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PiratePast40

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Everything posted by PiratePast40

  1. Another one that likes to do one last check of the primers before I load them in the mag.
  2. ETR-7 is clean and slow enough burning to shoot relatively soft. Price is back up to $70/4lb jug: https://expansion-industries.com/etr7-smokeless-pistol-powder-4lb.html I've used quite a bit of it and like it.
  3. I've gone through around 5K of the ACME 147's in my M&P 9mm. They're been good for me. They seem to do better at 135 PF than trying to keep them in the "bunny fart" range. Because of the shape, needed to come down a bit on the OAL. 1.12 does the job. I'm using ETR-7 but no reason not to use other powders. There was an enos5 discount code. Might give it a try and see if it's still working.
  4. I've been using ETR-7 from Expansion Industries for over a year now. 3.7 grains under ACME 147g flat points. OAL at 1.12 works well in my M&P Pro 9mm. Mine seems to be more accurate at 136 PF than lower with this combination. ETR-7 is available and the price has come down to $65 for a 4 lbs.
  5. As far as spares, I've got an extra primer pin and spring, and decapping pin.But in approximately 10,000 rounds, haven't had to replace them. Others have commented about breaking the powder chain, but I haven't had that happen either.The loadmastervideo forum mentioned several times is a wealth of information. Can't say enough about the mods from Mikes Reloading. I have the billet turret, stabilizer and shake brake. Since i haven't had any problems with the priming system, am using the stock parts. You do need to do a good cleaning every few thousand rounds to clear out any debris on and under the priming pin. Will second the recommendation to keep parts properly lubed, especially the bottom of the case slider. After proper cleaning and lube, the ram will fall down by itself, so don't let go of the handle.
  6. The discount code for Acme is enos10. I'm finishing up my 3rd box of 2500 147g flat points. They work quite well for me.
  7. Talon says the tape isn't meant for the M&P backstrap. It won't stick. If you don't read the ordering information, and then email them to complain, they'll let you know what you missed! If you look around on ebay, there are a few stippled backstraps out there. edit, This guy seems to do really good work. You'll have to check to see if he's available, http://www.a2stippling.com/
  8. I'm having success with ETR-7 and Acme 147s.
  9. I clear it all, brush, wipe down, inspect, and lube if necessary.
  10. Have you been lubing your cases? What about your expanding die, is it releasing cleanly?
  11. I would think that you need to pins to give some abrasion to polish the brass. As far as any rinse additives, they should be acting as water softeners. If there isn't a hard water problem, they won't be much help.
  12. I'm starting to get a few light strikes on S&B primers. Will get one every 3-4 hundred or so. I also have the Apex CAEK with the reduced power striker spring. Have around 6-7k rounds with the kit installed. Maybe time to replace all the springs, or just go back to the stock striker spring? is there a ballpark round count for when to change out all springs?
  13. ^^^ Dave33, our responses illustrate that fact that some people are better instructors than others. I actually went to the press and messed with the chain to make sure I was telling him the right things. Even after doing it myself, i didn't properly describe what I had done. I suppose that was because it has become second nature. Thanks for the full explanation.
  14. The spring goes on the chain and under the platten. Like most other brands, there are a few tips and tricks to get up and running. Check out the The Load Master Zone: http://loadmastervideos.com/. Tons of helpful videos and instructions specific to Lee products. Some people have had problems, especially with the older style primer feed, but my Loadmaster runs fine. If you have the older system, you can replace it with modified one from Mikes Reloading, or just buy the new one.
  15. As far as not returning properly, make sure the tab from the lever is in the correct slot on the bottom of the disc. Also make sure the spring and return chain are configured correctly. For the leakage, first check the wiper to make sure there isn't anything caught on it. And as ranger pointed out, make sure everything is square and tightened correctly. The discs are hard plastic but not perfect. I've lapped mine with 400 and then 800 grit wet dry paper. It's basically breaking them in faster. Once worn in, they seal quite well.
  16. They're on sale quite often, just need to keep an eye on their web site. I picked up 6 for $19.99 couple of weeks ago. Also had a @20 off coupon with $100 order. If you're going to the store, call first to make sure they have them in stock.
