JDucros

One thing I learned when I started shooting is that occasionally a popper won't go down even if you nailed it. I was shooting 9mm but the rounds weren't under powered. You should be able to ask for a "calibration" if you hit the target and the popper didn't go down. I didn't learn this until after the second time it happened to me. This was IDPA just outside Austin, Texas in 2011 so check with your range officer before shooting as this may not still be the case. Also, you came to the right website. I've gotten nothing but great advice from these guys since I started. Cheers, -JD

I've been reloading handgun rounds for a while now so I'm not entirely unfamiliar with the process involved with reloading. However, I've been shooting a lot of 12ga (#6, BB, 00Buck) and would like to spend less on new 12ga ammo. I've been saving my hulls and have a Lee Load All 2 and the Lyman 49th shotshell manual and about 50 Winchester WAA12 Wads. Questions: 1. Should I stick with Winchester or Remington primers or are Cheddite primers just as good? 2. I've heard once you start using Cheddite primers you have to stick with them because they supposedly widen the primer pocket just slightly. Thoughts on this? 3. Any powders or wads I should stay away from? I've dot plenty of load data so I'm not going to pester anyone for data (yet) but anything y'all can help me watch out for would be appreciated. I apologize in advance if these questions have been asked before. -JD

I don't think it will fit. The only adjustable sights they offer for the XD/XDm are dovetailed. The slide itself is milled out for the SA Adjustable sight and secured with a roll pin.

MidwayUSA is doing the same things for mags in stock. One one hand I'm glad they're doing it to look out for customers. On the other hand it would be nice to be able to order more than two at a time when they were taking orders for high capacity mags.

Congratulations on your progress and positive outlook throughout. It's encouraging to see someone can face so much at one time and still remain positive. Cheers you you! -JD

Is this what you're referring to ? http://www.dawsonprecision.com/ProductDetail.jsp?LISTID=21B0000-1094593468

Very nice! Mind if I check in with you after you do the trigger job? I'm interested to see what you go with and how it compares.

Chris, Bravo to you man! My shop gave this to me at their cost of $729. You sir, got an awesome deal! Congratulations!

Does anyone have an opinion on aftermarket (or factory if Springfield makes them) adjustable night sights for the rear sight? Pros/Cons? I just picked up an XDm 5.25 45acp the other day and absolutely love it! The rear sight is great for daylight but was looking at using this gun in a low light and vehicle training class. Any and all thoughts are welcomed and appreciated. Cheers, -JD

I just picked one up this week and absolutely love it! It's been on my list for a LONG time. I was surprised at how smooth the trigger is out of the box. It took some playing around with the backstraps before I found that I shoot best with number three. That backstrap roll pin is a pain to get out! I was also really pleased with the accessories that came with the gun. Now if I can only find some more magazines!

I was really hoping to see the video. Anyone know if it's posted anywhere else or YouTube?

Remington makes a great product and I've never had any reason to dislike their rifles or ammunition however I find myself again questioning Remington's quality/reliability. I'd like to think that this is just a fluke and that I've maybe just had bad luck with them lately. I took my Marlin's(30-30 and 35Rem) to the range the other day to try out some new ammo I got. I'm trying to improve my 100 yard accuracy without optics(primarily just to see how good I can get without a scope) and thought perhaps I would see how much of a difference ammo makes at that distance. I wanted to compare the new ammo I got the the two other rounds I had been using(Remington Core-Lock 150gr and Federal 150gr.) I also had some of the cheap Academy brand ammo for kicks. Everything went boom except for some of the Remington rounds where I had 5 duds in 30-30 and 6 duds in 35rem. The gun fired and clearly left a sizable dent in the primer. The bullets just didn't want to wake up. I remember my father saying something to me years ago about remington's 30-30ammo being unreliable but you would think it wouldn't be this bad. I really like Remington and would like to think that it's just a fluke but that now makes 3 calibers(30-30, 35rem, and .38special) where I've had trouble with them. Has anyone had any trouble with Remington ammo lately? Thoughts, comments, suggestions are welcome. Cheers, -James

Thanks! That answers my question about how it makes it easier. I'll be starting another batch next week and I'll be sure to use case lube this time and report my experience with it. -JD

You make it sound much easier than the can of OneShot did. I might have to give your method a try. Can I ask what it is about the lube that makes it easier? Is there anything about using lube that can contribute to bullet accuracy or is it simply something that just makes it easier? DO you have to tumble the completed rounds to clean the lube off? Thanks for your input. -JD

Right now I'm still reloading only 9mm and it'll be that way for a while. After asking some friends they all said I don't need ti use any case lube or any kind of lube in my Dillon carbide dies. I want to be sure this is correct. So far I've loaded about 1000 rounds and I'm still getting a feel for reloading. I have a can of Hornady OneShot case lube on hand. It seems like it would add a lot of extra work to an already tedious process. I think once I get a routine down it will become more relaxing. As for the press, I'm using a Dillon 550B with the Dillon 9mm conversion kit and Dillon carbide dies. Any thoughts? Comments? Suggestions? Cheers, -JD

