jamesp81
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Posts posted by jamesp81
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On 1/18/2017 at 8:13 AM, Livin_cincy said:
There are YouTube videos to get cast bullets to function. You end up using a file and polishing it down to work. It will not run FMJ or Plated after you do this. So a second set of internal parts would be needed to do FMJ.
Something occurs to me having watched the video. The issue is that lead bullets are usually a bit too large to drop through freely. In my case, with 45 ACP, I size all my 45s to .451, like jacketed bullets. I am aware that this is unusual, but the fact is that neither of my 1911s will chamber cartridges loaded with .452 projectiles. They will if you run them through a Lee FCD...but all that does is swage the bullet down to .451 anyway.
The Hornady set up might work unmodified with my 45s. Not so with 357 and 9mm. Still, worth looking into in conjunction with the Bully Adapter for the Lee tube feeder.
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My LnL AP would probably fail, spectacularly, before getting through one entire shell plate with that thing hooked up to it.
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I am finding that straight wall pistol cases struggle to be aligned correctly with the sizing die on my LnL AP.
The cases will tip directly away from the center of the shell plate. Most times (90% or more) the case will find it's way into the sizing die even though it's out of line a little. It usually isn't a problem with 45 ACP and 9mm because of how short those cases are, relatively. However, even these cases are titling, it's just not enough to cause a problem.
It's much more common with 357 magnum, being a longer case. If the case tips too much, the mouth catches on the sizing die and won't proceed without being manually adjusted.
Before anyone says it, I am 99% sure this is *not* an indexing problem. The shellplate is slotting into its detentes positively and staying there. Further, if it were an indexing issue, the cases would be impacting the mouth of the die either because the case was arriving too soon (impacting the side of the die closest to the left side of the press) or would be arriving too late, and impacting the side of the die closest to the right side of the press. That's not what's happening. The left/right alignment is correct on the case. The cases are visibly tilting away of the center of the shellplate.
Hornady suggested stretching the case retainer spring a bit, on the idea that it's too tight. I will try that (haven't gotten to it yet) but wanted to know if others have had this issue?
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On 1/7/2017 at 2:38 PM, Jmoreno88 said:
Tell them you want a new sub plate. Solved all my problems. The ejection nub is probably messed up
Sent from my SM-G928V using Tapatalk
Hornady is sending a new subplate. Maybe this will fix the issue.
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7 hours ago, Livin_cincy said:
I have a Hornady bullet feed die and Inline fabrication makes a case kicker set up.
I remove primers and resize before I clean so that die is not in the turret.
The AutoDrum powder measure makes caliber changes only $4 vs the cost of a Dillon powder measure for each caliber & load.
You might look into it.
Hornady bullet feeder is iffy with cast bullets which is 99% of my loading, unfortunately.
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Hornady doesn't work well with cast, which is about 99% of my handloading.
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Things I'd like to see
1) You mentioned this, but feeding primers from a tray instead of pickup tubes or buying an expensive machine to fill the tubes. Let me take this further. A larger primer magazine. I'd like to be able to fill the primer magazine with 500 or more primers at a time for fewer interruptions.
2) A case feeder that works without constant fiddling.
3) A bullet feeder that works without constant fiddling.
4) A press that works without constant fiddling. Are you sensing a pattern yet?
5) A machine that doesn't cost 10 billion freaking dollars.
6) Minimize number of parts changes needed for caliber conversions as much as is practical.
Honestly...if the Lee Classic Turret press had a bullet feeder, a way to auto eject completed cartridges, and an automatic primer feeder, I'd have never given my last one up. There are days I wish I had it back instead of this LnL AP monstrosity I have to babysit every time I want to load some ammo.
Seriously. As much as I have to babysit my LnL AP, I should've bought a Lee Loadmaster. I bought LnL AP on the idea I wouldn't have to tinker with it, but since I do anyway, I should've bought the cheaper press and pocketed the extra money.
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My LnL is notorious for this. Especially with 223. It's one of the LnL's two major flaws, the other being the persnickety case feeder.
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I've seen RCBS tube based feeders used on it, was wondering if DAA's mini Mr Bullet Feeder would also work.
If it does, I could combine it with inline fabrication's auto ejector and only have to worry about placing cases and actuating the primer feed. And maybe I could automate the primer feed too somehow...
