steveknapp

The availability is just too unpredictable to bother with. Montana Gold has never been out of stock when I've ordered something....anything. I ordered from another vendor and after waiting almost a week for them to show up called and they said they were not yet manufactured. "In stock"..HA! Montana Gold has a nice web site. If it says in stock, it's in stock. They ship FAST. They ship USPS Priority Mail. When they sent me the wrong stuff they made it right just as fast. Now having said all that, if you live near a Cabela's, you can get Winchester 115gn FMJ-RN for ~$10/100 last I was there. Which is close in price. Here's my 115gn load data: http://www.brianenos.com/forums/index.php?...st&id=16592 http://www.brianenos.com/forums/index.php?...st&id=16591

Thanks for the help and the link. I do need to practice with this more. I spent a good bit of time just firing DA, not even the double tap. It's very different to me. To some extent I think it's made my shooting with the M&P better as well. We'll see. I will say that every aspect of the two are very different. But much like shooting my 22LR shows off a few faults, I think the same might happen here.

The case gauge is to check the loaded rounds. Both that they are not too long, but also to verify they are the right diameter. In the end if this series, you can see it being used: I found some of those youtube videos to be really helpful, regardless of press you're using.

I bought a P226, and was thinking of shooting it in a match for grins. I know I need to focus on one gun and myself. The M&P9mm in production is still that area of focus. Still, I was curious about the proper procedures for using a SA/DA gun. What I wasn't sure about is what to do with the hammer. On the M&P it's striker fired. So on "load and make ready" I put a mag in, rack the slide, and holster. With the sig, do I do the same and holster the gun with the hammer back? Or lower the hammer so the first pull is DA? Thanks! Steve

For starting I got one of the loadbooks "one book one cartridge" books. I agree there is a lot of info on the 'net for the powder makers. But I found it interesting to compare various bullet and powder makers suggestions for basically the same thing. And a step beyond that, to find what was similar. Maybe it's just being new, but I wasn't impressed with Lyman's manual.

Things I've bought for realoading I think does the job well: - Dillon 550B (I *like* the manual indexing, lets me keep a closer eye on what's going on I think) - Dillon Dies (for 9mm, the EGW undersized die I got seems unneeded) - MidwayUSA case tumbler ($20ish from my "local" reloading shop, or goes on sale http://www.midwayusa.com/eproductpage.exe/...amp;t=11082005) - Lyman "green" pre-treated media - Coarse corn media from the pet store - MyWeigh Durascale 50 ( http://digitalscale.com/Precision.htm ) - The one book one caliber/cartridge guide ( http://www.loadbooks.com/ ) Things I wouldn't buy again: - The midwayUSA case separator (comes as part of this kit http://www.midwayusa.com/eproductpage.exe/...amp;t=11082005). Crap all over the floor. Gets the job done, but makes a simple thing hard. $40 for the Dillon one seems like money WELL spent. What was I thinking.

It's worth mentioning that the alcohol prep pads you can find at the drug store (think cleaning your arm for an injection) work GREAT for cleaning that slide. One time use, clean, easy to store, and pretty darn cheap.

New to reloading, and only reloaded 115gn so far. but reloaded ~800 of that. I started with power pistol. I tried bullseye. And I just loaded up some with unique to chrono. Power Pistol seems to work OK for me. It's clean. It seems accurate from my testing. Bullseye seems OK. I think I like the recoil of the power pistol more, more like factory ammo I think. Maybe not as accurate? Unique I'm so far unhappy with. It doesn't seem to meter in my 550B worth a darn. I'm not even sure I want to fire the top end of the series I loaded. I've also got some clays and American select from the shotshell reloading. I plan to try those as well.

I found this useful. http://10xshooters.com/calculators/Handgun..._Calculator.htm I'm not sure it's saving me much money. But it is sort of fun.

"I did not see any mention of 'new shooters clinics' in this thread." = A local club had one, I think the XDForum folks got it going. It was quite good, very useful. Same for some local practice matches. Maybe some of this is natural for some folks, but as I practice more and more I keep learning more and more. I doubt a open race gun would make that easier or faster. For example, even with no resistance on the trigger (striker not set), my sights move a good bit more than they should when I'm trying to be "fast". My draw is inconsistent. The list could go on and on... I'm a C or D class shooter I'm sure of it and there is a lot improvement to be made. I'm looking forward to it.

For club/practice matches, why not? For USPSA classification, sectionals etc... I agree the targets/stages would need to be rethought. I doubt that's worth it.

Is it too late to get signed up? Anyone from the Chicago area heading over?

Quicktime, which is the plugin that plays movies in my browser, doesn't understand it. Windows Media player plays it just fine. Sorry 'bout that. Where are you practicing?

That 2nd link doesn't work for me.

The manual doesn't mention it, but it appears that the angle at which the chrony opens can be adjusted. Mine has a metal bracket that looks intended for that purpose. If yours reads a bit high, open it up a wee bit perhaps?

