R1_Demon

Damn you people!!!! I now have bench envy! LMAO!!! Bad thing is, I have ZERO room. I need to move into another house that actually has a garage, basement or a room for a bench. Sigh...in the meantime I will have to live vicariously through all of you and your wonderful benches while I stick with my little, small, measly portable bench. LOL!!!!

I thirdly vote for the New Dimension dies. I also load in .40 and they have worked fine. I may be a new reloader, but they were easy to follow the directions and setup and use and I haven't had any issues with them. That's what I look for in items like this. Yes, they have to be accurate and work, but they also shouldn't be a pain in the arse to use or have issues and they haven't.

FRanger - I just saw this (sorry, been a bit busy, so I haven't been on the forum lately), but I use a XDm 5.25" Competition in .40 and I think most of the XD's and XDm's use the same holsters, both original and Mod.2 as you have found out. I also bought a Comp-Tac and really like it for my XDm. I hope you enjoy it and welcome to the SA world! ;-) I think you will like it much better to be honest.

Are you sure one doesn't say (Tapatalk) on it and the other is from the forum? I get the same thing, but actually one is from the forum and the other is basically from Tapatalk, but they look very, very similar. Only in the subject line it does say Tapatalk in the one, otherwise, they look the same. Just a thought. Not saying that is your problem, but I would check just to be sure.

Thanks for the info all. If XD's are that hard I probably will just take it to some one experienced. But good video though. ??

Hey all, This doesn't have to do with competition, per se, but I was wondering something. For my home defense firearms, I usually end up purchasing firearms that already end up having night sights on them for the purpose of use at night, in case an intruder enters. (duh! LOL) Anyway, I have a couple of firearms (a PK380 and a XD9 Mod .2) that I ended up really liking, but neither of these have night sights on them. I'm wondering how difficult is it to swap out the sights yourself and how do you ensure that the sights are realigned so that the pistol is sighted in correctly like it was with the factory sights? Is it difficult enough that I should just take it to a local gunsmith and have him/her do it? Or is it fairly straight forward that I would be able to do it? Is it something as easy as measuring where the old sights are now and replacing the new sights in the same position? I wouldn't think so only because the new sights may be made differently or have different widths or whatever, so thus the they would be in different positions or have different measurements when installed. I've actually never had to mess with any sights on any of my firearms (except for in the military forever ago) that I have purchased. I've been lucky enough that they have been right on (as far as I know or at least I have adapted very quickly and didn't notice), so I really don't want to screw that up. But then again, I like doing things myself and I'm pretty mechanically inclined, as long as I know the proper way to do something. I don't like to half-arse do things. Do I need to buy some sort of rest to do this? Thanks in advance everyone! Mat

Dragon, thanks for the heads up. I'm gearing up to get one here shortly.

Well, I didn't exactly. I saw there was a 15% difference in the N340. Then I compared that to the N320 which also showed the same type of 15% difference. So that is why I then applied that 15% difference to the N320 again and that is how I came up with the 4.1-4.6 grain spread for the JHP. But any which way, I'll go back over that link you provided. Thank you.

Thank you sir. I have probably even seen this thread before but I missed it on my search due to the parameters I put in. :-/

Cool. Thanks for the info Dwbsig. When I start loading 9, I'll probably be going with 147's so this is very helpful. Thank you.

I went into my local reloading shop to see if they had some yesterday and he didn't so I asked him and he hadn't heard of it. I told him about the positive experience others here have had with 9 & 40 with it and he was super cool and ordered four 1# bottles to put on his shelves to try it out. As soon as it comes in he is going to call me so I can pick up a bottle to try. It was my first time ever in that shop. Now that is customer service! ???

LOL! I don't know. Maybe to make sure it stays hot? LOL!

Whoooop! Whooop! I like cookies! LOL! Problem is, I'm now trying to search and figure out what load data to use for N320 to make 40 major under a Hornady 180 XTP HP at 1.135 for my XDm 5.25". I haven't had much luck at all because everyone is loading coated bullets and way longer than me. Plus VV only shows info for lead TC 180 on their site for N320. So I have calculated it at 4.1 gr to start and 4.6 gr max going from their lead and HP data with N340. So I was going to try a ladder of 10 rounds each from 4.1 to 4.6 and chrono it to see where I'm at with the N320.

