2kcrewcab

After reading some on the forums a few months ago, I switched to about a 60/40 fine corn cob/walnut hull (lizard litter) mix with a little case polish, and I throw in a couple of used dryer sheets to keep it from being as dusty. I'm going more for function than looks, and I only tumble for around an hour (give or take 10 minutes). While they might not be as pretty as other folks rounds, they still work just fine.

Not sure how original this is, but my uncle has a Body Shop, and his slogan used to be: "Although we meet by accident, we appreciate your business."

IDPA ESR - 4" 625 - older model with the firing pin on the hammer - JM grips, EGW FO front sight, Weigand rear blade IDPA SSR - 4" 686 - older model with the firing pin on the hammer - JM grips, Weigand front sight base w/SDM FO front sight, Weigand rear blade Mike W.

I think you made a great choice in going SSR. I started out shooting ESP about 3 years ago, and last year went ESR. It was a lot of fun, but I just shoot SSR better than ESR, so that's what I'm going with this year. As for the 686 SSR, I think you are right - it is probably the best compromise of size and weight available "stock". As for the grips, the picture you posted isn't showing for me, but the real "SSR" wooden grips from S&W are very nice IMO. I have the Miculek grips on my 617 (for practice), my 686, and my 625, and like them very well, but I have also shot a 686SSR, and those grips feel very nice too. If I had one of them, I probably wouldn't spend the extra $65 to change the grips. Anyway, good luck in shooting SSR. I think you will like it. Learning to count to 6 is more difficult than one might think. I can't tell you how many times I have clicked empty cylinders, especially back when I had just started shooting revolver.

Along the same line as the badges for each division, I was just thinking this week about patches in various colors for different classifications of 5-Gun. I sent an email this week to Robert Ray and IDPA HQ, suggesting that very thing. I mean, we already pay to be a member so that we can play, so an additional $50 seems a little steep just to have my name added to a list on the web site that not many people would go and see anyway. He replied back and said that they are looking at the sew-on patch thing for 5-Gun classifications (based on the previous suggestion of another member), and that there is also a framed certificate that the shooter will receive from IDPA HQ if they go for their 5-Gun classification. Regardless of whether I get beat in matches on a regular basis or not, to me, attaining a 5-Gun in ANY classification (I'm currently working on Expert - just barely missed the mark in ESR and CDP the other day) would be an accomplishment that is worthy of recognition, however trivial it may seem to others. Oh, and I will add that while I am very competitive and love to look at the scores as soon as they come out, I don't get bummed out if I lose, nor am I so elated when I win as to become "snobbish"....I shoot because I like it, I feel that I'm relatively good at it, and for the friendships that I have gained on the range. While badges, patches, pins, etc, might not motivate some shooters, I doubt it would discourage anyone - and if it did, maybe that person needs to find another game to play. Just my .02 on the subject....

There are a couple of Sportsman's Warehouse locations in and around the Memphis area that carry reloading supplies. They even carry the normally hard-to-find line of VV powders, and some Dillon reloading equipment.

As was mentioned above, there are certainly 1000's, if not more, opinions on this subject. As for me, I've been reloading for a little over a year now, and I just use one powder for all of the calibers I load, and one brand of primers. Vihtavuori 320N for the powder, and Federal Primers. I load for 9mm, .38 Special, and .45 ACP, and have very good performance from all. VV is extremely clean burning, which is why I chose it to begin with, and since it works well, I see no point in changing. It is a little more expensive than some of the other options, and maybe a little more difficult to find at local shops, but since powder is the least expensive component in reloading pistol ammo, the higher price really doesn't bother me much. Oh, and as for the choice of primers, I have a couple of 'tuned' revolvers, so the softer Federal Primers are in order. Just to keep from having to separate things or whatever, I just use Federals for everything. Of course, this is just my opinion, and it's worth exactly what you are paying for it.

VV320N seems to meter well for me. I currently load 9mm, .38 Special, and .45 ACP (all setup with separate toolheads and powder measures) and they all seem to be very consistent for me.

Berry's plated 230 gr bullets Various range brass 5.3 gr VV320N 1.235"OAL Federal Large Pistol Primers Runs about 730 fps or so in my 4" 625 - a little faster in my 5" XD.

So that's why I can't hit anything with it from 20 yds out or more around a barricade. Seriously, yes, I have noticed the wiggle in it, but I didn't think it was that much more than the stock sight blade. I can see the point though....but maybe I'm not good enough for it to matter (yet).

I have replaced the standard blade on my S&W revolvers with the Weigand rear blade. It has a nice, wide notch, and it also comes over the back of the sight to give a nice tall rear blade. It seems to have helped me in both SSR and ESR for IDPA at least. I ordered mine from Midway. They are no problem to change out, but if you do it by the instructions, you will need to order a new windage screw with the blade. If you're careful, you should be able to capture and reuse the spring and detent.

