Farmer

XD 45 here and has always been reliable. I actually like the way it fits my hand better than the XDMs I have.

Just a thought and I’m sure you looked at it but is the recoil spring guide buggered, bent, sitting in there weird ect, binding the spring. No nicks on bbl ramp’s and frame block. Bbl binding on slide. Breech face smooth, check fired brass for weird marks. Just some thoughts. Mine will function with most powders below min.

I was going to chrono a couple but with the 40-50 mph winds and all the blowing dirt we had today I decided to wait. Gonna need a loader to clean off my carport. Maybe I can check a couple in the morning before work.

The only thing I have is the 124 RMR match winner that’s a TC no hollow point and it measures .550. I load that with 3.7 244 but at 1.090. It’s a light load and like a dummy I didn’t chrono it. It shoots good for practice. One thing I did notice is that the HAP bullet is .356, what’s your PD diam? Could make some difference there too. To figure how much is in the case, take bullet length + case length - loaded OAL = how much bullet is in the case. B .550 + C .750 = 1.3 - OAL 1.090 = .21 in the case. Of course you’ll have to use your figures but it’s just another tool.

Are you measuring actual bullet in the case or just taking oal and figuring how much should be in the case? Reason I ask is that nose/shoulder shape, HP design can all affect bullet length and fit. It seems that psi increases/decreases start to occur at around .025 or at least that’s what I’ve found. Smaller case volume changes more quickly. IE 38 special VS 357 Maximum. You can make an easy internal seating depth gauge or just measure components and do the simple math.

I had loaded up some RMR 124 hp and it shot pretty accurately. I wasn’t pushing them and it did leave a little smoke on the cases but not bad. Actually those were below min charge and a couple more tenths cleaned it up. I’m kinda impressed how easy it is to get decent velocity from that powder. I understand about the Autodisk as that was a problem I was having with min charges. I actually removed my adjustable disk and went with the fixed one during testing. Not the same powder speed but as an seating depth example is a load in my 44 mag. I cast a 320 grain bullet that seats the same depth in the case as a 240 grain bullet. After careful loading tests I can load the 320 with the same (or a bit more) of H110 as is listed for the 240 jacketed and it runs right at 1400 FPS and granted they are hot. They shoot very accurately and the cases fall out of the cylinder. If I change brass from WW to Starline, FPS jumps to 1475 and things get sticky so one has to be careful with components. Now there’s a multitude of variables going on here but it goes to show how seating depth affects psi. It’s also a bit different with an auto VS revolver but still has an effect.

Are you getting psi signs, are the cases sooty by the mouths? WW 244 is much cleaner than say 231 and it doesn’t seem to be as peaky as some of the others. I’ve messed around with it in my 9, 10mm and 327 FM and it’s pretty well mannered. If you can calculate how much less bullet is in the case at your length VS what the standard book load is that will help to figure out how much more you can push it.

Oops forgot to use the quote feature.

@OleGreyGhost Thanks for the help! Good to hear that the punches work better and I may try polishing mine up or give them a call. When I first looked at them they had fine rings around the circumference of the punch nose like machine marks. Sort of act’s like a rasp but a bit too perfect and cuts a nice ring of brass. Heck, 2k of 223 you’ll zip through that in no time. The staked crimp, Knew that but couldn’t remember it to save my life. I’m busy seeding so it’ll be a while before I get to mess with mine again. Thanks again.

Where does the double feed occur? Full mag, second to last ect. I have an old beater 10/22 that would do that until I loosened the mag spring one or two flats on the hex bolt. Can’t remember exactly but if you go too far it won’t feed the last or second to last round. I figured it out using an old mag that worked perfect while a new one didn’t. Spring tension was a fair amount less in the old one. It just may be worth a try.

Bought a New IV Lite for my wife and a regular for myself. I don’t think I had run 2 mags through the lite and started getting FTE. The extractor would just slip off the rim and getting the empty out was more difficult than it should have been. Pulled a loaded round from the chamber and the bullet was all scraped up on the driving band and the brass had crud on it. Pulled it apart and CLOSELY inspected the throat and it was leaded so bad it looked like you had taken a rasp to it. An hour later with a brush wrapped with a copper chore boy I got it cleaned out. It had to be done at the factory during test firings as mine was exactly the same and it was shot the same amount. The throat is smooth (now) and shiny. Haven’t had a chance to shoot them again but can’t hardly believe that they could leaded up that bad in only 20 rounds.

