HesedTech

Yep, that's me. In USPSA I switched from production to CO and love it. Yes it is far less expensive than Open, however in our area I'm starting to see a lot more shooters using their dot equipped guns in Open because they don't fit the USPSA rules for CO. Basically 2011 custom guns allowed in 2 gun with dot, but not USPSA CO. They actually score quite well against the full tilt custom open guns. I considered slapping a dot on my 40 SW Cal limited gun and shooting open major for the fun of it. Maybe. The idea is a a person can buy a bone stock gun and compete with it. Sadly there isn't a "stock" division in any competition that I know of where it is actually "cheap" to compete and win. Point being; a store bought factory Glock is fun to shoot but after a few matches the itch hits to spend some money perfecting that stock pistol. So what does the governing body do? Come up with rules about what it means to be stock and then manufacturers build stock competition approved guns and charge more for them. Mag capacity only changes one thing, stage strategy. If open was limited to 10 rounds the winners would still be the same. In the end the question is simple, at what level do people want to participate in this sport?

? If you’re writing about the production division, it’s not because the guns are bad or the rules are difficult, it’s because everyone is entering CO or switching to it. All we really have to do is mount a dot on a production gun and the fun meter rises.

Did you check with Immortobot? https://immortobot.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=33_34&products_id=307&zenid=h6qideic2o79t0d0p8t5l35iu0 Send him an email.

Okay, I understand now you are loading rifle rounds. The powder drop is your issue and as others have pointed out the 750 and 550 use the same funnels and measures, so the issue is in alignment or some sort of funnel problem. I hope your new 550 doesn't have the same issues. The annealeez is a great product, I would probably doe the same, swap to get one.

No, your barrel and comp will smooth the bullet out.

I bought this one years ago, https://lvl10i.com/products/priming-system-support-die-for-super-1050 It works great. Immortobot used to sell a USA made all steel tool head, I have one, but I noticed their website doesn’t list one anymore. Email them to see if there’s a source. I would not buy the Aluminum one for the 1050/1100. https://immortobot.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=37_46&products_id=332&zenid=un7kf9dmferh45unpipvit9211

Shadow 2 is the one to get. I have both an OR and one milled by Cajun, the dot on the OR (plate needed) is about a 1/4" higher. I prefer the lower milled cut over the OR, however they both work fine. I had Cajun do the full polish and upgrade on the one gun, trigger, hammer, sear, springs, barrel bushing, and really like it. I did the OR gun with everything except the bushing and frankly while shooting can't tell the difference between the two. With a 13 lb hammer spring the DA is under 6lbs and the SA 2.5 lbs lights all pistol primers. The only issue you will have is the DA first shot. If you are new to starting this way it will take you a bunch of dry fire and practice to get used to that first pull of the trigger. Once you do it's a no brainer. Also go with the big dots like the SRO and Max. The extra glass does shave a few bits of time off acquiring target.

Seen and shot lots of head shots and the normal accuracy of USPA gun works just fine. Trigger control on difficult targets is everything. BTW, from level 3 to local matches the only time I’ve seen only the upper A zone, at the perf, available was when a swinger wasn’t activated yet, giving the shooter an option.

Depends on volume needed. I trim 223 on the 1050 with a Dillon trim die (tried RCBS but it was undersized too much) and the 1500 Cutter with FF blade. I looked at the FF set up but chose to go with Dillon. It just works. For 300 BO I trim on my 550 because the tool head is quite a bit cheaper and I don't need the volume. For 308 and 6.5 Creedmoor, again volume is not an issue, I trim with a Giraud trimmer. What a beautiful piece of engineering! Great hobby!

Here's my answer, listen to Cha-Lee. USPSA shooting is not about bulls eyes, so experiment until you find what works for you consistently. Make sure your gun runs at the pace desired. I see way too many open shooters who consistently have issues with their loads, feeding, and function of their gun. Again, Cha-Lee knows what he talks about, it's good advice.

I use this plug with the Lee Universal expander die body to his it. https://noebulletmolds.com/site/shop/bullet-casting-reloading/expanders/expander-plug-rifle/226-x-222-exp-plug/ I tried the .228x.224 plug thinking spring back of the brass would be an issue, however in general it was too loose of a bullet fit. I also polish the plug and the answer is; except when the cutter leaves an edge of brass its does not shave the neck. The reason I use the neck expander plug is because with field brass the thickness of the metal varies enough to cause slight differences in seating pressures. It also puts a nice bell to set the bullet in.

I hope you trimmed the length after sizing the brass. Sizing changes the length. With 223, and all my rifle brass, I decap, size, trim and then clean in water tumbler. Then I do the loading pass (yes two passes) with no lube at all. I neck size with a NOE plug die in Station 1 (550 and 1050) to help get a slight bell for the bullet to sit in. Yes you could do it in one pass, but the trim step will be missed.

They break just like factory, maybe even easier. After about 3,000 rounds.

To be honest, unless you really find a huge improvement in accuracy .358 bullets aren't worth the additional hassle. I ran through a couple of hundred just to try them and during the reloading process I found the brass needed more bell, and there were more failures due to bulging of the brass where it tapers. Blues are .355 and I find .356 shoot really nice and load easily; no real need for .358 in a 9mm gun.

If it won't chamber at all the brass was either not sized properly or during the reloading process was bulged. It could be bullets not pressed in straight, a crimp gone wild bending the neck, or even during the powder drop the measure was too low and also bulged the brass. The check is to see if your brass post decaping and sizing will gauge/plunk and then after reloading it fails. If this is the case it's happening at one of the loading stations. Resizing primed brass is done all the time. Have fun!

