njl

That's odd. AFAIK, they switched long enough ago that you should have gotten the new coating. The difference is pretty obvious...so it shouldn't be hard to tell.

Lyman 1000 XP "digital estimator". It's not accurate at the low end, and not consistent if not recalibrated before each loading session. I use it for quickness and double check on the Dillon Eliminator when it matters.

With the old coating perhaps? The new (Hi-Tek) coating BBI switched to shouldn't leave any residue on your hands.

I don't know if this could be an issue with the bullets you're using, but when I first started playing with coated bullets, I found that I had to load Precision .45 200gr RNFP really short (like 1.200") to basically protect the bearing surface of the bullet. Loading longer, my Glocks would damage the coating while chambering the rounds. If you have bearing surface exposed, and the Trojan barrel cuts through it while chambering, I could see that as being the source of leading.

Why would someone have left smokeless powder with a metal recycler? If you dump primers directly from the catch cup into whatever container you accumulate them in, do you do anything to remove all the primer crud before taking them to the recycler?

3.4gr Universal should work well.

I just got back from testing some loads. I tried 2.6gr Clays and 2.8, 2.9, and 3.0gr WST, all with Xtreme 100gr RNFP at 0.950". 2.6gr Clays 883.4fps, 883.7fps, then stopped because the brass worried me 2.8gr WST 788fps 2.9gr WST 808fps 3.0gr WST 809fps I stopped the Clays testing after the first two shots because I was concerned by what I thought looked like a bulge mid way down the cases. I plan to more closely examine all the brass. I might be tempted to try Clays again, but perhaps a few tenths of a grain less of it. All the loads "worked" in that they fed and cycled the gun (a relatively new Glock 42). The WST loads left a little bit of incompletely burned powder in the cases...but not nearly as bad as the Universal Clays loads I tested first time out with the G42. I just did some comparisons of the brass from the Clays load that I worried I'd bulged, some from the WST loads, and some of my collected (range pickup) brass that I haven't used yet. Most unsized range brass will pass through the calipers set to 0.377". A couple have similar bulges to my Clays load brass and are 0.381-0.382" at the bulge, which is usually somewhere around 0.260" off the case bottom. I don't know if those are factory once fired though, or someone else's reload that was pushing the envelope. I found a couple from the WST loads that had expanded similarly. Based on these results though, and the fact that I have more Clays than WST, I think I will try again with Clays, reducing the charge a bit...perhaps 2.2gr and 2.4gr next time to see how those do. I'm afraid to push any further with WST, and the velocity was kind of low and with the powder left behind stuck to the inside of the case, I don't think reducing it below 2.8gr will work well.

See above. That really doesn't work for small pistol loads where your powder charge is only a couple grains.

What about these: http://www.snscasting.com/45-acp-45lc-200-grain-round-nose-flat-point-coated-1000ct/ I asked about these in another thread...but since you're here...maybe we can get an answer direct from the source. My .45 shooting is primarily Glocks, and includes a 30S. Glock 30s are kind of notorious for not feeding SWC or any perhaps any bullet with an exposed shoulder for ejecting cases to get snagged on. I really like Precision's 200gr RNFP, but like the hi-tek coating better than his moly/poly coating. On your 200gr RNFP, there's a lube groove and a higher groove that looks to me like a crimp groove (to be used in .45LC loads?). In the other thread, someone said it's another lube groove. Regardless, if these are used for .45acp, what's the proper way to set OAL for them? Case mouth just below the top of the upper groove? If so, what OAL does that result in? Do you have any idea if these: http://www.snscasting.com/45-acp-200-grain-round-nose-coated-1000ct/ will feed in Glock 30s? The shoulder where the round nose meets the bearing surface worries me that they might not.

That's a good question too. Do you know for sure if the squibs were powderless or just failed to ignite the powder?

I don't know of a reliable method other than either shooting them or disassembling them. With that load, he's probably only got somewhere very roughly around 4gr of powder in the cartridges. The combined weight variance in bullet and brass is probably more than the powder charge...so a light cartridge might have powder and just be a light piece of brass, and a heavy one might be empty, but have a heavy piece of brass. I was in a similar situation a while back with a batch of 230gr .45acp. After 3 squibs, I decided to disassemble the rest of the batch. Every one of them had the expected powder charge. Before disassembling them, I did weigh all of them, and separate them into groups by weight. I had a few light ones I suspected were empty. They weren't. Some cartridges have enough air space in them that you can shake them and hear or feel the powder moving around. 9mm is not one of them. I wonder, if you had a miniature stethoscope, if you could tap on the brass and hear a difference between full and empty cartridges? Tell him to go buy 2 impact bullet pullers (from Dillon...for the lifetime warranty ) and spend some quality time with his son disassembling suspect ammo. The real question though is, where the heck did he find 231 powder? One does not just go out and buy pistol powder on a whim these days.

