VanMan1961

you are going to love that Mr Bullit feeder. It really increases the throughput. Takes me longer to case gauge and bag a 100 rounds than actually reloading them on my 650. The only things I really need to pay attention to is the push stroke to make sure I got a good primer seated (ie old primer didn't get sucked back in and then re-seated, or the occasional crimped primer pockets are a PITA), and a visual check on the powder level in station 3. In my peripheral vision, I'm also looking to make sure a case didn't feed upside down in station 1. Make sure your press is as solidly mounted as possible. My reloading bench only has a 1" thick top on a 2" x 4" frame and I found the press moved around too much. This can cause cases and bullets to feed upside down. I mounted another table leg directly under the press and it really helped. Here's a video of the after ... https://youtu.be/v6WF8FJJgHU

good to know. I'm just setting up to reload 45acp for my S&W 625.

The Dillon dies are straight walled and will leave you with the "wasp waist" (bottom round). I switched to a Lee Factory Crimp die set when I started to reload for my S&W 929 (top round). The Lee die resizes to the appropriate taper. For semi-auto's either die set worked fine for me in my XL650. For my S&W 929, the Lee die gave a better crimp and eliminated a bullet creep problem I had. One thing about the Lee resizing die, it appears to have a smaller opening/bottom diameter as I've crunched a lot of brass if the casing is not perfectly seated all the way in the shell plate. The Dillon resizing die is a lot more forgiving.

thanks for all the links Ty, VERY informative. I'm just waiting to test my reloads 158gr (.357") Berry's - 3.4gr N320 in 9mm mixed brass. I don't have a ransom rest, so waiting for a red dot that I'm going to mount on my 2nd 929 .

Very nice! Is there an advantage to using short colt cases in the 929? I've loaded 38 special bullets (.357 Berry's 158gr RN, 3.4gr N320 ) into 9mm cases and it seems to work ok. I've only had a chance to run some test batches through the chrono though. Accuracy testing will be next.

I just got another 929 and slugged it. Same results - .357 in the cylinder throats and .356 in the barrel bore.

I got a chance to run some test loads using Berrys 158gr 38 (.357) RN and 148gr 38 (.357) HBWC. The hollow based wad cutters are just for fun to see if they will give me some good groups. I still have some rounds left from each test batch, so I'm going to mount a red dot on my other 929 and see what kind of groups each load will give me. Fun fun fun For reference, I shot some factory loads and a 9mm load I worked up specifically for my 929. You can see that the 929 is significantly slower with a 9mm .355 bullet.

got a chance to run some test batches through the chrono. Will do some accuracy testing at the next range trip. I tested some benchmark 9mm ammo and the 147gr/3.6gr Titegroup reloads I developed to make minor PF in my 929. In my Grandpower X-Caliburs, they are significantly faster. I then tested some loads I developed with some 38/357 bullets that are .357 dia (158gr plated round nose and 148gr plated hollow based wad cutters) Note: the cells in pink didn't make the min 125 power factor. The wad cutters are just something to play with for accuracy. I won't be using those in IPSC lol

a lot of good tips here. Thanks guys

here's a good video I found when looking for information on slugging a revolver and sizing the appropriate bullet. I learned all about "obturation" and the proper size relationship between the bullet, cylinder throat, and barrel (spoiler alert, it's a .001 smaller each time) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PYlvnqeYlc0

Not a dumb question - I had to look that up too. It's the larger diameter. I can't remember if that's called the groove or the lands

I slugged my 929 barrel at .356" which I believe is the same dia as the 627? If it is, you could just throw one of those on.

I had a bullet creep problem shooting my reloads run through my Dillon dies. They were .355 147gr Campros and I had set the crimp pretty firm to try and prevent bullet creep. Didn't work, and I may have actually made the problem worse by over-crimping. Apparently what can happen when you over crimp is the dia of the bullet is swaged smaller, but the brass being more resilient can spring back. The result is reduced crimp/neck tension pressure. Here's a pic of the 8th round after the other 7 have been fired. The creep was ~ .050" I've since switched to a Lee Factory Crimp die set with the crimping dies adjusted to .378" (mixed 9mm brass and .355" bullets) and have no bullet creep problems.

Are you using 9mm seating and crimp dies? It was suggested to me to use a 38spl seating Lee FC die set if I was going to use 38spl bullets (.358") in 9mm brass.

Nice job! I have a set of those Brownells chamfer sets I'd used succesfully on my 625's. It wouldn't touch my 929 cylinder either. What kind of rubberized abrasive did you use?

I just slugged my 929. Cylinder throats came in at .357 and the bore was .356. It was ok shooting a couple of club matches using my normal .355 bullets, but I did chrono a drop of ~100fps between shooting my reloads through my production gun (Grand Power X-Calibur) and my 929. Accuracy was about the same (~3" groups @ 10m), but I was expecting more from my 929. I can usually do ~1/2" groups at 10m with my target .22 handguns. I'm going to get some .357 and .358 bullets and give them a try.

what kind of fps are you getting out of the 3.2gr load?

I just slugged my 929, and with cylinder throats of .357 and barrel of .356, I think these are pretty much the same dimensions as your 627. I'm looking for 160gr RN, but they are not quite as plentiful up in her Canada.

Thanks for sharing guys, all really good information here. I'm going to have to see if there's a distributor up here in Canada I can get some of those .3555 Blue Bullets.

Very nice group and a sweet customized 627! If you can do this repeatedly free hand you sir are a god

Fully agree The weight of the projectile (for me at least) has more to do with perceived recoil when I'm trying to make power factor for IPSC, USPSA, ..... There's a fellow up here in Canada that's done a lot of testing and found that each of his hand guns is most accurate with a specific reload (projectile & charge weight).

The Campro 147gr projectiles I'm using are advertised as .355". My accuracy with them is ~3" at 10 yards (about the same as my semi-auto). Occasionally I'll get a flier that will put the group out at 6"-8" (maybe 1 every 3rd or 4th moon clip). With most of my target .22's, I can usually group ~1/2" at 10 yards. I'm going to get some .357 158gr projectiles and see what accuracy I can get out of those. I'm expecting with better sealing in the cylinder throat and barrel, I can more efficiently use the powder charge to get a higher fps.

Once a few bugs have been worked out my 929 has been just as rock solid as my 625's & 610. If you want a slick trigger, all S&W & Ruger revolvers will need tuned springs and polished trigger parts. The cylinder throat & bore problem is the only think specific to the 929, and now that I know what the sizes are, it should be easy to adjust my reloads to get great accuracy. I just bought a 2nd 929 that had a few bugs fresh from the factory (barrel slightly off index, star ejector doesn't allow a fully loaded moon clip to be loaded). The good news is that we have a really good S&W warranty center fairly close who arranged over-night Fed-ex service at their cost and will address these bugs right away.

I've had that vernier for over 30 years, and it's still very accurate. Sadly, I need reading glasses to use it now, but I'm too stubborn to buy a dial caliper I'm definitely going to try some Berry's .38 158gr Round Nose. Can't find a supplier for .358 coated bullets out here in Western Canada.