PaleoMan

I see on Chrome and Safari

Every time I access the site, I have to log in (I've always used my display name). When I do that, I see the message: Sorry, there is a problem Something went wrong. Please try again. Error code: 2S119/1 But I am then logged in. Any suggestions? Using Chrome on a Mac. Started doing this after the update.

On my second box of 12000, and they have been working well. I do use slightly more powder than with CCI. Only complaint I have is the individual packets are 150 primers, which I have to split to groups of 100 for my Dillon press. I usually end up making multiples of 300 cartridges at a time because of that.

Thanks dsa! I've been enjoying the S&W E-series quite a bit. Looking forward to getting it out today and back soon (S&W says 3-4 weeks turn around). Regards,

Contacted S&W and will send it back to them for repair. Someone pointed out a tool for about $60 to stake the tube, but I'll let S&W fix it this time. I'm curious if it just a normal wear thing, if it is a weakness in the S&W (or 1911 in general) design, or if there is some action I'm doing to loosen the tube (not sure what that would be). If it occurs again (and based on what this costs to repair), I may consider getting the tool.

Thanks all! It does seem like the plunger tube is loose, as the safety is moving normally. The gun is out of the one year warranty period, but I'll call S&W anyways and see what they say. Is this just something that can loosen over time? Certainly is something I need to check periodically, as I found the issue while practicing (dry fire), and was planning on using it at a Steel Challenge match tomorrow. Fortunately, it's my back up gun Regards,

Hi! I have a S&W 1911 E-series. Had a few instances where it seemed like it was difficult to disengage the safety, and then finally, yesterday, I could not disengage during dry firing. I found that the plunger for the thumb safety, which should press up against the thumb safety, seems to be riding up over and therefore the thumb safety cannot be pushed down. I had to manually push in the plunger to be able to operate the safety and then be able to rack and remove round/etc. A few questions... Is the plunger bent? Any idea as to how that could have happened (something I may have done, or possibly some design issue)? Should this be something I can replace, or should I send it to S&W or a gunsmith? The gun has under 2000 rounds of use. Thanks!

Assuming one is placing the gun in the middle of one's body, is the advantage of having eye dominance on the same side as strong hand a matter of better (easier) acquisition, because the gun is lined up with the eye during the presentation process? One video is suggesting newbies starting shooting on the dominant eye side. For me, I just don't have much dexterity with my left. Other videos are suggesting turning the head slightly. I see the advantage for alignment, but if the gun is in the middle, I would think a right handed, right eye dominant person would have a similar problem (with the eye not aligned). So I'm thinking that the advantage must be during presenting? Also, I've heard that turning the head becomes difficult with multiple targets left and right. I found that when trying it at USPSA matches (turn head to left to see target, but then have to turn back slightly to align eye). I'm leaning on trying to just keep everything straight and work on acquiring as fast as I can. I'm thinking, for me, the bigger issue is the grip strength difference. If I take the acquisition time out of the equation, it seems like the one variable is my difference in strength. I can squeeze much harder with my right as a support hand. I'm trying to build strength in my left, so I'm hoping that will make a difference. It seems to (slowly) be improving. $0.20 (adjusted for inflation)

I'm struggling with the same issue (right handed and left eye very dominant). I find that shooting with both hands and left on trigger (using iTarget dry firing), I'm more accurate most of the time. If I shoot left hand only, it is not as accurate as right hand only. I'm seeing a few things. Clearly my right grip is better than my left and when I shoot with left on trigger, my right does a much better job holding the gun on target, than if my left is my support. I've been working on my grip on my left to see if I can improve the accuracy and it is starting to show signs of improvement in dry fire practice. With my left, I am really slow drawing, and have a hard getting a smooth draw without the gun bouncing around, especially when going faster. I have way more dexterity with my right. I haven't done much of shooting with my left only or with both hands, using my right as the support hand. I'm not sure how well I'll handle recoil with left only shooting. I've been dry-fire practicing with both eyes, but as soon as I try to competitively shoot, I can't seem to acquire the target fast and have troubles with double images when moving from target to target, so I close my right now for now. I did try to do some manipulations with the gun, as a lefty. I found it really hard to manipulate the slide lock with my left (my gun has the lever on both sides). Also, with another gun, I have a really hard time moving the thumb safety on (up) with my left thumb. Luck has it, I torn a tendon on my right elbow, and for the past two months have been dry firing with my left only. It is really slow, and again, hard to keep the gun steady, especially over time. So I'm trying it out a bit. I'm still up in the air on what to do, but I'm thinking of staying righty, and just working on lots of strength exercises for my left, hoping I can improve accuracy. Maybe I'll try closing my left (or taping) some time. Although, not only is my left eye dominant, but I'm near sighted (contacts) and because of age, even my near vision is getting worse (I wear readers for close up work). The sights are a little hard to see, especially if lighting is not greeat. Always a challenge, but I'm still working through it. Interesting ideas folks! Regards, PCM

