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techj

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Posts posted by techj

  1. 1 hour ago, SlvrDragon50 said:

    Okay, so my die is sitting way too low. Would you mind taking a picture of a flare case of yours? I guess I need to open my collet a lot more then since I have to push the case so far up to release the bullet.

    I'll try to get some pix posted tomorrow or the next day as I am in the middle of reloading 308's at the moment.

  2. With a flared case in the station and the die unscrewed you should raise the ram and then screw the die down until it just touches, remove the case and then turn it down about 1/4 turn further - that should do it.

     

    If you have flared the case enough it should feed the bullet and the bullet should just sit in the case.

  3. 1 minute ago, SlvrDragon50 said:


    I ground it down quite a bit and it's definitely feeding better now. I want to make sure my flare isn't too much though. If my bullets are sometimes being fed tilted is that diagnostic of anything? There's definitely enough crimp since I can manually place a bullet straight


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

    If you have enough flare that the bullet feed die is working and the bullet is usually staying in place until seating then that's enough flare.  If you are occasionally having the bullet fall out then perhaps the press isn't moving smoothly enough between stations.

     

    I'm assuming that you are using the PTX (powder through expander).  If you are it is possible that it is sticking causing you to have to muscle through more than you need to and causing excess motion in the press.  Sometime you need to polish the PTX and - depending upon how you're cleaning your cases - they may be too dry (no lube or carbon in side of the case mouth) resulting in excess friction.

  4. 7 minutes ago, SlvrDragon50 said:

    Can't as I have a powder cop.

    Depending upon the powder that you use - if it drops very consistently (i.e. Power Pistol, Bullseye, most Accurate powders) then once you have confirmed the powder drop you can just visually examine/confirm the fill of each case...that is what I do.  I have an LED light setup so that I can clearly see the case before the bullet feed in order to confirm.

  5. 42 minutes ago, SlvrDragon50 said:

     Yea. I think the fact that I can get it to feed if I'm fast and forceful means it's very close. I just need a bit more. I'm lucky and hte upper collet is already good!

     

    What did you  use to spread the fingers?

     

    I used a utility knife blade...carefully.  But anything with a strong, thin edge should work.

  6. You probably won't need a grinding stone.

     

    First off - go slow & be careful as it easy to damage the collets (I know :angry: from personal experience).

     

    What worked for me with my bullets was to use some sandpaper on a dowel with the top collet until the bullet would just drop through.  Please note that once you do this it will only work on that specific diameter bullet and you won't be able to use the collet for jacketed.

     

    Then on the lower collet I cleaned up the opening with the same sandpaper + dowel and then had to gently spread the fingers until the bullet would drop partially through the collet.  Again go easy as I have also broken a finger off of a collet.

     

    Once I go to this point it was a matter of adjusting the die by following the instructions and then small changes in the flare of the cases.  It won't take excessive pressure to run.

     

  7. I have an LNL and use coated bullets (The Blue Bullets) in 9 & 45 with their bullet feeder.  I found that it worked best for me to seat and crimp in 2 different stations.

     

    Once you get it dialed in the bullet feeder works very well...getting there can be a bit of a challenge especially with coated bullets.

  8. On my Mark III the biggest changes that improved reliability were 1) removing the LCI (just left it out); and 2) replacing the extractor.  After doing those 2 things - and staying with ammo that I know will work well - I have 100% confidence in the gun for steel challenge.

    BTW - I shoot CCI standard velocity and Federal Automatch almost exclusively due to reliability and availability.

  9. I usually stock up based upon whichever component gets changed.  For example, I have a case of 9mm bullets coming in and will load about a 100 with my existing powder & primer batches and if all is well will go on to load the other 3,500 from that order or until I have to start with a new batch of primers or powders.  This reduces the possibility of introducing an unexpected problem due to a component change.

  10. 34 minutes ago, IGOTGLOCKED said:

    Awesome, thx! And no reservations regarding the resulting blue fingers? What is the blue coating made of, is it toxic?

    The blue comes off of your fingers quite easily - I just use a paper towel and some hand cleaner/goop and it comes right off.  I doubt it is any more toxic than any other coating and would always clean my hands before touching my eyes, eating, etc. while loading.  As an FYI - I notice less of an odor when shooting indoors with the Blues than with some of the other coated bullets.

  11. I like and shoot the Blue Bullets.  My preferences are 125gr in 9mm and 230gr in 45acp.

    I shoot the 9's in both my Glock 17 and my 1911.  Haven't had any problems whatsoever with leading or fouling.  I will typically go about 500 rounds before performing a field strip (1911 or Glock) with only adding lube (1911) every couple of hundred rounds.

    No lube and the Blue's have no lube groove.

  12. For 9 & 45 I usually reload 750-1,000 in a session and will normally do 2 sessions (different days) in a week before cleaning the press and changing calibers.  That gives me about 2 months worth of inventory for 9 or 45.  Other calibers I usually only do about 500 at a time only because I don't have enough brass to do more and don't shoot the others - 38, 357, 44, 308, 30-06 - as much.

    FYI - this is on a Hornady LNL AP.

    BTW - I always like to have at least 1 months' worth of ammo in each caliber already loaded so that if life gets in the way I can still go to the range.

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