Dannix

Interesting thread this, esp. to someone like me who's never been in a match before. I wonder how it would complicate things if the shooter successfully engaged all targets, shooting all rounds through the filing cabinet drawer.

I've never thought of that before. Now I understand why some guys go out of their way to bevel their bases (I know one guy who rigged up a machine to do it, but then he's shooting cast zinc).

Assuming those are straight seated bullets, not lopsided/crooked, then looks OK to me. 'Crimpless coke bottle' rounds are particularly common in the lead boolit world where slightly larger sized, erm, projectiles are used with no crimp (could not open, scraping the boolit, and the "coke bottle" and neck tension are used to hold the boolit in place.Maybe you're just working with thicker brass than you are used to, or maybe the buldge being farther down caught you eye. You could always mic your bullets to see if they are in spec. I've bee learing about 'crimpless coke bottle' boolit rounds just recently myself. Here's a pic a casting veteran sent me:

Yeah. We'll see what Lee says. I think I'll save my shekels for one just the same. Got a recommended taper crimp die to go with it, or are they pretty much all equal in crimping Redding Competition steaded rounds? I'll have to replace my Lee FCD as it's known to swag down intentionally 'oversized' cast lead boolits. I may just have it opened up a little, but that would probably cost as much as a new crimping die.

I sent an email to Lee. We'll see if they will swap out my seater for another one. I was tempted to just go for the Redding competition seating die...but I already have way too many other important things on my to-buy list to just go for it! I was hoping to find something in the middle ground, but if not, I'll just keep saving my sheckles and put my money to what I know will do me proud. Well the V is great for JFNs I'm using right now, but I'll have to fill it in with hot glue or something when I switch to flat nose boolits with a proper metplat. Hum, I wonder if your Hornady had the same issue I'm having with my Lee with a too loose die body interior diameter. My rounds rattle in my Lee seater.

Thanks for the input. I'd like to drop something in for the front sight and use it with my default/factor rear sites, so something standard size. Everything I've seen so far is with green though, which for some reason just doesn't resonate with me. I'd rather go for something red/amber/orange. Rick at Ameriglow said he's "not aware of any company making a red tritium front sight". ck1, is your vial green? I'm not seeing hint of green in your photos. With regard to the torch/flashlight, I got an email in from Armalaser. Apparently they are working on a taclight/laser combo with an eta of Spring '11. I'll take a look at it once it goes gold.

Yeah, I get angled seating unless I'm really careful and slow about it. Otherwise it's case buldge and bullit angled. That's a good call--I'll get in touch with Lee.

You could take a look at Pat's RockDock. http://www.patmarlins.com/ http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?t=68714 gohuskers, that sure is a nice ash top. How did you sand it down to even the boards up? Not a bad setup, though I'd probably make up some plugs myself.

My quest - straight rounds. I was having a particularly hard time seating straight with my Lee 'Deluxe' dies. I decided to ignore the Lee seater's setup instructions and changed to the following, in the context of seating only, crimping on another die: Back the seater plug all the way out. Drop a round into the seater die, out of the press, so that it is sitting on the crimp part of the crimp/seater die. Crank the seater plug down just until the round is pushed upwards slightly. (This ensures no crimping will take place as I use the Factor Crimp Die.) Put a round to-be-seated into the shellholder and carefully screw down the die body into the press until desired OAL is achieved. This helped a lot. I'm still getting some bulging, but far less 'baby-sitting' is required. I figure there's two aspects that could be improved: The interior die body is a little too 'loose'. I mean, sure, in the context of larger diameter boolits which could be swaged down by the die body, this could be a good thing. But even in that context it seems too loose. The amount of case inside the die before seating could be improved. This seems to be where the trade off of being a combination crimp/seating die comes into play. Maybe it's not really an issue with a proper interior die body size? So yeah, I'm now in the market for a replacement seater die. I'm planning on picking up a Lyman M too with custom plugs if need be, as I'll be switch to cast boolits shortly, but I wasn't sure what seater die to spring for. Any thoughts? Is the Hornady CGND combination seater/crimper going to have the same issue as the Lee? The Redding Pro is about the same price and lacks the undesired crimp feature -- is it better than the Hornady CGND or does one have to go Redding Competition to match or beat the Hornady CGND? Thanks guys,

Thanks for all the thoughts! Yes, I realize in pitch black situations, a torch is going to be necessary. But I've been in more than enough situations where I could clearly distinguish friend from foe, but would have to be point shooting with my standard Glock sights. So I'm sold on the need for nights sights, just wasn't sure if only a front sight would be sufficient vs. front and rear (with different color and/or smaller size in the rear). Apparently it is. I'm planning on picking up an Armalaser for my BUG. I imagine an Armalaser/torch combo in addition to night sights would be ideal for the Glock. Maybe they will have such a beast once I'm convinced I need to progress to that level. ck1, you sold on your Ameriglo Pro Glo front sight? They still make an all-red like yours? The closest I'm seeing is red/orange circle, green center, which I'm not digging. XS 24/7 Express sights caught my eye, but their concept seems more tailored to stub noses and the like.

