Alan550

The correct spelling is "brake"................

With the wear factor involved, I'd suggest the bushing as well. It's much easier to replace than a new slide when it wears out on a bull setup. Alan~^~

I was basing my numbers on an average load of 40 grains of IMR 4064. Sierra lists loads form 39.9-45.0 grains with that powder, so I took the low end of that. It gets to a smaller percentage with the 45.0 gr loads. Really nothing to worry over IMHO. Alan~^~

Punched the alarm clock, showered, dressed and was half way to work when I woke up, realizing I'd dreamed it all and was an hour late! Alan~^~

At .2 grains variance, you're only looking at .5% difference in your loads. That's 1/2 of a percent! The .2 grain difference in a pistol load would be considerably more of a variation, something in the vicinity of 4-5% difference, so I wouldn't worry about that small a difference in a rifle load. Unless, of course, you're loading for Benchrest shooting! For "normal" competitions, (3-gun etc.) and hunting, you won't be able to tell that much of a difference in accuracy up to 100+ yards. Alan~^~

Factory seems to work fine if it's tuned right to start. It does need cleaning frequently though! It gets removed and the tunnel cleaned with every cleaning, usually ~ 400-500 rds. Alan~^~

NRA Action Pistol ( Bianchi Cup shooting) fits as well. No running in that game either. Alan~^~

Yep, you missed on this one! Kevin Angstadt, this year's Bianchi winner, and Andy Krantz, the Senior World Bianchi Winner both shoot Zero bullets. Accuracy is most important in this game! I've seen Kevin pissed over not being able to get under .75" @ 50 yards with some of his past loads. As for the Beretta, some of them are very accurate, but an off-the-shelf gun may not be the most accurate. You're looking at 2 different categories here too. The Beretta is a Production and the Colt would fall into Metallic as you mentioned. Apples & oranges. Load a bit over PF with either one since the test guns they use at the Cup are WORN OUT! I know of several shooters who got called to the chrono and with their guns more than beat the 120,000 PF with the first shot while the test gun only made 110,000-115,00. Consider the temperature sensitivity of your ammo too, since you never know what you'll have at Columbia in May. For local matches, I wouldn't worry too much about PF so long as you take down the plates. It only gets check at State, Regional & National events in my experience. For the .38 Super, so far the softest shooting powder we use is WST, but we're going to begin testing the new E3 from Alliant this Spring. Heard some good reports so far on that one. Taper crimp, and set OAL to whatever your gun likes best and that fits the mag. Hope this helps. Kevin (Action Pistolero) will probably chime in here too. Alan~^~

He probably did the first time. Not enough posts to show the targets! Alan~^~

Sarge, try some CCI Velocitor .22, there again if you can find it. The package says it's a Speer Gold Dot Hollow Point, and it's hell on groundhogs at about 50 yards! They just lay down on the spot! Alan~^~

+1 The .223 shell plate is what you need w/the same locator buttons as the Super or the .40 Alan~^~

I'm sure glad the airlines don't feel that way! Alan~^~

Are you sure on that OAL number? That's awfully short for a .38 SC. They should be in the vicinity of +/- 1.250" Alan~^~

A BIG thank you to MarkCO & ZackJones for this thread! I've been "lurking" since about the middle of October on this one. We have been running informal SC matches at our small club here in VA for a couple years, but have only been able to run 2-3 stages due to space requirements. They are so wide that they endanger a new wall in case of misses. I checked out the NSSF web site, read the rules, looked at the CoFs and read the rules again. Their requirements are set so we can run as many as 5-6 stages at a time! Great news! Most of our shooters had been showing up with rimfire guns anyway, and like Zack, I had NO trouble getting the events OK'd by the members at our last meeting. The ability to purchase ammo was a big factor in that decision as it was for Zack. I went online and joined NSSF for the club ($75.00/year) and within a week got our events posted on their web site. Being located in the hills of VA, we won't get decent weather until probably March, so we'll start then. I plan to contact their ammo distributor in Mid-February about buying some to get started and see how it goes. If participation is as high as the enthusiasm was at the meeting, we'll have a good crowd. Thanks again to Mark & Zack for getting this info out here! Alan~^~

How about this one...............999.99 seconds limit. http://www.cedhk.com/shop/products/CED8000-Timer.html Alan~^~

Another idea..........when you tighten the primer slide, do it with the handle pushed up as if you're seating a primer. This will ensure alignment with the shell plate & platform hole. Alan~^~

According to that formula, YES. The AR-15s shooting heavy bullets need a 1-7 twist. Longer bullets need a faster twist, short one a slow twist rate. Use that formula above and figure it for your specific bullet length/diameter. You're a pretty high-tech kinda guy, do your own numbers and you'll get the right answer. Alan~^~

Tom, you're not right, generally speaking. The formula for calculating twist rate is: 150 divided by the projectile length (in calibers) X the diameter = twist rate in inches. That works for everything from a .17 up to cannons! Got that from an article by Charles Petty in the NRA mag a few years ago. For my 115 HAPs it works out to 33.06" and for the 147 MG it becomes 24.68" for twist rate. Longer/heavier = faster in every case, but each barrel is a different animal unto itself, as you know! Alan~^~

Roller handle helps, but first try putting a sock over the ball handle to remove the friction between your hand and the ball. Another option could be to get a stool that lets you sit for reloading at a comfortable height. Alan~^~

The caliber conversion kits include the powder funnel (powder drop die insert), shell plate and locator buttons for the specified caliber. Alan~^~

Double tap

Double tap

Thanks Russell. Part of the range crew was an all-girl RO staff on the Barricades on Sunday, one of whom is the current Va State Lady Fast Draw Champion in Cowboy Shooting. We aims to please! Alan~^~

My first press was/is a Dillon 550 back in 1986 so I combined that with my name. Alan~^~

They let you shoot at the Basketball museum?