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I bought the case feeder. It is notoriously finicky. It also struggles badly with long straight walk cases like 357 magnum.
If it didn't take so long to retune it when changing calibers I'd feel more positive about it. There is a guy on eBay that makes caliber specific drop pivots that supposedly fix a lot of the issues. I haven't tried these yet but I suspect they're a great help
I cant say 100% certain that I regret buying it. It is nice once you get it up and running. I can say the same about the press in general however. Some days I miss my Lee Classic Turret for its ability to run without drama.
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I may do that. But first I'll call Hornady tech support. Apparently it's not unheard of for a warped shell plate to get out of the factory and cause this specific issue.
If if I can get this press running smoothly it'll be incredible. As of now I miss my Lee 4 hole turret. That press ran without drama all day long. I figure an autoejector and rcbs tube bullet feeder and you could crank some ammo pretty fast....
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Often times, 223 cases will fall onto the shell plate when ejecting instead of falling into the cartridge bin. I've recorded a video to demonstrate what's happening. Apologies for the quality, it's a cell phone video and I didn't have a stand for the phone. Seen here: Video
What I have tried so far:
1) Thoroughly cleaned everything on the subplate and the shell plate. Relubricated bottom of shell plate lightly.
2) Replaced case retainer spring (the one I had was worn out anyway).
3) Paid special attention to the ejector itself when cleaning.
4) Ensured shell plate was tightened down (I've never found Hornady's instruction to finger tighten only to be wise).
I was having somewhat worse issues before replacing the case retention spring. The spring had a kink in it, and ejection from the slot where the spring's kink was was consistently worse. Replacing the spring hasn't fully solved the issue, but has reduced the rate of failure a little.
I would say ejection failure runs between 10 and 20 percent. Usually once per full shellplate, sometimes twice. I don't think there is necessarily one bad slot on the shell plate. I have noted that the slots one and two positions counter clockwise from the shell plate number imprinted on the plate seem to be slightly worse. However, these don't fail *every* time, and ejection failures can happen on any slot in the shell plate. It's just that those two seem every so slightly more likely to choke.
The press also generates a number of "near failures" where you can tell by the way the cartridge falls it almost fell the wrong way.
I do not have this problem with 9mm or 45 ACP. I do have ejection issues with 357 magnum, but they are of a different nature: sometimes the shell plate gets stuck trying to eject a finished 357 cartridge. It looks like the rim sometimes rides over the ejector instead of being pushed out, but I'll try to fix that later, I only care about getting ejection on my 223 cartridges working right now.I checked my ejector for rounding off. Sometimes on Hornady presses the ejector can round off and cause issues, but mine does not look rounded off. Hard to get a photo that's in focus at that angle, this is just me getting down to eye level with the sub plate and eyeballing it.
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45 minutes ago, RiggerJJ said:
Are you not trimming after sizing?
To sorta answer your question, one shot isn't the best lube for rifle ammo, you could easily experience a stuck case in the sizing die, if its a full length die. Better is a lanolin based lube, and yes, its best to remove it before loading. Any lube will pick up dirt and stuff that you don't want in the chamber.
jj
I'm using RCBS X-dies, which largely eliminate the need for it, however when needed, yes I trim after sizing. Even though I'm using the X-die, I still ordinarily size on my single stage press and load on progressive.
I made a load development package of 100 rounds, with the first 10 rounds at 24gr of 748, going up 0.2gr every 10 rounds to a max of 25.8gr. Didn't think about it until I had them loaded...for obvious reasons, I can't simply dump the whole lot of them in the tumbler. I have no way to differentiate which cases hold which charge. As it stands, they are arranged in 10 rows of 10, 24gr at the front, 25.8gr at the back.
I've been using one shot for 20 years. In that time I've stuck exactly one case in my single stage press, and when I did, it was because I didn't follow the directions closely.
I will grant that it's not necessarily the best for some of the larger cases. 223 cases have never been an issue. I can do 243 Winchester with it reasonably well, though it can be tough getting the expander ball through the case neck on the downstroke. You can easily get into some serious elbow grease with 7mm Remington Magnum...ask me how I know
In any case, the question is about how much of a problem I'll have with bolt thrust if I don't clean the one shot off before shooting. If it's going to be an issue, I'll have to figure some way out. Anyone know if a cloth soaked with rubbing alcohol and a wipe down of each cartridge will do it?
