jim6918

My son bought a S&W M&P Shield .380 EZ last week, primarily for his wife for eventual concealed carry. They took it out yesterday, and ran about 50 .380 reloads of mine through it with multiple jamming issues. Before you question the reloads, I had fired about 50 of the same batch through my 45 year old Walther PP with 100% performance. I used a "middle of the road recipe". Every reload was gauged, and I re mic'd them last night and they are within .001's of factory in all measurements. The problems, IMHO, related to the slide. Stove-piping, failed slide run back after discharge, etc. I was a little suspect of the whole EZ slide idea when he bought it but didn't say anything. I think he thought it would help his diminutive wife. I'm taking it out this morning with a box of factory Federal ammo to see what happens. Anybody here have any experience with the EZ?

It is S&B also. Rest of the head stamp says 9mm B MK

I was policing my .380 brass the other day at the range, and after getting home sorted and counted my brass, and came up short two .380t. I still thought that was pretty good for an outdoor range. When I really got to inspecting the brass, I noticed the two casings in the photo attached. I did some research and discovered that they are really .380. So, I know that .380 is AKA "9mm kurtz" Is this crap brass that the pros here would just throw away? They came in a bulk purchase of brass and I have already loaded them once and they shot just fine in my 45 year old Walther PP. The good news is that I picked up 100% of my brass.

Thanks. Interesting idea. Since I am using Quick Change kits for each caliber, what's it take to add another tool head with a decapping die? If I hand decapped, I'd still have to buy a hand decapper anyway.

My process means that I want to start with the cleanest brass possible. I do not think that the "once fired and cleaned" brass I have purchased to get started looks as good as I would like. I made the mistake of thinking that I could decap dirty brass in the press before cleaning and I won't make that mistake again. I have an ultrasonic cleaner not a wet tumbler with pins, so I have to use what I got. If I just use the ultrasonic to clean, dry, and decap, I still think the brass is only about 50% clean. That might be OK for some people, and maybe it is good enough for punching holes in paper. If I run that brass through the ultrasonic after decapping it looks very good. If I want polished and pristine brass I tumble. At this point I am loading for quality, reliability and safety, not quantity. Maybe I will get lazy at some point and skip the second ultrasonic cleaning.

I posted a thread a couple of days ago in the Dillon area about a sticking primer slide in a 550C. I am reposting here because the subject has changed somewhat. The problem with the sticking primer bar wasn't spilled powder, but residue from decapping a bunch of .380 brass. I bought a Hornady Lock-n-Load 2L cleaner, and the conventional wisdom (here and elsewhere) is to decap before using a wet (ultrasonic) cleaner. I don't know why it was so dirty, because this brass was from once fired name brand ammo that I had shot myself. When I picked up the brass at the range, I was amazed at how filthy and gummy the cases looked. Perhaps due to age? I am sure now that my sticking primer plate problem happened after the decapping procedure. I was just using station 1 to decap before cleaning with the Lock-n-Load I called Dillon and talked to a guy who said I should wet clean before decapping. I didn't argue, but dismantled the primer assembly, and sure enough the primer slide and related parts were pretty gummy. I cleaned everything real well, and I am now good. I guess where I am at now, depending on how filthy the brass is, is to run the stuff through the ultrasonic cleaner, let dry, decap and run it through the ultrasonic again before tumbling. That adds a couple of steps to the process. I thought about manually decapping everything with a separate decapper, but that seems a little silly when the press will decap quite nicely. I want to keep the press as clean as possible. Although taking the primer tube and slide apart for cleaning isn't that big a deal, I'd rather not.

So, just a follow up for anybody who might be watching this thread. I believe now that the problem wasn't spilled powder, but residue from decapping a bunch of .380 brass. I bought a Hornady Lock-n-Load 2L cleaner, and the conventional wisdom (here and elsewhere) is to decap before using a wet (ultrasonic) cleaner. I don't know why, but this brass was once fired name brand brass that I had shot myself. When I picked up the brass, I was amazed at how filthy and gummy the cases looked. Perhaps due to age? I am sure now that my sticking primer plate problem happened after the decapping procedure. I called Dillon and talked to a guy who said I should wet clean before decapping. I didn't argue, but dismantled the primer assembly, and sure enough the primer slide and related parts were pretty gummy. I cleaned everything real well, and I am now good. I guess where I am at now, depending on how filthy the brass is, is to run the stuff through the ultrasonic cleaner, let dry, decap and run it through the ultrasonic again before tumbling. I thought about manually decapping everything, but that seems a little silly when the press will decap, resize and prime for me.

Thanks guys. I've called Dillon in the past and always got good results. Just thought it could be something I could noodle out for myself. Lots of expertise here fer sure!

I've gone back a ways and couldn't find anything specific. I have only put 250 rounds thru my brand new 550C and noticed last night that the primer bar is sticking fully extended; not every stroke but often enough to give me heartburn. In order to finish what I had planned for the evening, I made sure to watch the primer bar and give it a slight push to get it to return. I couldn't figure why I had an occasional empty primer pocket on finished rounds. I've seen a couple of YouTube videos promoting aftermarket parts for the primer system, but can't imagine that they would be needed on such a new machine. I can't help but feel that some spilled powder (from the empty primer pockets) has gummed up the works. I am about to change from .380 to .40 with a Quick Change Kit, so it would be a good time to take things apart in that area and clean. Anything else I might not be considering?