No ignition just frustration with mine. Was going to load my Lee hand primer and had set a tray of primers on the bench. I had dropped the sleeve on the floor so bent over to pick it up, slipped and grabbed the open tray of primers dumping them onto the floor. Ok, (insert profanity here) set the tray/flipper on my stool and carefully picked them all up putting them into the tray. Found them all without too much fondling, stood up, caught the edge of the seat with my knee and it spun like a pinwheel spraying them everywhere again! (Insert loud extreme profanity here!) I went and mowed the lawn.......

Also I noticed my name on your post and I got a notification that you replied. How do I do that or is it automatic? Thanks.

Hey that’s good to know! Did you have to send back your old ones, and do the new ones look any different? I noticed that it doesn’t do it on the CBC brass tri-punch crimp, just the full ring crimp. I also sent them a suggestion to put a little recess in the bottom of the push rod to keep from mashing the flash hole shut on some brass. I did my own but we’ll see how they handle that. If you look at your RCBS set they had done it on those. Thanks for the update!

Thanks for the tip. Anything I can do around here to keep the dirt away is a plus. Need major anti-static on everything.

I may be old fashioned but I still prefer printed material. Easier to flip back and forth, batteries don’t die, puts you to sleep instead of keeping you awake, ads aren’t in your face and you can rip them out for the outhouse.

Same here, no damage to equipment just peeled a bit of brass off the rim. Good thing it was a Lee die as I just loosened the primer punch and tapped it out. Like I was saying the Lee shell holders are a loose fit and the X ones have even less to hold on to. If you lube your cases there doesn’t seem to be any problem. I’ve never used the Lee rifle collet size die but it may be the way to go on this machine. No size button to pull through the neck and risk pulling the rim off. Overall I like it for what it does for $80. Saves me time which I have very little of and does a pretty good job.

I need to find my test info where years ago I checked internal volume between FB & HB seated at same oal. If my fading memory is correct I found that internal volume is more with HB bullets by .3 to .6 grains. I’ve got work to do.

The hollow base is of course longer because of the hollow base for the same grain weight. With the hollow base seated the same as the solid flat base the loaded case will have more internal volume with the hollow base bullet. It may be minor but How can it Not?

Are you figuring that the longer bullet seated the same takes up the space provided by the hollow base?

It isn’t the downstroke during sizing that’s the problem. It’s when you pull it back up that can cause grief. On rifle rounds if you’re using a standard expander ball type die it can pull hard enough to rip the case out of the pass through shell holder. If you use the Lee collet sizer die that shouldn’t be a problem. I have sized around 3k 10mm, around 5k 9mm plus some 38 special and 357 with only one screw up. On a crimped 38 special the decapper pin punched through the primer, got hung up and then pulled the case out of the shell holder. Those shell holders don’t fit that tight anyway and with it only gripping two sides there’s not much there. That’s also why I lube my cases even though I’m using a carbide die. Old Grey Ghost, that swager plug does have some fine machine ribs on it and I never gave that a thought of being the shaving problem. Might have to polish it up and see if that helps. I still haven’t run those through the tumbler w/pins to see if they clean out. Been too busy right now.

Have you tried speeding them up some? Longer bullet needs more twist or speed to stabilize. Just a thought.

^^^^this, longer bearing surface. I noticed they are more accurate than the FB 185 grain in my 45. You may have to increase powder charge a bit to compensate for the extra case volume the hollow base provides.

Years ago my brother brought home from work some 1 1/4 X 6” steel circles and he thought they would make good targets. He had set one out at about 25 yards and said give that a try. I got up from the bench and moved it out to about 50 yards. I was shooting my TC Encore in 708 with 140 grain Ballistic tips and just wanted a little more distance. Should have been at a hundred because at the shot I heard a buzzz and felt an impact on my knee. It didn’t break the skin but abraded my jeans and left a hell of a raspberry on my knee that hurt like hell. On inspection it left about a 3/8 deep divot/pock mark in the plate which was just plain mild steel. If it would have been lighter and thinner it may have just spun to the side or fell over but being so heavy it hardly moved. Lesson learned!! I have used old plow disks at 100 yards and my 338 JDJ barely puts a dimple in them. They are very hard and dome shaped so they work well and as a plus they ring like a bell.

I’ve done tests with them and all the others at the bench and can say they are more consistent. With some powders velocity is higher and ES is lower all across the board by a considerable amount. Now this was with rifle rounds out of my TC pistol. Haven’t done extensive auto pistol testing but just by off hand target groups there seems to be an improvement.