RiggerJJ

In addition to above, make sure the RF is plumb side to side, and fore and back leaning forward just a touch.

Ah, ok. I run rifle brass thru a processing head with full length sizer/decaper, then swage, and finally Dillon power trim on a single head. The sizer/decaper is set to size about 3/4 of the sizing job, and the trim die does the rest. Lube is applied generously for this...

I am curious as to why you lube rifle case for trimming... I lube both rifle and pistol cases for sizing, but never heard of using lube for trimming... jj

This is the best advise to minimize primer dets. Don't use fed primers either. Other than that, don't reload at all. It's one of those things that can happen no matter how many precautions you take.

If all the stations are being used around the primer station, you don't need that primer hold down...primers should go in pretty easily. I've never seen the need for it. Using mixed brass you may see the problem when some swaged pockets come into play.

The amount of dry tumbling dust left behind before loading will not cause any power or load consistency problem. It's just 9mm for gosh sakes...and it certainly would not have caused your contamination problem. Your specific problem was more than likely the witch's brew you are cleaning the brass with not being totally dry when you loaded them contaminating the powder. The old adage "keep your powder dry" still applies. I see no reason to add anything wet to the reloading equation, hence my reasoning for dry tumbling.

Changing calibers on a 1050 is NOT a pain. Only takes 30 minutes, INCLUDING changing primer size. I never could understand having dedicated presses just to avoid changing calibers... (About the same for changing calibers on a 650) A 1050 will swage mil 223 AND 9mm primer pockets. That's the basic difference from a 650 besides the price of tooling up. A 1050 head (which you will need 3 of) cost about $200, vs $25 for the 650. Caliber conversions (which you will need 2 of) cost about $130 for the 1050, and about $80 for the 650. Dillon has a special deal going on right now for their 650, including case feeder and all the conversions and dies for 9mm AND 223 for $1700. Not sure what the total would be for a similar 1050 set up. So the big difference is cost, and having to do swaging off-press with the 650. This is assuming that you also get a on-press trimmer for either... So...loading what your numbers indicate, leans you toward the 650...unless you anticipate shooting lots more, which you will because loading will not take up most of your time...if you have the scratch, get the 1050 and grow into it ... Just to add my personal stuff... I have a 1050 and a 650. The 650 is now just used to load precision ammo on. The 1050 loads 45, 40, 9mm, 223, and 308. Having the swager on press is wonderful...

I would load and shoot them, then scrap them because they will stretch quite a bit, because the next firing could result in case head separation. The correct process of adjusting the SIZING die would be to screw it in or out until the headspace is correct with the case gauge. Adjusting a decap die is pretty easy, is it pushing the primers out? GTG! When setting up ANY die, it will behoove you to check the results before cranking out 500 rounds...

Agreed... Seems like nearly every day there is a post like this, and we answer, and then the next guy comes in asking the same questions... It's not rocket science! Pick a bullet and powder, and work up to major. It's what I had to do...

This too...

It's a pretty standard 3gun payload, seems to work for me

Me too, totally lazy...and 100s of thousands of pistol and rifle ammo over nearly 20 years here with no problems Really, you don't need to do all that stuff and mix all those witches brews just for clean brass, and decapping before cleaning is a total waste of time. Try dry tumbling, lube, and load. (Dry tumble again for 15 minutes to remove the lube). More time to shoot, no wet contamination possibilities...win/win

1 1/8 oz payload with about 24gn of Universal is my load, about 1200fps thru my crono. But as you know, make sure you check data against all components; wads, primers, shells, etc...

Zeroing at 50 will get you just that, accurate at 50 yards. If you zeroed at 50 and are missing at longer distances you didn't confirm or true your scope for those distances. Zeroing at 50 is just a start, not something you can use at longer distances without checking. Most in this game will zero at 200...which is close to a 50 but usually not right on. My 200 yard zero will hit about 1.5 inches high at 50. So if I zeroed right on at 50, imagine how far off I would be at 200... Better to get on or close at 50 with elevation and get windage perfect, and then ZERO elevation at 200, leaving windage alone unless there is absolutely no wind. After that, any normal 3gun target will be a hit from 50 to about 225 when aimed at COM. Further than 225 you will need to confirm hold overs for various distances. Some have a good reticle that has suggested drops out to around 600. If so, its even better to confirm or even zero at the 300 yard mark, which will get the longer marks even closer to perfect.

Because you need to handle each case by hand instead of just running it thru the progressive loader with a trimmer on it. Way too much fussing around.

Chamfering and deburing are not necessary, especially for burner 3gun ammo. After processing, tumble to remove the lube, and it will also knock the burrs off. Then just use a good mouth expander (chamfer) and a slight taper crimp will remove the outer burr. Again, the RT is the way to go. You don't have to handle the brass in between (except for swaging) and everything is consistent.

I know, I know...so many things to do, so little time. Been meaning to thou! RV trip to Anchorage this summer, 25 may thru 10 Aug...

Yes, lighter bullet, 185gn, right around your 3.8gn tight group, will yield about 150pf. I would not go any lower than that cause springs and things will need tuning.

I say 22rimfire, cause I would not attend a match at those ranges with my 260 or 308. Maybe 223 thou. But 22rimfire is pretty done at 300, kinda like a precision match at 1200...and the fun factor would be hi with 22rf.

22 rimfire...

Why would you operate the press so hard that you crush cases in station 1 that are not seated all the way? On the rare occasion that it happens to me, I hesitate, hold the handle with my left hand, and push the offending case all the way into place with my right forefinger...simple, no, drama, no time loss...

What???? 3n38 is too bulky, and ends up being compressed to the point of pushing the bullet out slightly. 3n37 is more popular. Silhouette is used by a lot of open shooters, as is WAC. Even CFE is a good open powder.

Yea...hate to say it Eric, but that is a bit too much crimp. You can be able to see the mark, but it should not indent the bullet. At least thats what my reloading teachers taught me...

Bottom line is, any setback, even 3 thou, is an indication of something not right. You should not be able to push the bullet in by hand, or one chambering should not set it back either.