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OK, I think I have this licked but I made a few changes all at once so I cannot say exactly what solved the issue. 1) I replaced the RCBS crimp die with a Hornady crimp die I use for 38 Short Colt 2) I added the sizing die to station one (I normally store all my brass clean and sized). 3) I closed the crimp down to 76 After making the changes listed above, I have loaded 150 rounds and checked every one. None had a crimp issue. Oddly none of these changes were ever required for Xtreme, Ranier, or BBI bullets. Go figure... Thank you for all your input.

I have reloaded thousands of 38 special and 38 short colt. In the past I have used BBI, Xtreme, or Ranier for all my loads. Recently I bought 1500 Berry 158 grain round nose for my 38 needs.I loaded 500 38 short colt and they seemed to function great and I had no issues seating or crimping. All my 38 short colt brass is Starline.I am now reloading 1000 mixed brass 38 Special with this bullet. I have decided on 3.5 grains of WST, Fed SPP, and an OAL of 1.5". I am crimping .377 to .379 depending on the brand of brass. The issue I am having is the bullet will push down into the case if I press them on the bench (when testing crimp) in about 4 of the first 30 I have loaded. They are varied brands of brass (Winchester, Rem, Blazer). This degree of crimp has worked fine for a few thousand 158 grain Xtreme bullets very recently (but they did have a cannelure, the Berry bullets do not).Any thoughts? I am hesitant to crimp much tighter since over crimping a plated bullet causes all kinds of problems.Has anyone loaded these Berrys with success in the past?

I just shot revo last week (only revo shooter) and will likely shoot it again next month and in our sectional. I understand that some people like to run around at mach 2 flinging as much lead as possible. That is fine. I am not one of those people. I just like shooting revo and if I wasn't I'd be shooting SS anyway so it is not a huge difference (although I am building a CO). Since there are no other revo guys most matches I shoot, I just compare my scores to SS and Prod. I will admit I do kinda enjoy the surprise on people's faces when I beat them with a revolver. Some of them look at you like voodoo and black magic is required to shoot a revo competitively.

solid holster for strong side use (IWB or OWB) on a proper gun belt 3 magazines (4 is better) 2 single or one double mag holder hearing and eye protection some form of concealment garment (stiffer is better)

I would try it in a legal IDPA box first. My M&P9c (ver 1) does not fit with the current BUG filler blocks in place. It is just a little too long. You also cannot use the finger rest base plates on the mags. Pissed me off to no end because I really liked shooting it in BUG in the past.

For my 686 I use Master Tac speed loader holders and holster. For my 625 I use a Blade Tech holster and North Mountain moon clip holders.

Our matches run from 5 yards to 20 yards. Most shots are near 10 yards because the required head shots are limited in distance to 10 yards or closer in the rule book.

None of you guys have an indoor range? We are shooting it next week in our weekly indoor match. I agree the stages do look really boring. I hope they do not go the way of USPSA in classification.

Welcome to the fun side! I have been shooting a 625-2 and 625 PC for a few years in IDPA. Moon clips and smooth 6.5 pound triggers are where its at. I never cared how many other revos were in the match. I only look at my overall score most times.

Well it seems there are again changes to complain about. No longer being forced to shoot while moving... yet another example of the SO not being able to consistently call a PE and shooters trying to milk things to the furthest point. The new dinky 5 by 5 classifier... no movement and no shots over 10 yards. Hmmm that doesn't seem to accurately reflect a persons's score on many stages I have shot. I have gotten used to 1 sec down (indifferent), fault lines (good thing), and inner head ring (HATE this still) but now I really see this moving toward USPSA Light.

For most the people I see making the move from SS to Expert the 3 stages break down like this 20 - 25 seconds 22 - 27 seconds 45 - 58 seconds As Rowdy said, Stage 3 is where most people kill a good run. Obviously if you shot the upper end of all three, you would not be expert in anything but revolver. However if you only put one at the high end of those ranges, you could slide into Expert.

Since all the classifications (except bug and revo) are going to be the same you make one choice before you tell the MD what you are shooting. Do you want to be classed higher or not? For example, say you are shooting a Glock 19. This is an SSP, ESP, and CCP legal gun. If you want the best opportunity for moving up, you shoot the classifier for CCP. If you want the lowest opportunity to move up, you shoot it as ESP.

38 SC for me I was using the 160 BBI but ran out and have been using the Xtreme 158 lately. Both seem to be accurate in my 627 with Starline brass and Hearthco clips. I worked up loads for both bullets using both Hp-38 and Bullseye but can't recall the specs. I know PF was 132 for the BBI and 129 for the Xtreme. Never had sticky ejection on any of mine.

