dauntedfuture

I think its best to tumble the heck out of the brass first, then size and then tumble again. Yes, the primer pockets don't get cleaned but that's not an issue and yes you might have a speck of media stuck in the flash hole when you load; there is no effect. The result is much smoother operation and you don't need much lube on clean cases as you do on dirty ones.

I have found that I like the foster dies the best. The only way to know if your LNL or RCBS loads better ammo is to size some brass on both and compare the measurements with the same dies. If you find the runout is better on one press or the other I would go with that. You can load quality ammo with low runout on a progressive press provided you have good dies. The only way to know is to check your set-up with your dies. A press can also induce COAL or length variations as well.

For a good general purpose bullet look for something in a 150-175 range with a medium to fast powder. You are looking for something that's going to work out to 500 yds so that's all you need; your not looking nor do you need a 1K load for 3G. Bullets lighter then 150 are going to need a faster powder to work best and when you get heavier then a 175 or so you will need something a little slower then 4064/ varget. 155's might work in your rifle but they have a short bearing surface.

You really don't normally need to crimp rifle ammunition.

1/2 grain is fine. The sierras will shoot better then the Hornady or Nosler bullets.

If you are shooting FMJ bullets in a factory colt gun trim the brass the seat the bullets so if you decided to crimp, you would do so in the groove. If you want to crimp you have to trim otherwise its hard to get and set a consistent crimp. You are not going to be able to tell a difference of .02 either way with FMJ bullets in a colt barrel. Seat them so they function, they will shoot as well as they are going to shoot. You CAN seat a crimped bullet a little deeper in the case if you have to.... if the loaded rounds will case gauge they are fine but its not advised.

A 77 SMK is not even close to a VLD bullet. It has a relatively high BC but its not a VLD bullet. On a similar line I have loaded and shot some 77 TMKs and you have to seat them deeper in the case and they jump and shoot just fine.

This really has nothing to do with the primers exactly, its a function of energy that a firearm can generate. Comparing a glock and a tuned up CZ is an apples to oranges comparison. In general ALL primers SHOULD light in a standard gun. When you lighten springs up you can run into issued as some primers are more or less sensitive, or to put it another way, some primers require MORE or LESS energy to light. Primer seating depth has an effect as if you have high primers some of the firing pin energy is absorbed as the primer is "seated" by the firing pin energy. I cant speak to modifications on a Dillon but if you do your part and make sure any primer is seated properly you will have less issues. Don't forget that primer pocket depth and primer lengths all very so you might find that one brand of brass causes issues as you can have a combination of a "short" primer and a deep pocket. I run FSP in my revolvers as they are all tuned light and in my factory M&P production gun. My 2011's and glocks don't care and will light SRPs without an issue.

It does not matter with a 77. If were talking a VLD bullet then yes. Just like a 168 or 175 in .30, 77's jump just fine and you dont gain anything by seathing them close.

you just need to set your dies up correctly. Screw them down more.

Thanks to all the ROs that worked the match. Overall there are issues that I noted with event; there were issues running and administering the match which kind of always can happen but the round count and prize table was much lower then advertised. I shot about 150 pistol if that and 300 rifle. This was not the major match that was advertised. The bigger issue is what does USCA do for the shooting sport world; how is it different then FNH or 3GN matches with 2 guns and not three. The only thing I can see is that the scoring is a little different and you have to shoot with a sling and always wear your pistol. That's about it. There are some small other differences. For USCA to survive it needs to be different and when it advertised 50K in prizes and a huge round count it needs to deliver. Simply put this was not a national level match.

Stick to 123 BTHPs, 142s were having issues in many rifles with timing and pressure curves.

You are going to have trouble getting the roll pins into the lower receiver without a pin holder/pusher combo. I think that if I recall, the bolt release is the most difficult and you can bang up the lower a little. Getting the detents for the push pins is tough too. No trouble with anything else. Jon

I used to have a 9mm AR. I don't any more. I was not getting the accuracy I wanted with it. I don't recall which 8" barrel I had but I had a CMMG ramped bolt and mag well adapter. I think that you really need a dedicated 9mm gun to get things running. If that's the way you want to go I would look at a complete rifle from CMMG. I also broke two sets of trigger pins with that rifle.

Not enough powder. And remember just because its a starting load does not always mean it will cycle the rifle. And because the rifle cycles with factory ammo this further indicates ammo load error. We also don't know what kind of barrel is used and if its a small gas port barrel then once again we need standard pressure ammunition.

