njl

Universal should work well for both depending on the bullets used.

What are these 225gr bullets you speak of? I don't see any 225gr .45acp bullets on Bayou's web site.

I kind of wonder if the problem with presses where the primer cup is binding against the housing isn't the housing but that the cup on the primer slide has come loose and is slightly canted. It can be a real PITA to properly reseat...but the easiest way seems to be to loosen the set screw, put it together, turn the shell plate half way between stations, and use the press to compress the primer cup onto the slide. Then tighten the set screw.

I know...this is an OLD thread, but I just wanted to add that Precision 200gr RNFP loaded to about 1.200" have fed for me without any trouble in my 21SF, 30SF, and 30S. I've mostly used them in practice, but recently shot the 21SF (Heavy Metal) and 30SF (MajorSub) in a GSSF match using them without issue. I load them just barely shy of major PF (about 160 from the 21...it's closer to 150 from the shorter barreled guns). I suspect these feed without issue because their shape is basically the same as a 230gr RNFP, just with a shorter (less bearing surface) bullet. I may try them for bowling pin shooting next.

You seem to have omitted Precision Bullets(not PD) from consideration. At case pricing, their 9mm are: 115gr 6.85c/rd 125gr 7.14c/rd 147gr 7.80c/rd I think their coating may be somewhat more prone to smoking than the HiTek coating, but I bought a bunch before HiTek really caught on, and I've had no complaints with them (shooting in Glocks...mostly the .45 200gr RNF). Accuracy is great and the only fouling I've noticed is the usual powder/carbon fouling.

If it's one of the lower rounds in the mag rattling, this is not unusual for Glock mags. If the top round is loose, the follower could be binding on rear inside surface of the mag. Glock "FML" mags have the metal lining joint at the center rear of the mag, and I've had one or two mags where the metal liner delaminated from the polymer and caught the follower. They're not hard to disassemble, and you should do this occasionally to both inspect and clean them. Just stick a 3/32" punch in the hole on the bottom of the floor plate and use it to lever the floor plate forward and off the mag tube.

IIRC, everything but the 42, the LE price is $27 below the GSSF discount price. The GSSF price for the 34/35/41 is $507, so $480 would be the correct LE discount price.

Interesting. I worked the same match, just Saturday morning though, and didn't see a single 41. The only 42 I saw was Dover shooting Friday before the match. I think it's a trick. Release the .380 first, sell a huge pile of them (they are selling like hotcakes), and when things slow down, release the 9mm version to start the feeding frenzy all over again.

A 230gr FMJ/JHP doing 730fps is noticeably softer than factory 230gr ammo which is generally going to be around 100fps faster. Depending on the gun used, somewhere around 4.5gr WST will do. I've used these and done well at GSSF matches (no power factor to worry about) when my 185gr minor PF ammo wouldn't run. Apparently, you can shoot weak ammo or you can let your Glocks get filthy from too infrequent cleaning, but doing both at the same time is not a good idea 185gr at 800fps is pretty soft too...but not even close to major PF.

I've had the same issues with .45acp on a RL550B with Dillon dies. In my case, I think it was a combination of any one or more of the following: Bullets not seating straight - lower the powder die to get more flare or fool with the seating stem to try getting a better stem/bullet fit...also, be a little more careful when manually placing the bullet to try placing it reasonably straight. Not enough crimp - I'd gotten very conservative with crimp, not wanting to damage the coating on Precision coated bullets. Extractor burs on the case heads - these can be filed away, but I'm not sure how necessary that really is. Dillon's .45acp gauges are a little undersized - I have factory (CCI) ammo that won't gauge. I sent my original one back to Dillon, and the replacement (if they replaced it) has the same issue.

-9C and you're out shooting? I've never heard of Universal being temperature sensitive, but I've been using it for years for 9mm 124gr and 147gr jacketed bullets. For 124gr, I find that 4.3-4.4gr has no problem making minor PF from a Glock 17. For 147gr, 3.4-3.5gr works well, but is beyond Hodgdon's published max. Where'd you get the idea to start at 4.2gr? That's below any starting load for 124gr FMJ I've seen.

