leros

Some of us in California are needing to hoard, I'm hoarding as much as I can afford. The dimwit liberal senators here are passing every dumb bill that they are writing and mail order ammo and supplies shipped to Cali will be out of the question since they want us to purchase an annual ammo permit, tax each bullet and shotshell $.05 each, and add another 10% tax on top of the 8.5% we already pay. So for us, unfortunately hoarding is a necessity.

I'm very good stocked on 9's, could use a case of 45's but I'm waiting to see the 55gr 22's come available which I'm short on. Would like to get a few more thousand so I'll keep watching.

I did the same thing with my Wishlist, I would go to my Wishlist and if they are in stock it will say "Add to Cart" instead of "out of stock". Then just hit the "Add to Cart" and proceed to checkout. After following this thread for only about a week I scored a case of 9mm CMJ and a case of 9mm FMJ's, free shipping and fast delivery.

On Wednesday I got a case (3750) of 124gr CMJ paid for it and saw a lot more in stock. I waited a bit and the stock was still there so I added a case (3750) OF 124GR FMJ and paid for it. Tracking shows they will both by at my door on Monday. Nice fast order and you can't beat the free shipping! I'm happy, happy, happy.

Looks like MG has been very very busy making us lots of bullets. A big thanks to them for building stock during these crazy times.

And free shipping! Now that's a deal.

Sweet!!! Thanks for the heads up, just scored a case (3750) of 9mm CMJ!!! Finally! I placed the order on my iPhone and it was taking forever but I already received an email saying my order went through. Thank to whoever it was that posted that they were in stock. It was about this time yesterday as well, do we see a pattern? Thanks again for the heads up.

Site is down

I shoot mainly 45acp and load them with Clays, so since I buy 8 pounds at a time and recently put together a Glock I wanted to load my 9mm rounds with the same. So far I have loaded about 2K 125gr RN and truncated Bear Creek bullets with 3.3 grains of Clays @ 1.145 COL for the RN and 1.125 COL on the truncated. I'm shooting these through a G26 with a KKM barrel and they shoot pretty good with no problems feeding, ejecting, or with accuracy.

Done, but this is really sad that this is even an issue. Like someone said above, another country losing gun rights, really sad. BTW, Google asks if you want to translate.

Jake I wish I could get my .223 cases to feed into the shellplate like that! About every fifth one falls over, yorus looks very smooth.

My 650 was my first "brass" press, I had a MEC shotshell loader first so I'm going to say that the 650 was my first press. I bought mine used with 6 different die sets. I seemed to fall right into loading on it pretty easy and I'm going to credit that with the fact that I watched and read everything I could find on loading with a Dillon press (YouTube has a ton). Do some research and watch a bunch of videos, after you get the press you will learn little tricks to make your loading easier, you will get the "feel" of it like how it feels when your primer sets correctly and how it feels when your de-prime stage is a little stiff but you know when to push through. The Dillon is a great press for me, I do a ton of 45acp and 9mm which both run really good through the press. I seem to run into some problems and have to go nice and slow with .223 loading. About 1 in every 5 cases doesn't get pushed onto the shellplate correctly and gets tipped over. Get a Dillon you will be very happy and customer service is phenomenal, the no BS warranty really is no BS. Like I said I bought mine used and they still replace parts that are questionable in order to make my press run good. I did sell my 12ga and 20ga MEC loaders and bought a Dillon SL900 shotshell loader with 2 and 20ga dies which is based on the XL650 platform, works great also. This guy has some good info and good quality videos to watch on the Dillon 650 (and other loaders), just click on the "Dillon" tab at the top of his page. The Ultimate Reloader

I mainly shoot LP 45acp brass and I pick up all my brass and a little extra from the indoor range I shoot at. I have quite a collection of SP 45 brass now (roughly 2K cases) and I have them tumbled and in tupperware ready to go. I load the SP brass for when I'm going to shoot in a Steel Challenge, Action Pistol, or USPSA/IPSC match. For some reason I just don't feel so "attached" to the SP brass as I do with my LP brass so I use it in matches, that way if I don't pick it all up during the match I don't feel so bad about leaving the brass lay. Some of you might think this is odd but I need to pick up my brass. I try to shoot a lot during the week, generally I take a long lunch at the range at least two times a week but try for three days depending on my work schedule. This is why I got into reloading, I reload so I can shoot a lot without costing me a fortune. I will say though that while running a batch of LP brass and a SP piece sneeks through the case feeder (I use an XL650) and to the primer station, it pisses me off. What a pain in the butt! I load the SP brass just like my LP brass and don't notice any difference in the way it shoots, 4.3 grns of Clays behind a 200gn Bear Creek moly bullet. I have not chrono'd both loads but they feel the same.

