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Hello, I've never reloaded anything in my life. . . My used Dillon scale just came in the mail from Ebay. . . the device looks very simple to use, but did not come with an instructions manual. I assume from toying with it that it would take an aweful lot of abuse to make the device malfunction because it's so straight forward. Or someone dramatically alters the earth's gravitational field. Please let me know if I'm setting it up correctly. I 1st set everything to zero and then zero the balance by twisting the screw base thus pivoting the entire base to make the balance beam center on the line. Then, I put something in the dish, adjust the big bar on the left side. . . then, the U-shaped bar on the right, then the tiny little guy on the far right. . . add all of the numbers together, and I have my grain value. I hope this is correct. I have one question about the "u-shaped" bracket. Should it only contact the bar inside the groove? Or should it also contact at the point circled in this picture? Just want to make sure everything's in order as this is one part of reloading I really don't want to be messing up.

hello, I've been searching. . . (darn 20 second rule is killing me. . .. ) for information about barrel care, and it seems there's a concensus that stainless steel barrels need not be cleaned ever if using jacketed bullets. What about a raw cromoly barrel like the Kart? The only thing I'm concerned about is corrosion so I've been squirting some Breakfree into it and pulling a twisted up paper towel through. . . just to make sure it's got a little coating of oil all over the inside and outside fo the barrel before I put it away. I just ordered a batch of things from Midway and picked up some Hoppes #9 on sale and a bore snake among other things. . . seemed like it would pull easier and clean better than my old twisted up paper towel. . . I just didn't know if I should put anything more abrasive than paper and plastic down the pipe except for jacketted bullets of course only 1000 rounds on a new fitted barrel so I want to ensure proper care and feeding so it can live long and prosper. Should I use the Hoppes and snake? Or should I just leave it alone? -'Chung

OK. . .cleaned out the garage and I'm feeling much better about life today Sold some things, ate a burrito w/ the proceeds and am closer to completing my 1st setup. Fun items should be arriving in the mail shortly and I should be able to set up a temporary reloading space. (I'm slowly changing my house right now from 700 sq. ft. to 2000 sq. ft. so things are in flux). Middle of the spare room works So far I have collected: Overpriced Dillon 550B early X-mas from wife!! .45 caliber conversion Dillon mechanical powder scale RCBS tumbler some cheapy dial calipers that I've been using for years cheapy primer flip tray Lee 4 die set .45 ACP Lee 4 die set 9mm Still need to collect: extra primer pickup tubes 9mm caliber conversion x-tra tool head x-tra powder die Loading manual Dillon die nut locky thingys (all of above probably from this webstore) And then, I have to sell off 1000 9mm factory fmj bullets and buy: Hogdon Clays and Titegroup Some Zero Bullets Some big and small pistol primers Some .45 brass . . . . . and. . . . hope I don't burn the house down or shoot my eye out. Getting there. . . this forum is the best for info. I figured I'd start out with the

Hi Kevin, Thanks for the tips. . . I live very close to Richmond Rod and Gun Club, and yes, that's where I go to shoot on Sat. for the IPSC practice, but I don't go very often yet. I'll definitely stop by the office to ask about primers and powders. That would probably be easier than finding a "hazmat buddy" and paying shipping from Powder Valley. Plus, I can buy smaller quantity to test a little before committing to the "motherload" especially if the prices are decent. Please let me know next time there's a truckload of bullets coming in. . . I'd like to get in on that action. . . or if you know anyone who is willing sell off 1000 or so w/ appropriate markup of course to help me get started. From what I did read here, it seemed Titegroup and Clays would cover me. From the little information Hogdon has on their website, Titegroup looked like it's good to go on the 9mm. Clays looked like the margins were a bit slimmer and pressures can get a bit high on 9mm particularly for a beginner who's QC has not been established. Seems if I load to appropriate pressure, both powders should burn clean and fit my needs for the 2 calibers I'm concerned with. I'll move forward accordingly -'Chung

Hello, I'm very new to reloading. . . Dillon 550 is in the mail, and I'm not in a huge hurry because I have plenty of factory ammo sitting around and plenty more dry-firing things to work out before hitting the range But, I would like to stock up on some reloading materials so I can start off on a good foot. Getting powder/primers in my area (San Francisco Area) locally appears to be wildly un-economical. . . as I gather from forum responses. Well, probably not as bad as getting housing, but I digress. Once I start reloading and my technique/quality proves reliable, I'd like to just use one load for my guns. . . practice, competition, self defense. This way, I can start off simple hopefully with an accurate, middle of the road, clean burning, safe margin over power factor load. I've shot mostly Wally World White box up until now, and well. . .. Wally World has decided conveniently not to sell ammo anymore in my area and taken it all off the shelves. This was one of the last straws that pushed me to get a reloader. I have been saving my Winchester brass and have a little bit to start out with. I figure I might as well shoot JHP and take advantage of certain savings to up my quality of ammo. My gun is a run of the mill 5" 1911 w/ Kart barrel. It seems from reading postings in the load data section of this forum I really can't be too far off to buy: Zero 230 grn JHP Hogdon Clays Federal or Winchester primer The 9mm is where I'm a bit more confused when searching the postings here. . . there doesn't seem to be a strong gravitation towards a particular powder/bullet combination. . . something that recoils nicely and gives ball-park defensive velocity. I'd like not to have to use VV powders due to cost. My wife's main gun is a 5" 9mm 1911 and she also has a 3" XD9. She thought it was cute. I have not problems buying a different powder for the 9mm.. . so I'm thinking: Zero 125 grn JHP ??? powder Federal or Winchester primer I'm going to buy a loading manual and plan on following it. . . mabe I'll have to make a different load for the XD and the 1911. I don't know. But I'd like to place an order with Powder Valley and streamline the cost a bit (recover 550 cost) so I'd like to get a powder that is pretty much known to work well and buy a fair amount of it from the start. Mabe one that leaves a bit of room for experimenting later. . . 147 grn, etc.

