Jump to content
Brian Enos's Forums... Maku mozo!

boatdoc173

Classifieds
  • Posts

    239
  • Joined

  • Last visited

Everything posted by boatdoc173

  1. ^^^ this is why custom gun makers get the big $$$. Their time is expressed by the product . great gunsmiths truly take the work to the next level. you do have to feel them and shoot them to appreciate them
  2. Cabot buts a top notch semi custom gun NOW. they show a lot of pride in their fitment and finish work. as close to a custom made as you can get (IMHO) for a semi custom price
  3. Lou is another great person to deal with and his work speaks volumes
  4. Karl is a great person and a top tier gunsmith in my opinion
  5. I am lucky to own a Chambers working mans gun and a Alpha American model #4( Tim Anderson was a NHC gunsmith- top notch work). both in 9mm. both are flawless To me the custom gun offers a highe r level of fit and finish over kitted guns( semi customs like Wc NHC, LB...) None of them can out shoot a LB ( les baer) in my injured hands. IMHO LB and NHC rule the custom markets due to the time spent on fitment
  6. @farmer,I believe the redding die is a bit smaller in diameter. I was told that helps straighten out the case better. my dillon 550c is level. the dillon dies just work better f or me. once I retire and have more time to investigate, maybe I can get the redding dies to work for me too thanks to all who are replying
  7. that was what I was doing. it became old an d frustrating. alignment is the true issue
  8. case deformities or variation might be a cause. the cases, the opening variation... all contributed to this issue I think.Th e problem for me, was that rotating the cases often enough to make reloading frustrating and slow, just did not work.
  9. I think hand loading some cases could provide some insight. my shell plate is set up appropriately , no too much play but that could be the issue at hand
  10. dillon die in the 550c now. not touching it as it works as expected
  11. I used my dillon case cleaner with some nu finish polish, cleaned brass gets some one shot. mu reloade r is a dillon 550c only happens with my redding sizing die. zero issues with my dillon die at all.Makes no sense to me. not specific to a brand of brass casing either. again the " never seen that before" I hear every once in a while is appropriate now that I have down time, I might just try to hand fit some cases into that sizing die to see what might be the hang up.
  12. BTW I am as perplexed as Redding was about the resizing die issues. I bought the die set specifically to have straight walled cases.. I found zero reason that some cases would not just enter the die as the rest do( and require some rotation of the case to get it into the die). I love reloading. I learned alot on my own and have really been helped by our members. THANK YOU ALL. It is really satisfying to reload from November- February or so and see all of those filled ammo cans just waiting to be used. To be able to size and reload ammo for a specific gun --ammo that feeds perfectly and shoots well solved a problem for me and proved the value of rolling your own.
  13. you folks ar e the BEST. never fails. our members ALWAYS have answers base d on experience I will remove the spring this week. I am battling hand and arm injuries so I will NOT be reloading for quite a while( I did make 9000+ rounds of 9mm before the injuries).Once I can reload again, I will give these suggestions a try and get back to you kind members. thanks again
  14. although this story is a bit embarrassing. My experience may help others and will amuse the more experienced reloaders . In my never ending effort to produce top quality 9mm ammo, I researched and bought the Redding Titanium Competition 9mm die set . My first issue experienced was that some mixed brass cases needed to be rotated (partial turn 1/4-1/2 turn at a time) just to get the resizing die to accept the brass. Called Redding and their response was one that I have heard many times in my life--" we never heard of that !" (by the way Redding offers to notch customer service). Dealt with this situation until it was just too frustrating and time consuming.. back to my Dillon resizing die. I thought that the bullet seating die would be extremely accurate. I set it up as directed and the initial experience wa s great. I did NOT realize that as loading progressed( thousands of rounds per season ) the micrometer would move and would need special attention EACH loading session. My C O AL went from my desired 1.140" to 1.192". As the ammo I reload each year is stored ( vs shot right away), I did not realize this was happening until I started using the ammo which was loaded with the Redding die set.The 1.192 COAL ammo would not even fit into a 1911 single stack magazine. It did fit and was shot out of other magazines( and gun styles) without issue. lessons learned. I now check COAL as often as needed to assure that the COAL is the 1.140" desired AND I went back to my Dillon seating die. I guess the Redding die set was just not for me. Still not sure why the COAL changed when the die was locked down per instructions. any thoughts from those who use Redding dies? reloading is not static. It is a never ending learning experience.
  15. Just wanted to take a moment to thank those who go out of their way to contribute by answering questions. Having issues with reloading is hard enough . Without the knowledge provided by those who know, it would be daunting to solve issues great and small. I am so glad I found this wonderful forum. Great source of information on many topics and so helpful to me(once an unknown to our members) when I needed information .
  16. @Farmer--just plinking loads. not loaded too hot. however with titegroup, the powder charge range is very tight. thanks for the reply.it is reassuring
  17. although it is not a cure, cold laser therapy from a trained,qualified provider, can relieve pain and allow better function. try to maintain the range of motion t hat you have. squeezing soft rubber or foam objects can help with range of motion and strength of your muscles. as with any exercise program, start slow, listen to your body and stop doing what hurts. without the severe pain, you can adapt your technique and continue shooting. good luck
  18. @Nickb45--thanks for the info @HOGRIDER--I agree. that is one cause for variation. brass and bullet size and shape being others . My concern was the potential for an increase in pressure when a cartridge would shorten down to 1.137, 1.136, 1.135" even. I did shoot a couple of the 1.136" rounds yesterday and as predicted by our members, the ammo shot fine.
  19. @Nickb45--what would you use for the best measurement outcome? I have noticed that my calipers ( digital from dillon when I bought my initial reloading supplies) has to be zeroed every time . After reading the replies so far, I am guessing that the calibers might contribute to my issue.. exact measurement depends on consistent placement of the cartridge in the calipers when measuring. a more reliable way to measure OAL would make a difference
  20. great answers. thoughtful and to the point guys. THANK YOU. I was baffled. thought about it all night too I will address some of the ? in my post below I think the brass length varying is part of the issue. I clean my dies regularly. I do NOT sort brass by name brand though. I sorted out all of the brass that caused issues when priming in the past. I use hornady one shot regularly. that said , using a plastic baggie to spread the one shot around might leave some cases lacking in enough lube. I am very glad that you guys have posted that such small variances do not make reloading or shooting dangerous( pressure increases). my variance is 0.001-0.003 shorter than the desired OAL. I use RMR .355" 124 gr FMJ round nosed bullets and my die has the round nose tip installed. again, much thanks for the thoughtful replies
  21. Hello My 550c for 9mm reloading has been consistent for years. I have noticed lately that the solidly locked-in bullet seating die is moving just enough to change my O.A.L. by -0.001--0.003 every so often(. Often enough that I find my self taking time out away from reloading the verify OAL every 500-1000 rounds.) I only use my Dillon dies and their lock rings. , I am baffled as to how the OAL can change when the lock ring is locked down tight and the die has zero play anyone else had this happen? any ideas on how to stop this? the first 50,000 rounds were loaded @ 1.140" to fit into a fussy CZ A01. NO issues were noted when I made them. it was set it--forget it 2020-2022 the new need to check OAL way too often is more than annoying. thanks in advance for any insight ad help offered
×
×
  • Create New...