racer-x
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Everything posted by racer-x
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MG 115 JHP's are capable of very good accuracy, if the load, gun & shooter are up to it. 10 shots in one ragged hole at 50 yards is what I expect from them from a few of my guns. I just got 1K of the 115 CMJ's, but haven't had a chance to shoot groups with them yet. Was surprised a little that they chrono'd 1.5 PF slower than my 115JHP's with same 10.7 grain charge of AA#7 and OAL (1.165). The 115 CMJ (.558") is only .003" longer than the 115 JHP (.555"). Bullet diameter is identical, but the bearing surface looks like it may be a very small bit less with the CMJ - my guess as to why it is a bit slower with everything else the same. If accuracy with the MG 115 CMJ's is as good as the JHP's, I will probably switch to them. Won't miss picking corn cob out of JHP's
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Strange, link works for me? https://forums.brianenos.com/topic/254878-aa7-how-dirty-is-it/?do=findComment&comment=2837829
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+1 Tumble this solution for 30 minutes in fresh corn cob to mix it up good (otherwise you could leave clumps inside brass). Tumble with brass (set timer 3 hrs). Clean and very shiny. 4 sprays inside 1 gal baggie of lanolin case lube (Dillon or DIY). Fill bag with brass & shake for minute. Empty bag and let brass dry 10-20 minutes. Load ammo. Tumble loaded ammo 15-30 minutes. This removes all case lube and finds any loose primers.
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If it's coming from the powder bar, this should fix for you. This is a very fine grain powder - powder bar can't be loose (vertical).
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This target works great for me with my 6 and 8MOA C-Mores. I started using the DPP 2.5 a few months ago and can still shoot very tight groups with the smaller dot on the 8" targets, but am going to try some smaller targets next time out. Turning down the dot brightness while sighting in or shooting groups helps too. You don't want any flare at all. Just enough brightness to clearly distinguish between dot & target seems best.
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I sight in at 50 yards. This should also be zero at around 20 yards, but sighting in at 50 allows more precision in your zero. Trajectory should be something like this shooting major and 124's, a little flatter with 115's: 0 -1.1 5 -.8 10 -.5 15 -.2 20 ZERO 25 .1 30 .2 35 .2 40 .2 45 .1 50 ZERO My favorite target to use is an 8" black circle target (Dirty Bird Bull's Eye). Very easy to consistently put the dot in the center every time.
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Interesting - thanks for posting the link. I do not interpret these results as 3N38 being the top powder for 9 major, but as the top powder for open. As great a powder as 3N38 is for 38 super/SC, it is a pain to load and make reasonable PF in 9. I'm sure a big part of that 31% using 3N38 (and 3N37 for that matter) were by the 45% 38S/SC shooters. Surprising few 115 shooters too...
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The 550 was my first progressive reloader. Simplicity and flexibility are its strengths. I got the casefeeder when they first came out and there is a learning curve in getting it adjusted just right. Changing calibers is definitely more work getting the case feed just right with different diameter cases. With that said, once you have it adjusted correctly, it was worth it to me as you can significantly increase your output. Ultimately, I got a 1050 and still use them both for different loads.
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Make sure the "operating rod" (dillon part#13869) is positioned correctly contacting both white rollers like in pics below. You may need to bend/shape the operating rod a little to fine tune. At full down stroke, there should be some tension & flex in this rod, exerting pressure on the primer slide to rear (pickup position). Verify that the primer slide operates easily throughout its range of movement.
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Tyman's post is interesting: I've done several practice sessions in the last week with my thumb rest removed now and appreciate this point. I was knowingly using the thumb rest as a pressure point to better minimize gun movement in recoil. With the rest removed, there is more contact between my support hand and the grip and the the overall dot movement is very clean. So far, I am liking it off and I haven't had a hint of pain in my left thumb. Too early to tell if I will leave the thumb rest off. Need some matches to better judge it's effectiveness for me.
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I'm anxious to see it in person! Whats the ETA on your gun?