Yep, one of the first lighting additions was the Inline Fabrication LED light that fits in the toolhead. My stool is just high enough for me to lean in slightly after I index to look for powder.,

You're absolutely right. That picture was just for the photo-op. Those rounds already resting in Case-gard boxes. BTW, I am gauging each and every round as a last step. I am pretty anal about safety. That's why it took me 30 days before I dropped my first grain of powder. Thank God for a good bullet puller. ?

Thanks. I used to reload on a progressive about 40 years ago as a range officer for a small police department, so I wasn't totally blind to the process. The loader was all dialed in for .38 SWC and all I needed to do was keep powder and primers in it. I made the bench out of kit sold by "2X4 Basics" which sells the legs and you can make the bench any size you want. $50 here and $50 there it all adds up.

I went with a 550C and Quick Change and Caliber Conversion Kits for 4 calibers. I built a nice sturdy bench in the basement. By the time I bought tools, add-ons, lighting, case cleaning, powder, brass, bullets, primers, manuals, and God know what else, I am pushing $2K. ? I suppose I could have scrimped and done things on the cheap, but I saw no point in trying to figure work-arounds, especially screwing with changing dies in one tool head for multiple calibers. I'm not complaining mind you, I got a nice operation and the alternative for my retirement was sitting on the couch and eating $2k worth of potato chips during the day.?

I'm pretty proud of myself. After 30 days of research, set-up and testing, I loaded my first 50 rounds of .380 ACP last night. I figure at this rate, if I never load any more than this first 50, this batch cost me $40.00/round.

Still working up to dropping powder. Hit a snag the other day when I found that Dillon had packed the wrong shell plate for one of the first calibers I planned on loading. They are sending the correct one; but that's not the question. I noticed that the powder funnel in each of the caliber conversion kits (X4) was coated with some kind of sticky substance; like a powdery Vaseline. I can't imagine this being very conducive to good powder flow. How can I clean these funnels?

Thanks to Steve at Dillon Tech Support, it appeared that the Shellplate Platform was too low. The Chute was installed correctly. Steve had me adjust the Failsafe Rod which raised the platform. Finished rounds now dump correctly down the chute. If all else fails, call Tech Support. I learned an important lesson.

Still taking baby steps with my 550C. Going through all stations, except powder measure has no powder. I have installed the Dillon 11185 Empty Cartridge Bin Kit according to directions and finished rounds (sans powder) hang up before falling into the Cartridge Chute after crimping station. I have attached several photos. I can't help but feel that the Cartridge Chute and the Accessory Bin Bracket are not lined up correctly with the Shell Plate. View the pics in number order starting with 2067. Could I have the Chute and Bin attached to the Strong Mount incorrectly?

Thanks for all the replies folks. In my "better safe than sorry " quest, I still plan to set aside all crimped brass. If I get desperate in the future, I will decap and ream that brass as needed. I have the tools to do so. Based on what I read here, along with some YouTube videos, It's going to be a hell of a lot easier to see the crimp than it is to try and focus my eyes on the headstamps.

Thank you, I think the best plan is to just sort and set aside all military brass at this point. Who knows what the future holds. I may want to decap, and ream, down the road. Also I just read that military brass is thicker, and I don't want that to throw off my die settings at this point either.

I recently placed an order with a highly rated brass supplier for 9mm, .38, .380 and .40 S&W. Their description for each has a statement that the brass is mostly commercial, but there could be a small percentage of military brass mixed in. They send an additional 3% to make up for this. That seems to tell me that there is an "issue" with military brass. As far as I can tell the only meaningful difference is that military brass head stamps indicate the arsenal of manufacturer and commercial has the stamp of the commercial manufacturer. Is there any other difference I need to know about? Is military brass reloadable without concerns? Or, is military brass even found in typical handgun calibers? As a newbie, I am being extra, EXTRA careful about each step I am taking. I still need my right index finger to pick my nose. ? I am pretty sure that Berdan brass is a horse of a different color, right?

I have length currently setup to 1.125 OAL, but I am getting pretty good now at making fine tune changes. Shooting in Gen 2 G22 and G23. Thanks

I hope I haven't committed a faux pas by posting the same information in two different posts, but here goes. I have Googled this to death. I was setting up first set of dies (40 S&W) in my brand new 550C and bought a package of PD 180 gr. FMJ bullets just to get the hang of decapping, sizing and seating depth and OAL and crimping. I bought them without checking any load data first and am now having trouble finding a recipe. I was hoping to be able to use Vit N320, but would settle for any decent soft recoil, clean burning powder, like W231 or HP-38. Loading initially for plinking loads at this point; just punching holes. No competition in my future. LOL PD website says to just use load data for any comparable bullet. Viht load data doesn't list similar bullet. Maybe I should just skip considering Vit until I do more research. I hate to just put the PD 180's on the shelf to gather dust. Any suggestions?

I have a pile of PD 180 gr. FMJ RN laying around and would like to use it up with N320. Look for plinking loads at this point, just punching holes. Softer recoil. I'm finding somewhat conflicting data. CCI SPP Glock 22 and 23. 1.125 OAL (don't see this OAL that much except in the books) Does 4.8 N320 seem about right?

Not yet, just trying to avoid any pitfalls. Newby reloader here. Viht is fairly pricey and don't want to waste money on any powder metering issues. Just researching the hell out of things at this point.

Any feedback on any loading problems with Viht N320 or 340 in the Dillon 550C powder measure?