johnmyster

I know lots of it gets used in light to medium 45 ACP loads under cast SWC projectiles. It is one of the fluffier (higher volume) powders for a given charge/velocity under the bullets I tend to load. Other powders in the same fluffiness ballpark include Clays, e3, 231, etc. I don't see it in the Hodgdon tables, but I do see 231, Clays, HP-38, and Titegroup, which are often used in similar loadings as WST.

I had one last week. Got a response with RMA number next day. Tracking says delivery tomorrow, so 6 business days including shipping both ways.

Well since I was pressed...continuing rant so I can continue to work up to 50 posts. Wolff was +/- 0.5# to spec in my limited test. So I checked some other Wolff Springs on hand (new to slightly used, 14# and 17#, for major and minor 45) and got the same results.

Edit: Now I see mainspring mentioned in the OP title. Sorry for the unrequested reply on recoil springs. 17# mainspring in a 9mm Trojan and a Valor, with no issues igniting Remington, Federal, and CCI SPP. Trigger at 2.75# in both. (I do find that I prefer 23# mainspring in 45 cal with major loads...as this helps control slide velocity. Triggers still under 3# easily attainable.) I think you'll find most factory 9mm guns with 17-19 mainsprings. Trojan generally runs good with a 10# recoil spring, but begins to have some feedway stoppages if that spring gets down below 8.7# on my coated ammo. (More on this below). So, I generally buy 11# springs for it and have reliable slidelock at ~135 pf (135 grain bullets just a touch over 1000 fps.) Valor is only a backup gun so far and hasn't seen as many rounds. Seems to feed smoother and tolerates a touch lighter recoil spring. Save yourself the headache and buy or make a jig to measure recoil springs. I purchased 10 and 11 pound springs from Springco, Wilson, and Wolff this summer and found only one of the three manufacturers was close to rating. (I could be wrong, but I believe the Wilsons are a repackaged ISMI product.) I kid you not, one manufacturer delivered four springs with over 1.5# in spread from min to max, and some were more than 2# below rating. That's over 20%. I was appalled at the variation I saw from two of the manufacturers (that I really wanted to like), and even mroeso at the CS from one of them about it. Takeaway, if you're tuning in one pound increments based on the label on the package, you really have no idea what's in your gun. If you're trying to fine tune and get reproduceable results within a pound or two, you're going to need to measure the springs that go in your gun, the spares that go in your range bag, etc. My jig stays on my bench and I quickly measure springs every time the gun gets cleaned to make sure they're still what they should be. For 5" 1911 govt springs, you should measure 6.25" to 6.5" free length, and weight rating taken when compressed to 1 5/8".

They sent a lower link rebuild kit for my 550b when I had some play in mine based on an email with a few photographs. I was happy about it. I have a (very old) powder measure that cracked. It wasn't the fault of the equipment. Can't blame them for it. I had a spare. If I ask them about it and they replace or fix, I'll be happy about that too. Do you have two accounts to make your complaint about Dillon CS seem more legitimate? Does it make you feel more special when you get a reply to your thread from yourself? Or is it better when your reply gets a response from the OP?

Ditto on others. Stock 45 mainspring is 23# and works even with my "barely major" loads, so I'd want a few clicks more more to absorb initial slide energy on 10mm.

At 1400 per pound, 1.6 cents per shot, delivered. At 2000 per pound, 1.1 cents per shot. So it takes 1000 or 2000 rounds before switching powders pays for the lead, primers, and powders expended during a simple load workup. But as you said, sometimes availability makes us look elsewhere. But since you're already paying for shipping on that CFE Pistol, they also have Clean Shot, WST, and Titegroup in stock...

Grafs has CFE pistol in stock, 1# and 8#. $20 per pound on the 8#. Their flat rate shipping plus hazmat is $22.50 per order.

~3.8 WST ~3.9 Bullseye ~3.4 E3 Clean Shot, Sport Pistol, AA#2, or American Select? You've got options. But in then end, using less weight of a powder that is the same cost per pound saves fractions of a penny. For me, more money to be saved by finding primers and projectiles on special. I actually felt Bullseye was fairly clean in 9mm minor loadings and continued to use it there after moving on to other powders in 45.

I've had similar results...but not on the Remington. Federal SR (not match, not magnum) and CCI 400 SR were 100% in my p320 (stock internals) and 9mm 1911 (with 17# mainspring, lightened hammer). Remington 7 1/2 was a not reliable enough for me for 9mm pistol use, even though it's my favorite 5.56 SRP. I'll be the 6 1/2 would've been fine.

