dave33

4.9 Titegroup under a Bayou or SNS coated 140gr FP makes upper 140's PF range and is extremely accurate in my CZ P09.

I have been using S&B primers for a while now, probably shot close to 5k of them, ordered about 16k more from cabelas as they have been priced very good there. I have had no problems at all shooting in some very lightly sprung guns. My CZ P09 has no problem setting them off and I'm using an 11.5lb hammer spring in it, stock is 20lbs to give you a reference point. Seat them properly and they will go bang every time.

Nice. I am trying out Clays, and it does not meter well in my 550b with Micrometer installed. I have taken e3 down to 2.6gr consistently and clays down to 2.9gr consistently with ease. Could probably go lower but dont have any loads where I would need to.

Does that work on a Dillon? You would need a Lee powder through expanding die, but other than that it would work on any press. I have one and it works perfectly with everything from large flake powder like clays or e3, down to super fine powder like AA#2. Its extremely consistent and doesn't leak.

I do shoot only coated lead - significant savings at 4K/month between my wife and myself. I could live with my current setup if I had to. I hear you on that. I sometimes shoot JHP but primarily shoot coated lead. In that case I would lose the lockout die and figure something out for looking into the cases as you load, especially if you use an easy metering powder. I have seen guys use mirrors and various video camera setups, my press makes it easy to look into the case before placing a bullet.

If you are shooting lead or coated lead I would advise seating and crimping separately. Its almost impossible to seat and crimp at the same time without shaving the coating. If you are using jacketed bullets I have had good luck with the Lee seat/crimp die. I personally like seating and crimping separately as I mainly shoot coated lead.

The very best groups my 5.25 XDM has ever shot has been with 124gr Precision Delta JHP and 125 Hornady HAP's. They both will do sub 2" groups at 25yds from a rest if I really concentrate. The next best is 147gr flat point no lube groove coated lead bullets. 3.1gr titegroup under one of those will do right at 2" at 25yds from a rest, is about 135PF, and pretty soft to shoot. I cant seem to get decent results with any 124/125 gr coated lead bullet no matter which one I try. For steel challenge I have had good luck shooting 100gr SWC from Ibejiheads.

There is a guy on the Smith-Wesson forum that fitted a gunsmith fit barrel himself. Had a chance to shoot it and did see some improvement. I believe he got less than 2" groups at 25 yds off a rest. He mentioned using iron sights, being about 70yrs old and that having an impact on the results. He mentioned someone with better eyesight using more precision sights than the FO he was using would probably get even better results. He was also shooting factory ammo. I would imagine a little ammo development, a precision red dot sight, and a steady hand should result in some pretty dang good groups.

For what it is worth, I really like the micro-charge bar. I had to tune the powder measure a bit to ensure consistent function, but now that it is dialed in I get very consistent drops and I really like being able to adjust the charge without taking anything apart. To make it work consistently I had to coat the elastomer wiper in powdered graphite to prevent the wiper from deforming and jacking up the flow of powder. I also had to adjust the throw a bit. With the measure assembled and on the press I stood on a stool to look down into the measure with a flashlight. I could see that the micro-bar was not pulling back all the way under the hole. This forced the powder to flow under a lip to fill the charge bar and, of course, it won't do this consistently. I pulled the measure apart and filed a little bit of material from the end of the powder drop tube. This will adjust the position of the charge bar at rest, moving it more fully under the hole where the powder flows down out of the hopper. I went slowly and kept fitting it until I could just barely see the front wall of the charge bar appearing when I looked down into the powder measure when it was installed on the press. Before I'd made these adjustments the micro-bar would randomly give inconsistent/light loads. After making these adjustments I've used nothing but the micro-bar for my 9/40/45 loads. Drops are extremely consistent and I'm getting standard deviations in my velocity data that's in the single digits. YMMV. I also modified my adjustable charge bar to make it work with light charges. Took some JB weld and moved the cavity backward to put the opening directly under the hopper. Works like a charm. However, my new lee auto drum works so well I have mothballed the disks and charge bar. Dont ever see using them again. I will be curious how jmorris's Loadmaster experience goes. Maybe after spending a little time with it he will like it so much his used Dillon stuff with show up in the classifieds. :goof:

For a service type off the rack polymer gun, 3" at 25 yds is probably getting pretty close to the mechanical accuracy limits of the gun. You may be able to do a little better if you want to spend hours and hours of trying different bullet weights, powder's, etc etc, but that is plenty fine for IDPA Now if you were shooting bullseye that would be a different story as those guys are looking for half that at fifty yds but then again they are usually shooting purpose built guns with a lot of hand fitting and such.

