KennyW

I have an XL650 and tried some new Starline brass in .45acp for the first time. I have the powder drop set up on sta. 2 and verified that the powder funnel is type #E. The problem is that the brass is scoring the expander and is making it very difficult to cycle the handle. Should I be chamfering all new brass? THis is my first time using virgin brass. And, I've never had this problem with the used brass that I started with.

With a case guage, assuming the brass was properly resized to begin with.

I've had my XL650 for about a month now. I've loaded 1,500 rounds of 9X19 on it with only a couple of small hiccups that were easily resolved. Here's what I've found: 1) I ride the shellplate, LIGHTLY, with my left index finger as it indexes. I find that if I put my fingertip on the shell plate just ahead of the round going from sta 3 to sta 4, it smooths things out so that the shell plate doesn't snap and spill powder. 2) The 1st powder drop of the day is always over by a couple of 1/10ths gr. I just pull that shell from sta. 4 and weigh and adjust the charge by hand before proceeding. In fact, I measure the charge of the 1st couple just to make sure. 3) If the cartridge feed tube isn't straight, the cartridge adapter will be side-loaded and will eventually move far enough out of shape to cause brass to hange up in the cartridge bushing and not drop. My case feed support post needs to be adjusted in order to make the case feed tube line up straight with the case feed adapter. For now, I've got it jury-rigged with a zip-tie. But when I add a case feeder, that post will need to be bent to line up. 4) Develop a feel for the thing. Know what additional feel each station adds to the overall sequence. You'll know when somethings wrong just by feel. I had some .380 brass mixed in with my 9mm, it was easy to spot just by feel alone. 5) The die and powder drop adjustments are very consistent. And, they are easily as accurate as what I was getting from my old Rockchucker. I think a careful setup in the beginning will pretty much leave me free to keep my eyes on the things that CAN go wrong with this press. -------- The places my eyes NEED to be are: 1) Powder drop: look at the poweder in the cartridge on sta. 4 EVERY time as you place a bullet on it. 2) Case Feed: look to make sure the brass dropped from the case feet bushing and the next one is resting on the shoulder of the case feed bushing. This is a good reminder to keep brass in the tube if you don't have the case feed option. And, it will ensure you spot jams BEFORE they become a bigger problem. 3) Powder/Primer follower: as long as you keep an eye on these, you can pick a good time to refill. 4) Primers: I case every round in 100rnd boxes, if for no other reason, just because I want to see that every primer is fully seated. In 1,500 rounds, I found 1 that I apparently didn't fully seat. These are things that I seem to have had to learn on my own. Some old-timers here are probably thinking "duh!". But, I hope this post might save someone else a little time and worry.

I've had my XL650 now for a couple of weeks. No casefeeder. I wanted the "as it should be" option from BE. But, didn't want the wifey to get sticker shock. I will get the casefeeder next month. But, for now, I load just fine without it. Today, I loaded 250 rounds of 9mm, right out of the tumbler, in about 1 hour. With my single stage, it would have taken me about 4 hours, done on 2 or 3 successive nights to load that much.

Who is doing 9X23Win conversions? Whats a good donor pistol for 9X23 conversion? Is 9X23 still a good choice for limited? Or, is it just an unneccesary expense?

I owned 1 until tonight. With the money I got for it, I'll be getting a new Pac-Lite barrel for my Mark I. The Kimber will work just fine, as long as you remember to keep it clean and lubed, and use good quality High-velocity .22LR ammo like the CCI Mini Mag. I had problems with the magazine getting gummed up with soot. The follower would get sticky and the rounds would start nose-diving in the mag resulting in lots of FTFs. I cleaned my plastic Kimber .22 mags with a damp Q-tip, and I also burnished the rough edges around the lips very lightly to remove mold seams. If you get one, I'd recommend checking out the metal mags from Marvel. I'm not sure, but I suspect they may work with the Kimber kit.

My dad gave me a Govt. M1911 National Match. This is one of the pistols that was used in the 1964 national matches at Camp Perry. This pistol was built by US Army armorers out of used M1911 frames hand fitted with match grade barrels, slides and associated parts. The round count on this pistol is unknown. But, it as tight and as accurate as any handgun I have ever seen. It also disproves the myth that tight 1911 type pistols are unreliable. It handles every factory round I've ever put through it. And, every reload that was properly dialed in as well.

How do the Cali gun laws effect competitors/matches in the socialist republic? How are competitors legally getting around them? I'm writting letters to legislators in my state who have proposed similiar legislation here. ============================== I'm seeking info, NOT DEBATE PLEASE!

I'm a lefty. And, I'm right eye dominant. I shoot right handed. Thanks to the sisters of St. Mary's, I've never had a problem doing anything right handed. When I hold my pen in my left hand to write though, I can still feel the burn of that wooden ruler.

As far as the OP's original question, Saul Kirsch, in his Masters I video, has a really good segment on isolating and smoothing out the mechanics of presenting the pistol and acquiring the sight picture, separate from the draw. He advocates working on presentation from the high-ready position first, then putting it together with the draw. I've been relearning the whole process from scratch, to try and unlearn a couple of bad habits. Still working on it!

That looks like a DA/SA with a safety, right? Wonder how it stacks up against the venerable CZ-75B. The CZ's on the approved list for Production division. Anyone had a chance to compare?

I'm a know nothing rookie. But, I've been using the following, if for no other reason than its what I can get that the guy behind the counter said will work well: 124gr Montana Gold FMJ 4.5gr Win 231 (using an RCBS uniflow drop that seem to be dead-nuts consistant) WSP primers Federal or Win brass OAL of ~1.135" (1.134" - 1.136" with RCBS carbide dies and single stage press) Crimp to just enough for bullet to properly headspace in my pistol (I spend time checking this for consistency when setting up. Ususally if its good for 10 in a row, it good enough for a 1,000) This seems to be hot enough to burn clean. I see just a little smoke when doing Bill-drills. And, the spent brass has just a little soot. My average muzzle velocity is 1,050fps giving a PF of 130 using a single Chrony F1. As far as how it feels: it has slightly less percieved recoil that factory. Other than that, I wouldn't know the difference.

Is it legal under USPSA rules to use the Hogue wraparound rubber grips with finger grooves on my CZ-75B in production division?

Ah, ...don't beat yourself up. On the last classifier I shot (CM 03-08), I double tap'd a "1 shot per" then got so bent, I think I hit every "no shoot" and missed one target altogether. Final percentage score for the stage: 9.5 Needless to say, that is my lowest classifier score.

That, and an understanding spouse!