Do you mean they were really hard to fully seat, or they just wouldn't go in at all? I mostly use CCI primers, but just loaded around 800 .45acp LP using Federal, and every so often, I'd run into a case that didn't want to let the primer fully seat. I'd carefully but forcefully make them go in. This was mixed brass, primarily Winchester, RP, Federal, Speer, PMC, etc. I think most of the tough ones were actually Winchester. I haven't measured, but I suspect the Federal primers are just a tiny bit larger than CCI LP.

Do you decap on another press? The way the 550 works, keeping the primer slide bearing clean is pretty much impossible unless you stop to clean it every time you refill the primer magazine...and even then, it wouldn't have been totally clean between cleanings. It's the one thing that has me wondering from time to time if I should have gone 650 instead.

Here's a tip that would have avoided your issue. Early on in my reloading experience, I had a primer from a decapped case fall into the empty case bin. Some time later, while decapping another case, the decapping pin found that wild primer and bent. Since then, when picking up brass from the empty bin, I always turn the empty case upside down on its way from the empty case bin to station 1, so if there was anything in it, it'll fall out. It's also handy for quickly scanning for SP .45 brass that missed getting segregated from LP brass. Also, for your missing live primer, assuming your 550 is on a strong mount and has both the finished and empty bins, look in the crevasse between the strong mount and bins bracket. I've got several dead ones in there on mine that I just haven't bothered fishing out.

I wondered the same thing last year so I loaded up 10 small primer cases and 10 large primer cases and chronoed them. The small primer cases had an average of about 10 fps faster. Since there was only a 10 fps difference I wouldn't be surprised if I did the test again and the large primer cases were faster. My experience has been the opposite (lower velocity and larger ES) with SP .45acp. But I suspect it depends on more than just LP/SP...but on which brands of each you're comparing, how much your powder charge fills the case, size of the flash holes, etc.

I've never used titegroup, but IIRC, it's a pretty fast one. I've used lots of Universal, and I think you might be better off reversing things...use Universal for 9mm and titegroup for .45acp. I don't load .40 or .44...so I won't make suggestions for those.

A friend who's handy and retired made me one of these. I think I'm close to 1000 rounds loaded since putting it in place, and have not had any priming issues yet.

I shoot minor .45acp in a 21SF, 30SF, and 30S. I kind of doubt you're going to get it to function reliably near the minor PF floor. Up around 150PF, I suspect you won't have trouble...whether that's a 230gr bullet at 650-700fps or a 185gr bullet at 800fps.

Forgot about the strong mount. I started out with that too.

I bought my 550 with the roller handle (never tried the stock handle on it)...so I can't say it's better, but I can't see the ball handle being as comfortable. I did my own LED strip lighting, and would highly recommend this mod (whether you roll your own, buy Inline's, or Hornady's). The primer chute cotter pin is one of those parts of the press where you have to ask Dillon "come on, were you serious here?" They don't last. They invariably end up bending, binding, and needing to be ripped out. I've used sections of paper clip as a replacement, which eventually have the same issue. Believe it or not, thin wire with the insulation removed worked well for me. I think because it was flexible enough that it could bend freely and straighten back out enough to not bind. I've just recently found the right size safety pin and put it in the chute, but not done much loading since. I intend to make an extended primer slide bearing...because primer slide travel has been my biggest issue with the press failing to work reliably. The couple of squibs I've had were all loaded during a session in which I was having to fight with the primer slide not picking up primers from the magazine because the slide wasn't getting full travel.

"Patent pending" is meaningless. It could mean they filed a provisional patent and are simply re-filing every year to state "patent pending" with no intention of filing a full utility patent. I'm not saying that's what this particular person is doing, but don't be too impressed with that phrase. Dillon has already stated it will void the warranty. I was kidding. Based on the number of typos in the ebay listing, I'd be surprised if they figured out how to file for a patent.

Hey, it's patent pending...how bad could it be? My guess is, Dillon will say it voids the press warranty.

Zero are very good bullets. For a newb, I'd recommend any jacketed bullet over plated, if you can get them. As mentioned, overcrimp is easy to do and a much bigger problem for plated bullets than FMJ/JHP. Xtreme seems to have lovers and haters. I shot a few boxes of their 147gr 9mm, and had tumbling issues depending on which of my Glocks I put them through. Never had that problem with jacketed.

Well, don't load too many at 3.1, because I'd be worried about cycling issues and slow bullets.

That sounds a little light. I got 900fps with 3.5gr WST from a G17.