I also switched to a moly/lead and it cut my price in half, I was paying about $140 per 1000 Rainier plated and now I'm paying $71 for 1000 Bear Creek moly coated 200gr RN or SWC or $78 for 1000 230gr RN. They shoot clean and very little smoke with 4.3gns Clays behind them. Shooting through a tricked Les Baer. I recently picked up a Glock 26 to carry so I started loading 9mm molys for it. The Glock barrel didn't like them, started leading up after just 300 rounds. Bought a KKM barrel for it and problem solved, no leading at all.

Could you please PM or email me also with the info, I thought I found some, the website is there but you can't do anything with it? Thanks

It was the LUHT Steel Challenge at Raahauges.

I did try a couple different loads at the range, tried to chrono them but I apparently need to buy the indoor light kit for my chrono because I couldn't get it to read correctly indoors. The lighter loads I tried ended up shooting different than what I was used to shooting so I decided to use what I normally loaded and shot. The Steel Challenge was a blast to shoot, the guy running it grouped me with some of his friends that shoot it regularly to show me the ropes. I was a little nervous at first but got comfortable and settled in. After the shoot I felt that I did fair, I made some dumb mistakes, I didn't shoot great but I didn't shoot terrible either and figured I finished somewhere in the middle, I didn't know how many guys shot Limited so I had no clue. The results came out last week and I was pleasantly surprised, 33 guys in Limited and I ended up 9th. What made me feel even better was that I beat the guys that showed me how to shoot Steel Challenge! Now I'm looking forward to the next one in October and I will shoot the same rounds I'm used to and try not to make the dumb mistakes I made this first go around, like not watching the front sight! Thanks again for all the responses.

Thanks for the suggestions, I have a bunch of my regular loads already loaded so I will more than likely shoot those. I'm going to have more than enough to worry about with the stress and nervousness of shooting my first match so changing a load might not be the best thing to do. With that said, I am a tinkerer and loaded some small primer lighter loads to try out at the range. I brought those, my regular loads, and a chronograph with me to work so I will stop by the range on my way home today to test the speed and accuracy and to see if there is much change in the lighter loads as compared to the regular loads. I loaded them in small primer brass because another anal thing I do is worry too much about picking up my brass so with the small primer brass I won't stress about picking them up and can let them lay after I shoot. If there is time after to pick them up then I'll let my brass wand do it's magic!

I'm doing my first Steel Challenge shoot this weekend and was wondering if I should load a softer shooting load than I normally shoot. The guy I spoke with that runs the shoot said that guys that shoot larger calibers tend to load a lighter load for these shoots. I normally shoot a standard load of 4.3gns of Clays behind 200gn Rainier bullets but was thinking of trying a batch at 3.6 grns and another at 4.0grns to see if there is a difference in recoil as compared to the 4.3 loads. I will also take a chrono to test all of them to see what speed difference there is if any (I've been meaning to test my regular loads anyway). For those of you that shoot steel and/or USPSA/IDPA, do you lighten your loads for shoots? Am I over thinking this trying to lessen my recoil? I must say, I am a bit nervous but excited to get this first shoot under my belt.

Problem fixed!! Thanks again for all the replies to my problem. I shot Monday noting each magazines final shot to watch for the slide locking. Every mag did not lock the slide after the last shot, now my problem is not intermittent anymore it's happening every time now! I loaded all the mags again and this time paying attention to where my thumbs were while shooting, sure enough my thumb was riding the release. Once I adjusted my grip, the gun and mags functioned perfectly with the slide locking every time on the last shot fired. This handgun thing is pretty new to me, I have always owned handguns but hardly ever shot them. I have been an upland game hunter for many years, I shoot a lot of the clay games (trap, skeet, 5 stand, and sporting) and I'm pretty good with a shotgun in my hands. I've never really enjoyed shooting a handgun until I got this Baer and I learn more every time I shoot it. I'm shooting my first Steel Challenge in a couple weeks and I'm glad this problem is cleared up. It's nice to be able to turn to a community like this and get answers to problems. Every time I get on the this forum or the 1911 forum I learn something new so thanks again for your help.

