ppknut

Does anyone have, or know, the compression length(s) for replacement springs for an M&P 40. Some time ago I swapped the captured OEM Spring/rod for a Wolff spring set with their guide rod. I was thinking about purchasing one of the spring testers and while the standard 1911 compression length (1.625") is easy to find, I haven't been able to find the same info on the M&P replacement springs (perhaps I need to call Wolff?). Same question for a BHP recoil spring. Thanks for any input.

I started reloading to try to save $$. Then shortages hit and I was able to shoot as much as I wanted. It was/is nice. That said, I'm now up to 11 calibers and 3 gauges. I will never recoup the cost of all the gear I've acquired. Additional presses and lots of dies start materializing.

I've got a few more calibers to work up. .32 acp , 38 spl. Just waiting to get enough to work up a batch.

I got a little carried away a while back and wanted to know what various limits my FA tumbler had based on their recommended 30 lb limit. So the result was this table:

Actually, it's closer to 1200 with primers and 1300 de-primed by my testing (maintaining the 30 lb. limit). That's still a bunch.

Yes, I would buy it again. I've only had a few issues with it over the last 3 years. Two things: I wish they'd make .32acp and .380 conversions. Occasionally, one shell will drop sideways into the funnel at the top of the feeder tube and jams up the process. If you're not paying attention, all of a sudden the feeder starts throwing brass out of the top and onto the bench/floor. Stop....unclog....continue. If anyone else has had this issue, I'd love to know if they have found a solution.

Excellent! Thanks for the IMR pdf. I have that manual and have only ever used it for shotgun reloading. I completely forgot they have rifle and pistol data listed as well. I once tried the polishing thing for my .308 and didn't get very good results. I'm not well versed in 'dremel' I'll have to get it back out and find some polish and give that another try. Thanks a bunch. Now I've got a starting point.

Thanks for responding. I will check out your link. Specific bullet, yes. I'm currently using 147 gr. RN Copper Plated X-treme bullets (I suppose I could also use some of my 124 gr. 9mm bullets). They're fine for my plinking loads using Win 231, but my supply of 231 is decreasing at an alarming rate and, of course, no one has seen any for sale in any quantities lately. Since I scored some 700X, I've been working up loads with the 700X for my 9mm, .38spl, and .45. and would like to work some up for the Super. I just wish the metering in my 550 wasn't so erratic (at least a 3/10's swing) even with the aquarium pump). Let me know if you get a chance to look up your loading log. Thanks again -ppknut

One at a time works just fine. No hang ups. So, it may be that the stack of brass in the tube is putting enough pressure on the bottom shell to cause it to tip, ever so slightly, and catch on the primer of the next one in line. A few other notes: In careful observation of the ram operation, I noticed that the piece of brass being advanced toward the shellplate always veers off to the side of the ramp (one side more than the other), in effect causing the shell to start the forward progress directly toward the diagonal ramp cuts rather than more centered in the slot. This convinced me to work on the ramp with a small file to smooth it out (round it) a bit. After this judicious filing, I did a little polish work on the now more rounded ramp lips. All in all, I really kind of polished as many surfaces I could reasonably reach. Last step was to lube my .40 brass, which is something I've never needed to do with 9mm and .45, just to make sure that the brass was able to travel as freely as possible into the ramp. The end result was that the hang ups were reduced significantly. Before, I was getting a hang up every 5 to 10 rounds or so. I ran a batch of 50 and only got about 3 hangs ups. Progress made! But not completely solved. I'm still curious if anyone else has experienced this issue. One other factor that may or may not be significant......the brass I'm using is a batch of once fired that I purchased, as is. I noticed that the firing pin strikes on the spent primers were of the 'rectangular' form/shape and that this type of indent appeared to raise the cup metal more so than on circular pin strikes. I did try to isolate those cases and tried to determine if that was contributing, but it remained more or less random in any effect.

I'll try that, one at a time, and see what happens. If that shows that the shell is hanging up on the succeeding shell, then what? This would seem to defeat the purpose of the case feeder.

Youngeyes, Thanks for the cam adjusting information. Now I know what this procedure is for. On the other hand, While lightly filing the angled portion of the feed ramp to smooth it out may be of some benefit, I don't believe any careful filing will help with what I've shown on the sketches I posted. The case is tilting before it even reaches the ramp slot, as if it is catching on the next (upper) piece of brass as the ram moves forward.

