Croomrider

I loaded some Extreme 220gr plated with up to 4.1gr of N320 and an OAL of 1.22 in my STI for a PF of 170. I had no pressure signs with Fed primers and it seemed to work fine other than an occasional tumbler. My gun does take a little more powder than most to get a certain velocity though. I don't think you will have a problem working up to a usable load with N320, if you load long! Mike

I have not found that to be the case with most of the powders we use in action pistol shooting. It can usually make more of a difference in magnum calibers where the slowest of powders are used. For Clays, N320, WST and most others that are similar I basically cannot tell the difference between magnum and regular primers. Mike Did you do pressure measurements? In the article they actually measured the chamber pressure. Your choice. No actual pressure measurements were made. However, primers were observed, and they can be a fairly reliable indicator of relative pressures. You are just not going to get a major difference in pressure with the types of powders we use for action pistol games. Even in the powders where it would make a difference, when you see a big difference in pressure, there is going to be a notable difference in velocity. The only way that is going to happen is if a standard primer will not reliably ignite the powder being used, and the magnum primer does. Magnum primers in themselves do not add enough extra power to make a huge difference in pressure or velocity. It is my understanding that they achieve their effectiveness by including compounds that burn at a hotter temperature, and that doesn't necessarily mean more powerful. Mike

It sounds like crimped brass. You are probably going to need to size/de-prime and then chamfer or swage the primer pockets before priming and loading. Almost all military brass is crimped. Mike

If you are able to get those heavier bullets loaded to 127 PF and still function your gun, it will be even less snappy than the 147gr bullet in 9mm. Most guys loading 40 to minor PF tend to stay at about 135 PF or more, even with lighter recoil springs. If you get the bullets moving too slow you may lose accuracy or cause functioning problems in your guns. Mike

I have never been able to correlate accuracy with consistency over a chronograph. Sure, consistency is something you want, but just because a load gives the lowest standard deviation, does not mean it will give the best groups at any given distance, compared with a load with a greater SD. Most of my experience with this comes from rifles, but I'm sure it applies to pistols as well. With my aging eyes, I don't want to have to prove it with an iron sighted pistol. :>) Mike

Can you show us some pics? I had thought of doing this myself, but haven't had the setback problem you had, likely because I use a U-die. Mike

The Federal primers are fine. Your bullet is a little lighter than the one in the data above so you should be able to use up to at least 4.7 grains of WSF, but start a little lighter and work up. Load them to about 1.125 to start, but you should be able to deviate plus or minus .025 as needed for the bullet profile to fit your gun. Mike

Don't worry about it until you can get to an "A" or "M" classification, and by then you will know the answer. The gun will not hold you back from getting that far or farther. There are great reasons to own a S_I, such as you might enjoy shooting it more. However, it's not going to make a night and day difference in you ability to place in a match for a long long time! Mike

Berrys

8 lb jug is $181.99 Just FYI if you need some! Mike

I guess it pays to be diligent and a little lucky. I have been shooting 2-3 times a week since the Newtown incident, and have more components on hand now than I did at the time, and have not paid any inflated prices. Primers are the toughest, but I managed to get 10k WIN SPM's when they were available from PV about a month ago. Mike

Then what was the point? He would already have a classification in open, if and when he got an open gun he could then shoot a major right away without having to shoot unclassified. Mike

You backed off .001? How consistent can you hold your length? Mike

WST and Graf has it NOW! Mike

Yes, it's entirely reasonable. No need to distrust your chrono in this instance! Mike

I think this is one thing that is legal now with the 2013 rules, but may not have been previously, and the manufacturer's website hasn't been updated yet! Mike

I just received 10k Win SPM primers from PV after getting an order in when they had some available 3 weeks ago. Natchez had some CCI's today, but the limit was 2k. I think they are getting better, but it's going to be a while before it's like we want. Mike

They don't have any and aren't expecting any until fall! Mike

I just waited 4 months to get some Precisions I ordered at the end of January. During that time I ordered a case of BBI's and had them in 2-3 weeks. I haven't shot the BBI's yet, but they look good. Take it for what it's worth! Mike

Yeah but, with the maximum order of 2000, once you add shipping and hazmat, you will be at about the same price level as the gougers! Mike

First off, thanks for taking the time to test and share your results, they are greatly appreciated! In relation to you ES and SD, I want to offer another possibility for you to explore. Please look over this thread if you haven't and especially read post #28. http://www.brianenos.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=175497 I'm not sure what kind of sizing die you use, but if it's not small enough and you are relying mostly on crimp to hold the bullet in place, I'm wondering if your OAL's of rounds in the magazine are being affected from the previous rounds being fired. If your OAL's are changing before being fired, I think that could possibly be one explanation for why your ES and SD's may be higher than some others are able to get. I agree with you that treating pistol ammo like precision rifle ammo is not a good use of time, and I would never even bother to weigh out powder charges when testing. However, even with using mixed once fired brass and throwing charges and loading on my Dillon 650, I am usually able to get ES<50 and SD<15 or thereabouts, and often much better. Anyway, I just wanted to throw that out in case it might help you in refining your results, and thanks again for your efforts! Mike

So what are you going to shoot now? haha Mike

You might try the NRA. I think they have a division that helps with developing ranges. They may be able yo give you ideas on safety, toilets, sanitation and the like. I kind of doubt that USPSA gets involved with that level of the operation of ranges. Mike

That is also awesome! Mike

Awesome! Mike