Jeff Matzka

Rustoleum flat back, or in a pinch - black magic marker.

Brother P-Touch label maker. Numbers go on the front near the basepad, my last name on the back near the basepad. Been using them for years (12 years for some of them)and I've never had to replace one.

Actually, I think that is one of the best analogies I've heard. Very good. I think I'll use that next time I'm trying to help someone with their shooting.

I have a Shadow, and using it's stock rear sight - the 6.5mm front sight hits point of aim (not 6 o'clock hold) at 25 yards.

Smith & Wesson M&P 9mm - several for less than $575 on GunsAmerica.com. http://www.gunsamerica.com As was mentioned, CZ's are very good as well. In the "Technical" area of this forum, there are several sub-forums for various gun manufacturers: Ruger, CZ, S&W, Beretta, etc. You might want to read through these and see what folks hear are saying, what problems they're having, what mods they have to make. Might help you make a decision.

Yeah, it sure was a surprise to me! I'm hoping to get a 650 sometime this year - I'll have to keep this little experience in mind when I perform maintenance on it to avoid a repeat. Kudos to Dillon for longevity, though. I've had that press running since 1995 without ever having those pins out for lubing. I'd squirt a little lube into the holes, but apparently not enough. Honestly, I may have forgotten to lube the holes the last time I greased the machine. Oops...

Okay, it's back together and running again. I finished dis-assembly yesterday and found what I suspected - galling of the pin hole in the left link arm. I followed the procedure outlined earlier, greased it up good (after cleaning out every nook and cranny of grease, dust, powder/primer residue, walnut shell, etc.), reassembled it this afternoon. I loaded up 100 rounds of practice ammo to see how it would run. Gotta say, I can't remember the last time this press felt so smooth. Now that I know what can happen when you neglect lubing the link arms, I'll make sure it gets taken care of with the rest of the lubing process each time. Hopefully, this won't happen again!

:roflol: :roflol: :roflol:

Okay, just found this on the Dillon Forum (didn't even know they had one!). RL550B Help - Dillon Forum This is very similar to what I was experiencing. The reply: Hope this helps anyone who runs into this in the future.

I just ordered 1k of these to try. I'm tired of not being able to find Zero 124gr JHP's, and I've heard that Montana Gold's are usually available. If these work well in my Shadow, they'll be my new bullet of choice. I like Zero's a lot, just can't find them when I need them. Also using N320. I think you will love them. I've never had a hickup with these and they are accurate. I just can't believe you only bought 1k! Took some to the range with me yesterday - not even a hiccup out of my CZ Shadow, and they seemed like they might even be a little more accurate than the Zero's I had been using...either that or I was having a really good day (and I wasn't). I'll be ordering more.

That's kinda where I am already. I had to strip it down that far for diagnostic purposes - disassembling it step by step and stopping to evaluate and see if I could find where the press was binding. It was after getting down to disconnecting the ram/crank from the bottom of the link arms that I could clearly see that it was the upper pin on the left link arm that was binding. You can see in the photo that it is binding to the point of defying gravity. I then removed the shellplate & baseplate and found that "Wow! Those pins are really in there!" I guess I'll be giving the folks at Dillon a call this afternoon. I'm going to try and take it as far as I can. If I get it apart and find damage beyond what I can fix, or if I can't get it apart any further, then I'll have to send it in. Good to know they're quick with turnaround time. Thanks for the replies.

My 1995-purchased 550B's left link arm has begun binding, and I need to remove the pins for both link arms, to lube them and to evaluate the left one for damage. Question: How do you get them out? They're pretty tightly fitted into the press frame. Obviously, I've never had them out - rather lubing them through the tiny hole in each link arm. I know, shame on me. To be fair though - the manual tells you: "Lubrication Use 30 weight motor oil on the main shaft and bearing grease on the pivot pins. Do not use spray type penetrating lube such as WD40 or Break Free as you run the risk of contaminating powder and primers." That tells me what to use and not to use, but not how. Minor detail, but that might be helpful. At any rate, I'm hoping I can get the press running again on my own, as shooting season is now upon us and sending it back to Dillon for a rebuild (if it needs it) would be down-time I'd rather not have right now. One more thing - maybe of no consequence, but the manual's parts diagram shows the hollow link arm pin, #13881 as being installed on the right of the press, and the solid pin, #13834 as belonging on the left. Mine are reversed - hollow pin on the left and solid on the right. Don't know why...don't know if it makes a difference...it just is.

N320 for 9mm Minor in Production.