I have shot thousands of these through my RIA, CZ 75, G17, and M&P 5". All make 128+ PF in spring, summer, and fall. I have not tested them in winter. OAL 1.135 - 1.140 4.0 Titegroup Win SPP light crimp (can't recall the num off the top of my head) This is my go to round for all things 9mm. The M&P's are not the most accurate with this load but they are good enough for IDPA/Steel/USPSA. The other guns shoot this load to 1.5" or less at 17 yards.

If you aren't going to decap first, you might want to try cleaning them without the pins. They seem to get pretty clean with just Lemishine and Dawn if you are ignoring the primer pockets.

There is no standard for a competition gun except the average distance you shoot the most. For IDPA, the max is 35 yards and the average is more like 15 so a 15 or 20 yard 0 is usually plenty. In USPSA the average is still under 25 even though there are frequently shots out to 40 so 15 or 20 yards is good there too. I usually zero mine for 17 (from a bag) because that is the furthest my eyes are still super accurate on iron sights anymore. But to the original question... no bullets do not fly in a straight line but the deviation from a straight line is not very pronounced with good ammunition in a handgun with a good barrel at less than 50 yards. If you are shooting a magnum caliber using magnified optics off a bag, I have not seen much deviation at 100 yards with good ammunition. This all leads me to believe the normal inaccuracies most see in a quality handgun with quality ammo is 100% user error.

I've been known to mix older and newer powders (always same make and model) but never anything more than 2 years older than the current bottle. I also then go chrono about 10 rounds before loading any more. Doing this with HP-38 and Titegroup has not shown an issue yet and my loads have been consistent on the chrono.

What are your 38 SC loads? I do not know how mine would group at 25 yards but I can tell you I have all 8 touching at 15 yards off a bag when testing on my chrono (chrono at 5 paces). They seem to do well enough at 25 - 50 yards since I generally can drop all A's if I want to go slower. I get the same accuracy when shooting 38 SP. I have no idea if the QC has risen for the 929 or not.

Could someone explain this? How is it primer specific? I would think the pin's job is to impact the primer so as long as it impacts the primer hard enough, it would work the same for any primer.

Are your bullets starting crooked in the seating process or do you place them very close to perfectly centered and vertical? I used to have this problem on about 8 out of 125 rounds using mixed range brass. I know the problem is not there after resizing and seating primers because I gage them all at that point and store them for later loading. In my case, it seems to be a case of the bullet not being perfectly vertical. When I take the time to have the bullet as perfectly aligned as possible immediately before it goes into the seating die (both Dillon and RCBS), the failure rate goes down to maybe 1 in 125. NOTE: Also using a Lyman M Die (minimum bell) and 200 grain Xtreme bullets. I have seen the same issue with 230 Extreme and Zero 230.

If you are a novice, it is likely just shooting matches (regularly) will improve your skills. This is because you would have a lot of room for improvement on the basics and you will see how more skilled shooters act and begin to emulate some of their techniques. However you will then quickly plateau and probably learn some bad habits with that approach. As other have said, matches test your skills. I strongly suggest you try IDPA, USPSA, and Steel Challenge if you can. They are all three fun. You might find you really like one more than the other and will be motivated to learn and practice. I also suggest you get comfortable reloading, drawing, and moving safely before you shoot a match. You don't have to be world class, you just have to be safe. If these things make you uncomfortable or require intense concentration to be executed safely, it will take away from the fun of shooting the stages. EDIT: I said "intense concentration" because everyone's IQ drops 30 points when the buzzer goes off. That makes things that were easy 5 minutes ago more difficult.

The cover calls on those three stages kinda pissed me off. I understand things can be interpreted differently but these were a clear cut case of ignoring the relevant page in the rulebook. We just went on and shot but it lowered my confidence in staff competency. Other than that, no issues and some fun stages at a good facility.

Steel is great but stay at 10 yards or further and ALWAYS make everyone in the area wear eye protection. Always inspect the steel for cratering or any damage every few dozen shots. If it has damage, scrap it. I agree with Rowdy on nearly all his points. I mainly shoot 6" and occasional 8" steel. Aim small, miss small.

I look closer than 3 feet when scoring but it is usually pretty clear to me if the perf has been broken or not. If it is not clear after about 2 seconds of looking close (closer than 3 feet), I give it to the shooter. I agree I have seen some SO's who always want to call against the shooter. I want to call for the shooter but will try to be as accurate as possible. Also being an RO for USPSA, I have no desire to add overlays to IDPA.

As long as you keep the muzzle mostly level and down range, figure out how you can move fastest and get on target fastest when you hit the next firing position. Like Rowdy said, a timer with par time and some experimentation in your back yard will tell you how to go. If it is more than 2 steps, I always break my grip but I keep the gun high so it is faster into the next target. However I am usually loading a revolver before I move so my hand is low at the beginning from the reload and I raise it as I move so it comes into the position high.