muncie21

Can't comment on 'the best' but I will say that I'm satisfied with my Lee carbide 4-die set in .40. I like the micro adjustments on the seating and crimp dies. @hceuterpe I can get rid of those pesky Dillon dies if you need a safe place to dispose of them

4.5gr of N320 under a BBI 180gr TC bullet gets me an average FPS of 944, which is ~170PF. This is out of a G35 with factory barrel.

Yep Here's the specs for the washer and bearing, if you decide to purchase these components separately. Thrust Roller Bearing Washer, TR Type, Open, Inch, 1/2" ID, 15/16" OD, 1/32" Width Thrust Needle Roller Bearing 1/2 x 15/16 x 5/64 inch

Is there anything under the shell plate and is it tightened down? Make sure the ejector wire isn't under the head of the shell plate bolt. Also, make sure the station 1 locator piece (silver thing the shell rides on going into station 1) isn't installed backwards. It's easy enough to put it in backwards, I know

I normally run a CZ SP01 in production in the local USPSA matches. My CZ has been having intermittent extractor issues, so I'm going to try out the X-cal while I wait for my new extractor spring to arrive. It uses the same mag pouches as the CZ and the used one that I purchased included a holster. Let's see what damage I can do

This is the data from my Prima V 9mm loads. ETA- Didn't measure accuracy with a 'rest' or otherwise. The ones that made PF, I found accuracy to be acceptable for our sport.

I've used Lee seating and crimping (debelling) dies with good results. Course adjustment of the Lee dies are with the die body, same as the Dillons, however the Lees (and others) have a 'micro' adjustment to all small adjustments to seating/crimping without adjusting the entire die body.

Looking forward to seeing your results Darrell, as I shoot many of the same bullets and powder. I'm interested to see how your results compare to mine. Sure wish I was within driving distance to relieve the gent that had the 'junk' prima V powder, of his pain.

Hi Kevin, Did you get this worked out? I just tested a BBI 180g over 4.5g of N320 and shot it from my factory G35 barrel. This put me at ~170PF. I didn't see any flattened primers using this load. Looking to work up a load for BBI 165's and N320 next. Average: 944.3 FPS SD: 14.9 FPS Min: 912 FPS Max: 961 FPS

I wonder if the issue with the Lee die is because some of their seating dies also can be adjusted to crimp....

I've loaded Zero and PDs, for me I'll take the PDs. Same performance and quality, little bit better on the wallet. I should add that the pic below is 9mm cartridges, before someone points out the obvious

Looks like the brass is brittle. Perhaps it was processed with a chemical that negatively interacts with the specific components that Federal uses to make their 'brass'...

Noticed this on one of my 9mm tool heads recently too. Subscribing to hear what others think

Dammit, am I the only person that sorta likes the smell of #9 and brake cleaner? Not that I huff the stuff, but the smell doesn't bother me.

I've loaded the Bayou 124 TCG, 124 RN and 135 RN bullets with N320. If you aren't worried about PF, you can make a real soft shooting load that still cycles the slide. At the lower velocities I noticed blackening of the brass, from what I believe to be incomplete sealing of the brass against the barrel during firing, but it didn't impact function; just didn't look great. Seems like you have a bunch of powder at hand, but if you're in the mood to purchase additional powder, look into the Prima V from Vectan. It's more than half the price of N320 ($36 vs $15) and the loads are very similar; in my experience they are the same or 0.1gr off for the same velocity as my N320 loads. I really should stop mentioning Prima V being a good replacement for N320 or it will end up being scarce or more expensive

I've loaded both Winchester and CCI primers on my 650, the only primers that end up sideways are the Winchesters. I don't do anything different (loading speed, primer pickup method, etc.) when loading with one or the other. I suspect there's a slight tolerance difference between the two, my VibraPrime loads the CCIs fine, Winchester not so much- I get a sideways or tilted primer blocking the tube. Currently where I buy they are priced the same, so I just pickup the CCIs, as my guns don't require a Winny primer to ignite the charge.

I haven't done a lot of OAL testing on this round to see what OAL is preferred by my gun. This is what passed the plunk test and shoots reasonably accurate for me.

The OAL will depend upon your pistol. Bayou 135RN in my CZ is loaded to OAL of 1.08 over 3.5g of VV N320. This combo makes PF of ~132

@PaladinPrecision can't help you with those powders. I use N320 and PV mostly for 9mm minor. Your final load recipe will vary based on bullet profile,however ~3.5g of PV or N320 under a 135 coated bullet or ~4.0g under a 124 coated will get you comfortably into minor PF. You'll need to determine what OAL works for your barrel, on mine I need to load deeper for my CZ than I do, say for my Glock.

Now that's some serious brass tumbling!! Nice rig you built there. Surprised to see that small of a direct drive motor without a gearbox spinning those drums.

I found this to be true when testing Ba9.5 & N320 for 9 minor. Prima V at 9 minor, is closer to N320 than Ba 9.5

Ah, that makes things more clear now. Too many similar companies/product names for me to keep straight. At least these two don't have 'tactical' in their names anywhere. ...back to the regularly scheduled program. --->

OP, for grins put a lee sizing die (leave the rest, which I believe are Dillons) on your tool head and see what happens. P.S. I'd wager that the BBI cartridge you posted a pic of earlier was made with your Dillon dies.

OP- I had the same question. You can read my experience here Although everyone said it was perfectly normal (and functioned fine in my gun) I wanted my reloads to 'look' more like factory ammo. So I replaced the Dillon sizing die (sorry Dillon folks, no malice intended) with a Lee one and went happily on my way.

Yep, someone summed it up earlier; 'lots of variables'. And now there's a multitude more, due to the different press and changes in die settings. All this makes for some interesting times ahead. Let us know how this ends...and best of luck- truly.