kmc

I consider these forums and the Classifieds a HUGE asset and don't want to see them go away. I'd be a paying annual member with no issue but $15/mo to list the few items I do wouldn't fit my model. If you could charge a transaction and/or % cost (kinda like PP), I'd be cool with that. I'm sure the difficulty is implementing such a scheme. It would be much easier to simply charge everyone a flat fee for access. Was $15/mo just throwing out a number or is that what you'd need to make it work?

I did a little more research on them and thought you might be interested, if you haven't figured it out already. The outer piece is a pipe (where the claw is welded) so it fits over a landscape nail. The other rod is a solid round and works as a hammer. In his most recent incantation, the grip at the top of the solid bar comes with a foam grip. I did order one just to see what how they work, though we have a better way of putting in nails currently.

Here's a picture of them without the foam grip.

I finally found my bookmark but the website no longer exists. They were made by bigjohnsironworks.com and they were called the Stage Hammer. There are pictures of them using the tools at Nationals setup so they must be decent and the picture above looks kinda similar. I found there is a facebook page called Big John's Iron Works (https://www.facebook.com/bigjohnsironworks/) that is definitely the same outfit and you can see the pictures of the Stage Hammer there. However, it looks like no stage hammer posts for over a year. I left a message and will see what happens.

I wasn't sure where to put this, so I put it here... Somewhere I've seen a link for a long-handled "pry bar" and more tool that someone had developed that was very useful for both stage construction and teardown . It was a long metal bar with a claw on the end and could be used as a vertical nail pounder as well. Is anyone familiar with what I'm referencing or have a link?

I was seeing the same powder splash, despite having more empty space in the case (>50%) . When I compared mine to a buddy's Dillon powder check there were a few differences. He is running automated and doesn't experience the powder splash. He had shoes that would change out by case size and they filled more of the case diameter than mine, his shoe was brass, and (most importantly I thought) the shoe only protruded from the bottom of the die ~1/4". Because the latter difference, the shoe didn't contact the powder until near the top of stroke and not long before the shell made contact inside the die. Currently I have put a ziptie on the rod above the plunger but below the magnet. It is positioned so the rod/shoe will go down far enough to reach the bottom of an empty case at the top of the brass' upward stroke, but no further. This has the effect of limiting the downward motion of the shoe to be similar to the Dillon powder check--protruding below the die ~0.25" vs 1.25" it would otherwise when the shellplate is fully lowered. This change significantly reduced the powder splash. I haven't looked closely enough to understand if this is because the DAA die/plunger helps keep the powder in the case or if the geometry/timing of the stroke somehow makes the case move naturally slower at the top of it's stroke...but the change has nearly eliminated the problem at speed. I'll see what DAA says but if I keep this powder check and this is a permanent solution I'll get a sleeve with a setscrew to replace my zip tie.

I did have both beep and light blips before and after the top of each stroke but very short duration. Here’s how I fixed it...it took careful adjustment of the magnet. - using a case with the proper load, raise the case very slowly observing the micro-switch and where it enables the warning circui - You'll hear the micro-switch click At the point where the warning circuit is enabled. - At the point where it clicks, you want the magnet just a shade higher than the lower end of the sensitivity range, such that the light and beeper are both off when the micro-switch clicks. - verify the overcharge and empty case still trigger the warning Presto! No beeps unless you care-hopefully that makes sense. Now, the bigger problem in my view is the spillage due to the low-hanging shoe. At anything but pedestrian Ammobot rates, this will be a BIG problem for you. Mine is pretty good after artificially limiting the downward motion of the shoe but this is a hack. I’m going to call DAA on the issue to see if I can get answer. FWIW, this is on my 650 with plans to duplicate on my 1050 if it works. Aren’t you seeing the spillage I’m referencing?

Got both of those, still managed to have a squib!

I’m getting closer and concluding there a basic design flaw in this DAA Magnetic Powder Check. Once you set the detector properly for a full case, there is quite a gap between the magnet and the plunger top (maybe 1.25”). This means the tip (they call it a shoe) hangs down 1+” below the bottom of the die at the beginning of the downstroke. Because if this, halfway through the downstroke, the shoe hits the powder splashing it over the side of the case, making a mess of things. I modified the rod such that it only allows the tip to drop <= 0.25” below the bottom of the die but still detects the powder level properly. It appears this has significantly reduced the powder spillage. Has anyone else seen this issue or another way around it?

After further testing and some slow motion videos, static electricity is just a component of the problem. The other part of the problem is if I go too fast (what I would call normal loading speed) the powder splashed out of the case when the tip first hits the powder. The .40 cases are ~40% full of powder.

Thanks, I tried that but no dice. I still have powder flakes clinging to the plastic tip.

I see the light blip briefly but no sound. My biggest problem now—and a showstopper—is I have powder sticking to the plastic plunger tip via I presume static electricity. It is making a helluva mess of reloading. This is not sustainable wit powder everywhere. Ideas?

Here’s a link with some info ==> https://www.thehighroad.org/index.php?threads/question-on-temperature-sensitivity.817116

Swapped to Titegroup—cuz I had some—and problem is solved. I’m now at 7.8 SD and PF of 172. Three straight runs of single digit SD. I have no idea if Titegroup is temperature sensitive or if there are other downsides. Looks like its time to find out...and I’ve got Win231 for sale

See my latest numbers. Not jacketed but plated anyway. I'm afaid I shot up all my jacketed bullets.