Certain things are good on Ebay. . . linens, silver, china . . . but you have to be pretty vigilant and conservative in your bidding. It works because there's so much of it at any given time nobody can really watch all of it at once. Plus, a lot of it is unique stuff that's hard to gauge value. I messed up when I thought the press included the dies which would have made approx $50 savings. I set my snipe price at what I thought was aggressive/safe at $355 ($20 shipping). . . thinking it included dies, that would have guaranteed ~$40 savings. . . and from the other presses that were selling on Ebay, I figured I'd lose, but there was a chance of wining because it was Sunday, and typically not as many people watch Ebay on Sunday. I was shocked when i figured out I had won, and it did not come with dies, the "safe" part of aggressive/safe saved me from huge disaster but I still lost money. The Dillon stuff is too watched on Ebay. Still, it doesn't feel good. I could have waited 'til closer to X-mas and purchased new from here or waited for one to come up again in the classifieds. Or, continued to bid low for several months on presses until I won 1 at a good price. I knew the retail prices. I just mis-read this auction. knowing what I do now, I would have set my bid at $310 and lost. . . and continued my search.

Hello, Just purchased my 1st press. . . a 550B, and I was wondering if the powder die is universal or if a different powder die needs to be purchased for each caliber. I noticed they are not included in the Dillon 3 die sets or the caliber conversion kits. I plan on loading .45 and 9mm in the future. Thanks, 'Chung

Eh, no need to try and wiggle out of it. I've got 100% feedback on Ebay and I follow through even with the dumb choices. Fair and is fair and I've had my share of people go out of their way to make things right for me in online transactions. Better keep the good juju flowing. It aint all that bad. I have a new NIB Dillon 550B on the way. I just have to pick up some dies and I'm almost ready to roll some bullets. In a few months, I'll be so happy I'll forget. If I ever upgrade or move on, I'll probably get most of my money back. 'Cause Dillon's a good company

yup yup, Should've purchased here. . . if I had known I was paying near retail, I would have, but I missed the part about the conversion kit not containing dies. The prices here are actually really really good for Dillon stuff. I was trying to get myself into the used/budget route, and find myself in the new route. Sometimes you have to give yourself a good kick and move on. Luckily, this was one of my less costly blunders all things considered.

DOH! . . After much research and calculating about the benefits of reloading, I have become an ebay idiot and paid $376 for a 1 year old NIB Dillon 550B instead of $369 for a new one from this website I'm just beating myself up 'cause I thought it included dies but it didn't. I thought I was being a sneaky sniper Guess I'll not eat lunch today and make up the $6. .. DAH!!! This throws off the calculations a bit. The wife wanted to buy me a reloader for Xmas, and I figured around $400 would be a pretty good target. . . so I was searching for a 550 w/ dies used for ~$375. . . or, I would have stepped down to a square deal because I'm usually very good with machines and have a good "feel" for making things turn out good no matter if the tools are optimal. . . and it would have given me a bit more buffer for the extras I know I'll need since this is my 1st step into reloading. Just the other day, I passed up my 1st viable option. . . a used 550B on ar15.com w/ .45 dies. I should have been more patient and bid very conservatively. . . oh well, done is done. All these little bits are so hard to keep straight.

Here's the progression of mental states I usually have: Crap! ----> Look -----> ask -----> reach for stones -------> Crap! repeat until you fork over money to a gunsmith and then. . . Ohh. . . that's how its done Here's a pic of Wilson follower next to Colt so you don't have to dig out your mags

OK, I did what you suggested. . . slowly started stoning off the slide stop . . . at 1st, I went a couple of passes maintaining the 2 angles already on the stop. . . just shaving them back, and then, on the last pass, I decided to go diagonal and shave just the part that was rubbing since it didn't make any sense to keep the angles if only one little bit was rubbing. I still have some contact with a bullet periodically. . . OAL 1.255 FMJ, but it is much better. On a wilson 47D, I still have full engagement. . . ie. The slide stop still extends clear to the other side of the plastic follower edge with a little to spare. I think slide lock function is still well intact. I can't see how you can fully stop bullet rub especially if a bullet is pushed forward a little bit as the bullet on top is stripped off the mag. Is this common? My slide does not slingshot with a Cominolli Frame saver installed. . . is the slide-stop hole drilled on the rearward end of the spectrum? I guess I'll stop here for now and see how the gun runs. I've gone overboard before and ruined parts. -'Chung