Updated my F/W yesterday. Using Android phone (Samsung), I connected easily and it downloaded the current shot info I had. Nice to be able to see the info on the phone. I did have to go to settings and set units for velocity, weight, etc. as it didn’t use what was on the chrono. Looks like I’ll be able to arm from the phone. Very handy and nice improvement!

Argh, got injured playing soccer Wednesday night. Looks like it’ll be a while before I can operate my press. When I’m able, I’ll try measuring my loads both to see drop consistency, and to see how the std dev is for equal loads. Will be quite a while, so bear with the delay in posting...

Thanks. I'll give that a try. Won't do a ladder right now, but will just pick one load and make s batch of 20 to check consistency. Probably will do Saturday, but may not get to test until next week, as there is a USPSA match Sunday. Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk

Ah...gotcha.

I do actually sort by case now, and usually stick to well known brands (most times that's what people use, but once and a while I'll see unusually brands of mil cases, which I don't use). However, when I fill the case feeder, if it gets low, I'll refill with another brand, so over time there can be several brands in the feeder. I can use more diligence and try to go until one is used up and then switch to the next.

Any suggestions on how to best hand weigh the charges? I'm using a progressive press and don't have a standalone device to drop a charge. Wondering about the logistics of verifying the charge, and ensuring a case is in station 1, when seating in station 4 and crimping in station 5. I have station 1 = size/decap, 2=powder drop, 3=powder check, 4=seat, 5=crimp. Decap, prime, and charge 20 cases, take them out at station 3, pour out charge, measure, and then pour it back in, and reinsert into station 3 and proceed? Concern is if a drop is off. Set aside case, run it through later, doing charge, pour out and measure, pour back in, and then place in station 4 with case in station 1, then place another case in station 1 for station 5 crimping? Is there an easier/less error prone way?

Can you elaborate on the issue? Inconsistent drop? Some issue with type of powder? Other? I measured 10 drops before and after and it was within 0.2gr for the 5.2 and 5.3 runs and 0.6gr for the 5.0 run. Meaning 0.06gr off per drop. I did them from lowest to highest load. Regards. Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk

Sure. File #42 is the 5.0gr, #43 is 5.2gr, and #44 is 5.3 gr, all with Fiocchi primers, 125gn Precision Bullets, and mixed cases (mostly Blazer and Federal, I think). OAL was 1.136" +/- 0.003". Regards, PCM SR0044 Report.csv SR0043 Report.csv SR0042 Report.csv

Sticking with the Fiocchi's as I have 12,000 of them, I shortened the OAL to 1.135" (which is what I wanted to try, but didn't have time before). The OAL came out to about 1.136". I created 20 of 5.0gr, 5.2gr, and 5.3gr loads. I had mixed cases. Using the Precision Bullets 125 gr coated RN. Here are the results... 5.0gr... V5 ave = 1005 fps PF5 = 125.63 std dev = 37.07 5.2gr... V5 ave = 1043.9 fps PF5 = 130.49 std dev = 30.36 5.3gr... V5 ave = 1070.3 fps PF5 = 133.79 std dev = 24.59 I liked the accuracy I was getting with both the 5.2gr and 5.3gr loads. Primers on them both looked just fine (as expected). Looks like I'll stick with the 5.3 grain loads. Thanks for the help and suggestions everyone!