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I am loading a lot of 223 on a progressive press. I've been using Hornady One Shot. If I don't remove the one shot from my loaded cases and fire them, should I expect increased bolt thrust in my rifle to mess up my bolt / headspace over time?
FYI, I'm shooting an AR-15.
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The loop where you hang the powder pan should swing freely on the studs...it is the same on scales in this "family" manufactured by Ohaus (RCBS 502, 505, Dillon Eliminator)...make sure it is not "squeezed" tight on the beam so it is unable to swing free...to have the same issue on two different scales is unusual at best...the 505 is the scale that most are measured by for accuracy...you might to check this and spread the loop if necessary to put it back in service...
As far as what to replace it with...the digital scale from Brian has a good satisfaction record or the Dillon Determinator.
Loop definitely swings freely and easily.
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The problem with the scale was that it would give a different reading if the end loop hanging off the balance beam was positioned in a different place in its notches every time a measurement was taken. I have pictures of this if anyone is interested.
Pictures would help.
End loop positioned to the left:
End loop positioned to the right:
If I have the loop positioned to the left, as in the first picture, and then I move the loop over to the right, as shown in the second picture, the scale weighs about 0.3gr lighter. This is reliably repeatable. These pictures are from my original 505 that I sent in, but my new one is exhibiting precisely the same behavior.
I noticed the problem when I started spot weighing my charges and they weren't coming in consistently. I bet I spent 2 weeks trying to figure out what was wrong with my powder measure before I thought to check if the scale was the problem. Even after deciding to look at the scale, it took a little while to figure this one out.
The loop can otherwise move freely in its slots. Furthermore, if I zero the scale and then ensure that the loop doesn't shift anywhere in its slots, it does weigh accurately. Confirmed by weighing a 158gr 357 plated bullet twice. I started with the loop in the left position, zeroed, and the bullet weighed in at 157.8gr. Removed the bullet, moved the loop to the right hand position, rezeroed, then weighed the bullet again. Came in at 157.8gr. So it is weighing consistently once zeroed as long as nothing shifts around even a little bit. So I think I can still use it, but it is a layer of aggravation.
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Back in January I noticed a problem with my 505 scale. I sent it back to RCBS, they acknowledged the problem was precisely as I had described, and mailed a brand new replacement scale. Kudos to them for taking care of a customer
The problem with the scale was that it would give a different reading if the end loop hanging off the balance beam was positioned in a different place in its notches every time a measurement was taken. I have pictures of this if anyone is interested.
I got back to reloading about a week ago after a hiatus. Unfortunately, the brand new replacement 505 scale RCBS sent is exhibiting precisely the same problem. Again, kudos to RCBS for trying to take care of the problem, but I no longer have confidence in any RCBS 505 scale.
I attempted to correct the problem by cleaing with rubbing alcohol and cotton swabs, trying it on a known completely level surface away from fluorescent lights and air currents. Nevertheless, the problem persisted.
I want to get a replacement scale. I am looking really hard at electronic scales. I won't completely rule out another balance beam, but I don't trust the concept at this point, so it would have to be something well established to be extremely repeatable and not sensitive to loosely held parts shifting around a bit as they will tend to do.
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These are the bullets I'm referring to.
I'm going to load a large batch of 357 magnum ammo for this summer, and I'm wanting to load them hot. I've been using light loads with cast bullets for my revolver, but I need full power loads to take advantage of the 18.5 inch barrel of the 357 chambered carbine I finally managed to find. Cast bullets don't work well in that application unless they're gas checked and hand casted, two activities I simply don't have time for if I ever want to actually shoot what I'm loading.
I know that Berrys and Rainier don't hold up well to magnum pressures, but I've been told X-tremes have thicker plating. I'm wanting to know how fast these can be loaded in 357. I'm also wanting to know if I should use cast bullet data for these like you would with Berrys or Rainier.
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I have a scope (trijicon) I'm using on my 20in AR-15, however, the shadow of the front sight post is quite visible and annoying.
I was considering a low profile, clamp on gas block to replace the A2 front sight base. But before I do that, I want to know if these are considered reliable and secure enough for serious use. I would like to take some multi-day carbine classes, and possibly even do some 3-gun, so it's going to get handled roughly and shot a lot. It may also be the tool I grab should I need it for self defense, unlikely as that is.