I've got 100gr Xtreme plated bullets, but no suitable powder. Searching the net, I've found some people saying they've used either WST or Clays for .380, but no signs of any published data. Does anyone here load .380 with WST or Clays? My searches suggest the following as max loads for the bullets I have: WST 3gr Clays 2.9gr I'd like to try one of these, but would hate to blow up a pocket pistol in my hand

If you haven't tried any of their product yet, I'd start smaller. I haven't shot enough of them yet to have a strong opinion about them. All I can say is, Bayou appears do a better job with the coating, resulting in a glossy finish. Black and Blue's coated bullets are not as glossy. I don't know if it's the coating application technique, the colors involved, or the fact that Black and Blue does runs of different colors, but the Bayou's seem to be much more consistent in color.

It really depends on brand as well as size. I find that with CCI SP/LP, there is a drop in velocity (around 20fps drop in the avgs, IIRC) with my loads. I get about the same velocity from 230gr jacketed bullets with 4.5gr WST and LP or 4.7gr WST and SP.

The trouble is the powder situation. Forget going to Bass Pro or Gander Mountain and buying a few 1lb jars to try out. If you don't have the gear for reloading yet, I wouldn't even buy it unless/until you're able to acquire some powder, and you'll likely just have to take whatever you can find that's appropriate for the calibers you want to load.

Also, what did your squibs sound and feel like? Did you hear or feel the shots, or was it more of a click? With amplified hearing protection, the squibs I've had sounded and felt like failures to fire (i.e. light primer strikes) and it was only when I cycled the slide, expecting a "dud round" to eject that I was surprised to find brass with no bullet.

I think you'll find heavier bullets have the edge in that as well.

Loaded to the same PF with same or similar powders, heavier bullets will have less felt recoil. The only complaint I've heard with heavy ones is some say they notice the slide cycling slower. Unless your splits are fast enough that slide cycle time might cramp your style, I'd go 147gr.

The groove is a grease groove from the cast lead mold. No crimp groove, load to proper OAL based on bullet profile & chamber. Reload/prep case as you would lead. Use lead data and start from manufacturer/manual minimum weight up. The lower groove is a lube groove. They both have a higher groove that looks to me more like a crimp groove than a lube groove. Are you saying they have 2 lube grooves? The bullets I'm talking about are these: http://www.thebluebullets.com/product-p/250-200-45.htm http://www.snscasting.com/45-acp-200-grain-round-nose-flat-point-coated-1000ct/

My first .45acp loads were attempted with 230gr FMJ and Universal (which had worked well for me in 9mm). I found in .45, Hodgdon's data was wildly optimistic, and it just didn't work well. Other sources have published somewhat higher max loads (than Hodgdon) for .45 and Universal. If the situation wasn't what it is, I'd say get another powder. Something like regular clays or WST...but good luck with that. Since you're probably stuck with what you've got, I'd shorten the OAL a couple hundredths. If that doesn't do it, try a bit more powder. Universal doesn't burn well at low pressure, and I suspect this is at least part of your problem. I got reasonable velocity with 230gr FMJ at 1.215" and 5.4gr, but I much prefer Clays or WST. Your bullets aren't LRN...and AFAIK, most people load plated either between lead and jacketed data or low end jacketed data. Speer's published load range for 230gr FMJ, IIRC, starts about where Hodgdon's maxes out. I doubt you'll break anything with a few tenths of a grain more powder.

AFAIK, the smoke is most likely from your bullet lube burning. Also, 4.9gr WST for a 125gr lead bullet in 9mm seems kind of hot. The little bit of 124gr FMJ I've done with WST, I got what I wanted (minor PF) with 4.5gr. Lead should do with less.

BTW...I do keep the bulk of my brass collection on a shelf unit like the bigger/wider Edsal one. I used the sort of angle material garage door tracks and openers are hung with to bolt it to the wall because I extended the depth of the top shelf so it could hold a car-top cargo box.

One thing worth keeping in mind with these things is what your floor is made of / covered with. I load in my guest room (wall to wall carpet with a wood sub-floor in a second story room). These shelf units that boast they can hold several thousand pounds tend to have very thin (sheet metal) feet. I'd guess they put all their weight on about 1-2 square inches worth of floor. That's fine on a concrete garage floor...but I'd be worried about what one would do to carpet, laminate, or wood). Since I load in a carpeted furnished room, I just slide the boxes of bullets under the furniture. A few thousand here, a few thousand there. At least it's well distributed.

If anyone's tried Blue Bullets or SNS Casting's 200gr RNFP for .45acp, I'm curious how you load them. They both appear to have a crimp groove, which really isn't needed for ACP (are these actually intended for .45LC?). Do you set the OAL so the crimp groove is at the case mouth, or load them longer or shorter?

I've found Kirkland AA's (from Costco) are terrible in that way, and stopped buying them. They were pretty much guaranteed to leak.