Hello, I just had some gunsmithing work done on my single stack 1911 and after some feed issues that arose during a shooting school, changed to new Wilson Combat 47D mags. A couple of times during shooting school, I had the slide lock back on the 2nd round. I haven't fired the pistol yet with Wilson Combat mags, but have noticed an interesting thing. It seems sometimes, the bullet rubs against my slide stop. Here is a picture of a bullet that has been repeatedly inserted and released from the gun about 50 times. If I only do it once, there's just a small scratch sometimes. Is this normal? Should I stone back my slide stop a little bit to reduce the contact? I don't want to make the slide lock unreliable. Gun is an old Springfield Milspec -'Chung

I was thinking the other day about shot timers. . . physically you need a small computer, a display, a speaker, a mic, and some buttons. Why not write an app for cell phones? The package is already portable and relatively strong. The color displays these days are clear, bright, and very flexible. The processors onboard are plenty powerful now if they can run the games they do. Everyone already has one and carries it with them all the time. Even if the app only worked for dry fire to begin with, it would be of great help. . . but if you can get the thing to do live fire also, it would rule!

Found the quote. . . can't find the author. . .

Yeah, options really start to open up once you get into the $300+ range as extreme sports have picked up. . . but I was wondering if there was something cheap and convenient. . . not necessarily HD quality

I remember seeing "hosercam" videos on the internet, and figured someone out there has gotta be making a compact, cheap, passable quality "helmet cam" that can be used to self-evaluate, or to ask for advise from other shooters. Anyone do this? Best I found so far is this: http://www.viosport.com/store/customer/our...e=hawk_overview For an integrated unit with mic, recorder. . . small enough to just put on your head and roll

#7 Bonus question no socks either character.

I object on a technicality! Torrpd probably has this one won 'cause there aren't enough points left to overcome his advantage, but #2 should be "What Women Want" instead of "What a Woman Wants." Hellen Hunt/Mel Gibson -'Chung

Woo hoo. . . really need a book. . . and with wife's help. . . mabe. #6 Kissing Jessica Stein Jennifer Westfeldt and Heather Juergensen #7 Lost in Translation Scarlett Johansson Bill Murray #8 Before Sunset Ethan Hawke Julie Delpy Bonus #8 9 years prior. . . 1995? Bonus #4 1923, 1951, 2001 Bonus #1 Erin’s boss, Ed says: Now you're gonna say it's not enough. Too bad. Cause this is where I draw the line.

Hi Ira, I think this gun's a government model. . . Springfield milspec. I think it just looks shorter because it doesn't have a magwell like most folks like to have. Just trying to start out on the cheap and use whatever I already have and learn, but if I make any new purchases, I want to make sure I'm buying appropriately for a class. I will not be at TASC unfortunately this week. I'm leaving for Orange County tomorrow to visit some in-laws and attend a friend's engagement party. But as I develope some more confidence in basics and pick up a couple more mag carriers, I'll be out to play! I had so much fun last Saturday it'll be hard to stop. -'Chung

So the wilsons and CMC's are legal because the metal mag body does not extend below the frame, but the overall length of the entire assembly might be close to these. gottit. . . thanks.

I'm wondering if these two 8 round mags are legal for ss division. . . I'm new and trying to figure out what I need to trade/sell get to make my stuff legal. I know my other 7 rounders are all good, but I'd be 1 bullet down. Not that that makes that big of a difference right now being as I can't shoot

I was wondering if Wilson Combat stainless 8 round mags ever had staggered round holes instead of the long slots they have right now. Thinking about buying a couple used, and they have round holes instead of the slots I'm used to seeing on the 47D's. . . .. . Found answer. . . these are not WC mags he was selling.

Finally got my butt over to Richmond Rod and Gun Club this past Saturday morning for their weekly IPSC practice session. I had a great time! The RO's were very newbie friendly and got me situated. The place had friendly folks, but wasn't overly crowded. I was able to take things real slow, get some very helpful reminders and suggestions of things to work on 1st. I ended up at the "draw" range from 9:00-1:00 working on drawing, safely clearing and re-holstering, and watching the sights go bouncy bounce for the 1st time. . . trying to figure out what this whole recoil thing was about and why we need it. And then tried some mag changes and got it down to a cool 15 seconds. . . Some folks got to try my special ultra-gritty trigger, and I got to shoot a revolver for the 1st time in my life. Seems there's lots of revolver shooters here. What I realized is 95% of the things I need to work on which is just about everything can be worked on dry and at home. So, now, I've just gotta get a plan together and go to the range every once in a while to check progress. I do, however, still need some dummie rounds in .45 and in 9mm. I found that loading empty mags at home was messing me up because I'm not pushing them in hard enough to seat. Thanks Jeff, and the other RO's that helped me out. Sure is appreciated and I'll be back! -'Chung