooting location and stage commences. Thats my take,.. John

instead of crouching take a knee maybe, it is more stable... and don't focus on the barrel just get lined up and adhere to the basics of marksmanship my first few barrels were disasters also until someone told me to "forget about them if you know you are lined up and will shoot through them they are over 30 " diameter and you shoot a bullet that is less than 1/2" how big a barrel you need to quit worrying and start shooting ??" after that I forgot about the barrels and focused on shooting straight and finding the most stable way to do it depending on the height I needed to shoot from, also how to keep my head in the proper orientation not rolled over and looking out corner of glasses whihc distorts your sight picture. Hope this helps John

I shoot 2.9 of Bullseye in my S&W 52 I remember experimenting shooting this same load in my S&W 19 with .357 brass in several PPC matches but that was 20 years ago and I'm not trusting my memory to be exact on that so... I would suggest putting a target up at about 20 ft. if your range will allow so you can see the holes well and shoot a few blown skirts should show in a few cylinders if it will be a problem. if they chrono at under 900 fps. you should be ok also..(high end of "Mid-Range" ) I am pretty sure Bullseye is stable in larger cases with low powder charge weights unlike some powders. all my reloads .357 Mags included get taper crimped basic setting .003" under resized size so resize an empty measure casemouth and subtract .003" they don't move under recoil 158 LSWC with stout charge of 2400 nice fireball.. Once you crimp a slug it gets distorted, pulling and recrimping may not solve your accuracy issue with this batch of bullets. pull a few and measure to see if they are badly distorted times like these are the only down side to a progressive press,.. they let you make alot of ammo quick and if your settings are off alot of bad/questionable ammo quick I tend to load develop on an old Lyman Spartan press, yes it is slower but I have caught a few oopses over the years. John

isn't that why you keep a few speaker magnets handy ap38 ? ( J. Barnhart did it at a big event back in the day ) magnets in pockets mags stick to jeans still probably be quicker to stuff in mag holders with a bit of practice.. John

the whole reason to load .40 long is to get it to run in a 1911 I bought my 10mm with about 4000 pieces of brass,.. and I am actually downloading it to make major especially now with it being lowered to 165 Once fired brass does tip the scales to the .40 I will give you that... Since I don't own a 1911 in .40 I can't say for sure if a long loaded .40 is the same but then again is a long loaded .38Spl. anything like a .357 Mag ? Logic would say no but without a side by side test who knows ? Does extra brass contact mean much ? is there really much strength gained by a SP vs. a LP primer pocket ? anybody want to take a long loaded .40 to a 190 PF and see what happens ??? keep in mind most 10s don't have a ramped barrel In the end if all you are doing is shooting USPSA or IDPA with it either does fine, but if I were to hunt with it I would prefer my 10 as I can load it hotter than a .40 even I believe a long loaded .40 just my opinion. John

Always double check even if you are "sure" Start each loading session from Step 1 clean the bench settle the mind ... 1 caliber, 1 bullet, 1 can powder on bench at any 1 time TAKE NOTES ! ! human memory has proven unsatisfactory and unreliable for this aspect of the hobby in particular and shooting sports in general when was the last time you "brain-faded" ? get a notebook Take care of any honey-do's well before the session and take time to explain to other half this needs to be done with as few disruptions as possible John

Subaru Brat makes a comeback.....

http://www.exteriorb...ined/5th/35.cfm also covers PBR pretty well handy for those long 6" plates "For competitors, the point blank range idea can reduce the number of sight adjustments necessary for the targets at longer ranges." shooting makes math fun John BTW my 10mm has a PBR of 125 yds. or so for an A zone hit.. not that I can hold that tight and a 35 yd. zero makes an 80 yd. popper shot pretty easy

