Farmer

The first carbide ring in the bottom of the Lee fcd will size the brass AND the bullet down if your using .356 bullets and thick brass. If your brass is thin like Fed, S&B Starline, Hornady, it probably won’t touch it. If it’s CBC or one of the other thicker ones it removes the bulge but also sizes down the bullet too. Also on your Fed 18 and Fed 19 the numbers mostly designate the year of manufacture. I’ve gotten some of those that weren’t actually crimped but it doesn’t hurt to double check.

The first carbide ring in the bottom of the Lee fcd will size the brass AND the bullet down if your using .356 bullets and thick brass. If your brass is thin like Fed, S&B Starline, Hornady, it probably won’t touch it. If it’s CBC or one of the other thicker ones it removes the bulge but also sizes down the bullet too.

The first carbide ring in the bottom of the Lee fcd will size the brass AND the bullet down if your using .356 bullets and thick brass. If your brass is thin like Fed, S&B Starline, Hornady, it probably won’t touch it. If it’s CBC or one of the other thicker ones it removes the bulge but also sizes down the bullet too.

One thing I did during the Clinton primer shortage was only leave out what I was going to use in a short amount of time. The rest of them were vacuum sealed in food saver bags. Still have some and they are good as the day I bought them. My basement gets damp so that’s why I sealed them but I think they would last 100 years being sealed up.

While not a handgun, a friend once let me shoot his Browning Citori shotgun one very informal night at our local trap house. It was like I couldn’t miss. That right there taught me the importance of proper fit and that gun fit me like magic. All I had to do was look at the bird, pull the trigger and it was dust. It was like cheating. Good equipment helps, and the way it fits you is most certainly at the top of the list.

Thinking back after Sandy Hook it took about 2-3 years for primers to become plentiful again around here and probably another 4 years after that for prices to come down. Just recently (2019) 22’s actually were getting back to normal but now that’s gone again. I’m an old tightwad and remember when primers were $6.00 per thousand. So when I see some A-Hole asking $60 per K it just wizzes me off and I hope they choke on them.

Should be great in sub loads. Should seal better at the lower vel/psi.

Of the two I have also found the Rainier’s more accurate. The very early ones were really rough but they really have a nice consistency and finish to them now.

2x on the blems. Years ago I bought some Winchester 230g FMJ and JHP 45’s really cheap from Midway. Came in a Winchester case sealed up and looked good until I measured them. The FMJ averaged .451 but the JHP’s were .450-.4505. Didn’t shoot worth a darn out of my old Ruger but fortunately in my XD They work fine. I also found an article that says Colt once used .354 bore on their 38 & 357 revolvers.

I understand that they added flash suppressant but it’s pretty much the same. It is an very accurate powder but can be a little corn flakey at lower psi. If this doesn’t bother you no big deal. Works great in 45 acp too.

That’s a good idea also.

Just tested some low speed loads with 115g Berrys Seated 1.125. With Clays, 1.5 grains still gets them out of my 4.5” XDM. Kicks like a 22. Also if you choose to do this make sure you raise the muzzle and then slowly lower to your water jugs media ect to keep the powder back at the primer. I might try 1.3g.

Fully understand. Or you could machine a bullet mold and cast some up. don’t laugh I’ve done that when lapping a rifle bbl. One other way is to load up a round with a very light charge of fast powder and then just shoot it into either a large bucket of water or a row of milk jugs. Just something to stop the bullet without damaging it. Don’t know what powders you have but something like 2-2.5 grains of Clays should do it. Remember to lightly lube the bbl too.

Jacketed or copper plated bullets won’t work. They are too hard and Very difficult to push through and risk getting stuck. Also on the brass rod slightly chamfer the ends, and that’s a good size you have there. I suppose you could push with a tail stock but you’ll need to put the bbl shoulder against the chuck to keep it from slipping and that may put allot of load on your tail stock threads. You know anyone close that has any lead bullets or does casting that you could get some from? Heck I’ve used 00 buckshot and fishing weights before as long as they are close in size. And yes it’ll work on your poly bbl. Actually they seem to push through easier than std rifling.

