jfrey

Have you checked out the STI Spartan from Dawson Precision? For $628.00 you can do a lot of mods and still stay in your budget. I've read nothing but good about these guns. From what I understand, STI sends their internal parts to the Phillipines and the guns are assembled there. Then, they are sent back here and STI goes through them to assure a good product. The Spartan might be a good alternative to start with.

I'm not a hater, but if I was going to spend $2500.00 on a pistol, it wouldn't be a Glock. I accept Glocks for being what they are and their intended use. If I want a fancy, wonderfully tuned, shooting pistol, I break out the Brileys.

I just use one of those football shaped rolling cage things on a broome handle. It works great and doesn't need electricity.

I have been loading Unique for quite a while and recently wanted to try something else that wouldn't fill the case quite so much and fly out as rounds circulated during the loading process on my SDB press. After doing some research on this forum and consulting loading manuals, I settled on WSF for my 9mm loads. I loaded 100 rounds with 5.0 grns under a 115 gr. Berry's rnds bullet with an OAL of 1.140 and ran them through my G19. I noticed two things right off. Recoil sensation was less and accuracy seemed to improve. What say you experts here, did I make a good choice? Are my observations characteristic of WSF? I'm going to function test this load in several pistols and see what happens. So far the G19 and I would expect my Hi-Power will be fine but I have a couple of heavy slide S&W's that may need to load bumped up slightly.

I'm one of those guys who is used to a 2.5/3# trigger on a 1911 so I put 3.5 LWD connectors in my G19 and G36 and really like the results. I replaced the OEM trigger spring with a 6# spring from Wolfe and didn't notice much difference. For me the 3.5# connector has been the best improvement and I haven't got that reported mushy break some folks have experienced. The heavier connector seemed to make me want to jurk the trigger and make it break.

I don't know if this will help but since you are shooting a Briley barrel, I would call Claudio at Briley and pick his brain on it. He is a long time shooter and pretty knowledgable in stuff like this. Just a thought.

I've been shooting this same bullet for several years and my OAL is 1.200. This length runs good in all my .45's except my G36. It doesn't like the bullet design, so I just shoot ball ammo in it. All my 1911's like it. I load them over Unique powder.

I've had a G36 since they came out in 2000 and haven't had any problems with it. A +0 Peace grip extension cures the finger problems. I did have Robar take off the finger humps. Made a world of difference in the way it felt. As to recoil, it is stout but I don't find it bad at all with ball ammo. Cor-Bon +P's can get exciting. I can carry the G36 or a G19 in the same holster and they conceal equally well. The G36 is thinner which may or may not make any difference.

OK, I'm not a competition shooter but I don't understand why the finger on the trigger guard is such a bad thing. I have done it for years and it just seems natural that way. I have shot with professional shooters and they never mentioned it. Sounds to me like the old bullets forward or bullets back discussion.

I too was loading .45ACP and LC on my SDB. When I wanted to go to 9mm my wife bought me a second SDB setup dedicated to 9mm. It's a little more expensive but it sure is handier than changing out the dies and primer assembly. One loader for large primers and one for small. I don't forsee loading any other calibers since I don't shoot that much of any thing else. Having two seperate presses sure makes things go a lot smoother. The SDB presses are highly under rated for what you get. It is a great machine and the CS from Dillon is the best.

I've never had but a very few .45 rounds that wouldn't ignite with CCI primers but using them in 9mm has been a headache. Kahr, Glock, and S&W don't like'em. Switched to Win. and good results. I got the CCI's back when you bought what you could get. Probably stick with Win. or Rem. in the future.

I haven't ordered either one yet, but doing some reading comparing both I found this: KKM is guaranteed for reloads, LW isn't. That answered all my questions. Plan on getting a KKM for my G19 shortly.

I've loaded about 5000 rounds of 9mm on my SDB and I've found it takes about the first 1000 rounds to get things smooth and running well. I had the same experience on my other SDB for .45 ACP. The powder will sling a little with near case full loads. I use Unique and find the same thing. If your loader was NIB it should have been set fairly close at the factory. You only need to adjust the powder bar and seating depth on the bullets. If you do find some S&B cases you can adjust the belling accordingly but load them all at once and get past them. If you find any AMERC cases, ditch them. You've got a good deal. Use it and enjoy your new found hobby.

