Rhino1

Sorry to get off on a tangent on this thread. How does the 15 round mag capacity limit in Colorado affect the shooting sports?

Thanks, Razorfish. I only load 9mm for IDPA, 3G matches and practice. I prefer Titegroup but started using CFE Pistol when I couldn't get TG. I guess that is why I'm not having any problems with the powder throw. Roger on the cold weather disdain. We don't have to shovel humidity.

In attached garage. I built my reloading bench. It is heavy (very stable) and still a work in progress as need to add some drawers. (I'm a woodworker too). No where to put inside at this house. Fortunately, it isn't very hot or humid south of Houston...kidding, of course. I am comfortable with just a fan most of the time. Hope to retire in a couple of years and move off Gulf Coast but stay in Texas. My plan at that time will be to have a dedicated room for reloading. Pity the poor guys who have to move that bench though. A related question. Clearly I am in a humid environment. What problems might this cause? The only thing I can envision is powder problems, but I check my powder charges before I start a new batch. My 650 throws consistent charges and I never have to adjust. All my bulk powder is in a gun safe in the house so only powder potentially affected by the humidity is what is in the powder measure.

I just posted this on another thread, then saw this one that is more applicable. I've been shooting Titegroup but, as we all know, it is hard to find. I was able to buy 2# of CFE Pistol powder recently. Made the first trip to the range today to chrono. Loaded 13 rounds with 147gr Bayou bullets at 3.7 gr of CFE. Velocity ranged from 856 to 890, averaged 869 with std dev of 10 and 128 power factor. This was with an M&P Pro (5" barrel) in Houston, so essentially sea level. Temp was a balmy 95-100F.

I've been shooting Titegroup but, as we all know, it is hard to find. I was able to buy 2# of CFE Pistol powder recently. Made the first trip to the range today to chrono. Loaded 13 rounds with 147gr Bayou bullets at 3.7 gr of CFE. Velocity ranged from 856 to 890, averaged 869 with std dev of 10 and 128 power factor. This was with an M&P Pro (5" barrel) in Houston, so essentially sea level. Temp was a balmy 95-100F.

I recently sold my 550 to a coworker and went to 650 with case feeder. All I load is 9mm for IDPA practice/matches. I incorporated techniques that my friends use. I don't ever load a lot of rounds at a sitting but break it into batches of 200. First I make sure I have several primer pickup tubes loaded and ready to go. Second, after I've tumbled my brass, I load 200 cases into ziplock sandwich bags (a full red Solo cup will hold 200 9mm cases). When I'm ready to load, I'll dump a bag into the case feeder. I can do 200 in about 15-18 minutes. If I want to load more, I just dump in another bag. Obviously, this is pure reloading and does not take into account pre work (case tumbling, filling primer pickup tubes) or post work (case checking). I do case gauge every round but use a Shockbottle case gauge. If you aren't familiar, this is an aluminum tray that will hold 100 rounds. Just fill it up and bulged cases and primer problems are quick and easy to check. The Shockbottle aligns with most storage boxes so merely align them up and dump them into the box. Want the bullets facing down? Align another box and flip it over. Only downside is the Shockbottle is $100. Great time saver.

I just bought Shockbottle. Gauges 100 at a time.

I was shooting in my first Texas state championship IDPA two years ago. There was a stage where we shot targets around the right side of a wall, then moved to the left side with similar number of targets around the left side. I did a RWR as I started moving from right side to left. I didn't realize that as I pulled the front mag from my mag holder, the rear one fell out on the ground. (I had someone filming behind me and you can hear a collective groan from this other shooters.). I went to slide lock with one target to go. I reached for the second mag and spent, count 'em, 13 seconds getting back my lost situational awareness, find the dropped mag, and finishing the stage. Oh, and add 3 second PE. I had never had this happen before or since, but was using a cheap mag holder without any retention adjustment. There was a young Army Ranger in our squad that offered me one of his extra mag holders. Finished the match and ordered one with retention adjustment that night.