ShepJim

Thought I'd throw a timely post into the fray. THIS weekend (8/30-/31) we're shooting the Northeast Sectional Championship right up the road in Maine http://www.northeastsectional.com/ — a good chance to meet people even if it'd be too late to shoot yourself. It's a USPSA Level II match being shot at two ranges over the course of both Sat and Sun. There's shooting in Augusta both days so you don't need to drive all the way tp Hampden just for spectating. . And, NEXT weekend there's the USPSA Area 7 Championship over in New Bedford, MA — http://www.uspsa-ne.org/ You can join the http://maineshootersforum.com/ even though you're in NH — we're an "all-inclusive group"!!

Hey! If you are at loose ends this coming weekend there STILL MIGHT BE TIME to sign up to shoot the Northeast Sectional Championship in Maine. This is a two day USPSA Level II match — you will shoot BOTH Saturday (at Captiol City Rifle & Pistol Club, Augusta, ME) AND Sunday (at Hampden Rifle Pistol & Club, Hampden, ME) Check out "It May Not Be Too Late" — If you decide to try to make the match be sure to email Co-Match Director Lee Cabana lee_cabana@mac for further information.

That was my first thought exactly. And then I saw it itemized in the Parts List. As hard as I've looked I can't find a mention or explanation on the Dillon website.

Hey dillon — THANK YOU! I had a feeling the answer to the mystery would be just about that UNexciting! ;-) I wish there was a way for me to label or flag this thread as "SOLVED" Jim

Hey Doc — Okay, that IS the plan. It's a just a little mysterious that there is an SD NEW CRIMP ADJUSTMENT BOLT with a different Part NUmber and absolutely NO discussion about the fact. I love a good mystery. Good News! I can report that I may have greatly reduced my "sticky rounds" problem. I tunred down the bullet seating bolt, shortening the OAL to 1.245", and tightened down the crimp (this would be the OLD crimp adjustment bolt that came with my SD . I ran 50 already rounds through the SD B's stations 3 and 4 — this included 20+ rounds that I had previously put to tthe side and labelled as "sticky" — they had not come close to passing the chamber "plop" test. I shot those 5o rounds last night at "Pistol Postals" with only one failure to eject. The case of a fired round did not eject and was mashed as the slide slid back against it. A number of people have suggested that I increase belling (station 2) to both increase my ability to place the bullet in the case mouth straightly and to decrease the possibility that edge of the case is slicing wax/lube off the side of the bullet which then gathers on the leading edge of the case, So, I will widen the bell and load 100 or more rounds this afternoon in prep for a USPSA match tomorrow morning, I will report on how that goes.

Hey BG - I did run some empty brass through just the sizing die but they didn't seem to "match" very closely with what results after a bullet is seated and the brass crimped. I shortened the OAL (bullet seating) and screwed down the crimping die a half turn and ran 25-30 already-loaded rounds through just the bullet seating and crimping dies (stations 3 and 4). These were rounds that I had previously indentified as "sticky" in the chamber "plop" test. The re-processed rounds did feel improved and I'm going to test them at the range tonight. I'm still curious about the "SD NEW CRIMP ADJUSTMENT BOLT" (Part No. 19838 — note: the screw/bolt that came with the SD was Psrt No. 13908) that arrived as part of the "Toolholder w/Wrench Set" I recently purchased here at Brian Enos.

I bought a set of the Dillon wrenches and a toolholder rack to put on the back of my Square Deak B (.45 ACP). Along with the exoected wrenches and sheet metal "tool rack" there was a "Dillon SD New Crimp Adjustment Bolt" in the plastic bag and listed on the enclosed "shipping / parts list". What's that??? The chamber on my Sig 1911 is very tight and I have been having problems with rounds failing to seat all the way. I've been checking each round in the barrel removed from the pistol and am seeing maybe 1 in 15 that either will not easily drop all the way into the chamber, OR, when they DO appear to fully chamber, will not drop out and must be "pried" out with a fingernail. (.45 ACP -- 200 grain LSWCs) Does maybe the "SD New Crimp Adjustment Bolt" have something to do with this? I have just watched PowerFactor Shoe #117 (Reloading with a Dillon Square Deal in which Larry describes my jamming exactly as a problem he used to have with his rounds in his pistols with tight chambers. He explains this as being the reason he now, after cleaning his brass, runs it all through a separate re-sizing die on a single stage press, and then loads it per SOP on his SDB. I'll appreciate all thought and comments. Jim

Okay! Touche' LOL In Maine this summer has been one of exremes: there were a couple of weeks when it rained every day — the sun never shone. And, there was maybe a 10 day stretch when the temps were in the high 80's and up toward 97 degsF — the humidity stayed in the 90%'s. AS we say in this part of the world, "It's the humidity that kills you." We're always envious of your "dry heat." I just remember the blue lube in the leadcast bullets two lube channels being gooier than usual.