Th the CCI primers I’m seeing, on average, about 20 fps higher, than the Fiocchi primers, using the same shells, bullets, pr8mer and load. Seeing 1019.9 fps vs 1000.3 fps at 5 feet out. That gives a PF of 127.49 and 125.04, respectively. The OAL was closer to 1.148” on all the rounds (I get a longer OAL, when the stations are loaded up). looks like I mcould go to 5.2 or so, and be fine for minor. I just wanted to compare CCI again. I did try 20 rounds using Fiocchi primers, but with a shorter OAL (1.140”, didn’t have time to get it down to 1.135”). The average velocity for 20 rounds was 999 fps. Not sure why there was no increase in velocity. I may try to go a little shorter to see how it works out. It is just hard to do, as I can set the OAL, but once I run all stations (Dillon 650), meaning I am decapping in station 1. there is a small change in OAL (up to 0.006”). In any case, I satisfied my CCI primer curiousity (it does seem to give a higher velocity), and will now focus on getting the PF up a small amount more. Regards,

I picked up a box of CCI primers and made 20 rounds with those and then 20 rounds with Fiocchi primers. All with 5.0 gr of CFE Pistol powder. I made absolutely sure that the drops were consistent. Did 10 drops and had 50.0gr, and after making the cartridges, I did another drop and it was 5.0gr. I also measured each cartridge made to make sure they were similar. Another thing I did, was hand pick the cases, so that they are all WIN cases. I separate the cases by brand, after cleaning, separate out any off brands, keeping only name brand for loading. I’ll load up the press with one brand, but as it runs low, I may fill with another. Over time, there can be several cases being used. If this causes a variance, then I’ll try to keep brands more separate, or just consider that, when evaluating the chrono data. In any case, I did some chrono’ing Of the shots and will publish results later tonight. Regards,

Hmm. I'm lucky to get SD down to 15. I'll double check on the measuring process to see if I'm making errors in chrono use. W.r.t. powder, I'm using a Dillon 650 and I fill the hopper each time I load (and empty it after each loading session). I shake the hopper cylinder numerous times to try to get the powder to settle some. Then, I run through five drops (tapping the case on the top of the hopper as I pour the powder back in - to help settling). On the sixth, I measure the load on my electronic scale. If off, I adjust the hopper, do five drops, and then check the sixth drop again. If the drop is correct. I add four more drops to the scale and see if the sum is four times the desired load. I accept, if it is within +/- 0.1gr. Maybe I should do more repetitions, once dialed in? What do you do for static mitigation? Thanks for all the suggestions, BTW!

Thanks for the data points, BTW. Looks like a consistent increase of about 20 fps per 0.02". What type of standard deviation do you see with the loads that you generate?

So, I had seen about 2x the change... Fiocchi primers, 1.132" OAL fresh made 4.8gr V5 average=971.9, PF5 average=121.49 Fiocchi primers, 1.145" OAL fresh made 4.8gr. V5 average=948.25, PF5 average=118.53 A decrease of 0.013" gave 25 fps increase. I see a few things I could try...probably in this order... Get CCI primers and see what velocity I get from the current 1.145" OAL and 4.8gr powder. I'm still haunted by the fact that I saw a large change once. Would like to reproduce. Try 5.2gr with Fiocchi primers at the current 1.145" OAL to see if I can get a comfortable margin over minor PF (5.0 gr was 125.89) Try 5.0gr with Fiocchi primers with a shorter OAL (1.135" or 1.125"), again to see if I can get the PF slightly higher. I am still wondering about the std. dev. seen and the changes from load to load (4.6gr => 4.8gr was 27.78 fps, 4.8gr => 5.0gr was 58.85 fps).

I used my bullet puller and took apart one of the 1.132" OAL CCI primer cartridges that were loaded with 4.8gr of CFE Pistol. Measured out to 4.1gr, though not sure if I got all the powder out of the puller, and how much powder 0.7gr is (I could check). At first glance, it doesn't seem like the load was unexpectedly high, though. I'm still planning on moving up the load on the Fiocchi primers, with the newer 1.145" OAL, to get to minor levels. I may grab one box of CCI primers and try another apples to apples check against the Fiocchi. That large of a difference seen previously, is still nagging at me...

Yeah probably am. Don't care much for mysteries...like to fully understand why I see what I see. I nags me from the process of just increasing the load and calling it a day. Character flaw likely.