Graf's has Federal's in stock as of yesterday. I called them yesterday because their website showed them available in Qtys of 1000. When I called, they said they just hadn't updated their website, but that they had a shipment come in and they had "plenty". I was able to put in an order for 20,000 small and 10,000 large with no problem (supposed to ship later this week). Good luck!

Just my .02 worth, but I would say it is a violation of the rule to disconnect the internal safety. To me the internal safety would be no different than the external safeties that are available on the XD's and M&P's. Where would you draw the line? I would think it would be a violation of the rules if you didn't engage the manual safety on a gun even if there are other models available without it. I don't see the difference. The other safety measures are also included on these models with the external safeties, so there isn't a question of whether it would be "safe" to not use it - yet, as an SO, I would certainly warn a shooter if I saw them not using the external safety, and if I caught them again, it'd probably be a procedural, and if they continued to do it, an FTDR. If you don't want to have to deal with the safety mechanisms (whether internal or external), buy one of the other models - that's why they make so many different models, to suit everyone's needs. I can see where arguments can be made either way and that there have been many changes in firearms, etc in the last 3-4 years, so the rule book probably needs a little updating (ok, maybe a lot of updating), but until then, we gotta go by what we have. Again, just my .02 worth.

Thanks guys for all of the suggestions. Friday evening, I decided to play around with it a little more. I added another 1/10th of a grain of powder, putting me at 5.5 gr, and I rechecked my Hornady Reloading Manual for OAL. For a 230 gr. RN bullet, it listed the OAL as 1.230", so I adjusted the seat die down to about 1.235". This put the bullet right down against the powder...not compressing it, but touching it from what I could tell. I also rechecked the VV loading reference charts, and they listed the MAX charge at 5.2 gr. This concerned me a little, but I figured based on my previous tests that it shouldn't be a real problem. I still had some of the 5.4 gr loads sitting there on the bench too, so I decided to run some of them back through the press and seat them down to 1.235" as well. So, after the IDPA match on Saturday morning, I tested these loads out. I ran the "re-seated" bullets with 5.4 gr first, and they did MUCH better than before. They were around the 760 fps mark, and much more consistent than before. Out of curiosity, I went ahead and ran some of the 5.5 gr loads through as well, and they were up closer to the 800 fps mark but still way more consistent than previous loads. So, now I'll just back the powder measure back down to 5.4 gr and leave the OAL at 1.235" and rock on. Thanks again guys for all of the help!

Thanks for the replies guys. I'll load up a few more and take them to the range this weekend. Appreciate the feedback! Mike W.

Thanks for the info. Anyone else have any suggestions, comments? Could it have to do with crimp? Should I try seating a little deeper? Also, how many rounds should I consider to be a valid "sample" for statistical purposes? Any help is appreciated! Thanks, Mike W.

Hello all.... I'm running into a problem I'm hoping you all can help me with. I'll try to post as much info as I can about the problem and what I have done to try to correct it (hopefully it's not too much that this becomes annoying to you). I started loading .45 ACP about a year ago on a Dillon 550 using Rainier 230 gr plated bullets, Federal Primers, and approximately 5.4 gr of VV320N, OAL of approximately 1.274", for use in IDPA in a 4" 625 Revolver. Everything seemed to be fine for me until the place where I get my bullets decided to switch to Berry's. Well, the Berry's .45 ACP bullets are shaped a little different than the Rainier's, so I figured I'd better do some new test loads and chrono them. I left everything setup pretty much the same on my 550 and loaded up a few, took them to the range and one day after an IDPA match, I just set the chrono up to quickly test a moonclip full. Much to my surprise and dismay, there was a HUGE difference in FPS from one shot to the next. My first thought was that I did something wrong on my loads, so I put everything up, and decided to check my machine out and then load some more. Well, the other day, I went back to the range with a 5" XD Tactical, my 4" 625, some factory CCI Blazer Brass, some of my "original" Rainier loads, and some of the new Berry's loads. I wanted to do 2 things: #1) Find out how different the velocity was between a 5" Auto and a 4" Revolver, and #2) Find out how much deviation I would see between the different loads in the different guns. The factory stuff was obviously to use as a baseline between the Auto and Revolver. I shot 6 rounds of each kind of ammo out of each gun for the following results (highs and lows for each string in bold): 4" Revolver: Blazer Brass - 801.8, 807.4, 793.2, 788.2, 794.9, 813.2 Rainier Bullets - 743.2, 751.0, 739.5, 747.8, 732.6, 747.3 Berry's Bullets - 714.7, 732.5, 748.7, 699.3, 647.9, 748.5 5" Auto: Blazer Brass - 823.0, 853.9, 855.1, 832.3, 844.0, 838.7 Rainier Bullets - 766.7, 753.1, 776.8, 781.3, 769.5, 715.8 Berry's Bullets - 737.2, 781.3, 798.4, 755.4, 729.8, 772.4 So the answer to Question #1 was not difficult to figure out: The 5" Auto did add a little velocity over the 4" Revolver, but not enough that I would bother changing the load between the two if I chose to shoot CDP vs ESR - I could use the loads for either and still be ok as long as I made power in the Revolver. The answer to Question #2 was a little more puzzling. Why is there such a big difference in the velocities for the Berry's bullets vs. the others? I'm not sure what kind of spread I should be seeing here, but I'd be willing to bet that 100 fps isn't right. Oh, and let me note that I was tilting the barrel of the gun upward and shaking all of the powder to the rear of the case before each and every shot in both the Auto and the Revolver. I thought maybe something was wrong with how this VV 320 powder was metering for me, so I tested some .38's and 9mm's and they were so consistent it's not even funny, so there has to be some dynamic here that I'm missing. So, I got to thinking about it, and the main variable that I could see that would be different in the various calibers is the volume in the case. I decided that I should seat the Berry's bullets a little deeper than I had been to try to remove a little of that air space. I adjusted my seat die down a little bit to an OAL of approx 1.254", and took a few of those out to the range to see if that helped. Well, the velocity increased ever so slightly, but I still had a spread of around 100 fps over 6 rounds that I shot. Can anyone point out anything that I need to try next? Sorry for the long post, but I wanted you to have all of the information I do about the situation. Thanks in advance.... Mike W.