Nope, it isn't. However, being the owner of a Shadow 2, and Glock 17, 19, and 43 I can honestly say the Shadow 2 is a far softer shooter than the Glocks. The issue with the Shadow is the long barrel and physics. The slide runs slower but has more mass out front and causes the pistol nose to dip more at lock up. This is why you will read threads discussing the recoil spring weight and how to optimize it. 11-13 lb recoil spring for 9MM seems to be the standard With the weight increase in CO I went to LOK thin brass grips and really enjoy shooting the Shadow 2 with them. By itself a heavy gun is not some magic secret sauce to improve a person's shooting. Practice is.

All my brass gauges after sizing and before priming and seating bullet. Sometimes with a progressive press during the powder drop or bullet seating the brass distorts causing a failed gauge. Brass gets thinned out, worked hardened or the bullet not feed in properly causing issues. Right now with 9mm it’s an average of 1 in a 1000 that fails to gauge or pass inspection (primer seating). No matter what the goal is developing a process which produces good, functional and consistent ammo for competition. Yes, those which fail get bullet pulled and powder recycled into the powder measure.

Pull some bullets before and after using the die compare the size. Also the greatest effect is with brass which has a faster taper like CBC. https://leeprecision.com/carbide-factory-crimp-die-9mm.html “Lee 9MM LUGER Carbide Factory Crimp Die sizes the cartridge while being crimped” If this is the die you have it will resize the case and bullet as it rises after seating. The amount will depend on the length of the bullet, how deep it is seated and the brass being used. Too many threads covering this subject do some searching.

Not really. The issue you're having is most likely because the Dillon 9mm sizing die is really an undersize die (like the Lee undersize) and with certain brass will cause a bulge as the bullet is pressed in. This happens especially with CBC stamped brass and 147s, which are seated deeper. The FCD will "fix" it because it resizes the brass after it's been reloaded and in doing thus also swages the bullet down. This is known to cause a now undersized bullet to have accuracy issues and possibly tumble as it leaves the barrel. Too much crimp will also do the same. Personally because I compete with 9mm my process is a double pass on a 1050. The first to decap and resize the second to prime and load. In the second pass I use an NOE expander in the first position to "pre-size" the brass for the bullet. This basically eliminated any bullet seating bulge and I load 147/150 gr coated at 1.12" with range brass. As far as accuracy goes, all my guns shoot head shots easily at 25 yards. The misses are all my fault.

I have used Lee, RCBS, Mighty Armor, and Dillon for 9MM and 40SW on the progressive press I prefer Dillon. My Dillon 9MM sizing die has processed over 50 K and is still running strong. For 45 ACP, 45 LC I use Lee - cost was main factor. Not true, Lee makes a taper crimp only die and it works very well. However, I use Dillon for 9 & 40 because I found it makes a smoother crimp. The only Lee Die I would not use (early on in my reloading adventures I used it) is the 9mm FCD, especially with coated and plated bullets. There's a lot of discussion on this and other forums about it. Basically it fixes one problem caused by process and then creates another problem effecting accuracy.

Why do you need a "dry fire mag?" Load some dummy rounds for weight. Also the CO2 gun probably will not help you because of the differences in weight, feel and other kinetic feedback issues. The Mantis will work on any gun. If you want blow back Coolfire has some for Sigs, not sure about which models.

I've taken classes from several top shooters and they each have a particular skill they like to emphasize. However, based on this comment you might find the Practical Training Shooting Group worthwhile. Depending on the level you join you can send match and training videos to them for analysis. https://www.practicalshootingtraininggroup.com As far as accuracy goes the "confirmation drill" from Hwansik Kim is something you can look at. https://www.practicalshootingtraininggroup.com/forums/topic/6585-proper-confirmation-1-and-predictive-shooting/#comment-30641 Remember practice is really what makes one move up to the next level, but we need metrics of what to practice and achieve. For instance, transitions aren't just how quickly one can move from target to target and fire a shot they include where the shot goes. For instance, am I dragging the shots, are they scattered across the target or As (down 0 IDPA), or maybe I always hit upper left? What I am saying is the top shooters actually pay close attention to the details and can perform on demand at a high level, both in practice and at a match. They all get there on the same road, commitment, practice and attention to detail. I hope this helps and I didn't ramble on too much.

Pick one instructor to start with and follow their advice. There is far too much noise out there and it's easy to get overwhelmed. I suggest start with Ben Stoeger and Joel Park's book - 'Practical Shooting Training.' They have broken down the training into different levels and what is required to advance. One thing all the experts say is you have to be able to shoot an accurate shot on demand because all the dry-fire in the world won't help if we miss the targets. The one major difference between IDPA and USPSA is the penalty for not shooting an accurate shot and it has to be done fast. Transitions, target focus, draws, reloads, leaning, support, weak and freestyle grips, and stage planning is all basically the same between the the disciplines.

The cheapest isn't always the best. We shot about 6K of Gallant because I received a great deal. Afterwards I would recommend Blue Bullets, Brass Monkey, SNS, Precision Bullet all as worthy coated to purchase and Everglade for plated. Oh and don't shoot uncoated unless you like to clean the barrel often and have a major cloud of smoke. But if it's cowboy shooting, maybe the smoke adds to the nostalgia.

I have both, like the Stock 2 better. You’ll be happy either way.