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I'm about to finish my first 4lb jug of Universal which I've been using for 9mm. I have an unopened 8lb jug. Should I expect pretty much the same performance out of this next jug of Universal, or do I need to stop after loading a few with the new lot and chrono them to make sure things haven't changed too much? I've read that some powders can vary quite a bit lot to lot...but never seen anyone say that about Universal.

Another issue I've recently noticed with reloading 9mm with mixed brass: I have my powder/expander die set so it gives just enough flare with Win, FC, or Blazer brass. I've been loading some lost brass match ammo in mixed brass and found that some of them don't take any measurable flare at all. RWS in particular is odd in that it sticks pretty hard to the powder funnel, but doesn't end up with any flare. The MG 124gr JHPs won't go into them at all with hand pressure...but I found if I can get the bullet to balance on top of the RWS brass, the seater die will seat them. I half expected to find some with the brass folded down, but it didn't happen.

I had similar problems with MG 124gr JHP and S&B brass. I don't see any mention of the brass being used. Is it all the same (sorted by headstamp) or a mix? I think my problems were a combination of S&B brass just giving me a hard time, using the wrong side of the seating die (flip yours back to the FMJ side...the SWC side isn't likely to work well) and having tightened the lock ring on the seating die while the ram was down. Always tighten the lock rings with the ram up and brass/cartridges in the dies.

My Blazer is pretty consistent at 1.150 or a few thousandths longer. I measured some Federal American Eagle 115gr FMJ, and it was anywhere between 1.147 and 1.153.

Some bullet weights/powders/calibers just don't work well for making power factor. Go a little lighter with the bullets (124gr) and it gets a lot easier to make minor PF without exceeding max loads.

Measure some factory 115gr FMJ ammo, and I think you'll find they tend to be around 1.150. I'd load close to that length (as long as its longer than your min OAL, which it most likely is).

4.6gr is 15% over what Speer lists as max load for .45acp 230gr. What length are you loading to?

If you're happy with Clays, you don't want Universal. Look for WST or Solo1000 as "similar" substitutes.

I've loaded Clays and WST with both PD and Zero 230gr FMJ. From my G21, I have to go all the way to 4gr Clays to just barely make major (some shots in a group might be a hair under major, while others make it to 171). 4.6gr WST comfortably makes major and doesn't feel that different from the Clays load...and there's room with WST to go higher if you really want to. The only downside to the WST load is using more, it goes faster. I've nearly used up my first lb. of WST.

With Clays and 230gr FMJ, it seems a lot of people have to go all the way to max load or beyond (my Speer manual says 4gr is max) to reliably make major PF. If you're one of these people, I suggest you give WST a try. Less smoky, and easily makes major without exceeding max recommended load.

I take used plastic shopping bags to the range and when picking up brass, try to be sure to put different calibers into different bags. After tumbling, I hand sort the brass by headstamp, and weed out any off-caliber brass in the process. I haven't had any make it to the press yet. Very occasionally, after tumbling, I'll find a .40 nested in a .45. It probably helps that I only shoot 2 pistol calibers and 2 rifle calibers...and don't pick up other calibers unless I find a bunch of it, and then it gets its own bag. Like last trip to the range, I found a whole bunch of .380. I don't have a .380...but some day I might, so if someone leaves a pile of it, I'll pick it up and store it.

I haven't tried 3-gun...but my 930 has the long (28 inch?) barrel and short tube (3 shells?). I guess I'd spend a lot of time reloading it if I was try try 3-gun?

I bought some WST and have tried it out the past two weekends. It seems a much better powder for making .45 major than Clays. At the bottom of the load range, it makes similar velocity to a minimum load of Clays. At the middle of the range, it's making about as much velocity as a max load of Clays. Based on the chrono results, I think I'll keep the clays for 230gr mouse fart 3.7gr loads, and use the WST at 4.6gr for 230gr major loads.

If its like my G21, 4.4 is probably going to be a little light for major. What OAL are you loading to? Perhaps if you're loading closer to min OAL.

With WST and Clays, each at Hodgdon's minimum load, velocity is pretty similar. The difference is, Clays at max load just makes major (165pf, at least in my 21), while WST does that at about the middle of the load range. I should have loaded some hotter ones to chrono today, but I really didn't think I'd need them. I'm guessing 4.6 or 4.7 will be enough to comfortably make major with WST.

