Hiker

Based on their pistol dies I think it would seat on the ogive. I have 2 sets of lee pistol dies - 9 & 40S&W. The 9mm has a deep & really steep pitch cone. The top of the cone is further drilled so it can't hit the meplat. Just pulled the 9mm seater plug & tried it on 5 dif. bullet profiles. On 3 different fmj (factory Fed & WWB) it hits on the ogive. The Fed 115 fmj is a pretty close match to the shape of the seater plug. The wwb is a slightly dif. ogive & the plug contacts a concentric ring about 1/2 way down the ogive. On 2 JHPs (montana gold 124 jhp & WWB factory 115 jhp) it seats on the outer shoulder of the meplat. Just a guess, but I would think the rifle seating plug would be similar - fits the ogive but how well depends on the bullet profile. Lee literature indicates if a seater is not acceptable to your bullet profile they will grind a custom plug to fit. Haven't looked into it.

I was a little uncertain about using a solvent in the tumbler. Was ordering from Midway anyway (best price I found) so I went with this: flitz media additive Was cheaper than I could pickup Nu Finish locally. Have no idea if it matters though.

just to further confuse the issue. . . I bought a Smart Reloading Dream Tumbler from Natchez $31.99. I've only run 2 batches through it but could not be happier: Dream Tumbler

Pat & Steve, thanks. Much wisdom here. . .this is an awesome forum. Will apply the lesson

Love the comments, you guys are crackin me up! Honestly, at this point I'm thinking this has gotta be a fluke. . .but I'll know at my next range trip. Tell you what, I'll post an update. . .that way no pressure on my next range trip, I'll just have the entire forum watching over my shoulder!

I'm a crummy pistol shot but trying to learn. Went to the range with a mission to "see" the front sight today. Took a printout of Flexmoney's "Kyle's Flinchbreaker 101" post for reference (aim at the berm/see the sight/call the shot.) Took a post-it-note with a few points I've taken from various threads here about grip & trigger. I alternated between paper targets & the above berm exercise. My results were pretty much what I always do - hubcap sized groups. (I wasn't seeing the sight when the shot broke.) After a couple hours, everyone else had left & I was the only one there. I was going to pack it in but decided to hang my last target. I expected another "hubcap group." I relaxed my grip (a lot) and really focused on the f.sight. I saw the front sight when the trigger broke (maybe for the first time.) I put 5 rounds in a 2 inch group right in the center of my target. My jaw was literally on the ground! (Then I set my pistol on the bench & did a happy dance!) I had a couple 15rnd mags loaded but didn't want to spoil that target so I went after a row of bowling pins hanging on wire out at 40 yards. I hit em - consistently! At 40 yds! Holy Shamoley! This is not me! I can't shoot like that! Then I did 2 more happy dances! I hope this doesn't sound like boasting. It's not. I'm saying thank you. The expertise shared on this forum is amazing. You guys helped open a door for me today. Yeah, I know next range trip my bad habits will be trying to crowd back in. . .Planning to review my notes/dry fire every day until then. My new motto is: "Shoot for the stars? Nah, aim for the pins on the back line!" Thanks guys.

Does it? If it truly did, case length would matter, would it not? Well, exactly. That's what I'm saying this thread opened my eyes to. What I should have said: ...most straight wall pistol is designed to headspace on the case mouth but in practice most cases are shorter than spec and the forward travel is limited by the extractor. Did I get it right that time?

The 2 things I've learned from this thread both surprised me: Case length doesn't really matter (even though straight wall pistol headspaces on the case mouth) and s.wall cases tend to shorten with extended firings. Coming from rifle, both points turned around what I thought I knew. . .Good info, thanks guys!

Long time hunter, gun nut, 2a supporter, & used to reload high power rifles when I lived out West. At some point after I moved back to the land of slug-guns I gave away all my reloading gear (doh!) Anyway, earlier this year I decided to get a bit more serious about my pistols. Having a lot of fun getting back on paper & found a local outdoor range where they shoot steel. Never shot any matches but planning to give it a go this year. And of course I'm "eat/sleep/breath" reloading gear research right now. Great forum, glad I found it!