So before I spend money, I want to solicit opinions on this community's feelings about clamp on gas blocks and their reliability.
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Any 1911 can be a hit or miss on reliability, but it doesn't take much to get them 100% reliable.
Sometime, when you have time to read something long, send me an IM and I'll tell you all about how long it took me to get my RIA 1911 shooting reliably
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I am curious what handgun course teachers have observed is the most reliable 1911 pistol out there? I want something for heck and back reliability. Double stack polymer framed guns do not fit my small hands, no matter how much I wish that they would. For a defensive pistol, it's going to be either a 1911 or a six gun, and I'd prefer a 1911 if I can find one that's bomb-proof reliable.
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Thanks for the info.
I probably won't part with the XD as long as it continues to run well (which it has run exceptionally well thus far). I really do prefer the ergos and the trigger to the other striker fired guns, and I understand that the springer precision trigger kit yields an excellent trigger.
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How to make a primer tube filler for $10 or so
Here’s the list of parts needed
1-Primer tube, large or small, whichever you need, or both
2-The Prime tray from Lee. Small primer part is PT1005A, large is PT1005B. They’re $3 each from Lee. You’ll also need the corresponding cover, part PT1004. It’s $2.50 and fits either size.
3-Small bottle of polyurethane glue
4-Drill bits that will barely slip into the appropriate prime tube, large or small.
5-A small square of clear, fairly stiff plastic.
Slip the drill bit into the hole in the prime tray that fits the tube you’re working on. Let it stick up an inch or so above the top. Slip the primer tube up onto the drill bit from the bottom, using the end away from the pin that holds the primers in. Slide it all the way up against the bottom of the tray. Put a small amount of poly glue on the tube near the bottom of the black plastic, stay away from the top where the tube and tray come together as poly glue expands a lot. Roll the tube to distribute the glue. Set this aside for a day to dry.
Using pliers, pull the drill bit free. Now put the cover on the tray and lay your square of plastic on top above the hole/tube area. Using a fine line sharpie, draw a cut line on the plastic . What you’re looking to do is cover the “chute”, or areas NOT covered by the tray cover, because the primers will jump out or turn over if this isn’t covered. It will look something like this:
when you get it cut out. Crease it along the sides of the “chute”, somewhere near where I drew the dotted lines. Use clear tape to tape it to the sides. Make sure to cover the whole area, making sure to go into the small area where the drop hole is in the tray, hence the little tab. The filler in these pics doesn’t work as well as my other one because I didn’t completely cover the “chute”, as you can see. Do what I say, not what I did, lol. What I do is pour my primers into a plastic dish, then pour them into the primer tray(the federal box is too big to put them directly into the Lee tray). Shake the tray to turn the primers over, then put on the cover. If your vibratory case cleaner is handy and running, touch the tip of the primer tube to it and roll the tray back and forth slowly to feed the primers to the “chute”. I’ve found that if I hold the tube at about a 45 degree angle the primers feed much better, and never hang up or turn over.(see the pic) Since I’m loading inside I now use a small battery powered massager, holding it to the bottom of the primer tray. Fills a tube in 10-15 seconds. Not counting the day for the glue to dry, takes about 20 minutes to make.
Where did you get your "small square of fairly stiff plastic". I don't have things like that just laying around
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What are your thoughts on the magazines? I will admit, they do seem a bit thin skinned to me. One complaint I'm hearing is that the mags can cause failures if they're a bit dirty.
That might make a good test, though. Maybe I'll get a mag or two and toss them in mud and/or sand for an hour and then run to the range and see how they do
I admit, I still remain concerned that a number of firearms trainers all seem to comment on the XDs propensity to FTX. Maybe it's not an issue with the newer production guns, who knows.
What I don't understand is how some of these trainers are seeing these failures, but when I saw the XD go through the "Glock" style torture test, it passed with flying colors. They froze the thing in a solid block of ice fer God's sakes.
LnL AP: Problems with 357 aligning with sizing die
in non-Dillon Reloading Equipment
Posted
Good to know. I have Hornady and Lee 357 dies. haven't used the Lee much. Maybe I'll give it a more thorough workout.
I did find a suggestion to stretch the case retainer spring a bit. I did and it seems to have helped at least some.