I use it in shotgun shells. I've heard some use it in pistol as well. What load are you using for 9mm? Power Pistol is also bulky enough that to make minor with 115gn you really can't double charge. http://www.brianenos.com/forums/index.php?...st&id=16591

Thanks Merlin, I do plan on buying some 124 and 147 gn bullets in the near future and try some things out. I know that with the heavier bullet and the faster powder you can make the recoil feel "softer" right? But my best/closest indoor range is a factory ammo only shop. So I wanted to keep shooting something that's reasonably close to the WWB/Blazer Brass 115gn that I've been shooting so far. Plus for the near term at least, the stuff I've made and shot seems pretty accurate. I've been both practicing myself and reloading, so I'm sure there is more in the Indian than the Arrow, but I've got some trust in this stuff. The tighter crimp helped the power situation! I don't know if anyone/everyone is aware of the flooding in the midwest. But the USPSA match I drove to today was closed due to flooding problems. So instead I stopped by a range on the way home. I was shooting at blank targets (people thought I was crazy to staple them up backwards) and try to get "A" hits (center of the paper) without a dot to focus on, and doing it quickly. The range doesn't allow holsters, so I was starting with the gun in my strong hand, low, sort of 10" into my draw. At first it looked like a shotgun pattern, but by the end I had a nice stripe up the center. I still need to balance speed and accuracy. But still good practice.

Attached is my chrono data from the last round. The lower pressure Power Pistol and higher pressure Bullseye was skewed by a sensor that got move a wee bit back when I *ahem* defended myself from one of the skyscreen rods. I didn't notice it until I had already fired the ammo and collected the data.

I'm using the Dillon 3-die set that I got with the 550B. I believe it's a taper crimp die. I'll try lowering it a wee bit. I had originally done the adjustment based on "touch the case, then another 1/4 turn'. It does take the belling out, and the rounds slide into the case gauge easily and feed well. But I'll try a bit more crimp as well. That would also increase pressure and velocity, right? When working up to the max loads I kept looking at the brass for some signs of overpressure. The brass and primers looked about the same as factory ammo. You can see the bulge in the primer where the firing pin comes through the breach, and that's about all. The lighter loads didn't even cause the bulge.

Thanks Dale! Should I worry at all about a few unburned flakes of powder in the barrel? The tests show that the performance is good. Accuracy is good. Just seems odd it's not all burning.

Also looking at timers, mostly to time dry fire drills and take my time at matches. Any thoughts on how the CED7000 compares to the CE Pocket Pro?

JPT, how far is McMiller/Eagle, WI from you? They don't do matches, but it's a really nice range. You might also call Schultz's and see if they have any plans for another "Intro to Practical shooting" match. http://www.schultzgunclub.com/ Also a club like CKCC in Bristol was a great first practical shoot experience. Very friendly and low key. I'm told Pine Tree in Rockford does a similar practice match on Thursdays, which might be closer? FWIW, before I got my 9mm I bought a used Ruger 22/45, an inexpensive 22LR pistol. It's a blast to shoot, and with ammo being so cheap for 22LR (1/10th what 9mm goes for), a great platform to learn. I still break it out at the range just for fun. Oh, also look at the total gear cost. For example, this is the belt I use. I know it's a cheap knock off of the wilderness belt. But it holds my holster and my pants up.

JPT, feel free drop me a note if you're heading to any matches that are nearby!

JPT, I have a lot of fun with a stock M&P9 in production. I'm far from competitive, and pretty new at this. I choose the M&P9 because of out a handful of guns I rented (G34, P226, M&P, XD) I seemed to shoot best with the M&P and the P226. The M&P's cost including the 2 free mag deal, made it a no-brainer. If you do go M&P I would suggest trying to find one without the mag safety. Not a deal breaker, but makes the "unload/show clear/hammer down" part a bit easier as you don't need to put an empty mag into the gun to get the "click" most ROs are looking for. To use your motorcycle analogy, for me this is like track days. Some fun, a will to be a better rider/shooter, tons of fun regardless of my lap times/score, and frustrating when I don't meet my own goals. But neither are a run for the championship. Both require some solid basics. Gear, a solid bike, and good tires for the track. Gear, a reliable gun, and ammo for the USPSA. Oh, and in both areas there is some emotional factor in there as well when choosing things, I won't deny it. But neither require the latest greatest to have fun, nor to see improvement in yourself.

Well took some rounds to the range to chrono. Few observations... - I shot a wire on the chrono. Not a big deal, but it did bump the sensor back a bit, raising the velocity of the follow on shots a good bit. I didn't notice that until later during a cease fire. So a good bit of my data is wasted. - I always shot 10 shots over the chrono, it only registered 6-10 per string. I was probably shooting a bit higher than I should have. - Setting up the chrono so I can see over it but am close enough to it will take some practice. My 6gn of Power Pistol won't make minor reliably. But 6.4gn will. Same for 4.7gn of Bullseye. 4.8gn of Power Pistol won't reliable cycle my gun. And I still need to work up some unique loads.