HesedTech

Reloading 223/5.56 is no different than what you have already experienced with 6.5. However, unlike pistol I found to prevent case failure it is a must to inspect all the cases for signs of overuse/pressure. The best way is to look for a line up from the base; F Class John has a great video on what to look for. Also I can assure you I have found cases near failure and had one fail during resizing, what a pain to remove from the die. How often can we reload 223/5.56? If you're diligent in inspections then as often as they pass muster.

Like everyone has said the FW auto centering is the best for depriming all brass. As far as resizing 9mm the Dillon 9mm does a perfect job and is slightly undersized to keep neck tension. I personally 2 pass, deprime, resize, wet tumble without ss pins, and then dry in old food dryer. Works great.

This web site is your friend, and answers your questions: https://www.dillonprecision.com/xl750-product-videos.html

You've probably already gone and found something, but for those who want something already cut Talon Grips makes a really good product. https://talongungrips.com/gun-grips/pistol-grips/cz-usa/

I'm not sure why you didn't like the sarge's post. If one wants to be a GM and run field courses well, 1.5" 50 yard groups really aren't the issue. The skills to draw, reload, plan, visualize, splits, transitions and execute all the above is crucial. However, normally one who can do all those also can shoot very accurate groups. My opinion is learn how to reload ammo that runs in your gun and is reasonably accurate and then go and practice the rest. And Enos could do the rest because he practiced them.

You can expect to have fun and become better with your gun than most people who think they’re good at shooting.

Personally I would only shoot off a rest to get the dot fine "tuned" at your chosen distance for zero (15 or 20 yards). Then Shoot the gun freestyle and find out how you actually shoot the gun, remember we never shoot from a rest in competition. Finally you have to know what the offset is at different distances. If you're mounting the dot on a dove tail mount and it sits high on the slide the POI at close targets will be lower, and it can be as much as a couple of inches. The point is this, zero at your preferred distance and then figure out point of impact at the various distances you shoot at. Finding zero is just a small part of the process. Probably too much info. The main point is have fun.

I polish my powder funnels with a buffing wheel. Two reasons, helps not stick in brass, second no static cling. I have to ask this, how is your brass lubed and with what product? For one pass reloading I would only use One Shot, a very clean and non-transferring product. If you are using the common lanolin lubes then you are probably leaving some on the funnel and it’s picking up some of the powder.

Agreed

Sarge, Which leads to the question, is a 1/2 cocked gun which is not a de-cocker considered “hammer not fully forward” and therefore it is back and requires the safety to be on when holstered and ready to start? This is what needs to be clarified and therefore close the opinion gap.

Okay, we disagree. Until there’s a clear ruling from the home office as an RO I will stop a shooter with a non de-cocker gun who holsters it in the half cocked position. The rule is clear and defines the type of guns, those with and those without a de-cocker. To decide there is something in between is personal opinion. “Manually decocking to half cock is not allowed and will be moved to open division.” Open Division rule covered by 8.1.2.1 “hammer cocked and safety engaged.” If the competitor is moved to open ALL the rules for Open apply, including safety engaged . The rules are quite clear and there isn’t any In between land. Why is this so difficult and why would anyone want to compromise the rule and safety?

Correct, but the controversy is a gun without a de-cocker being placed in half-cock. It is not the same thing. A DA-SA gun without a de-cocker must have hammer fully down, period. If the shooter want to half-cock it then safety must be on like other divisions and the shooter gets bumped to Open. I think we are all saying the same thing.

I have only run a Beretta 92 once and the "safety-decocking lever" is not a the same as on the Tanfoglio or CZ, it allows the user to decock and put the hammer in a safe position. The question you should discuss is this, is the hammer fully down and or in a de-cocked position? According to the rules, at least to me, both of these are the same, "hammer fully down or de-cocked.” Neither requires the "safety" being engaged. As always this forum is for discussion only and rather than DQing the shooter get a ruling from the RM or whoever the match official is. I believe the rules do not state the safety has to be engaged when "de-cocked." However, the original question was "half-cocked," (which we tend to go off on) and yes in my opinion the safety would have to be engaged because the hammer is neither fully down nor decocked.

According to the rules, no. However, "decocked" has to be defined as the hammer fully forward as stated in the rules. If you mean a gun with a decocker instead of a "safety" then the answer is still no. And unless you have forgotten, at the end of the shooter's run the gun is unloaded, hammer forward and holstered without the safety on. I have guns which will allow the safety to be engaged with the hammer fully forward, "decocked" and others which can't be, however the rule remains the same; the safety is not required to be engaged when the hammer is fully forward. Hope that answers the speculation. Me thinks you are trying to find an exception to the rule book. As always the final answer is the RO is the Captain and holder of safety. If they see or feel something is possibly unsafe or questionable then stop the shooter, unload, show safe and call the RM for an interpretation.

