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Look at Hodgdon's online load data. Their 147gr Universal data is for a JHP and really short OAL...but they list 3.3gr as max. I'd read about other sources claiming 3.5gr as max. I've gone as far as 3.5gr with 147gr FMJ or X-Treme plated...but as far as I know, you're basically right at (if not beyond) max.

If you had a squib (little or no powder), I would think you'd notice it. I've had a couple, all from one bad run of .45acp, and in each case, it was obvious from lack of "bang" or recoil and manual extraction of a case with no bullet that it was time to stop and clear a squib. Do you really think it's possible you missed that and the resulting next shot, which I assume must have sounded/felt unusual when you sent two bullets downrange at once? Also, if you're using jacketed/plated bullets, why the aftermarket barrel? IIRC, someone posted recently about shooting plated bullets and finding rings of plating in their chamber. I wonder if that could have happened to you? BTW, depending on who's data you believe, 3.6gr Universal and a 147gr bullet is beyond max for jacketed bullets...which would worry me if your 147s are plated.

Assuming you have a modern style powder measure, if you remove the failsafe rod and forget to put it back, you will create rounds with no powder. Short of that, running the powder measure out of powder, or really screwing around with the cases on the press, I'm not sure how you'd make powderless cartridges on a 650.

That sounds like the shop you purchased from sold you a a G34 that was either a law enforcement gun (blue label) or one that wasn't meant to be sold in CA. If they won't provide you with "correct" 10 round mags, you could try contacting Glock in Smyrna, GA. Tell them your story and see if they'll exchange your bubba'd mags for some 10-rounders. Maybe the idea will show them how they can start selling the full product line in NY again. I've heard they won't ship anything but the G36 and G39 to NY currently due to the new 7-round magazine law.

Not enough info. Gauge check some resized brass before doing anything else to it. If resizing isn't the problem, is it possible your're not seating the bullets quite straight, and so you have side bulges? Thick brass and bullets seated too deep? Also, have you run a bunch of factory ammo through your gauge to make sure it's not undersized? Do the rounds that fail to gauge drop into your gun's barrel? What bullets are you having this problem with? What's your finished cartridge neck diameter at the case mouth? i.e. crimping to 0.379" for example.

I was converting my RL550B from SP to LP this evening, and for some reason, it occurred to me to open up the low primer alarm. It still worked, but I decided to check on the battery anyway. Sure enough, it'd been leaking for some time. It was a Duracell with a 2015 date code. It might be the original battery from 5 years ago...I can't remember if I've ever changed it since I got the press. I cleaned out the battery gunk, put a new one in, and it still works.

Does JMorris have prior art?

9gr of Longshot with a 185gr bullet sounds like an awfully heavy load. Is that within anyone's published data? I have some LS, but from reading the forums, assumed it was not going to be a good powder for .45acp.

That's surprising, as I've done tests with the same load using different brands of LPP (Tula, CCI, Federal), and saw differences there. CCI's were the weakest. What brands of LPP and SPP did you compare? ETA, by "same load" I mean the same charge weights of WST under the same bullets as each other. i.e. my loads were identical to each other except for primer...but were not necessarily at all similar to yours.

Offer an even trade, and you might get some takers. I actually bought a few k SP brass a while back, thinking it would come in handy if I ran out of / could not get LPP, but I've not been happy with the loads I've done with it so far using standard (CCI, Fiocchi) small pistol primers. With WST, I'm having to go beyond published max to get the velocity I get with not quite max LP loads, and the ES is still way more than I'd like. Maybe I should experiment with some SR Mag primers and see if they do any better...but then I'd be eating into my rifle loading supplies.

Conservation of momentum. The momentum (M*V) is more of a factor here than the kinetic energy (1/2 M*V*V) of the bullet, because as mentioned, faster bullets tend to waste more of their energy on deformation. Ever seen highspeed film of rifle bullets hitting steel? If they don't punch right through, they pretty much explode on impact. As for the pendulum test, never shot a spinner (the type you have to hit multiple times to get a full revolution) with varying handgun loads? Keeping the energy similar, the higher momentum ones will spin it better. Same goes for bowling pin shooting. There's a reason 9mm isn't popular where pins are shot off deep tables.

I'm curious what Dillon's take is on this. I've only had my RL550 about 5 years, and have already had a primer slide, bearing plate, and the primer housing replaced due to wear causing the slide to get loose in the housing, resulting in unreliable travel of the slide which ultimately caused unreliable primer feeding.

At 1.250" you have plenty of room to go shorter. Shorter should increase the pressure -> higher velocity. I've got a Lyman digital scale too...and unfortunately, it's crap. I call it my digital estimator. Since I realized its issues, I bought a Dillon beam scale and I always double-check on the Dillon after getting a ball-park estimate from the Lyman. Many find that they just can't get major PF with 230gr FMJ and Clays (without going well beyond max). You might end up needing a powder that has more room to work up.

977fps is kind of slow for a 124gr bullet. I just noticed, you didn't mention the velocity (or if you'd chronographed) with your original loads. Did you find the OAL (going shorter) had any effect on accuracy? If you're not shooting anything where PF matters, I guess being sub 1000fps doesn't matter. Otherwise, you'll need to get that up into at least the 1025-1075fps range.

Just load up a couple of small test batches (~20 rounds each) with 4gr N320 at 1.050", 1.100", and 1.120". Test them for accuracy and chrono them, working from the longest to the shortest, and let us know what happens. If the velocity gets scary, stop.

Are you using sorted (by headstamp) brass? Have you checked the consistency of the length of the bullets (before loading) and consistency of OAL of your finished cartridges? Inconsistencies in any of these can affect internal case volume, which will affect pressure, which will affect velocity. Are you finding any powder on your shell plate/ram after a loading session?

Maybe not so much the brand of paint, but what else is in the drum or paint can could make a huge difference.

And chemistry. At least I think it was chemistry where PV=nRT was forever burned into my memory. With nRT remaining constant, reducing V will increase P. The equation is physics. We just let chemists use it. All science is physics or stamp collecting. Well, if you want to quibble about it, we could just say it's all math. Try doing some physics without calculus. As mentioned, the pressure / volume thing would be proportional but pressure tends to alter the burn rate of powders, and as this is happening, the bullet starts to move, increasing volume. Peak pressure will depend on the amount and burn rate of the powder and the movement of the bullet...making the PV equation (solving for peak pressure) quite a bit more complicated than nRT.

And chemistry. At least I think it was chemistry where PV=nRT was forever burned into my memory. With nRT remaining constant, reducing V will increase P.

I never was happy with MG 124gr JHP accuracy until I went really short on the OAL. Try closer to 1.10", and I agree, you should work back up at that OAL. I use a very mild load, and shortening it bumped the velocity up from sub to supersonic. I don't "know" VV powders, so I have no idea where you are in the load range.

My first .45acp reloads were done with Universal, and I found there too that their data was wildly optimistic with respect to charge/velocity. I also found that Universal didn't burn well at low pressure.

WST is like Clays with more room to work up (to higher velocities than you can safely get from Clays) and less smoke. Some complain about its reverse temperature sensitivity, but I've not seen that. I only shoot in roughly 50F-90F. Any colder or hotter, and I'll avoid the range unless there's a match I really want to shoot.

I've used the FMJ and JHP in my 21SF and 30SF. Both do very well with Clays or WST.

Loaded to the same PF, I agree...but that's another can of worms.

Those are both really hot loads, but a 115 at 1400fps actually has more momentum than a 160 at 1000fps...so based on momentum alone, I'd expect the 115 to be more effective on reactive targets.