Three recent experiences for 200 gr SWC .45 coated bullets...no groove, bevel base. All shipped 2000 to 2500 per USPS MFR box. Missouri - their square boxes have always been fine inside of USPS flat rate cartons. Right now, seems like they're delivery is within about ten days. My last order was in late June, and took about 2 weeks. His coated stuff always looks great. That said, I notice they recently streamlined inventory on website to simplify their operation during current busy season. They'll continue to be my supplier for my lower low quantity loads (38 special, 45 colt, etc.) DG Bullets - I tried to be cheap and order a case of coated through them, using a 10% discount. Hoped they'd be my new supplier on common bullets. Box arrived within a week. (Early August.) Box was torn, wet, and in tatters. There were loose bullets on my porch. USPS had shrink wrapped it to get it in transit. Five of the six bags of bullets inside were torn or pierced. By weight, I think I was only down 50 bullets. I contacted DG with photos. They replied with a photo of a bunch of perfect looking boxes leaving their warehouse. No offer for replacement, credit, or future discount. "Not our fault." Summers Enterprises - Based on forum recommendations, I placed an order about 10 days ago with Summers Enterprises. (Delivered price per round was even less than DG.) Took about 10 days to arrive. They, like Missouri, pack boxes inside of the USPS MFR carton. They probably used 100' of packing tape on my order. Order looks great. He's my new supplier. Bullets look just as good as the other two options. Weight and diameter is just as consistent. Per website, it does look like he's pausing on taking new orders so that he can keep a short que. I can respect that.

Ten shots of 4.0 gr with 200 gr SWC gave 868 fps, SD of 15 from my 5" Baer. Ammo was probably 50-60 F. Most shots were right around 860, but a few peaky high ones that spread out the group. Don't know if it'll ultimately replace WST for me. I'll probably go a bit slower before I try enough to gauge cleanliness.

I'm about to swap WST from the powder hopper to begin a workup of e3 for 200g swc. Internet research and those that have gone before says I'll wind up around 4.0-4.2 gr for 165+ PF (825 fps). Alliant once advocated using red dot data for e3 in pistol. For red dot, the 230 grain published max load is what, 5.1 grains for 840 fps? To get 725 fps, a quick search says you might wind up around 4.0 grains. I'm not experienced with red dot (or E3) so I can't comment on how consistent they are at lighter loads...sounds like we'll both be finding out. Member zzt is getting really consistent chrono resutls with an even lighter 200 gr load (~725 fps) for bullseye use. Please keep us informed as to where your start and what the results are.

According to DG they also have a 145 RN available...not on their website yet. I've been using the 135 RN coated from Missouri (.357) with good results, but eyeing similar options (135 and 145 RN) from DG but most recently Summers Enterprises. I've been really happy with the 135 at 130-135 PF using WST. I know WST is "off the books" for 9mm. Others have done 147s with it, but I think the heavier end of the spectrum is where the concern with it lies.

My last order from Missouri (June?) was about four weeks to arrive due to backlog. He also moved a replacement order (for a mis-shipped product) to the front of the line and got it out the door next day. Edit: saw a poster on another forum say purchased to received in about a week, so perhaps they've gotten through backlog. My last order from DG (late July) shipped same day from in-stock items, less than a week to arrive.

Haven't experimented with LemiShine. A squirt of dawn and a shake of citric acid in my Lortone rock polisher with steel pins does just fine. Never had issue with nickel cases mixed in. I shake the cases out using a $1 strainer from walmart over a dish pan, all under running water. Dish pan catches the pins. Rinse everything off, shake everything off, recover pins, repeat.

You shouldn't need an 8# spring to get full travel. No shock buff, and no thumbs in the way right? (Although those factors shouldn't be different with the 38s mags.) For me, followers were adjusted by taking slide off of gun, putting slide stop back on gun, inserting mags with one round in them. With one round, adjust follower to be very close to slidestop nose in fully "down" position. This is a good chance to see if the slide catch nose is profiled well to work with the different mags. Also, are your wilsons the older poly follower, or the newer steel followers? I ended up trading my Wilson ETMs away because of this (less reliable slidelock than the Tripps) and their contribution to feeding issues...which was a "grand scheme" situation that also included my ammo. I know people that swear by the ETM mags and have good luck, just wasn't my experience. YMMV, but for me Tripps and Metalform are good to go in multiple STI, Dan Wesson, and Springfield 9mm guns. With a high end custom gun, why not check with the maker?

I'm getting reliable slidelock with 10-11 pound springs, 17# mainspring, on tripp mags...but I'm right on the edge. 135 PF ammo. 130 PF was spotty. I polished the back of the slide catch, with the goal of making sure it's moving freely in the gun. Also tune the mag followers. Remove slide, insert each magazine with one round in mag. Tweak follower until it almost touches slide catch with one round remaining in gun. Sounds like you've narrowed it down to the magazines.