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These should be pretty close for you gun. I would start a few tenths under these and work up. 170PF in my 9 major CK Thunder - 5.5" KKM with 3x 3/16" holes: 9.6 grains AA#7 - MG124JHP - 1.165 OAL - CCI SPP 10.6 grains AA#7 - MG115JHP - 1.165 OAL - CCI SPP
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Shell Case Lubing for Pistols
racer-x replied to Steelheader's topic in Dillon Precision Reloading Equipment
I loaded a thousand 9 major loads a few days ago without lube like usual. Was putting them in the tumbler after loading to weed out any loose primers and remembered reading this thread. I stopped using case lube on pistol rounds a long time ago because I didn't like the extra step or know the value of tumbling after load, and really like clean shiny rounds (no residue). Now that I'm tumbling loaded rounds for 30 minutes anyway, seemed like a good time to break out the Dillon lanolin lube. Spray 4 shots into the 1 gallon baggie and then seal & shake up 4-5 hundred pieces of brass. Then go back to loading & let dry for 20 minutes. I loaded 5 gallons of 9 major like this yesterday on my 1050... Dang! I totally forgot what a joy it was to load when just the weight of my arm is enough to cycle the press! Also was able to adjust the 1050's arm length from long (more leverage & less effort) to short and fast. I noticed my OAL's were much more consistent as well. The 'Changed my life" quote above is what kept popping into my head as I was knocking out the ammo yesterday. WOW! -
An empty & sized 9MM case should hold around 10.2 grains of 3N38 level with the top of case ( or 13.8 grains of AA#7). I've burned a bunch of 3N38 in 38SC and like it a LOT (slow burning, lots of gas and clean), but there are much better options for 9 major. AA#7 is even slower than 3N38 (slower=safer pressures, more gas for comp) and isn't compressed even with 10.8 grains under a 115. It meters great and is less expensive. The only downside to AA#7 is that it burns a little dirtier than 3N38. This has never been an issue for me. Trying to make 3N38 work for me with 9 major, I settled on 8.8 grains 3N38 at 1.130 OAL and MG124JHP's for 170PF. I normally load to 1.165-1.185 with 124's, but reduced the OAL in this load to make PF and have enough bearing surface between bullet & case to better maintain OAL (not fall out of case). Great thing about 3N38 is that it is a very slow and consistent burning powder. Primers looked fine with these short OAL 170 PF loads out of my gun. The bad thing is that this load is very slow and messy to load and PF went down when the OAL's lengthened over time - caused by powder springing back after being compressed. I also tried a powder ram to pre-compress the 3N38 before seating bullet... not a good solution with 3N38. The ID of the cases were enlarged slightly by this process and bullets were not held in place as firmly.
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Here is a good description: Atlas Gunworks Video
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Thought I would share an interesting troubleshooting exercise with a very definitive solution. First the baseline. Using my standard 9 major loads in a brand new gun (9 major open from Atlas), I put 5 rounds in a ragged hole under 1" diameter while sighting in at 50 yards. Nice! Fast forward 1500 rounds or so and I'm having problems with my 8" steel at 50 yards in practice. I set up a target and shoot some groups at 25 yards... 5"+ groups are the best I can do now? Cutting to the chase, I tried a bunch of things over the next few days: - removed & remounted optic mount & optic - no change - swapped optic to different DPP - no change - tried some factory 9MM minor loads - much worse - tried ammo from same batch as baseline test - no change - tried shorter OAL, same PF - no change Since this is a stroked gun, I needed to be careful with recoil springs and ensure they didn't coil bind. Gun felt great with the spring it came with, so I hadn't experimented with it yet. Wolff 8# variable did not bind and went in the gun for testing. Great groups again! Tried a Wolff 9# variable as well and groups were still great. Swapped stock spring back in and groups were poor again. Did some spring testing after that to quantify my range results. * stock spring in gun was a Wolff 9# fixed with 5 coils removed (33 coils remaining) so that it doesn't bind. spring (coils) 3.700" 1.370" -------------------- ----- ------ Wolff 8#F (32) 4.63# 8.20# Wolff 8#V (33) 4.01# 8.05# ------------------------------------- Wolff 9#F (38) 4.66# 9.07# Wolff 9#F (33)*stock* 3.26# 8.22# Wolff 9#V (32) 4.29# 9.17# ------------------------------------- Wolff 10#V (33) 5.23# 10.14# ------------------------------------- 3.700" = in battery spring height 1.370" = fully compressed spring height (stroked) My conclusion is that the stock spring (after 1500 rounds) was not maintaining enough pressure with slide in battery for optimal accuracy out of this gun. I didn't test this spring when it was new, but assume it was a little stronger than 3.26# at 3.700 when new, and that was just enough more to get best accuracy. I have tried several other springs since and settled on the Wolff 8# variable. Gun tracks great with minimal dot movement and quick return, while maintaining best accuracy out of this gun.