Is the front-site only route any good in the dark e.g. nighttime enviroment, or is this really only a daylight/lowishlight route? ^ From this thread

^Ah, I see. Makes sense.

The only objective thing I can think of is how high up you can up grip the gun. Other than that, it's pretty individual. Even the 'feel' of difference calibers can be readily adjusted, if you're a reloader, to meet preferences. I know some shooting 160grn in their 9x19s for example. All about personal preference. And I'd echo wurm. Unless you got really small hands, Glock is a very easy place to start. I had a bit of buyers remorse after I bought mine without range time. Didn;t like the grip right off. Now it feels like it was tailored to my hand. Like what dagger10k said. Hope this helps. One word of advise -- don't buy cheap. Got ahead and save up and buy something good, not necessarily something absolutely epic, but good.

I was wondering about the brass, but then thicker would mean even less case capacity and greater pressures. One thought -- I saw a post once where a guy mentioned the manuals almost always give 9x19 data with shorter OAL values as some cheaper 9x19 firearms cannot accommodate the 1.169" OAL spec. Not sure if this is true or not. Winchester/Hodgdon is the only manual I recall that has any 1.169" OAL 9x19mm loads. They're only for WSF powder though. I checked Accurate...nope, and you would think so considering AA#7 is a slower powder for this case capacity.

Lyman 49th Edition 9x19 147 gr. TMJ 1.115" OAL Max: AA#7, 7.2gr, 1014 fps, 29k CUP 9x21 147 gr. TMJ 1.169" OAL Max: AA#7, 9.2gr, 1228 fps, 33k CUP The Lyman manual mentions the above 9x21 load is their only load within SAAMI spec that meets IPSC major requirements. But why isn't this load mentioned in the 9x19 section i.e. why can't you just load to 1.169" OAL in 9x19? The only difference between these guys is brass OAL, nothing else...right? Just curious. I'm only plinking with 115grainers myself right now i.e. don't worry, not trying to blow myself up, at least not right now

Hum, interesting. I'll have to try some. This one? If you want a mold, 45 2.1's 360640 design from BRP may interest you. They're part of the Cast Boolits community, which I highly recommend you at least acquaint yourself with if you're a caster. Careful though -- those group buys can be addicting, particularly for stuff you just can't get otherwise.

Yeah, not worth the risk. That's why I'm just going to give them to a friend... j/k Seriously though, I've just stuck them in a corner, labeled, and I'll pull them once I get around to picking one up. Best Regards and thanks for the responses.

115grn Delta Precision JRN.

Good call. Will do. I'll probably just let them collect dust until I get a chrono.

Good point -- 115grn. 4.0-4.5 1.10"OAL -- this is the Hogdon data.

One manual said Universal 4.5-5.0, 1.125"OAL. Another 4.0-4.5 1.10"OAL. Well one batch I made was 4.25gr 1.080" OAL. Are these safe to shoot, or am I'm going to need to pull them? I have a +P safe gun, and only plinking so any jams from nose diving or what not isn't a problem. Thanks Edit: 115grn JRN

Why using such heavy (for 9mm) rounds? What mold are you using or are you just purchasing them? Thanks

Interested, much. Barrel lengths - can it be safety assumed that a sweet G17 load will work nicely in G19? I shot my first reloads yesterday: Precision Delta 115grn, Federal small pistol, 4.7grn Universal, 1.140 OAL. Burned dirty, but sounded and felt just like the Remington plinkers I had on hand to compare to. Made up another batch but at 1.135. Thanks for all the posts.

Yeah, it's interesting. Less powder, shorter OAL, more powder, greater OAL. I'll have to get the chrono and start tinkering. Thanks!

Ah, better feeding makes sense. I'm talking about for just the standard 9mm 115grn jacketed round nose though, not comparing HPs, FNs, etc, and for a particular given powder, Universal. So same bullet type, same powder. Good point about perhaps it being an accuracy thing. I just noticed the Lee manual lists a different OAL for each power option inside the domain of a bullet type, while Hornaday lists a constant OAL, regardless of powder choice, inside the domain of a bullet type. Hogdon/Winchester lists only one load. For WSF. : 1.169" OAL. Maybe this is the WWB equivalent? The OAL would seem to suggest this. Guess if I wanted this OAL (WWB has been feeding flawlessly in my G19), with Universal, I'd simply have to invest in a chrony.