I hadn't considered the powder since I've been using win231 on 40 & 45 forever. It's interesting because when I went minor this summer, I was actually shooting 40 but using Win231 (and Blue Bullets). And yes, I know its inversely temperature sensitive. I load it in my temp controlled shop the, step outside and shoot through the chrono. So I don't believe the temperature is a factor. I just checked my cabinet--I've got a bit of N320, Solo 1000 (no kidding), Bullseye, Power Pistol, 700X, and Titegroup. Not to mention Autocomp and a couple of rifle powders... I'll have to do some research to see which of these would be a good choice, though leaning Titegroup at first blush. All I'd need is to get 50 rounds made up.

I agree on all points. I also throw the first 2-3 in the practice pile. I've tried to be consistent in this testing but since I'm loading specific bullets and brass. I'm not using the normal feeders, which makes my pace inconsistent, despite my efforts.

I did more testing this morning under natural light with the Lee U die still in place. I first tested a control group of my same Blue Bullets, first with random brass, then with random but documented range brass. Then I ran a test with Blue Bullets and all Win headstamp range brass. All of these brass were lubed. I then tried two different bullet types both unlubed and lubed, using random range brass but documenting what was used. The first bullet used was Ranier 230gr (plated) and the second bullet used was Precision 230gr (moly coated). I've attached the latest results below but I haven't answered my question yet--in fact, I'm further away. Both control groups were better than yesterday, for some reason. Both control groups were, in fact, more consistent than a single headstamp (Win). The Ranier were roughly equally consistent, though worse when lubed (no difference than unlubed if I ignore a single slower bullet). The Precision were nearly as consistent and no real difference lubed or not. So the base measurement improved today. Headstamp sorting yielded no benefit. Two other bullets showed similar results as my improved base. Maybe there is some additional contributor that I'm not considering but no clue where to turn next. Thoughts? 45ACP Load Results.pdf

I'll try a small batch sorting by headstamp (though, omg, will that drive extra work!) and all cases are already lubed with Hornady One Shot.

I went minor at major match this summer and set off to ensure that didn't happen again with high probability. I'm loading coated .45acp bullets on Dillon 1050, using Dillon dies. The powder is Win231 with Winchester primers and range brass. I'll get into the gorp below but the bottomline is I'm seeing velocities with double digit standard deviation--somewhere in the 17-23 range--over 12 rounds that is driving me crazy. The high SD is driving me to make loads that are too hot. I really would like to get it down to single-digit SD. I used to tune loads with jacketed bullets to a 172PF average and didn't pay much attention to SD. Maybe I need to stop on the coated bullets... I've attached my resulting data below. So far I've checked powder drops (seem ok), OAL (seem ok), crimp (seem ok). I recently tried a different (coated) bullet, which seems to improve the issue somewhat. I've recently swapped in a Lee U (undersize) die to see if that helped. If anything, the U die may have made it worse. I've noticed quite a variation in weights on coated bullets compared to jacketed (I only recently switched to coated) and would have compared jacketed results as well--except I shot all of my stash! I originally decided that I'd set my load to ensure every single round with high certainty made Major. I recognize now that is not the correct goal, especially with high SD. In any case, I set the load such that my 3 sigma minimum from the mean was >= 165 PF. Of course, given my high standard deviation, 3 sigma was significant as you can see in the attached data. Rather than trying ensure every shot is >= 165 PF, I need to consider the probability of the average of the fastest 3 shots out of a random choice of 6 rounds being >= 165 PF, which allows some shots to be less than 165 PF. And I’d like that probability to be near certain. This makes for harder statistical math--I’ll have to think about that a bit. This problem largely disappears if I can force my SD to be single digit. Are my velocity standard deviations typical? Are my variations in coated bullets typical? What other ideas do people have on minimizing SD? How are others approaching this dilemma to make PF but not shoot a cannon? Maybe I need to find a topic under coated bullets... 45ACP Load Results.pdf

You beat me to it...I wanted to make sure I documented where to find it. Yes, support@practiscore.com pointed me to the scoring type. Thanks.

Is this not available in the iOS version? We use an iPad as our master and I've never seen this option...

I don't know what specific match is being referenced but this is exactly what happened to two shooters on our squad at a state sectional this fall. The door was a "hair trigger" such that neglecting to turn the knob and just pulling (hard) on the knob, caused the whole door/wall to move and set off the activator. In this case a single show, non-disappearing drop turner but the alternate box to shoot it from was a long way in the wrong direction. Scored two Mikes/FTE. And here's what you asked for--the stage briefing read "Door 1 activates Drop turner 1, Door 2 activates drop turner 2, both are non-disappearing targets." Should have been ruled a REF in my view.

I headed out to the shop with fistful of rubber bands and took the dropper apart and moved the bb's back to the upper position. While I had it apart, I lubed the outside of the inner plastic dropper. I then devised a clamp attached to the powder measure which kept the feeder spring straight up from the dropper and no pressure. At this point, I'm 0 doubles and 0 misses for 100 rounds. No rubber bands...yet anyway. My MBF'd 650 is very nice but if this 100 is any indication, the 1050 makes even the 650 look silly! Thank you. Btw Sarge, I have the same experience as you with PD 115 out of my 650+MBF...but this experience has re-energized me to try to figure it out again.

I'm not even sure who to quote here. Thanks for the many suggestions. I'm off to get it to 100%...and I'm moving my bb's back where I think they were meant to be for this size of bullet.