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I've used the GoGun original and most recently the racer cut mounted in both the forward and back positions. It feels a little more natural in the forward position to me.
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I've used a *thumb rest [generic]* a few years now, but started having some pain in my left thumb a month ago. Could be unrelated to shooting and could be I started using more force on thumb than I am aware of. As a test, I shot a bunch of drills with my thumb under the rest yesterday and the gun still returned to POA very quickly. Was a little surprised actually with how nicely the gun handled and my hits (bill drill, etc.). Anyway, took it off to revisit how I shoot without the rest and extra point of contact for a while. Another thing I noticed, was that my support hand is making more contact with the grip when not using the thumb rest. The grip on my Chaos is very aggressive - new points of contact are easy to identify Just curious if anyone else has decided to remove their thumb rests, and if so, why.
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The other advantage of the Schuemann HybriComp barrel is the ports are actually angled nozzles instead of just holes in the barrel.
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Accurate #7 temperature sensitivity affecting PF?
racer-x replied to nelson1each's topic in Open Pistols
I've experienced variations between lots of powders many times over the years with the powders I use most. Enough so that I always verify my loads over the chrono when I open a new container. I haven't ever found a significant difference in the same lot of powder, but I still check & verify to be sure. For the record, in the 16 containers of AA7 I've used recently, I have not found a single significant variation. AA7 has been very consistent for me. Variations are always possible though, so its best to verify whenever starting a new container of powder. -
Accurate #7 temperature sensitivity affecting PF?
racer-x replied to nelson1each's topic in Open Pistols
AA#7 is a very slow powder, so bumping your charge up a few tenths (check your primers for pressure signs) shouldn't be a problem. The CK Thunder runs great at 175PF. Not sure I would conclude your 7-10PF reductions are due to the temp though. MG bullets have been very consistent weight for me - unlikely yours are substantially heavier. Wouldn't hurt to weigh them though. Your powder scale or chrono may not be accurate. Are you able to check calibration of your scale? Also, have you using a different batch of powder now compared to when you chronod higher PF? I've had a +8PF change in my 38S load with a new batch of powder (VV 3N38) a few years back - it happens. -
Accurate #7 temperature sensitivity affecting PF?
racer-x replied to nelson1each's topic in Open Pistols
Wow. I've used quite a bit of AA7 and chrono'd in a wide range of temps. Never seen a swing like that. My guess is something else is wrong (charge, bullet weight or velocity). I suggest you verify each piece of this equation. -your scale calibration. -average weight of your powder charge. I drop 4 charges, weigh that and divide by 4 for a more precise average when setting/checking my powder charge. -bullet weight. Sounds crazy, but I've seen some significant variations in this before. -verify your chronograph against another chrono or with a other known loads. Also, I've chrono'd that same load in my CK Thunders and it was always near 169-170PF in my guns - 9.6 AA7 -MG124JHP - 1.165 OAL. I shoot mostly 115's now(10.7@1.165) , but never had a variation like that over temperature with any of my AA7 loads. -
3N37 is faster & hotter burning and a little more dense than 3N38. 3N38 is really hard to beat for major loads in 38S/SC.
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I had the same problem with one of my powder bars. Solved completely with a piece of tape. See post below for details and pics.