njl

That's their minimum OAL so that given the OAL and the load data, you don't go over-pressure. You can, and in most cases should, load longer than that...limited only by your barrel's chamber and magazine's front to back dimensions.

But why are you seating so deep? https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&cd=1&ved=0CAwQFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.brianenos.com%2Fforums%2Findex.php%3Fshowtopic%3D134412&ei=T6cVVcKBAoOVNuukhNAN&usg=AFQjCNE5mYVP0HlaajmY9GGCnk98vhlG6A&sig2=5ttCLYgDU0dzbcDgyfJb9g

Is the bulge all around the case or only one one "side"? If the latter, you're probably not seating the bullet straight enough. You might also be seating too deep and running the bullet into thicker brass. If your chamber allows it, try going longer (1.100" or more).

That's encouraging. I recently picked up a .308 Garand. It's my first "larger" rifle. I have plenty of H335 and nothing else even close to suitable for loading .308.

135PF is crazy low for a 230gr bullet. That'd be about 587fps. I think you'll get better (low recoil) results with lighter bullets, like a 185gr in the 750-800fps range. Depending on the 185gr JHP bullet, somewhere around 4.5-5gr WST should do.

Depends on the bullet. OAL, and gun. Some say they can work. Most say they don't. My limited experiment with a free sample I got was that they're problematic and not worth the trouble when there are 185gr JHP, 200gr RN and RNFP that work fine on my .45 Glocks if I want lighter .45 loads.

I don't get it. If you flare the case sufficiently and place the bullet reasonably straight, there should be no shaving. If the MBF funnel is expanding more than just the mouth, I wonder what impact that has on neck tension? Or do you combine its use with a Lee FCD to undo what it's done?

I've found Universal Clays to be a great powder for 9mm, but in .45 it's really not suitable unless you want full power loads and lots of recoil.

The old coating, I assume. Isn't BBI using hi-tek now?

It depends. If you just started reloading, you might want to keep some factory ammo around for comparison. Are there any ranges you do or may shoot at that don't want guests shooting reloads? Is the factory ammo good brass? I haven't bought factory pistol ammo for about 10 years. I still have a case or so of Federal 9mm (its good brass), but a year or so ago sold a full case of .45acp Blazer (aluminum) for more than double what I'd paid for it years earlier.

Or before you go to a match and go minor...or go to a match planning to shoot minor, and find that they don't reliably cycle your gun. i.e. some will say they're interchangeable. I'm not one of them. Though, I had the latter of those things happen just switching brands of LPP with ammo I knew was minor to start with. I just didn't know it was right on the edge of being able to function the slide.

Just verify your load "works" with SP if you developed it with LP. Depending on the exact primers used and powder, you may see a small reduction in velocity.

I've been shooting GSSF for nearly 15 years. Long ago, it used to take an eternity to get results. Things have sped up considerably, and preliminary results are usually posted just a few days after the match. Final results (with prize designations) usually take about a month...but at least you know how you placed almost immediately. If you're really curious, keep an eye on the preliminary results. They often change a couple of times before being finalized.

I ended up deciding that the Black and Blue 96gr NLG needed to be seated deeper and coincidentally ended up at the SAAMI min OAL (0.910"). They're a shorter bullet, 0.445". The Bayou 95gr I've tried were 0.455" long. The B&B at 0.910" look kind of funny next to Bayou at 0.940, and I was concerned about case volume, so I loaded two small batches to test at 0.1 and 0.2gr less than the Bayou load, which is 2.7gr Promo. I didn't get a chance to shoot this weekend, so I'll have to wait til next weekend to test them. Anyone here have Quickload?...and if so, will it do .380 + Red Dot or Promo? I'm just curious what it would guestimate the pressure to be with the B&B bullets loaded so short.

Nitrile are more resistant to solvents than latex. Clean your guns with traditional cleaning solvents using latex gloves, and odds are, the gloves will fall apart before you finish. With nitrile gloves, you can probably reuse the same pair for multiple cleaning sessions. Either should be fine for keeping your hands clean...as long as they hold together.

I wonder how long those bullets are and how much bullet is inside the brass at that OAL? I've been loading Bayou and Xtreme, but just got some Black and Blue to try. The Black and Blue have a relatively long bearing surface, and when seated such that nearly all of that is inside the brass, the OAL ends up quite short. I've been loading Bayou to about 0.940" with just a hair of bearing surface above the case mouth. Loading the B&B to 0.930, there's quite a bit more bearing surface outside the case...but I'm hesitant to go any shorter.

2.9gr Promo 0.935" OAL. It's close to (maybe over...depending on who you ask) max, but the G42 needs hot loads to cycle reliably. 3gr of Titegroup will produce similar results.

I've done most of my .45acp (both minor and major) with WST. I've done some of each with Clays as well. Lately, I've been playing around with Promo (picked up 16lbs a few months ago), which is basically "cheaper Red Dot". Charge-wise, Promo seems to fall in between Clays (uses the least) and WST (needs more). I was drawn to it because I needed a powder with data for .380...and it being one of the cheapest powders around didn't hurt. I've used it now in every handgun caliber I load (.380, .38spl, 9mm, .45acp) and it seems to work reasonably well for mid/light target loads in .38 and 9mm, "full power" (if there is such a thing) in .380, and major or near major .45. I may not keep buying all the other powders if I can continue to find Promo and the price stays down.

Here's something I've wondered about recently. I'm having trouble again with the press mangling whatever I use to hold the spent primer chute door. When this happens, the door gets stuck and presses hard against the primer slide on the down stroke. I wonder if when this happens, the additional horizontal pressure on the primer slide is what fouls things up?

Barrels should be interchangeable...and you can run a <Gen4 upper on a Gen4 lower...but not the other way around.

Yeah...Gen4 actually don't come stock with any common parts with earlier Gens as far as trigger bar, trigger housing, and connector are concerned. There's also the "new to Gen4" bend in the portion of the trigger bar that the trigger spring hooks onto. You can swap Gen3 parts (trigger bar, - or other connector) into a Gen4. I tried that while trying to figure out why I couldn't shoot my Gen4 17. I did much prefer the Gen4 grip texture...so I may try again with the 17. I have a Gen4 26 that's a keeper.

Seems like a bad idea to me. Murphy's law is that when the LEO finally needs to actually use their sidearm, the optic will fail/battery be dead, etc. A good set of steel night sights is far more dependable. Or do these new MOS Glocks have the optic recess deep enough for BUIS?

I think this depends entirely on the individual gun. I have a 2-pin Gen3 G17 that I shoot very well (lots of other Glocks, and am a GSSF master class shooter). I bought a Gen4 G17 a couple of years ago, and it wouldn't group worth a damn. Didn't matter if it was any of my various reloads or several factory ammo types. I got rid of it in frustration.

Is the rear sight coming off or apart? I have a Springfield Loaded that shot about a foot low at 7yds when I got it (IIRC). I sent it back and told them I'd prefer an adjustable rear anyway (it came with fixed). The adjustable sight they put on it only lasted a short time before the pin on which the elevation pivots broke. They sent me a replacement rear sight...and the second one has lasted years.

AFAIK, there is a 650-only strong mount, a 650/550 strong mount, and the SDB strong mount which is the 550/650 strong mount plus a top plate. On the 550, the press mounts directly to the strong mount, as if the sides of the mount were legs for the press.