Slugging the bbl is where you take a soft lead bullet and drive it through the bbl and then measure the slug. You’ll need a soft lead bullet preferably .356 or .357. A brass rod close to bore size 5/16” is close, a heavy hammer, some oil and a solid surface with a block of wood. Take the bbl out of the gun and clean it well. Oil the bore well and also the bullet. Drop the bullet into the chamber end and set the muzzle on the wood block square, and try to keep it square and vertical. If you have a threaded muzzle install the protective cap or comp. You can also put a folded rag on the block too. DON’T rest bare threads on the block! Take the rod and hammer and gently tap the slug into the bore being careful to not nick the shoulder of the chamber. Try and keep the rod in the center of the bore and slug while you drive it all the way through the bore. Once you get the bullet engraved it will go easier. Try and notice tight/loose spots along the way and it should be a bit tighter at the muzzle end. Tap the slug out and measure the largest diameter. You’ll have to pick the bbl up and hang on to it to tap the slug all the way out. The reason for using a heavy hammer is that it pushes where as a small light hammer peens.

Depending on how hot you normally run that may be kinda stiff as Hodgdon shows 5.7 for a 115 gold dot at 1.125. I played around with some in my 327 FM last week and only made it half way to max before things got a bit sticky. The 327 runs hot anyway but it’ll be interesting what you find in the 9 because I was going to try some in that too.

I was taught that on a single stage press every time you do an operation with your brass you change it’s position in the loading tray. Example is when you start, load the brass in tray with mouth up. Size a piece and put it back, primer up. When done sizing all of them clean a primer pocket and put that one back mouth up. When done with all of them, then prime one and put it back primer up. When your done priming all of them, All of your primed brass in the block should be primers up. This is important because when you start charging the cases with powder you have to place them back in the block mouth up for obvious reasons. This gives you a clear view of which ones are charged and which are not. It really helps to keep you from double charging a case. I know many skip a few steps but as long as you always start with primers up when you start charging, you shouldn’t have a problem. As far as the dippers, don’t throw them away. I use mine all the time to scoop and trickle powder into my scale pan when working up a new load. Sorry for the long winded post and hope this makes sense.

Are you talking loaded ammo? The ones I bought were just bullets. They were 10mm 165g RNFP that I wanted for plinker’s/practice in my new 10mm. Kinda wonder if they weren’t blems that Midway picked up cheap and re-boxed as they have done that before.

147 round nose, semi wadcutter, straight wadcutter, flat nose? Need to know what type of bullet as some seat deeper than others when your looking up load data.

I bought the syntec from midway on a close out just to try. They sure don’t look like the pictures you see of them. Pretty lumpy on the top. They do shoot pretty good, just have to be aware of the seating issue.

The newer seat/crimp dies seem to have a much longer taper on them than the older (80’s) dies. The older ones did the taper crimp at about the last .100 -.200 of ram stroke whereas the newer ones are more of a gentle taper right at the start. It makes for better alignment but also makes single seat/crimp more difficult. At least that’s what I’ve found between my old and newer dies.

I’ve noticed that some of the coatings are uneven on different brands. The sides get sized but the noses and ogives can be quite uneven in thickness. I have some syntec that vary .010 in seating depth. If your giving them some room it’s not a problem but if running close some may not plunk.

Noticed these on Fed Brass a few years ago. Looks like they seated the primers with about 90 tons. I first thought it was a optical illusion but a straight edge confirmed that the heads are dished in. Someone once said they called Federal about it and they were aware of it and working on a solution but that was four+ years ago. Doesn’t seem to affect performance or anything but beings most of you go through much more brass than I do I was just wondering if there’s been a change in the later brass? The real old stuff is fine and I’ve even noticed it on some 38 special & 44 mag stuff too.

Sportsman got some Fed LP in. 1k limit

Yes, H style and also Yes, uprights on inside to make them stackable. Might make a couple adjustable width for smaller targets too. I like your V holder but with our sandy ground I’d probably need a longer lag.