I just ordered 1k of these to try. I'm tired of not being able to find Zero 124gr JHP's, and I've heard that Montana Gold's are usually available. If these work well in my Shadow, they'll be my new bullet of choice. I like Zero's a lot, just can't find them when I need them. Also using N320. I think you will love them. I've never had a hickup with these and they are accurate. I just can't believe you only bought 1k! Just gotta be sure. If they work well, there'll be a 3k order(or more) right behind it. I prefer the JHP's because they don't produce any smoke, as there is no exposed lead base to melt and vaporize like FMJ's do. Honestly, if it weren't for the smoke, I'd still be shooting lead bullets. They're cheaper, cause less wear and tear to the bore, and they feel a bit softer to shoot, as well as being every bit as accurate if not more so than jacketed. But smoke can have a way of blocking your vision when you need it the least. As far as whether or not FMJ's or JHP's are more accurate, I don't notice any practical difference between the two for USPSA needs. Both will do the job for our purposes.

Just be careful of .357 jacketed bullets when loading for 9mm. Bore diameter is .002" greater for .357, and that can raise pressure dramatically. I have a nicely bulged case from a 9mm loaded with a .357 bullet. I won't be trying THAT again!

This may be unpopular, but I for one don't mind someone asking me if I understand the course of fire. I'm one of the ones who usually inquire about the starting position. That question has saved my butt more often than not, so I'm grateful for it - ruleful or not. (Yeah I know - ruleful is not a word. It is now). I know it's my "responsibility" to know the procedure, course of fire, yada-yadda before I get to the line. But I'm 50 years old, have a massive case of C.R.S AND A.D.D. out the wazoo. Sometimes I forget. Sometimes I miss part of the walkthrough - either through my own fault or no fault of my own. So I'm happy for the chance to ask questions. Last I heard...this is a sport. A GAME. A recreation. No ones life or livilhood hangs in the balance. To me, it's really not that big a deal if someone hearkens back to a bygone era with a command of "Slide forward, hammer down, holster" or my favorite..."Gas 'em up". I came to the match to have fun, and life's to short to worry about every jot-&-tittle of the rules for range commands. Just my opinion. Yours may differ. This is America. You GET to think differently here if you like.

I just ordered 1k of these to try. I'm tired of not being able to find Zero 124gr JHP's, and I've heard that Montana Gold's are usually available. If these work well in my Shadow, they'll be my new bullet of choice. I like Zero's a lot, just can't find them when I need them. Also using N320.

Currently: Broadcast Audio Engineer/IT Support Freelance Voice-over talent. Previously: Radio Personality/Producer/Voice-over talent (for 30+ years) Also: Car salesmen, Parts clerk, Service Writer (In-between radio jobs)

Nice job.

There's got to be a way to get this in a consumer-level product, wii, x-box, whatever. Don't we have any game programmers that are also shooters?

Gotta say, what keeps me coming back to to the monthly match at Sir Walter (Creedmoor, NC - coming from Fredericksburg, VA) is the chili dogs they sell at the concession stand/stat shack. Makes for a great lunch break.

There's actually quite a bit of non-military 9mm brass that has crimped primer pockets now. The 9x19 we buy is Win Ranger, marked WCC, and it has a crimped primer pocket. I know quite a few law enforcement agencies use that same training ammo, so I wouldn't be surprised if a lot of it winds up being sold as once-fired. R, I just sorted through a bag of 1000 9mm once-fired, and pulled about 50 of those machine-stopping WCC's out. They are the reason I sort my brass, as more than 90% of my machine stoppages are caused by a piece of WCC. So I'm setting them aside for now. One day I'll invest in a primer pocket uniformer, and put them back into rotation.

Glad to know others have had this problem. I started loading 9mm on my 550B about 16 months ago (Dillon dies), and every so often I'd get a case that wouldn't fully deprime, and I'd have to slow down to clear it. It really slows me down some days. I've never had this problem with any other caliber and I couldn't for the life of me figure out what was happening. I'll have to try the tapering fix. Hope it works. Okay, now I'm stumped. I checked my decapping pin and it's already tapered - actually it looks slightly rounded, as if maybe Dillon is smoothing these before shipping. Even the spare looks rounded slightly. I did switch to the spare pin, as it measured .001" longer than the original. Don't know if it will solve the problem, but it couldn't hurt. If this doesn't fix it, I may look for a small spacer to mount in between the base of the pin and the decapping shaft. Now that you mention it, I think most of the cases I've had this happen to are FC. Hmmmmm.....

CZ SP-01 Shadow w/Dawson .090" plain black front sight, thin aluminum grips, skateboard take on grips, front strap, and backstrap. Bladetech DOH holster Double-Alpha Belt CR Speed mag pouches (4) Load: Zero 125 gr. JHP over 4.2 grains VV N320, Federal primers. Various headstamp brass.

I've had the red FO sight on my CZ Shadow since I bought the gun in September, 2009. Just started realizing recently that it wasn't having the desired effect of helping me keep better track of the front sight - that it felt easier with guns that had a plain black front sight. So, I ordered one from Dawson, and installed it this afternoon. I haven't been to the range with it yet, but it just looks easier to track and pick up. Even with my 50-year old, bifocal-needing eyes. Of course, actual shooting will tell. Now, if the weather would just cooperate...