Thank you for the input. I already have Tightgroup, but went local today looking for Sport Pistol to try it but he didnt have any and hadn't heard of it yet. I gave him the info I've seen here with it doing well with 9mm and 40 and he was cool enough to order 4 bottles of it to put on his shelves to try it out and will call me once it's in. ?? However since he had one bottle of N320 left on the shelf I grabbed it because I wanted to try it compared to TG anyway. So when the Sport Pistol comes in I'll grab one of those too and try all three and see what goes. ??

SC - I agree...for $2 more a pound, that is nothing really. I would definitely like to try it out for $19/pound. That, to me, is on the cheaper side of powders from what I have seen. So, as long as the powder worked well in 40, that would be well worth it to me. Much more than almost double that for N320. RAP - As Stuck said, thank you in advance for any info on 40 and Sport Pistol you can provide. I keep considering trying out N320, but every time I see the price tag, it gets stuck in my throat and I think, eeehhhh...is it really worth it? I know, I know...the powder is the cheapest part of the process and all that, but still. Just for some reason my brain sees the double price and it kills me. LOL! However, I really liked the info above regarding the 9mm, so I'm hoping that the 40 will produce similar results with Sport Pistol and, if so, and it is cleaner and not as hot as Tightgroup, then I'm all about it.

Dang...I'm starting to feel like an idiot. I empty out my powder measure each time I'm done using it. I guess I'm just OCD or weird/paranoid that something will happen with the powder left in it. Then again, my reloader is sitting on a portable bench in my kitchen, where it is also next to the washer, dryer, hot water heater, furnace and stove because I have too small of a rental house and have no garage or room to reload in. :-/ Whenever I reload, I actually move the portable bench into an office/closet type room and reload there and when I'm done, it gets moved back to one wall in the kitchen. So, maybe my paranoia has to do with the furnace, water heater and the electric dryer being close by, so I remove all the powder so there won't be any "mishaps" while it is sitting there.

Thanks for the info on this. I'm wondering how this powder would do in .40 major as that is what I'm reloading for. I agree with SCTaylor. That is some of the best SD and ES that I have seen posted with any powder. I hope someone tests this stuff in the .40 reloading forum or I might just have to go buy some and try it out and see how it goes. But thank you for the info. Much appreciated. Oh and I'm curious of the price compared to like Tightgroup or N320? Basing that Tightgroup is the lower end of the price range and N320 is the high end. LOL

I know this has been buried for a while, but I'm wondering if the OP ever figured out what the deal was? I know a lot of people do talk about shooting their ammo on cold days and hot days and how the PF and FPS varies slightly. However, I honestly believe that leaving the said ammo sitting out in the direct sun in a sealed bag could have caused this type of situation. Especially if it was a clear, sealed bag where the sunlight just beat down on it for a good 2-3 hours before shooting it. It's one thing to just take ammo out of a covered range bag and shoot it in hotter/colder temps than we loaded it or tested it in, but to have it actually just sit for hours in a sealed bag in hotter/colder temps before actually shooting it has to cause an affect with almost any powder to a certain degree. I'd be surprised if it didn't cause this type of effect on his ammo. I would actually agree with trying out the same ammo (if you had any left over) after it had time to cool back down to regular room temps (if this heated exchange did not cause a permanent effect to the ammo) and/or cool it down in a cooler, as someone did mention, and then try those rounds and see how they measure on the chrono afterwards. So, I'm curious about this actually. This would be a good test of this exact ammo again. Take one batch and leave it sealed in the hot sun again, just as the same before, but another batch (made the same day, same press, same everything) that was in more controlled conditions (in a range bag in the car where sunlight wasn't a factor) and then take them both out and shot a string of each, one after another, and then saw if there were any differences regarding the "regular" range bag ammo and the "super heated" ammo in the sun. I'll bet there is a big difference between the two just as the OP saw initially. Then again, I might be wrong in all of this and it might not matter. LOL!!!