I went back and read the rules, I’m an RO and have been so for a few years. I will admit there’s always something I may have missed, like what it means to start “fully outside the shooting area,” but I believe this to be true about “Make Ready” and preparing a DA action pistol. As an RO it is my understanding and obligation to observe for safety reasons, that a competitor may do whatever is necessary to prepare his or her gun for competition. With the DA gun this means before the gun is holstered and the “Are you ready” command is accepted, the gun is prepared with the “chamber loaded, hammer fully down or de-cocked.” As an RO this means to me the competitor may in the preparation safely take whatever steps or techniques are necessary to complete this. Should the gun’s hammer stop at 1/2 cock and the competitor notices and corrects this condition there should not be any penalties. The question of this poster, in my opinion, is not a violation of the special conditions rule,1 or 2, and would be considered part of the “manual” process of lowering the hammer. The rule(s) implies a 1/2 cocked gun is intentionally holstered in that condition. However, should the gun be holstered in 1/2 cock and without the safety on the rule 10.5.11.2 may apply and the competitor DQd for unsafe gun handling. The obvious answer is for the RO to pay close attention to the make ready process of the competitor and be knowledgeable about the USPSA rules. Of course maybe someone else has a better resource and example for this situation, I’m always open to learning more and being a safer RO.

I have loaded 10s of thousands of 9mm rounds and run multiple Tanfoglios (9mm and 40sw) and have never had a bent ejector. I don't even have any major wear marks on them. I highly doubt the issue is your ammo, that is unless your chrono is way off. BTW using the primer flattening on a pistol is a really unreliable method to check for over pressures. Rifle ammo is a whole other issue. To bend the ejector takes a massive hit by something and neither minor or major PFs will do that in a Tanfoglio. I've run recoil springs from 6 -12 lbs, and even cut down with zero issues to the ejector. Remember the role of the ejector is to push the brass away from the slide as it cycles back. A piece of brass stuck in the slide face should be obvious and create cycling issues. I have to point out I have had to clean up the extractor on one Tanfoglio I have. However the issue wasn't bent or broken anything it was the feed of the next round. Occasionally a round would not slide up and under the extractor causing a jam. Just a slight touch of file and polish fixed it. Tanfoglios aren't always the most refined machined pistol out there. The cracked barrel could be from over pressured ammo, but I would suspect you would have a case failure in addition to the failed barrel. Metal fatigue could be part of the problem with the barrel. I would suggest you run factory ammo in the TF and get a friend with experience to chrono your ammo. When trying to solve an issue remember to always go back to where things worked and then only make one change at a time. I have to throw this out, check your mags and their seating. While unlikely in a Tanfoglio, it has been known in other brands of pistols (1911) that after market mags stick up too high and bend the ejector. Just a thought. Good luck on this one.

I'm very practical with this. I shoot large frame Tanfoglios because it was recommended to me early on by a local shooter I trust. I recommend you get a gun which is not a unicorn and has parts and service available. The small frame is more limited in this than the large. BTW I have a couple of small frames and rarely shoot them, but performance wise they shoot just fine. Remember, after getting a gun with a nice trigger, shoots well and runs without failure the rest is all about your practice.

Yes. The 550, 650 and 750 presses will not adequately swage brass with this. In fact it voids the press warranty and is hard on the shell plate. There are other devices, cheap and pricey which will do a far better job. The lowest price one which works very well is from RCBS and designed for a SS press. https://www.rcbs.com/case-processing/accessories/primer-pocket-swager-combo-2/16-9481.html

I think the problem people are having with your question is how do you define flat? In USPSA pistol shooting most of us think of “flat” shooting ammo is the one which cycles the gun in a predictable way with the sights returning ASAP for the next shot. In my rifle competition a flat round is one which remains stable, accurate and has a predictable trajectory at distance. In pistol most, as the thread seems to indicate, seem to like 124 - 147 grain loads. Factory Syntec seems to fill that for many.

Nope, not often needed. I found when I have spare parts things stop breaking. In reality I stopped using the decapping feature of sizing dies and do it in a separate station using a recapping die. For my 1050 I recently added the FW Arms self center die. Priced right and a thing of beauty. https://fwarms.com/shop/reloading/f-w-arms-auto-center-decapper/

Haven't used the Lyman, but after using other single case trimmers for volume I "bit the bullet" and purchased the Dillon. Use it for bulk 223, 300BLK and 308. There's just nothing faster out there. The only limitation is the neck size for rifle brass since the trim die also sizes. If you want precision brass the alternate is a Giraud which trims and chamfers at the same time (one case at a time). But it's also expensive. https://www.giraudtool.com/giraud-power-trimmer.html

Extra thumb rest for support hand is a very common thing in Open. The goal is gun control to make a follow up shot quickly and accurately as possible. BTW it works and as always practice makes it normal. Not allowed in CO, but a stock extended safety is. I shoot CO, and at least in competition, there isn't a need for extra sights.

Did you ever consider people just like to talk, share and enjoy their experiences? And then you go and put a wet blanket on it, good work.

You know I don’t know you at all except your negative comment about poster’s advice and then you are a bit condescending in your response. I think it’s you who needs to be careful about “talking down” in your post. And after literally 10s of thousands of rounds ranging from 9mm competition to precision rifle ammo I have found the Lee FCD basically adequate but hardly the best or preferred die for the final crimp. I do use it for some of my rifle ammo which do not require a high level of precision, and they are very budget priced. And you cap it off with this. Your attempt at sarcasm is very unbecoming.

Really? Please name some given. Many if not most find when loading 9mm coated bullets, or even plated, the Lee FCD (the one with the "carbide sizer inside") swages the bullet down. Your experience may be different, but go check out out the huge amount of threads on this forum with that experience. The plunk test using the specific gun's barrel is the standard for pistol to determine cartridge OAL and then many use a Hundo (100 at a time) to check general fit and inspection before casing. And without a Chrono one is only guessing about the Power factor of the load.