That's worth a try — might help me set the bullets straighter. I'm wondering if the incredibly hot wweather we were having when I loaded the ammo under discussion might have contributed to the softened lube winding up where it didn't belong. Update: I shot close to 200 rounds in today's match without a single failure-to-chamber jam! I guess I'll have to come up with another excuse to explain my poor showing.

I'll probably LBB every piece of brass as well. That would provide a degree of continuity — doing otherwise might introduce greater pressure differences. Note: the apparent (read: visible) bulging that I see on my handloaded rounds is about 2/3 of the way down the brass in the vicinity of the bottom of the hard cast SWC bullet. I processed 200 rounds last night through a "drop into the barrel chamber" and gaging with the Lyman. I found a number that were tight (10% +/-) and that was almost always due to some bullet lube wax at, or near, the case shoulder. After wiping with a rag those rounds would clunk into the chamber.

I'm using a Dillon Square Deal B. I have a Lyman Max Cartridge Gage and I've been going through the rounds I've loaded. Some of the "found brass" with any slight corrosion/roughness is a little tight in the gage — drops right in but some doesn't slide smoothly right back out, needs a nudge.. I agree. I've been practicing the "strong hand slam into the back of the grip" jam-clearance technique covered in the posts above — want to be sure I can excute it without any chance of dropping the gun = best case, a DQ. But, in the end, if I can't trust the ammo I won't use it in a match. The idea of having to run all the brass through a preliminary "bulge-busting" isn't very attractive; reloading pistol ammo is supposed to be simple and straight forward. I'd love to figure out how to avoid the bulges.

Hi All -- I've recently started reloading my own .45 ACP and have been experiencing jams where the slide on my Sig fullsize 1911 "Target Model" fails to come fully forward, not locking into battery. I'm pretty sure that what's happening is that I'm getting a small buildup of wax in the chamber, and that after firing a number of rounds the buildup blocks the case shoulder from moving completely into the chamber. I want to deal preventing these jams as a separate subject. But, what is the best way for me to clear the jams. When this happens the slide is frozen, I can't manuallyt push it forward and am also unable to pull it back to eject the non-chambered round. The slide appears to be sometimes just 1/16" out of battery -- I have no visual through the ejection port of what's going on inside. The only way I've been able to get that round out of there is to remove the mag — BTW, removing the mag does NOT free up the slide — and slam the bottom of the grip down on something hard, like a wooden tabletop or a piece of carpet on a concrete benchtop; being carefull all the while to keep the muzzle facing downrange. Help!

So, I've ordered a couple of new powders. I've done that in a fun way. A bunch of my action pistol buddies are headed down to the Harvard Sportsmens' Club in MA to shoot their monthly Level 1 IPSC match.today. On the way back they'll stop at the Kittery Trading Post. I've given a prioritized shopping list to my buddy Lee: Mfgr: Accurate -- Powder: Solo 1000 Mfgr: Accurate -- Powder: No. 2 Mgfr: Winchester -- Powder: 231 Mgfr: Winchester -- Powder: WST Mgfr: Hodgdon -- Powder: Titegroup and asked him to get me two 1 lb jars of whichever powders they have in stock. If anyone else in the group wants to buy in maybe we'll get even more than two — I figure I don't really need more than 4 oz of a powder to do some expeimenting. This "mystery shopping" is fun. Jim

There's a rumour that the shooter travelling the furthest to shoot the Maine State Sectional will get a FREE LOBSTER DINNER!

I've just been gearing up. After I ordered my press I put together a short list of the bits of gear that I MUST HAVE to safely start making some ammunition. I had decided that, especially being a newbie, I might likely find myself in a situation where I'd need to UNload a cartridge. Jim