  17. The thread is going a little off the rails, but I think discussing lead reclamation is still on topic. As a radiation safety professional, I think it's important to dispel some myths and misinformation. Lead, and with other materials can be used for radiation shielding. In the case of the radioactive storage vault in the above example, this vault or pig was used to store radioactive sources. That doesn't mean that the container itself is radioactive. It's not going to become activated by the materials stored inside. To give an example, if you put a glow stick inside a room, it doesn't make the room light up when the stick is removed or used up. Same thing with radioactive material Someone mentioned proton activation. I suspect that he was referring to neutron activation. That will only happen under a very high flux such as inside a nuclear reactor. A container holding a source isn't going to become radioactive itself. The other issue is contamination. In the example with the glow stick, if we break it open, then there could be some of the material spilled and spread inside the storage container. But that can be cleaned up, or you could wait for the chemical reaction to complete. The same thing for radioactive material spilled somewhere. it's very easy to detect and can be cleaned up. For medical isotopes, there are a couple of different types. The short lived stuff that is used for cardiac stress tests has a relatively short half life so will give up their energy in a few hours or weeks and become a non-issue. There are also sources used as implants and for imaging. There is little danger of those breaking apart and causing contamination, but they can be much stronger and have much longer half lives. Any facility handling radioactive material is responsible for ensuring that the material is contained and accounted for. They perform surveys to make sure there is no spread of contamination. In the case of a storage container, they will routinely monitor for contamination. If you have a concern, just have it checked again. Someone mentioned medical devices using radioactive sources. Yes, these devices exist and mishandling has caused high exposures. What happened was that the sources inside were not removed and people tried to reclaim the metals not knowing that there was a highly radioactive source inside. A storage container is much different than a device. Once the source is removed, it's just metal. Sources are used all the time in industrial processes such as x-ray inspections of metals and other materials. The process is called radiography. There are different names for the component holding the source. It may be called a pig, camera, or collator. In any case, once the source is removed, and it is verified that it didn't break or spread contamination, there is no hazard. So when it comes to reclaiming lead from a radioactive storage container, there should be no hazard. If you think there might be, then the previous owner should be able to provide verification that there is no radioactive material present. Keep in mind that it may not necessarily be made of lead. Depending on the containers purpose, it may be made of iron, steel, tungsten, or bismuth. Your biggest hazard, other than heating the material, is dropping the thing on your foot.
  18. For the storage vault, I'd take it apart in sections with a sawzall and then work on getting the lead out. I've built my share of lead pigs over the years and they're not very complicated. As far as contamination, the lab should have checked it as part of their routine surveys so I wouldn't worry about it. Besides, that medical stuff typically has short half lives and pretty wimpy energy levels, so no big deal.
  19. Wow - great thread. Among other things he discusses, I really appreciate Randy explaining how to measure barrel clearances.
  20. There are many different methods to lube cases. Some seem less painful than others. I use One Shot case lube in the spray can. Using a heavy plastic bag or one gallon freezer bag, I lay the open bag down and use 1 short squirt on the top and one squirt on the bottom. Then I add a red solo cup 3/4 full of 9mm brass (about 100 pieces), close up the bag and shake and roll them around for a minute or so. I then put roughly a thousand pieces of lubed brass in a box. It doesn't necessarily get used all at once. May sit for a month or more and I haven't had any problems with it sticking. I never leave brass in the feeding tubes for any length of time because I always break down the primer, powder, and case feeders and clean up between sessions so haven't seen a problem with lubed cases in the feeder tubes. Don't bother to tumble them afterwards either since it's really not that much lube, but it definitely makes a difference in sizing the brass. If you use too much lube you'll know it right away. Might have the problems with gumming up but I've never used that much at a time.
  21. I've had very little trouble with my LoadMaster. Not sure about generations on the primer system, but you can always look at the Lee web site to see which one is the latest. Since mine is a little over a year old, I'm assuming that it's the newest. Again, no problems, that were not self induced, in about 10k rounds loaded. A couple of things to help make things go easier: Use the tygon tubing inserts in the case collator to reduce the number of upside down brass. You can find how to do it on many internet posts. Lap the powder disks to reduce leakage. It's simple and easy to do and is basically the same as breaking them in. Just faster. If you're going to use the micro charge bar for very small volumes, do a search and find out how to modify it so that those charges are consistent. Or better yet, get the new drum powder measure. Become a member on the LoadMaster video forum. Lots of good information and support. Read up on everything people have done. Use the setup instructions from Magic Mike. Makes much more sense and make things much more accurate. Spend the time to learn exactly what happens during each phase of the process. Get an offset screwdriver for case retainers as well as forceps or tweezers for handling primers. Mount as many LED lights as you can. The most important one will be the one that lets you look into the cases to verify the powder drop. I have a couple of items from Magic Mike. The billet turret, turret plate and shake break. The one single item that makes the most difference is the turret plate. Because of that plate, I don't need to worry about the turret set screw. Just remove it. I guess the best piece of advice I could give is to understand what is going on and pay attention while reloading. The pattern of observation becomes automatic after awhile.
  22. With fibermyalgia and arthritis, my wife also has a problem with small semi automatics. We solved the problem with a 4" GP 100. It's a better nightstand gun than a carry gun, so now we're looking at a Ruger LCR in 9mm as an EDC for her.
  23. ^^^^ Thanks for the info. I'll let him know that it's no good and he needs to give it to me!
  24. One of the guys at our club made the comment that he was drying brass in the oven and someone turned it up to 350 in preparation for baking and didn't realize his brass was in there. It obviously came out discolored. Does anyone know if it's still safe to shoot in that condition? If not, any other treatment to bring the brass back to useable condition?
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