jfrey

I just bought my son one of the smaller Midway bags. It is nice but you can't carry as much junk as I can in the larger bag. It is a well sized bag and most people don't need to carry as much stuff as some of us do. It will work fine for him and doesn't require an extra mule to carry it.

You setup sounds good, but you can get by very well with some less expensive equipment. I load a lot of .45LC on a Square Deal B and it works great. I also got a caliper, scale, flip tray and tumbler from Midway for a lot less money and it works fine too. The Speer manual has some very good loads for .45LC. I use it for most of my reference needs. Good luck on your loading, it never seems to end. More cases, more powder, more bullets, more primers etc. You get the idea.

I am currently using my friends CV500 because my Midway tumbler crapped out after only 4 months. The CV500 has had thousands of rounds through it and still runs quieter and better than the Midway ever did.

I got a pair of the Radians and they work fine so far. I do have a question though. When you fire a shot it is muffled, but then you hear what I guess is the echo afterwards. Is this normal? It is a sound like tearing paper or shot hitting water. It is hard to describe. The first pair I got had the crackling noise in the left ear so I took them back to Academy where I bought them (same night) and got a second pair which work fine. Otherwise, I am very satisfied so far.

That would be my Briley Versatility 1911 built by Claudio Salasa

For pistol ammo you mentioned, I would go with the SDB. I have loaded over 5000 rounds on mine since March, in both .45ACP and .45 LC and it runs beautifully. I'll no doubt load 10,000 rounds by the end of the year and I see no reason to upgrade on a reloader. The auto index is great and not found on the 550. Don't worry about the dies on a SDB, they work fine.

The SDB loader is a great loader, it just seem that you have things out of adjustment. If the case mouth is belled too much, adjust the die under the powder measure by screwing it out until the mouth is belled correctly. Hold the actuator arm fully foreward and adjust the blue wing nut on the bottom of the powder arm until it is compressed correctly. If this doesn't do the trick, call the Dillon customer support folks and let them talk you through the problems. They are great to deal with and can usually determine the problem in short order.

I use the new Unique all the time for .45ACP and .45 Colt loads. My Dillon SDB measure is accurate to +-.01 either way. I have been tempted to try other powders but really can't find a good reason to change. As powders go, Unique is also pretty forgiving as long as you don't double charge a case.

Bought my son an SR9 a while back and the trigger was terrible. It had a lot of stack to it before it broke. It was also a very hard break. Post recall, the pistol now has a Glock style trigger and the pull length is only about half as much. The break is just as hard as before and not smooth. When I get some time, I am going to fire up the dremmel tool and go over the whole insides with JB polishing compound, like I did my Glock 36. I'm not sure I can actually fix this one to my satisfaction, but I am going to try. The biggest problem I have is shooting 1911's with 2 1/2# and 3# triggers, then going to something like this. It took some work to smooth out my 36, but the final product was a lot better. I'm hoping the same thing will work on the SR9.

For a new female shooter, I have 3 suggestions for you to consider. First is the Kahr CW9 or P9. Slim and light and shoot well. Striker fired though. Second would be a good Taurus or S&W revolver. Just don't get the light ones. They are hard on new shooters. My third suggestion, short of a wonderful 1911, would be the Ruger SR9. Yes, they are having a recall, but at least they are willing to fix the problem and it does shoot good. Nothing is going to replace a good 1911 trigger, but there are alternatives we can live with.

I am having the same problem on a Briley Target model I purchased last week. Got 2 brand new Wilson Mags with the pistol and neither one worked. Tech at Wilson suggested I look at the slide stop itself. Took it out and examined it closely. The slide stop was worn out, to put it bluntly. It had taken a good beating at some time in the past. I replaced it initially with one out of my Springfield and it worked fine. Called Briley about it and they are shipping me a new one for a nominal fee. It wasn't the mags at all. I did have 1 of 4 officers size mags quit in another Briley I have and Wilson sent me a new follower and problem solved. Obviously, when 1 quits and 3 work, it must be the mag. When none work, look at something else, like the slide stop. Hope it helps.

You arent' the first to experience this little bit of bad luck. I had mine break a while back and luckily found all the pieces. The ring that sets flush with the front of the slide broke in half and the inside ring and recoil spring shot out the front. My best advise is to do what I did and call Claudio Salasa at Briley in Houston and talk to him about it. I sent my slide assembly (complete with barrel and spring) and he fit the new bushing in a week or so. As I remember, there wasn't a charge for the replacement bushing but he did charge me for the fitting. Money wellspent. You can also email him at claudio@briley.com. Sometimes it takes him a day or so to get back but he will answer your mail. Most days he is hard to get on the phone until after 3:00pm CST. Claudio is a great guy and he will take care of you. It won't take 3 months either. The Briley bunch are great folks and their 1911's may be the best kept secret in the pistol business.

The price of ammo - all ammo - is going to keep going up. If you are only going to load 9mm or, say .45 ACP eventually, go ahead and invest in reloading equipment. The Square Deal B will serve you well and is less expensive than the 550. Caliber change, if you choose to do so down the road, is easy and takes very little time. Remember, when you get started to go slow and pay attention to what you are doing. The kids love to sort cases and count bullets for you. It also helps them with their math skills in school. A lot of people don't think about that. They also learn to read the names on the cases. How can you loose? Good luck.

Finally got the kids out of the house so a spare bedroom opened up, just what I needed. Turned it into my gun room. I reload and clean my guns in comfort and the temp. and humidity problems in South Texas are cured. Just pay attention and keep things clean and you will be fine. If I had to load in my garage, I probably wouldn't. It is over 100 degrees here today - know what I mean.

My SDB is great and once you learn a few specifics about the machine, you will be well on your way to enjoyable reloading. One thing to watch out for, once in a while fired primers will stick in the inner tube and clog it up. Just pull the blue primer catch cup and run a wire up in it to clear the jam. Down load the manual, as suggested and get the strong mount. That and the bullet tray are great additions to an already good loader. Also, be sure your cases are belled enough with the expander die. If they aren't the bullets will collapse the cases when seated. Other than that, it is pretty simple.

Hey guys - I feel underloaded I only have 1 SDB and 1 MEC 700 Time to start working on some more.

There must be something wrong in the linkage of your press. I have loaded over 4000 rounds of .45 ACP and Long Colt on mine and I remember only about 4 or 5 high primers. I think all of those were due to me, not the press. As a last resort, send the whole thing back to Dillon and they will fix it. First, I would suggest calling Dillon and ask for Mike. He is good on stuff like this and will help you find an answer.

You might want to check the black pin in the bottom of the primer assembly. It is held in place by a set screw and it may have come loose and allowed the pin to drop too low in the primer head. There are adjustment settings in the instructions as to how to set it and how high it should be in the primer feed assembly. I would check that first, as that may be the source of your high primer problem. Ususally things like this wind up being very simple to fix. If that doesn't cure the problem call Dillon support. They are great at stuff like this.