I'll have tio look into the shoulder comparator tool. I'm not familiar with that one. As for the setscrews on your toolheads, is there anyway you can post a picture of one of them on here? I'd be interested in doing this myself. Do you have a suggestion for a storage system that keeps brass sorted and separated? I've been case gauging all of my 9mm rounds since i'm still new at this. I've only loaded 500 rounds so far and I've checked all of them in the Dillon case gauge. I'll probably keep doing this for another 1500 rounds or so. It may also be overkill but I'd rather be safe than sorry. Cheers, -James

Metalguy, I have been quite impressed with the level of professionalism displayed by the members of this forum. In fact the friendly and welcoming atmosphere is the reason I joined this forum. I occasionally do google searches that come up with an ar pro forum link or a THR forum post and I'm always amazed at how disrespectful and down right mean some folks are to each other on other forums. The Benos forums seem more like a clubhouse of good friends rather than an dive bar. G-man Bart mailed me 200 rounds of MG 147 CMJ rounds at his cost purely on faith that I would pay him because he wanted me to have an opportunity to give those rounds a try before I ordered a case of them. I will of course pay him and I'm putting the check in the mail tomorrow. Kind acts like Bart's are becoming more and more rare these days. As long as the Benos forums stay like this, I'll become a permanent fixture. Thanks for the reply. Cheers, -James

Doug, thanks for your information. I went incredibly slow with 9mm when starting and will go even slower than that with AR ammo. As for reading, I'll be doing A LOT of that. Ammo Question? Have you(or anyone else here for that matter) ever used the reloaded Lake City ammunition sold by online ammo retailers? The reason I ask is because it seems reasonably priced in bulk(approx$0.31 per round when you factor in the cost of 500 rounds and shipping) and they have both FMJ and BTFMJ with a 55gr Hormady bullet. Would it be worth it to buy some of that for plinking and as an initial source of brass as well? They claim that it's once fired brass from military bases. Cheers, -JD

Lots of good info here too. The rifle is chambered in 5.56 and i'll be loading whatever brass I shoot and any brass I pick up. If .223 and 5.56 require different powder measurements and die settings then I might scratch the idea of loading both and stick with one or the other, whichever is cheaper. Thanks again, -JD

Lots of good info. Thanks man I appreciate it.

Dude, thanks for all the info. I'll look at those YouTube videos this week. I may be asking you some questions later on. Cheers, -JD

I'm completely new to the AR world having found myself putting half down on a brand new LMT CQB Defender M4 Piston with monolithic rail upper earlier this afternoon. I'll post some details about the rifle below in case there are any particular things I need to know about loading .223/5.56 for this particular rifle unless .223/5.56 is .223/5.56 whichever way you slice it...which I doubt. My Main question is What is the most popular bullet and powder combination used for both practice and competition? I just started reloading with the Dillon 550B in October and so far it's been a LOT of fun. I'm going to work on getting together a whole new toolhead, powder measure and dies so I can just swap the toolheads out for leading Pistol and AR. Honestly any info you guys can give me would be great. I was going to start off with buying remanufactured ammo until I started reading the reviews and the problems folks were having with hot loads damaging their guns. I figure after that I'd rather buy stock ammo first and collect the brass. As for the rifle: Lewis Machine and Tool co(LMT) CQB MRP™ Defender Piston 16 w/CQB monolithic rail platform upper receiver. 16" chrome double lined lined 1:7" twist barrel piston operated semi auto bolt carrier group standard trigger group A2 birdcage compensator 1/2 X 28 thread pitch Low profile gas block Powder and primers I like to get local. Brass I pick up at the range and will use a catcher on this AR. The main thing I need to know is Bullets: Most Ideal round(55gr? 62gr? etc) for training and competition and where to get them. Powder: What's the best for this application and how many grains? Are the dillon dies my better option to go with on these? What kind of brass should I look out for? Where is the best place to buy my bullets and possibly brass from? Is the prefered powder for 5.56 available at Cabellas?(I prefer not to pay hazmat fees) What kinds of things should I be aware of when loading .223/5.56 as opposed to loading 9mm? Is there a difference between loading a 5.56 round vs a .223 round? The rifle is chambered for 5.56. Thanks again for any info you guys might have. Cheers, -JD

You'd be surprised how much a small squirt of WD-40 can protect threads against the humidity. It's working for me. People who aren't from here and haven't experienced what the humidity here can do to things like ammo and tools don't really understand. As for using the freezer as a dry box, excellent idea. For humidity control inside your freezer/dry box, check out the GoldenRod Dehumidifier. Sells for about $30. It's normally used in gun safes to eliminate humidity. Most of the high end safes at Cabela's come with an electrical outlet inside them for the goldenrod. Cheers, -JD And us here in Florida have no idea about humidity? Hmm...Touché! Didn't mean to sound so closed minded bud. It's just frustrating to see cases corrode and get effected by humidity and have people tell me that humidity shouldn't be a problem. Thanks for the reality check, I needed that! I hope you are having a good start to your holiday season. Cheers GrumpyOne, -JD

I guess with everything else in life there needs to be a filter installed when it comes to researching reloading components. I really appreciate your info because while I realize they aren't designed for defense and are in fact designed for precision only I guess it didn't really "click" in that thing claiming to be my brain until just now that I was looking at it from an entirely inaccurate angle. Thanks again G-man Bart. Also, thanks to all of you who have put in your two cents. I hope everyone is having a great start to their holiday season. Cheers, -JD