depending on the trajectory of the round where you meet Line of Sight (POA) and Zero (POI) first , we offset it by aligning the barrel upwards a few degrees as the Laws of Physics dictate when fired from a level (0 Deg.) Gravity pulls bullet down. usually it crosses the line of sight and crosses back as opposed to meeting and dropping. So usually ,..the bullet passes the line of sight twice look at it like a football lobbed down-field it rises then falls the first 0 to X is from bore rising to Line of Sight the second X to 0 is the target and the rest of the arc is where it passes on its way down to the ground assuming no backstop right behind the target. that first one will get you in trouble with close hard cover , some call it sight offset others call it DQ Most rifles tend to be zeroed on the second intersection, and some marksmen note the first for range offsets.. so maybe a 400 yd Zero would also have an intermediate of say,to use round numbers, 125 yds. so aim dead on at 125 and 400 and lower in between to offset rise from initial to second zero The Lyman manuals used to have a whole chapter on "Exterior Ballistics" explaining flight paths and the often misused term point blank range In my experience the faster round with more recoil will print higher on the target due to recoil starting before projectile leaves the bore remember small changes at muzzle mean big changes the farther out you go. and slower rounds will need more follow through as barrel time is increased a bit. you could re-zero for 35 yds. and it would come up for the 10-15 but be a tad high for the 25 yds. might be worth a try. John

Ok, how do you know? Howsabout 9 grs. Unique behind a 230 gr RNL instead of 4.5 ? SS Detonics Combat Master bulged Pachmayr grips blew a magazine out and burn marks at the slide stop hole.. So never again...

May get more visibility and answers in the Multi-Gun Rifles-Technical Section. 1,000 rounds,.. not sure if that could be a buffer spring going soft and affecting timing or not. John

I kind of prefer a little "float" it seems to not bother my shoulder and elbow during longer reloading sessions,not sloppy loose but will twist slightly through the range of motion.... kind of like the "float" in bike cleats kept my knees happy for 10 years and 15,000 miles John

as far as the 7.7 vs. the 7.9 fps "flatness" keep in mind pressure is not linear therefore velocity isn't.. Some powders have flat spots,.. some just before they spike so go easy and watch/feel for anything as you go with heavier charges..looks like you found a flat spot and no spike I am happy for you we had a .38 Super load go along then flatten then spike and separate a case WSL used to do this in my 10mm come up then flatten out then jump.... to top it off it was also inverse temp sensitive tough to find out at your first Area match. John

I used to run 155gr LSWC at a 180 PF and had great accuracy results,..1170 fps or so..WSL (sadly discontinued) powder then again it was a Delta Elite with a Bar-Sto setup by Dan Sierpina many years and rounds ago.. Use the 10 like it was meant to be used, and you will really come to love this round. then you can give the .40 guys who load long the question.... "Why load long just use a 10mm.. brass costs about the same (Starline) and then you can make Major without stressing"..... last said at an Area 7 match when I chron'd something like a 195 PF Go ahead put a "bonus" popper out at 85 yds. did I tell you this gun shoots flat ? John

if you decide to go this route,.. powder upgrade first... if you forget a primer it will "snap" at you when the shell comes off the empty primer ram.. powder is harder to find a miss and more potentially destructive.. the primer system upgrade should get you all you need for the auto eject and priming they make one for this situation should be under the 450 to 550 upgrade package page..or call Brian ! .223 and .308 only need the caliber conversion kits.. (powder funnels and shell plates/pins) and adjust your powder drop die as needed. BTW the .308 will allow .45ACP and a host of other calibers based on the .308/.300-06 family as far as the 550 being faster than a 450... for the caliber conversions yes as the 550 has the tool head. But for actual round count once you upgrade the powder and primer it would be dead even.. One could argue the Potential for the 450 to be more consistent as the dies are fixed and the toolhead could induce variances ( there is/was a company offering a setscrew conversion to lock the toolhead down and also machined toolheads at tighter tolerances ) so if you setup to load in batches,which a progressive is good at, it comes down to if you want to change calibers in 2 minutes vs. 5-8 mins. I drank the "Blue Kool-aid" years ago so I can not attest to the LEE ,.. I do however have an old Gray Lyman Spartan press for smaller batches of "odd"calibers I load on occasion.. Welcome to the forum,..and a new addition to your addiction.. John

About once a year I clean them with a bore brush and solvent,..then polish with FLITZ then hit them with some car paste wax.. nice and smooth John

back when I loved at home I had 2 for .38SPL 1 for my S&W M52 loads 1 for everything else.. Also had 2 heads for my .30-06 1 for prepping and 1 for loading.. mow I am back to using my 450 so they live in boxes John

the only handgun I know of that has to have the SN on the upper is a Ruger MK series pistol.. all the rest are Frame #s the BATFE likes to see... John