Ok, got it. I see what you did. That's smart. Ya, I think a couple of more screws to mount it down or a second 1/2" or 3/4" top on top of it would help, especially if you could bolt it down through a piece of angle iron underneath, as long as you can bolt that angle iron to the sides of the bench itself to secure it and make it so that it would be sturdy and make the bench take the weight, ya know? But I see what you are talking about. Depending on how things are mounted, you might even be able to run a piece of angle iron along that front and then mount some flush mounted screws down from the top and then through the front into the angle iron. That would secure the top to the front of the bench and that would definitely make it sturdy. Especially if you could do the same with the back, then it would be mounted in the front and rear and it wouldn't be going anywhere. But I see what you mean about the reloader hitting the front of the bench though. Would definitely have to put it out like you did or just use a raised mount for the reloader.

Definitely interesting to see him do it by volume and not measuring it out by grains. I wouldn't have thought to do that because I would have been afraid to blow something up considering one of them could have been much denser and thus it could have been a big overcharge. However, that is probably my loading inexperience talking there. LOL But it was still interesting to see the difference of what he was talking about regarding the two and even though they are named the same, but two different factories, that you still have to do load development with that same powder. Interesting.

That's the way I look at it too. I could be a smart arse and say, well if Dillon was so perfect, then why are there so many threads in the Dillon Reloading section asking for fixes to problems? LOL But I'm not going to go there. I have a Hornady LnL AP as well and it works fine for what I do and I could afford it. That's what mattered to me. Does that mean I won't ever move up to a Dillon? Nope. It doesn't. But that also doesn't mean I won't have my LnL forever too. Sometimes you just gotta try things out for yourself and go from there. That doesn't mean Dillon isn't top notch and there isn't a reason to get them. But that also, to me, doesn't mean you should or, as most people try to say, HAVE to stay away from the others and ONLY get a Dillon either. To each their own. As Kaldor stated...every manufacturer has its quirks on their models and their benefits for what each user needs. It's whatever works for ya. You might work on your RCBS for a while and find out it isn't for you and move up to something else, but what I'm saying is don't be afraid to look around at everything when you look, you could be surprised at what you find.

Is there any way or any reason you could put some more support underneath the table top to help it? Or just do as you suggested and be done with it? Like maybe a piece of angle iron mounted underneath or something to make it a bit more sturdy across or something? I'm just thinking out loud at the moment to see if there is any way to tighten it up a bit or something. Right now I have the smaller Frankford Arsenal table and I have my Hornady LnL mounted off the edge. I haven't tried one of the strong supports (I think that is what they are called?) that raises it up on top of the table. I know I have seen them for the Dillon's and I know that they make them for the Hornady as well, but I saw no need for one with my current setup, so I just mounted it to the edge of the table and was done with it. However, with something like this, I wasn't sure if I could mount it to the edge, with it moving such as you said or would I need to buy the raised mount and mount it on top of the table or not.

Well hot damn...if I would open my eyes, I would have seen at the bottom your Dealer Forum here. LOL! Sorry about that man. Cool. I'll definitely check it out. I appreciate it. I have a Hornady LnL, so I'll look this up and grab one when I have some extra cash. I saved the link to your Forum here and your other website for ordering, so I can grab one when I have a chance to. I appreciate the info and the work on this.

OH damn...that is cool...where did you get that from?! You don't have to modify the original powder drop though, do you? Does it just screw in tight and you're done? If so, I might have to look into this even though mine is brand new and doesn't have to be replaced yet, but it won't hurt to get this and have it on hand for future use. It looks like it has threads on it and screws into the base of the powder drop (sorry, duhhh...reread it and you said it screws in). That would make it soooo much easier to clean each time and I'm all about making it easier.

I haven't had that happen to me...yet. I just made sure that when I took it off the first time to clean it, that I made sure to "screw" it down in and make sure it was totally seated. I haven't touched it since. As someone mentioned, I use a used dryer sheet to clean it between power changes to keep the static from keeping the old powder in there. And when it is empty, I normally keep a used dryer sheet in there. It hasn't caused any issues thus far. I just take the dryer sheet out when I'm getting ready to reload and once I'm done with my charges/reloading, I put empty the powder back into the bottle and put the dryer sheet back in and it reduces the static again in the tube.