Alan550

Another major difference is that the 550 is manually indexed but the SDB is auto-indexing. As others said, if youplan to load for rifles, then you have to move up to the 550, as the SDB won't do rifle rounds. Alan~^~

Depending upon caliber............I agree 100%. Alan~^~

I slipped a digit! According to the Hodgdon manual I have here, it recommends 3.8gr of Titegroup! Sorry for the bad info!! Glad you didn't load that before others caught my screwup!

3.8 grains will work nicely for that heavy bullet. Alan~^~

I run between 6 & 7 grains of Unique with a 125 gr JHP at 1.135" OAL, depending on how "hot" I want the load. I use the 6gr mostly 'cause I hate recoil & noise! It's a soft shooting load and accurate enough to shoot steel. Be careful that you get bullets with a long bearing surface, as the SIG isn't very easy to get a good crimp on some of the shorter bullets. It's a bit tricky to load because, depending upon where you get the info, it either head spaces on the shoulder or the case mouth. Not sure which is correct and folks will argue either point all day long, swearing that the other theory is wrong! Alan~^~

If it says "Performance Center" on, nope, it won't be suitable for Production. That's considered a "custom shop" by NRA. Rule 3.2.1, second section under prohibited, sub-section (a). Alan~^~

Happy BD!! Now you can shoot with the Seniors!! Yiipppeeee! Alan~^~

My Dad's best friend, a farmer, had skin cancer on his ears, and the Dr. told him to wear a hat. He said "Write me a prescription". Turns out he used that as a tax deduction for years as a "medical deduction"! He wore some of the finest Stetson hats you ever saw! And WE paid for them! Smart guy, huh? Alan~^~

+1. Zero changed the ogive on the HAP to keep away from patent infringement, but otherwise they are the same bullets for accuracy. Alan~^~

+1 That's exactly what I use and it doesn't allow the FP to hit the chamber face. Alan~^~

Not only NO...............BUT HELL NO!!!!!!!!! That's for someone who can't find a bridge to jump off of! What RiggerJJ said is on the money. Alan~^~

Thanks for the link, Mark! I'd already read the NSSF web site but missed that part for some reason. I guess as a side match we'll run a stage I saw on here somewhere to a stage called "Just A Second" where there were 2 18"x24" targets set about 3' apart with a 10" stop plate set between them a little further away. The idea was to double-tap the 18"x24" targets and hit the stop plate, hence the name of the stage. I didn't remember that they require at least 5 targets in a "regular" stage, but you're correct! As I said in my earlier post, we're just getting started and trying to draw new and experienced shooters to the game, so I'm a firm believer in the KISS principle in this instance. The 90%-90%-90% rule will be in effect here to keep 'em coming back. Thanks again to you & Zack for your input, even though you had no idea a "lurker" was reading every post! Alan~^~

I'd start out at ~3.2g and work up from that. I know that sounds low, but one of our guys get that load to run his semi-auto, and it's accurate out to about 50 yards, believe it or not! I was shocked it would even run the gun, but it is definitely a "Mouse-fart" load. Alan~^~

Good info there! Keep it coming since there seems to be a good bit of interest in this powder. Alan~^~

Zack, How many targets are you using on a stage? We're just getting started here in VA, and from what I've read, there should be between 3-7 targets on a stage. I had also planned on using the same stages for rifle & pistol with longer-range shooting boxes for the rifles. Good idea or not? I'm pleasantly surprised at the response I've gotten already and our first match isn't until the end of March! Glad you posted this question, as it had been in the back of my mind as well since we're new at this particular game. I look forward to other responses from experienced MDs. Alan~^~

Someone once told me "The trigger is an eraser". You can have everything right; stance, grip, sight picture, sight alignment and the trigger pull can/will erase all that you've done right up to that point. Alan~^~

I assume you meant "powder bars", so the small one (2-piece) gets used on the .45 ACP and the large one (one piece) is used on the .223 Rem. Alan~^~

Be careful of JHP ammo in pistol rounds being tumbled in corn cob! It's really easy to get some of that stuff in the hollow point and believe me, it falls into the action of the pistol at the most inopportune time!

+1 This man knows whereof he speaks!

The OP was asking about main spring weight, not recoil spring. I don't think you'd get a 9-10# main spring to set off Winchester primers, let alone CCIs!

Most Dillons sell for 80%+ from new retail. They just don't lose their value much.

Also, for the same bullet weight, JHPs generally have a longer bearing surface, and are longer overall. I've heard of no one that gets the same or worse accuracy from JHPs compared to any solid bullet in the same weight. JHPs are enclosed at the rear, making for less lead contaminate in the air and less smoke too.

If you'll notice, the OP is in Australia...............

If you take the powder measure off the tool head, be careful when working the powder bar as Sarge suggests! There's a white bushing in there that will fall out if you're not careful. I use a small funnel put under the powder bar as I work it to catch the bushing when it falls. Alan~^~

Ideally, the 147 would need a faster twist rate than the 115. I did the calculations on a 115 grain HAP Hornady and a 147 grain Montana Gold. For the 115, it worked out to 1:33.06. For the MG 147 it was 1:29.68. Not a huge difference, but as stated in the above post, most handgun mfgs just use ~ 1:16 and let it go at that. The formula for twist rate is: 150 divided by the projectile length (in calibers) times the diameter = twist rate in inches. Complicated, I know, but I got that from an article that Wiley Clapp wrote a few years ago, and he said it's used even for artillery rounds! Alan~^~