I tried out WST today and was a little disappointed. Hodgdon's data for WST and 230gr FMJ is 4.1gr 733fps to 4.9gr 848fps I loaded 3 batches at 4.1, 4.3, and 4.5 at 1.240" with Zero 230gr FMJ. My goal is a soft shooting load that just makes major PF (about 720fps minimum). Based on Hodgdon's data, I figured a minimum or near minimum load with WST would do it. From the G21SF, I got averages of 688fps, 706fps, and 730fps. The 730fps string had a low of 707 and a high of 742. So that load probably makes major most of the time, but not by much. On the bright side, there's more room to increase the powder charge if I want to. All of them were pretty soft shooting. There was a little smoke, but not as bad as Clays. My 1911, which always runs faster than the G21, got 706, 728, and 758fps, though only that last string had all rounds make PF. Accuracy from all these loads was great. I kept having to tape over the center of the target and draw a new 1" black aiming dot. I guess I like WST better than clays, because it gave less smoke, great accuracy, and it has plenty of room to increase the charge and easily make major without going beyond max or worrying about pressure.

It's pretty much always humid here.

I doubt that. I've loaded Precision Delta and Zero 230gr FMJ with Clays (3.7 to 4gr) and its smoky. I'm going to give WST a try.

Did you happen to chrono any factory ammo? Perhaps there's a problem with your chrono or it wasn't setup quite right?

IMO, you don't have enough bullets. Also buying them 100 at a time, you're probably paying way more than you should. Pick a brand (popular ones for jacketed bullets are Precision Delta, Zero, and Montana Gold). Order a case. With 100 bullets, you probably have enough to develop a load, and then be nearly out of bullets. Do you have / have access to a chronograph? Note, the first two brands mentioned tend to be behind / back ordered. MG tends to ship real fast, but is generally the most expensive of the three. By the case, they're probably still much cheaper per bullet than your 100 Winchesters.

Good catch. I made a cut and paste error when I posted. The numbers were from my test of the 115 gr ammunition and taken directly from the chronograph. But I incorrectly posted it as 124 gr results. The second chart (marked as 4.3 grains Titegroup) is actually correct for 124 grain CMJ. Thanks for catching my mistake. It was actually an easy catch. I've loaded and chrono'd MG 124gr CMJ to the 1050-1080 fps range, so I know that 124gr at those velocities is a PF of 130-134.

This data is messed up. The power factor column indicates 115gr bullets, but you said it was 124gr. I didn't bother checking the energy numbers.

I just noticed I never did reply with the data from these. As expected, I got 690fps. I just got some Zero 230gr FMJ, which are a bit longer than the PD bullets. Without adjusting the seater from what was doing 1.233" with PD, I got 1.240" with the Zero's. OTTOMH, I can't remember the bullet length difference, but I do remember noting that even at 0.007" longer OAL, the case volume was going to be just a little reduced, so I figured no need to adjust. I loaded some at 3.7gr and some at 4.0gr of Clays. I only tested them in the G21SF, and got 694 and 732fps. My only complaint with either of these was the amount of smoke. They were awfully smokey...a little worse than the PD bullets. I gather things might improve if I could actually get Zero JHP (no exposed lead base or shelled out the extra $ for MG CMJ). Is there a powder that'll give similar performance to Clays, but not lay down a smokescreen between me and the target with FMJ bullets?

That OAL seems kind of short. I posted about problems with that same brass/bullet combination a few months ago. I think the S&B brass is on the thick side, and if you don't seat the bullets level enough, it's easy to get a bulge in the side of the case. Round up the rest of your S&B brass cartridges with the MG JHP bullets and gage them. You might find that some of them won't go in or won't go in easily. I was using S&B brass exclusively for a regular match I used to shoot and never had problems with it (using PD FMJ or MG CMJ bullets) until I started loading MG 124gr JHP. I was using the flat side of the Dillon seater which turned out to be a bad choice. Flipping the seater back to the FMJ side and not using S&B brass seemed to resolve the problem.

On the Lyman, are you weighing just one charge at a time? On my Lyman 1000XP, I don't think it's accurate at the extreme low end...so I always weigh 4-10 charges combined and divide the result.