Indoors I was using foam plugs and Peltor electronic muffs. At the last gun show I had some molded ear plugs made and now use those under the Peltor muffs. When I shoot trap, skeet, 5 stand, or sporting clays which of course is outdoors, I just use the molded plugs. I have not shot USPSA or IDPA yet but have watched both to see how it's run and I helped tape, I just wore my Peltors and they seemed fine. I am going to do my first Steel Challenge in a couple weeks and will try the Peltors by themselves first but will have the plugs around my neck just in-case.

Yes it does, the problem doesn't happen every time, it's intermittent. Two of the mags are older and all are numbered so next shoot I will note which mags are having a problem. My original thought was a possible weak load but I use a Dillon 650 and the powder drops are pretty consistent that's why I increased it from 4.2 to 4.3 grains to see if there is a change. But it would be smarter to isolate mags first before shooting new loads. I knew the load wasn't light but I was thinking it could have been a light powder drop in a few rounds. I just cleaned the gun the other night and did oil the plunger. Sounds like it is a mag problem. The dummy round idea sounds good, I will make some tonight. I will try and shoot today at lunch and take notes on which mags I'm using when it doesn't lock back. Thanks everyone for the help. It sounds like a mag problem is my culprit and I'm hoping it is my two older mags. I posted this question on the 1911-dot-com site also and am getting similar answers. A couple responses did add that my thumb might be hitting the mag release and causing the problem, I did add a Dawson extended button but I don't think I'm hitting it.

First, what is the main cause for a slide to not stay open after the last round is fired from a magazine? Would a weak recoil spring or weak load cause the problem? Now here's my problem, I shoot at least two times a week at my local indoor range. I have eight, 8 round mags and each trip the range I generally shoot them two times each so that is 128 rounds, 6 of the 8 are just a few months old. My problem is that intermittently after the last round is fired the slide doesn't always lock back. It doesn't happen every time, my mags (Chip McCormick Power Mags) are numbered but I haven't noted if it is happening to a specific one or two. I am shooting Rainier 200gn SWC bullets with 4.2 gns of Clays which are very accurate. I'm shooting a custom built Baer that is about 6 years old and has seen very little use (I stole/bought it from my neighbor). Before I bought the gun it sat for more than a few years with no use. I just adjusted my powder drop to 4.3gns but have not loaded any rounds yet to see if this will make a difference. Should I call Baer and order a new recoil spring? Does the recoil spring have any effect on the slide staying open on the last round? Any insight would be greatly appreciated as this is getting frustrating. I'm getting ready to start doing some USPSA and IDPA shoots and don't want to deal with this. Thanks

Welcome from a fellow SoCal member. There is a lot of great info on here with a lot of knowledge from the members here. It is a very addicting sport/hobby and you have to reload to make it affordable to be able to shoot often. I'm the same as you, I jump into stuff head first and go all out. I have shot for a long time but mainly shotgun sports and hunting, I have always owned handguns but not really shot them much. I have reloaded my shotgun shells for a long time but knew nothing about loading brass. Now that I shoot handguns (mainly 45acp) three times a week I reload a ton! I shoot handguns during the week and try to divide my weekends between shooting trap, skeet, or five stand but start the weekend mornings shooting archery. I want to start shooting some local USPSA and IDPA matches, that will take up some weekend time as soon as I get finished "gearing up". Have fun and welcome to the forum. (get Brian's book, it is great reading and helped my shooting a lot) -SteveO

All I shoot are the Rainer's and I have no issues with loading them or how they shoot. Although I have not chrono'ed them, they are pretty accurate. I went through my first 2500 rounds of the 200gn RN with no issues, I ordered 100 of the 200gr SWC to see if they would cycle in my gun and they worked fine. I ordered 2500 rounds of the 200gr SWC and so far have shot about 500 of them between my son and I with no issues. I shoot a couple times a week at an indoor range on my lunch hour, I shoot a Les Baer and my son is shooting a Sig P220.