This is a pretty good discussion reference rifle barrels. If your looking for data, look on any competition rifle firing line and you are going to find medium to heavy barrels on all the rifles. Those rifles are getting plenty hot shooting 25 or so rounds in 12-15 min in magnum calibers. Finding true quantitate data is always going to be hard as there are so many variables. I think a "good measure" is a 10 round cold barrel group and then after some more shooting, say 30 rounds, another 10 round group. While this will not tell you everything about your barrel accomplishing this test is within the realm of possibilities and a 10 round group is a pretty good picture of what your rifle system can do. For what its worth i'm looking for a ten round 2" group at 200 yds for my 1000 yd long range rifles with low ES. I am confident that many people that claim their rifles will shoot 1/4 MOA all day long.... would not be able to deliver such performance on demand. For my 3 gun rifles, im slightly less picky and look for 2-3" at 200 yds and its there with 77's and about 5-6" with 55 short range ammo. Im also shooting with a 6x scope so this needs to be taken into consideration as a higher power scope might tighten things up slightly.

I cant open you-tube here but accuracy opening up is what I would expect after a mag dump. Deterioration should effect a heavier profile barrel less then a lighter profile

Provided you are shooting a 24" barrel then that is a little on the high side of velocity. Remember that Lapua brass is thicker and has less case capacity then some other kinds of commercial brass. If you think that everything looks ok then you can consider keeping on shooting it. You are going to get less brass life with that kind of load and you will likely find that you are going to have to FL size the brass to keep things running smooth and consistent. Know that you are most likely running on the hot side of things to say the least.

I think that if you compare the weights you will find that the BCM barrel is on the heavy side of things and you don't hear about that many people running them. I also have no idea whose blanks they use and that's what really matters. We are fortunate in that we have lots of good choices out there and the manufacturers are willing to stand behind their products. I am certain that if you have issues with a Nordic, Faxon or any of the Ranier arms barrels they will help you out. I am also certain that these companies have done enough testing to know what works and what does not within limits. The "unknown" out there is not as much if the barrels are going to shoot well, its more along the lines of durability and life as far as I am concerned. Years of shooting NRA HP and LR has provided me with lots of barrel information, this is not to say that things are not changing for the better but NRA HP and LR demands more in terms of accuracy and provides the shooter with better target feedback then 3G ever will.

There are lots of companies that are using the same molds out there for the 180's. Without looking at the three bullets and measuring diameter and weight it is hard to tell. Usually what happens with friction reducing agents is that velocity is less then it would be for the same bullet as it reduces pressure as well. I think the simple answer is that the bullets are a little bigger diameter then some of the others but without looking, comparing and measuring its hard to tell. 75 fps is a significant result. 19 fps could be a fluke. Bullet hardness can also be a factor.

Your scale is off.

I suspect your gas block is not open enough. You did lube the rifle correct? I would not worry where the rifle throws brass as long as it works reliably.

So the red makes it shoot better?

93, You are going to get about a million different opinions on this. We are fortunate that we have several good choices out there. I think you need to determine what length you want and what length gas system you are looking at as well as general weight. If you want a super light rifle then your going to want a lighter weight barrel. I think the above advice on the 18" nordic or 16" stretch is quite good. You might opt to do a 14.5 and pin a break on too. For what its worth I went with a 18" rifle-gas Rock Creek from Ranier Arms. Its a cut rifle SS barrel and experience tells me a cut rifle barrel will last longer then a button rifle barrel.

I bought a Whidden Gunworks (WG) floating die tool head for my 550 and I intend to play with it when I get back. WG says that the floating die toolhead assists with decreasing runout of your loaded ammunition and that the press clamp kits that uniquetek sells helps to reduce the up-down slop in the tool head and reduces OAL length variations. I am excited to work with both products and I intended to do a write up on them when I have some idea of what they do or don't do. I have been loading all my LR NRA HP ammo on a 550 for some years with standard parts. I don't use the Dillon powder measurer and used the AT500 powder funnel die thing and pause the press when its up to throw in a weighed charge. I have been doing all other operations per standard on the Dillon 550 and have shot some impressive scores. Among other things my ES has been a little high even though i'm weighing everything. I don't exactly recall what my runout was but I don't recall that it was too bad. I plan on working with my palma gun and lapua cases.