The crimp die should be set pretty close for all your loads. You will need to check overall cartridge length (OAL) in a good loading manual for each brand and style of bullet and adjust that die accordingly, using a caliper to measure several rounds. One thing to watch for: if the bolt in the shell plate is loose or you don't have 4 rounds in the shell plate when you crimp, your OAL may vary some. A few thousnadths either way won't really hurt but it is something you need to keep an eye on for a while. Recheck every time you change bullet configuration. You will also get 2 different bullet seating dies and you might want to use the one that best suits the particular configuration of the bullets you are loading. Hopes this helps.

I just took the shallow lid off a wooden cigar box and slid it under the press. Mine is mounted on a strong mount so it isn't a problem. It also catches and polishing media that might fall out too. Every once in a while I just empty it in a trash can. No mess and no fuss.

I shoot the Berry's flat nose plated bullet in all my .45's and they work great, except my G36. It just won't chamber them due to a short feed ramp. My 1911's have digested thousands of them with no problem. I shoot them over Unique and they work well. No feeding problems in any of them.

If you're just starting out and want a moderate amount of very high quality ammo, don't discount the Square deal B. It is a great machine and a very affordable price and will load a lot more ammo than you might expect. I loaded 10,000 rounds on mine the first year I had it and beginners can learn it quickly, by reading the directions. I know some folks don't recommend it but that is a joke. It is a very good press and will serve you for many years. It also has the automatic advance not supplied on the 550. You have to advance each round on the 550 by hand. I have one set up for 9mm and one for .45. The only thing I have to change is where I set my stool to load. Granted, it won't load rifle ammo, but you indicated you weren't interested anyway. I load all my rifle ammo on a single stage, one round at a time. That is way too slow for pistol ammo.

The Lee kits are good but SLOW when reloading pistol ammo. Once you've tried a progressive like the SDB, you'll never go back. I really like both of mine. Spend a little more money and be happier a lot longer.

I would remove the die from the machine and squirt a little penetrating oil around the case and let it set until tomorrow. I would then try and grip the case end in a vise and try to work the case out by turning the top end of the die with a wrench. I've never had a case stuck in a SDB die and I would be real curious as to what made it stick. When you get it out, let us know what happened.

I've used both the SDB and 550. I own 2 SDB's and there is no trouble loading brass or bullets. The SDB is a great machine and works really well on 9mm and .45 ACP. The dies resize ammo correctly regardless of what size chamber you are shooting them in. I haven't had any problems at all in that area. Just keep it lubed and clean like any other machine and it will serve you well for many years. The SDB is probably the best kept secret in the Dillon line. There is always someone suggesting you go to the 550 but for 9mm there is absolutely no reason and with the auto indexing you cut down on the chances of double charging cases. The 550 is a manual index machine. Personally, of I were of a mind to upgrade my machine I would go to the 650 and skip the 550 all together.

There are stories floating around about some brass with different size flash holes and "green" environmentally friendly primers. Some sources say load 'em and some say throw them away as they are too much trouble to mess with. Get one in a batch of brass and they will definately jam up a loading session. Personally, I chunk 'em.

I have read all the replies and I have to throw in my .02 worth. I have two SDB's and they are great machines. To shortcut them for a 550 is a mistake as they serve their purpose very well. I agree that they will only load a select number of pistol cases and they come with dedicated dies, but so what. When you buy one you get the whole package. You don't have to buy the press and then buy additional dies for it to work. The auto indexing is also a big plus to the SDB. It comes adjusted from the factory so you only have to do a minimum of tinkering with it to start loading. I've loaded on a 550 and would rather have the ones I own. If I am loading rifle ammo I use a Lee single stage press. Just wanted to throw that out for some consideration.

What is your source for loading data. Seems like a good powder to try for a change.

The WCC and S&B brass can be difficult to load in 9mm. I don't even mes with it. There are other sources of good brass but you get a dud once in a while too. I ordered a bunch of brass for .45 from a guy in Arizona. Got about 25% of that 'green ammo" brass that uses a small primer instead of the normal large pistol. Hitting one of those will wake you up real quick too. Suggest you sort your brass and ditch the military stuff. Too much trouble.

I have a SDB mounted on a strong mount and I fixed the problem this way. I took the top off a slim wooden cigar box and slid it under the primer cup. Rarely does one bounce out and it also catches any polishing media left in the brass when it falls out during depriming. I thought that was a fairly simple fix.