Alan550

K49-14408 Same die for .38 Super & .38 Super Comp.

My two TruBors are almost ten years old, and I've never run anything thru the barrels. Safe-queens, huh? I guess bullets don't count!

I want a pound of what he's smokin'! You don't come up with ideas like this after a cup of coffee!

I think you could re-word that part in red. Some one will try that under a loaded powder measure, sure as hell! Lol. Yet I haven't said anything inconsistent. There would definitely be plenty of carbon ingrained after that I am from eastern Europe and here it goes without saying that safety of grownups involved is sole responsibility of themselves. For those who go with lighted matches under the loaded funnel, Darwin developed theory of evolution - they tend to get extinct. OH I agree entirely, but Murphy takes no vacations and some idiot here in the US will try that, you can almost bet. And SWEAR that they "read it on the internet" so it must be safe! Your suggestion isn't out of line at all, but as one of our comedians says, "you can't fix stupid"

I bought one of those anniversary guns last Fall and it would drop a loaded magazine on the first shot. I have 9 Ruger mags to fit that gun and thought it was maybe the mag, but all 9 would do the same. Called Ruger and they sent me a Return Authorization to send the gun back. All it cost me was the trip to the "local" FedEx. Got it back in about 10-12 days and no further problems. It runs as expected of a Ruger. Rather than struggle with the problems you're having, give them a call. They were very quick to suggest the return, so we aren't the only ones with a problem with that particular gun. At least that's my guess. BTW, you got a BX-25 that somehow wasn't included with mine! I fell cheated!! NOT!

I think you could re-word that part in red. Some one will try that under a loaded powder measure, sure as hell!

Another tool head is the best idea with appropriate dies. The .38 Super is a straight-wall case & the 9mm is tapered......different animals altogether. You can use the same powder die but naturally, it'll have to be adjusted differently for the 2 calibers because of length differences. I'd just get a dedicated .38 Super tool head, and caliber conversion kit. Makes the changeover much easier.

Case lube is your friend. Some seem to think that Carbide dies don't require it, which they don't, but that doesn't mean it won't help a bunch to smooth things up.

Yep, that's great club out there, I agree! Tell Chuck, Ron & Mike that I said "hello". I only went by your current location for the travel expense, but if you're "going home again" have fun with it, as I'm sure you will! Alan~^~

Chuck, You might want to shoot the Berrien Springs Michigan match instead of Flagler. They shoot the same weekend, just before the Cup, but the Michigan matches are 2 days back-to-back State & Regional all in one weekend. More bang for the buck! Flagler is a one-day event. Many International Cup shooters do the Michigan shoot as well. Just my opinion. Alan~^~

9mm is a tapered case but the 38sc is a straight-wall. The .223 shell plate is best, but the 9mm may work depending upon the brass involved. Definitely change the sizing die but the seat & crimp should work from your 9x19 setup.

For a high-pressure round like that, maybe I'm just a wimp, but that brass would go in the recycle jug immediately. Also, time for a new sizing die, but that's just me. I've had a .308 Remington 7400 rifle "blow up" on me due to a reloading error, and that's a lot lighter round than you're dealing with here. Just my 2 cents, FWIW. Alan~^~

From the info given, no clue. Are you sure it was a .38 Super case and not a 9mm? Did the powder bar move as it should have? Not really enough info to diagnose from here.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^ +1 I had a Bianchi Open Gun built in 2000 with the rails & ordered an extra set of rails to go with it, thinking that they would wear out fairly quickly. WRONG! With over 80,000 rounds through it, the frame-to-slide fit and barrel lockup is still tight enough to shoot under 1" @ 50 yards just like it did from the builder! So the extra set is just taking up space on the shelf, "just in case". Can't say enough good about Doug's fitting and using the rails!

Do you wear Rx glasses? That may be the problem due to induced parallax when using the portion closer to the center of the lenses as opposed to the upper section when you lower your head to shoot normally positioned targets.

If they can't find 'em, maybe the lawnmower will?

Definitely get a shroud with "wings" for Bianchi Cup stuff. That gun as it stands is considered an "Open Modified" and that category is all but defunct at the Cup. With the shroud & wings, you'll have a top-notch Bianchi Open setup!

I use the RCBS dies as well for that caliber. I size/deprime first on a single stage, then trim to length, chamfer/deburr and then move to the 550. Station 1 I leave empty and just prime there. The other 3 stations do their usual job. The previous post is right about the .223 powder drop. Use the .45ACP/.308/30-06 shell plate. If you really want to get fancy, get an extra seat/crimp die and you can do those operations separately to prevent shaving the bullets as they are seated. Otherwise, station 4 remains empty as well as station one in this scenario.

EGW still makes 'em. 5" & 6".

And in future to keep it easier to clean, spray the inside before you shoot it with case lube like Dillon, Frankfort Arsenal or Mid South. They contain nothing but alcohol and lanolin and will keep the fouling soft enough to clean out with a cotton swab and bore solvent of your choice.

I agree with miranda. The 2014 Lawman Winner at Bianchi, Travis Hayton, started shooting NRA Action Pistol at age 9 with a .22. He's now in his early 20's and a Deputy Sheriff, and he "studied" under the Overall 2014 Winner at the Cup, Kevin Angstadt. Must be something in this VA water that brings out the shooter in kids! Ultimately, it's up to the parent knowing the maturity level of the kid involved. I started my grandkids out at 6, but since they have no real interest in it anymore, they got over the initial excitement and gave up shooting except for the youngest who's now 9. So we'll see where that goes. It's never too young to teach them the safety aspects, even if they don't want to compete later. Go with the "instant gratification" stuff and low noise/recoil. Buy a box of cookies or crackers, set them up really close and let them have at it. Bio-degradable so there's no cleanup after they're done for the day, Just one old guys opinion.........

You'll have to be careful if you shoot the Bianchi Cup. They use a worn-out 4" 38 super barrel to chrono the loads for 38 super, 38 Super Comp & 9x23! I got called to the chrono the last few times I went with the 9x23 and with a 125 gr bullet in my 6", it shot way over the floor with the first shot! Their "test" gun was WAY below the required 120 PF. Makes me giggle every time I think about those days.

If you mean you shot through the target before the round got to the chrono, you may have some material from the target messing up the reading as well. Just a thought.

As far as checking to see that you're loaded, if you load 8 rounds in your first mag and 7 in each of the others, you can check each mag as it comes out of the gun before putting it back into the mag pouch. You will have one round left in each, provided you didn't have to clear a jam or otherwise eject a live one during the string of fire. Don't just put 6 in each one. In case of a problem that leaves you no extras for a problem-solver. Also using 7 adds weight from that extra round for ease of dropping the mag and gives you a loaded chamber at all times. If you go to slide-lock on each string, you end up with a "hand-chambered round" that historically means that first shot won't hit to same POI as the ones that the action of the gun chambered which can present real problems at the 50- yard line on Practical. For double-stack guns, put in 13 for the same reasons. Using an acronym is a good idea to develop a routine. Just do what works for YOU. Keep it in your head and don't vocalize it though! People will begin to wonder about this guy who "talks to himself" during a match!

You'd need to get down around 805-820 fps to achieve that PF w/147 gr. Most likely you'll run into the problem of it not running a gun as orangeride mentioned. You'll probably be better off using a lighter bullet. A 125 gr needs to run @ 960 for a 120 PF and will be much easier to make the gun run. Even then, you'll be far below the recommended starting loads published by Hodgdon for TG.