R1_Demon

I will definitely agree with you Sarge. That's why I really don't talk bad about Glocks even though I'm not really a fan. They still perform and do very well and are very reliable. So, how can you really fault that for a firearm? Not everyone is going to like every firearm, that's a given. That's why there are so many out there; for everyone's individual tastes. But if there is a firefight and a Glock is sitting on the ground and I have nothing, you are darn skippy I'm going to grab it up to protect my hiney and everyone around me because I know it will probably work without an issue.

Well that's not very cool. That would definitely bug me to say the least.

9x45 - Thank you for the detailed info. A lot of other people are putting down "a 50/50 mix", but you put down specific amounts (teaspoonfuls). I appreciate that. I was about to ask everyone on the 50/50 mix...how much of each, but you answered that. I think yours looks darn shiny enough for me.

Nice! Thank you. That was a good lil tidbit of info.

Alliant Sport Pistol has been claimed to work as well as N320 for .40 Major and it is half the price. I picked up a pound locally recently to try it out against N320, but I haven't had a chance to load any up for a comparison as of yet. I'm hoping to do that this weekend. Now, I don't know about your particular barrel either, so this is just a general comparison I have read here on the forum. I hope that helps.

That's okay Rowdy...I'll be happy to get your feedback on the E3 and I'll give you my feedback on the Sport Pistol...so it is a win-win, right? Maybe I can load some up on Saturday and shoot them after my class on Sun.

Cool, thank you wgj. So far the 100 look okay, but I don't have a case gauge yet. Maybe I'll chamber check them or just do a plunk and spin test on all of them. Can't be that hard to do a plunk and spin test on them while watching a show on TV or listening to the radio. It is only 100 rounds after all. LOL But I appreciate the info and what to look out for. I did receive the new taper crimp yesterday. Now to reset and check all of my dies, just to be sure. I'll have to change the previous die to remove the roll crimp and make it a seating die only and then set up the new die to the right amount of taper crimp. My general understanding is to go .002 on each side of the bullet? I think that is what I read here on .40's. So, the bullet, plus the case on each side (.002) and that should be about right to remove the belling, but I'll check. It's been a while since I initially setup my dies, so I'm going to check them all again just to be sure.

In other words...like my portable bench I bought and work off of. LOL

MM - Just think of all those poor lizards you are depriving of a bed. LOL!!!! Good idea with the dryer sheet though. I'll have to remember that when I finally get a darn tumbler and media to clean brass in. :-D

IGG - I don't know about not pretty. I think it looks pretty darn good. I like the dark wood and it looks very well put together. I don't want to say it looks "pretty", but I personally think it looks pretty darn good with the dark stained wood and such instead of the normal plywood you normally see. That's one of the things that really caught my eye about it. It really looks like a piece of furniture rather than just a utility type bench. Plus, I'm truly envious because I don't have a separate room or garage to be able to even have a darn bench! So, I'm envious of all of you that get to have an actual bench and especially a spare room/garage to work in! Gosh I need to frickin' move!!!!! LOL Anyway, I think you did a nice darn job with it.

My....O...C...D....... Uhhh...errrr.....cannnn....nooottt....loook...away. LOL! Muuuussssttttt oooorrrrrgannnnniiiizzzzeeeeeeee....

Outfrickin' standing!

I've seen those drawings before. Awesome work! I agree...even if you pay $40 (locally) for a pound of N320, it totally is worth it over paying possibly thousands for a new firearm, let alone a new prosthetic hand/arm. It just isn't worth the chance. Heck, I can spend $40 in a couple of days for lunch (ya, I'm a fat guy. LOL), so it's worth spending that for a pound of powder to make sure I'm safe. Just dump it.

Any more news on this yet? I just picked up a 1# jug of it the other day, but I haven't had a chance to load anything yet. I'm waiting for my new taper crimp die to get here (today, I think) and just haven't had a chance to load anything yet. I'm hoping to load some TG, N320 and Sport Pistol and then chrono them together as a comparison. I figured it might be fun to do that and see how they all compare since they would be loaded on the same day or very close together and then shot on the same day for a comparison. I'm just not sure how many to load of each (10? 20?) because I haven't done a ladder load of any of them yet, so I'd basically be starting out with all of them, so I might have to hold this off until I get a proven ladder load with them all in my XDm .40 5.25" first at .40 Major and then compare those "final" PF loads against each other. (powder vs. powder) But I'm sure someone has done that here already; I can't be the first to do this.

Awwww...poor local guy. LOL!