I have been reloading for about a year with a Dillon 550 and Dillon Dies in .38, .45ACP, and 9mm. I have yet to have a round that wouldn't cycle in my revolvers or autos. I have heard others talk about loading 9mm with Dillon Dies and have feeding issues in their autos, so they would go to a Lee factory crimp die to solve their problems. I don't understand this, as I believe if the Dillon Dies are setup properly, they will work fine. While I have never loaded on "conventional" dies before, I like the fact that there is only one setting per die to worry about with the Dillon dies. With the seat and crimp functions separated into individual dies, it seems much easier to me to set them up. Of course, with multiple toolheads you rarely have to adjust them anyway, but the Dillon system just seems easier to me and worth the extra money. Just my .02.

SSR - 4" 686 (older model w/firing pin on the hammer), original front sight milled off and a Weigand base installed with SDM Green Fiber Optic blade, Weigand rear sight blade, action job and cylinder chamfered by local gunsmith, bead blast finish (just to be different), Safariland paddle holster and Comp III's, kydex single speedloader holders made by Bryon Miller at deploymentsolutions.us (two in front of holster, one behind), Miculek grips. Loads are 158gr Rainier bullets over 4.6gr VV-320N with Federal primers. ESR - 4" 625 (older model w/firing pin on the hammer), EGW green FO front, Weigand rear sight blade, action job and cylinder chamfered by local gunsmith, Safariland paddle holster, CCW moonclip holders (2 in front of holster, 1 behind), moonclips from Old Sarge, Miculek grips. Loads are 230gr Rainier or Berry's bullets over 5.4gr VV-320N with Federal primers.

Thanks everyone....I guess I can just crank 'em out now!!!!

Thanks for the replies so far.... Still interested in any other comments from folks too!

I am fairly new to reloading, and more new to 9mm than any other, so any help will be greatly appreciated. What I'm seeing is that the reloaded cartridges are "hour-glassed" meaning that the middle of the case is slightly smaller in diameter than the bottom and top (enough that I can actually see it without measuring with a caliper). So far, everything I've shot is cycling fine in everything I've tried it in (XD's, M&P's, and Glocks), but I'm just concerned that I might be doing something wrong. I'm using a Dillon 550 press with Dillon Carbide Dies, and the load data is as follows: Berry's 115gr plated bullets, 4.2gr VV-320N powder, Federal primers, OAL approx. 1.127", and just various range brass. Any advice or comments will be appreciated. Thanks in advance... Mike W.

Thanks for the info. I had actually downloaded their manual when I started reloading and started in the 5.0 gr. range, and had to bump it up to get the muzzle velocity up to around 750-780 fps. Could it be that I'm not seating the bullet quite as deep, so the pressure is not as high? I'm at work right now, and can't remember my OAL, but I will check that this evening at home and compare that with others. I certainly don't want to be in danger of blowing up any of my guns, so any input from you guys would be appreciated.

I am currently loading 4.6gr of N320 for .38 which more than makes power for IDPA SSR, and I am loading 5.4gr of N320 for .45 which easily makes power for ESR. These are on 158gr and 320gr Rainier plated bullets in a 686 and 625, both 4" bbl.

Not trying to hijack this thread by any means, but some of the answers to the original question have me wondering....How much difference does it make to the power factor if shooting from a 5" Auto vs. a 4" Revolver? I'm fairly new to reloading and haven't done a lot of experimenting. I shoot a 625 for IDPA, and I'm loading 5.4gr of VV N320 behind a 230gr Ranier plated bullet to get a power factor of roughly 175. Does that sound right? I haven't chrono'd them in my 5" XD, but it seems that based on some of the other comments, they might be a little hot for my XD. Do you really get that much more velocity from the extra inch, or am I really losing that much from the cylidner gap on the revolver?