I would still like to know how the cam readjusting works. This is not covered in any paperwork I've received from Dillon. That said, I've attached a quick sketch of where the initial hang up occurs. The scale is a little exagerated to illustrate what is happening. 14229508972_438ec1bc06_c.jpg

Please elaborate and explain why that would possibly help. Especially when the shell doesn't even feed (and catches) from the very beginning of the feed ramp as it approaches the wedge cuts in the ramp. And explain the process of readjusting the cam, when that doesn't seem necessary when going from 9mm to .45

Yes, they do. BTW, the ramp is marked W and the adapter tube is purple, which should be the correct ones for .40

I'm having a lot of trouble getting my .40 S&W to feed properly. The problems describe below DO NOT happen when feeding 9mm or .45 brass. The .40 brass hangs up on the feed ramp part. I thought perhaps my ramp was a little dinged up, so I got a new one from Dillon. This has not helped. The brass will hang up in two locations intermittently. The first hang up is when the brass just begins to move forward with the 'ram' pushing the brass. The .40 cal brass has a hard time finding the slot in the ramp. Instead of smoothly finding its place in the feeder slots it will move slightly left or right and jam on the diagonal cuts that are supposed to direct the brass into the main slotted portion. The second hang up is at the juncture between the ramp and the shellplate platform. At this point, the brass will snag on the platform and not continue into the shellplate. I've tried to accommodate this slight difference by putting a very small piece of tape beneath the ramp to raise it just a bit, but this really doesn't fix the problem. Any ideas? This is really quite frustrating to have happen every 5 to 8 rounds and kills production. Thanks for any input. -ppknut

I also used to leave powder in the hoppers. Didn't really mind in my early days if the thing got discolored. I was only using 700-X for my shot shells and it didn't seem to matter to me, even when the hopper got pretty dark. Then I started metallic reloading and now it disturbs me to not see the powder level due to the staining. So, in my experience, 700-X and Win 231 both do a number on the tubes and I now clear the powder after just about every session. I've never found anything to clean the tube satisfactorily and resorted to actually buying replacements. I guess I've gotten a little picky in my old age.

Bamboo, Thanks for the link. Lots of info there.

I'll be starting to reload for this cartridge soon and have been checking unused/new brass prices and availability. A few questions to you all: 1. I'm seeing a fairly wide variance in cost for different brands of new brass. For example, Starline at 17 cents per piece and Winchester at 27 cents per piece. Is there a great difference between these makers in quality and/or longevity? 2. This will be a new cartridge for me and wondered if any of you have pet loads? Due to what I've got available, I'll probably start with Win 231 powder and see where it takes me. These will be strictly for fun loads, no competition, self defense not likely at this point. Thanks for any input.

I'm definitely in the camp of: "I reload to shoot and I shoot to reload." I reload and shoot 9 different calibers and 3 gauges. With the availability issues over the last 4 or 5 years, I decided that if I wanted to shoot any or all of my toys at any given time, I didn't want to be at the mercy of the LGS or Walmart for ammo. Almost all of my guns are 'old school' (only one polymer). Rather than beat up my 03A3 or my older Colts, or my grandad's hand-me-downs, I much prefer loading them down a bit. Finding the best and/or least power loads that will reliably function and perform well is quite satisfying. I use to avoid obtaining new calibers because I just new I'd have to gear up with new dies, conversions, etc. Every time I did get a new caliber I found I was really enjoying the process all over again.

I've always marked my brass with colored markers. Just line 'em up in their boxes and stripe the bases No Mark/Stripe - Factory once fired Black Stripe - Twice fired Red Stripe - Three firings Green Stripe - four firings Blue Stripe - five firings Orange Stripe - six firings.....if I ever get this far. The stripes do make it easy to ID your rounds at the range.

I like the Winchester Primers. I've had issues with CCI srp, so I won't buy them anymore. The only 'complaint' I have with Winchester primers is that they are upside down in the trays. It'd be nice to just place them under the flat side of my flip tray and just turn over and remove the plastic holder. Then you could go right to the pick up tubes with the primers in nice neat rows. I just work around it by keeping an empty plastic holder and flip from one tray to the other and then to the flip tray. Not a big deal, but a little irritating.

The small Tensor gooseneck desk lamp I have works well enough for me. I do like the idea of the Skylight, but the biggest issue I have with lighting is trying to see that a primer has successfully made it into the primer slide and cup. This product doesn't appear to help there.

I ordered my .40 dies with a caliber conversion on April 8th and recieved my order on May 29. A tad over 7 weeks.

So you actually resize twice? the second time without any lube? I've already had some stuck case issues and I'm not interested in going throught that again. EDIT: I'm guessing you don't resize the second time through the press; just prime the newly cleaned shell and move to the powder station? Don't mean to be a pain, but perhaps I'm not familiar enough with the entire process.