Crap...I just found out something the other day. I realized that when I first bought my Hornady Custom Die set that I bought the "non" taper crimp die set for my .40S&W. I didn't know that it mattered at the time when I bought all of my reloading equipment together. So, I guess that my seating/crimping die is a "roll" crimp die instead of a taper crimp die. Would this make a difference for any ammo I have already loaded? I haven't loaded much on it yet (only 100 rounds thus far). Do I need to pull them and run them all through the new "taper crimp" die that I'm getting today? I didn't know the difference when I first bought the die set and didn't know what a taper crimp die set was and was afraid of buying the wrong one, so I just bought the "normal" set (or so I thought was normal). But, as I mentioned in this thread, I figured that it might be a better idea to seat and crimp in two different stations, so I ordered a separate Hornady taper crimp die the other day and it is being delivered today. So, now I'm wondering if I should just let those 100 rounds go as is or should I redo them with the new taper crimp die now that I know I did them originally with a roll crimp die. Uggghhh.

Thanks for the video. Interesting. I never thought to use my week hand thumb/finger to hit the mag release when reloading. I've always twisted the firearm to use my strong hand thumb while reaching for a new mag with my weak hand. Just got used to doing it that way all these years. I may actually have to try this to see if it is any faster for me or if there is an advantage to doing it. BTW, I know you said your wife is already using the XDm, but my wife shoots the Walther PK380 (non competition) and does very well with it and she has very small hands/fingers. Only problem she has is dropping the mag with the "paddle style" mag release on the Walther that is at the bottom of the trigger guard because of her nails. I actually have a bit of a problem with it too and would have to train with it to become proficient at it. It is a neat little gun and shoots very well and has a nice small grip to get your hand around, but it would take practice to get used to the paddle style mag release. But it would probably be something she could get used to, but you couldn't use it in competition because it is only a .380 and you would have to go 9mm and up for competition. (at least USPSA)

In reality, since you doing this with handguns, legally you should be doing it through FFL's because it is interstate. There is your protection right there. You send your firearm to a FFL and the other person sends theirs to an FFL and until each FFL gets contacted to release the handgun to the party picking it up (meaning each have sent theirs and all is well), then they don't get released. If the FFL gets the a okay to release the handgun, then all is well. Of course you're going to pay an FFL fee to do this, but most of the time it isn't much. I only charge $20 for a transfer, so if you both pay $20 for the trade, it really isn't a big deal and that is $20 to ensure your transaction goes well and no one gets screwed. I would just contact the FFL's first to ensure all is well with them and they understand the deal and ask about pricing first, just to make sure everyone is on the same page. Plus, as I said, this is the LEGAL way to do it when you trade or sell firearms across state lines. Just shipping the firearms to each other is NOT legal. Just sayin'. Sorry to be the party pooper. :-/

I'm with Rowdy...I make it so that the grip is right there as I slide my hand up from my side. My hand would go right over my grip and pull the handgun out of the holster. One easy, natural, fluid motion for me. It's different for everyone, actually, but this makes the most sense to me and works the best for me rather than having it too far forward or too far rearward.

Welcome from Kentucky! Wait, isn't the East side of Chicago where all the guns are at? LOL! Hey, don't laugh, I'm from Detroit, so all I would have to do is go Downtown for shooting practice. :-P LMAO! ;-) (Kidding!!!!!) Pretty cool history and information. Glad to have you back. I hope you enjoy your "new found" competition self and enjoy all of the great info on this site. I'm new to competition, but I have been shooting for years and have still learned a ton from this site. So, definitely enjoy and learn all you can. Also, be sure to enjoy the Clark County Shooting Range (outdoor - Based in North Las Vegas). It is really nice. I do miss that range since moving from Vegas, but we do have some nice ranges here in Kentucky, so I can't complain about that.

Welcome from Kentucky, newbie. LOL! Sounds like you are pretty busy with competitions. This is definitely the place to be for that.

Lonewolf...I'll agree with you about the butt ugly comment on the Glocks. I would agree. LOL. You would figure by now they would have put SOME kind of styling into them. :-o I'm not really a Glock fan. Yes, they are good guns and work, but I'm just not a fan of them. There are too many others that work and look much better, so I go with those. Plus, I just never liked the grip angle on them. Like, you, I'm former LE and I did carry a Glock 22 Gen 2 for a long while and just never liked the grip angle. I finally was able to change it for a S&W Model 4006, which I liked much, much better, even though it was much heavier due to a full stainless chassis. I shot expert with both firearms whenever I qualified, but I still felt more comfortable with the 4006. If I was in a firefight and a Glock was on the ground, would I grab it? Of course. They are reliable and shoot well. But if both a 4006 and a G22 were sitting there and I had a choice, I would end up grabbing the 4006 first. Anyway, so my point is, some firearms just fit a person better or they feel better to them. Yes, you can shoot other firearms (I can pretty much pick up anything and shoot it well), but some just feel "at home" in your hand(s). I tell that to my students all the time; especially the new ones because a lot of them come to me and tell me that "their friend said to get a Glock because it is the best out there". Well, that may be the best FOR THEM, but not necessarily the best for YOU. That's what I try and stress in every one of my classes. To me, gun choice is very individual and it normally is not a "one size fits all" type thing...not if you are personal about it. Yes, you can make it that way, but generally, most times that is not the case.

How did you like it? First time there?

Hello. Anything else? LOL! Howdy from Kentucky! Glad you could drop by!