The gun club I eventually joined has had a monthly AP match for probably 20+ years. I started shooting competitively a few years ago. Like many, I started with IDPA as I had never heard of Bianchi before. After I started shooting in the monthly IDPA match I noticed they had something on the schedule called Action Pistol on the following weekend. Since I enjoyed the IDPA matches so much I thought I would try the AP match as well. It was fun but much more difficult, but since I enjoyed shooting I kept at it. Fast forward a few years and I became a member of the club where I was shooting the matches. Its the nicest gun club in the area and takes a while to get in and in the time I was waiting I shot the AP matches when I could but didn't put any real emphasis on them. Not having any way to practice made it hard to get excited about shooting a match I was going to do poorly in anyway. Now that I can practice all I want, my scores are getting much better, and I have a new found enjoyment of AP. I also can appreciate the difficulty of what the match is all about. But the participation level in the time I have been shooting has been pretty stagnant. Many new shooters that come out have no idea what the course of fire is until they get there. We allow a category called "defensive pistol" where the match is limited to shooting from 10 and 15 yds. They started this a few years back when attendance started to get really low as many folks would shoot the match, do poorly, and not come back. At least at the shorter distances new shooters have half a chance to shoot a respectable score. This has helped keep the match at a somewhat stable participation level, but almost everyone elects to shoot the match from the short lines now. Another problem is the match doesn't attract younger shooters, at least not on a steady level. We let junior shooters shoot for free, and shoot rimfire from low ready if they want to but rarely do we get any juniors. Younger guys show up from time to time, and seem to enjoy the experience, but you can tell they don't have the interest level to really get into it. And I get it, you can go with a group of friends to the local IDPA or USPSA match, run around and hose down some targets and look cool doing it. Or you can stand still and shoot at a plate rack and leave a bunch standing, with those same buds looking on. Its easy to go the other route.

Thanks again for this great suggestion. I got my auto drum today, and it appears to solve the problem. very consistent powder drops, cheap, simple, easy to set up.... what's not to like? It even does away with that flimsy spring that breaks every few years on the auto-disk. One of those hit me in the upper chest a few years ago, so now I'm very scrupulous about wearing safety glasses when reloading.... probably should have always worn them. Glad to hear it's working well for you. I've got a few thousand rounds through mine now and it just plain works. No leaks, very consistent throws even with larger flake powders, quick to change powders and adjust, and cheap. Hard not to like it.

Looks pretty complete minus the casefeeder. If the primer system that goes under the shellplate has an A with a circle around it on the bottom of it, thats the current one. If you will work the handle slowly the press will prime just fine. Mine is dang near 100%. The problem I discovered was the wedge bar that pushes the live primer feeder over the primer pin has a fairly steep angle, and when you work the handle too fast it has a tendency to sling the primer out of the cup. You cant run a loadmaster handle at the same rate you can a dillon or hornady. At least not unless you design a less tapered wedge bar and a primer cup with more support around it. Actually Im sure you probably could if you wanted to. Have fun with it. It can work fine if you take your time with it.

I dont have any help for you on the FA scale but if you are looking at digital scales in that price range my Hornady GS1500 has been absolutely spot on with check weights and my balance beam backup.

Per my above post 1.035-1.04 worked fine, in my gun. Yours may or may not like this length. They feed fine and are pretty darned accurate as well.I run a reduced power recoil spring and 3.4gr of titegroup will function just enough but 3.6 is the lowest I would run in a steel challenge match. I have run much higher charges weights, no real increase in accuracy just more noise.

Citric acid doesn't provide any protection to brass. If left on the brass it can actually do the opposite. It should be rinsed well to fully remove it from the brass or neutralized before drying/storage. I do rinse my brass after the citric bath. Here is a 37 page thread about citric acid brass cleaning, including some chemistry information somewhere in there about how the citric acid passivates the brass. http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?83572-Citric-acid-brass-cleaner

You may want to look at getting one of the new Lee Auto drum measures. Mine loads clays and e3 down to 2.5gr with no bridging at all. I use to get the occational light load when using my old auto disks also, to the point of using the flake powders in 45acp only. With the new auto drum I havent had that issue any more.

Is that a straight drop in? I was under the impression they were doing a gunsmith fit, or a semi-fit barrel. I would think a straight drop in would offer little improvement over stock.

No, like I said above I don't cast, I bought them from a commercial caster and they leaded up my gun badly. I've loaded and shot tons of cast bullets and never had leading before these. Anyway instead of trashing the remainder I thought I would try powder coating since the shake and bake method is almost free. Just need to find someone with a sizer now so I can shoot them.

Thats funny, I think I can see it now. What are you curious about regarding the cast hollow points?

The two main coatings people use currently are hi-tek and powder coating. Both of these methods work well, if you have not found your way to the cast boolits forum (castboolits.gunloads.com) go there and read up. Enough information there to get a PhD in bullet coating. I don't cast bullets yet, may start this winter, but I did try my hand at the shake and bake method with harbor freight red powder coat on some cast bullets I bought a while back but couldn't shoot because they leaded up the barrel of my gun terribly bad. They didn't turn out too bad for a first time attempt. Now I need to find a bullet sizer to borrow so I can shoot them.

Yes, lemishine is largely citric acid. My brass is stored in my reloading room, which is a finished room over my garage that is climate controlled. I'm sure that helps with longevity.

It will work well for that. Plus the citric acid will protect the brass for a pretty long time.

I don't deprime so nothing for the primer pockets but the inside of the cases are fairly clean. Clean enough for me anyway. I will try to post some before and after pics tomorrow.

Try this instead. Get some citric acid from your local Walmart. It's in the canning section and a small bottle will only cost about $3. Heat some water to a boil and add about 2 teaspoons of citric acid per quart of water. Pour this over the brass and you can literally stand there and watch your brass turn shiny again. Stir it up a few times while it soaks. Only takes a few minutes for the citric acid to do its thing. Pour over strainer so you can keep your citric acid bath and reuse, just heat it up again. Don't use metal pots for soaking the brass or stirring it up, that causes another reaction you don't want. Only downside is waiting for the brass to dry. I just leave mine spread out under a ceiling fan over night and they are good to go. Results in clean shiny brass with very little time and effort, I did about 3k pieces a few nights ago in a little over an hour.