I bought a Fusion 9mm a few years ago. It was a waste of money and now sits in my scrap bin. Poorly made guns give the platform a bad name. It's a shame that 9mm, sub $800, is the starting point for many into the 1911 platform. Though, I've since had a range officer that seemed fine. Because they can be finicky, I'm hesitant to recommend the 9mm to shooters interested in 1911s. If they're collectors, my next question is why they don't have a 45 in their assortment yet. I've had multiple Valors and a Trojan. Excellent guns, but still had minor issues to be worked out. Most of it has been said here, but my experience: 1) 130 to 135 PF with heavier bullets. It's tempting to go lower (125 PF), but the platform just seems to like more oomph to get that heavy slide moving. 2) 17 or 18# mainsprings to keep slide velocity up. I haven't had issues with ignition at 17# but I keep a 19# handy just in case. YMMV. 3) Run ~11 or 12# recoil springs, despite temptation to go lower. Measure them regularly and replace prior to feeding malfunctions. 4) Run good mags and throw the rest away. 5) FMJ will feed smoother than lead/coated, but I'm cheap. As such, I have to stay on top of other variables to make this compromise. 6) Extractor fit, tension, and geometry needs to be right. Again, for smooth feeding. 7) STI replaced the barrel on my 9mm Trojan, acknowledging that their earlier guns had bad ramp angles. Not all ramps are created equal. 8- Chambers finish reamed to higher end of spec helps with feeding/chambering. Getting your crimping and belling right so that the case mouth is smooth and free of bullet shavings/lube/coating will also help feeding/chambering. 9) Longer ammo helps, but you get annoyed if you can't run it in other guns with short throats...especially when those other barrels are hardened and difficult to lengthen. 10) Wilson ETM mags sit higher than Tripp and Metalform. Make sure they clear your ejector if you choose to run them. 11) EGW has a mag catch that holds the mag higher. It may help feeding issues if you have the ejector clearance and can stand the extra effort to seat full mags on tac reloads. 12) Smooth slide to frame fit helps conserve available recoil energy for feeding. Polishing the underside of the slide where it rides against the top round helps too. 13) Slide lightening is probably a good thing for slide velocity. IE, the flat top on the Trojan or the rib on the pointman. 14) Cleaning the crud, especially breechface and chamber buildup will help with feeding. I keep a rag, oil, and nylon chamber brush in my bag and clean halfway through matches. My opinion is that the 9mm is at the limit of energy required to make the 1911 run well. You can compromise on a few of the above but too many and you ask yourself why the gun seems to not be feeding well.

Thanks for the input. Was unaware of temp sensitivity for n310. Clays wasn't something I was considering. Solo 1000 scared me for availability. Clean shot and Auto Pistol published data seemed pretty sketchy, especially for 9mm, although I know others are using it. I've gone ahead and ordered some E3. I've noticed that popular shotgun powders used by trap/skeet shooters tend to stay available, perhaps due to market volume. It'll be good to have another versatile powder under the bench. I'll do development work this fall and perhaps share another data point in related threads. Seems like 40 is a great application for e3, but not a caliber I'm shooting at this time.

I started on Bullseye too. At the time I didn't chrono for variation, but my impression is that WST is cleaner by virtue of less unburned powder.

I'm pretty happy with WST for my 45 major loads, 165 pf. 5" 1911 is the application. Based on availability of small pistol primers, likely to be shooting the 45 (at major) instead of the 9mm (minor) for some time to come. I have a good amount of WST on hand, but it's time to order more...just in case powder becomes hard to find...so now is a good time to launch a new workup if it's needed. More velocity variation across the chrono than I'd ideally want, but runs the gun reliably. Perhaps that's the dillon powder mechanism, or perhaps that's low case fill. My workups land me from 4.3 to 4.5 grains. And cleaner is always better. I'm having a hard time finding direct comparisons. Can anyone comment directly on my application? E3 would give more case fill. N310 and Shooters World Auto Pistol would be about the same. Do I just have the itch to mess with something that already works, or is there a meaningful improvement on the table with any of those options? If I do switch, my WST stash isn't a loss, as I'm happy with it in 9mm...for the time being.

I load coated Missouri Bullet 135 gr (.357 diameter) for 9mm over WST. 3.7 grains gives 127 pf out of my 4" barrel, and 135 out of my 5" gun. 1.128" OAL. (Going longer won't plunk into my p320 barrels.) SD of 11 fps. I had it on the shelf for doing light 200 gr SWC 45ACP loads.