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d3ydx3

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Everything posted by d3ydx3

  1. For anyone that has placed an order in the last 60-90 days, have you received your order? In the last year I've been able to place orders and get them shipped within a couple of weeks, but for my last order of 2000 cases I've been waiting for 60 days. Also just noticed Starline is not allowing new orders in the last week.
  2. OP here - I've got a Mark 7 now that is automated, so most of my priming issues have gone away, but I still have the 750 for small loading sessions and calibers that I don't care about on the Mark7. I just purchased the Armanov XL750 index cam block based on the post here. Recently bought some Ginex primers that are slightly taller than what we have in the States, and they were difficult to seat in Starline 38sc brass. Installed the Armanov index block today, and it fixes a lot of issues. Completely takes the slop out of the shell plate rotation, and the adjustable primer depth is helpful. You're still mechanically disadvantaged with the 650/750 priming system, but it does allow you to put whatever necessary force is needed to seat the primer to the desired depth. The Armanov index cam block has an adjustable primer depth screw that basically allows the press to bottom out on the priming assembly when fully screwed in, whereas the Dillon index cam block puts a hard stop on how far the press can go. In some cases, the issues that folks have with priming and getting their target priming depth isn't tied to how consistent the upstroke is or putting more force into it - it is literally because the Dillon cam block is preventing the punch from going deeper. 10/10 on the Armanov index cam block.
  3. You could also get a 38sc barrel fitted for your 2nd 9 major gun when it is built, so if you want to play around with 38sc you can just swap the barrels.
  4. Honestly, it has been more of a distraction for me. Tuning loads for two calibers and two different popple configurations, and setting up my Mark7 for 38sc would've been money better spent on components. I'll second that AA7 in 9 major feels like a good N350/3n38 38sc load.
  5. Also if you think 38sc is going to start winning matches for you or get you to the next class, I don't think that is the case. At least for me personally, 38sc runs slightly flatter, but it still hasn't clicked with me after shooting it for a few months. I guess that I'm just used the predictability of my dot for 9 major.
  6. I recently got a 38sc barrel fitted for one of my 9 major guns. I'll say that I will find myself probably still shooting more 9 major than 38sc. I had the same thought process that shooting 38sc at majors would be the ticket, but the reality is if only of your guns is 38sc then you'll still need to bring some 9 major for your backup gun. I will say the ejection is far more consistent with 38sc than 9, reloading is easier in some ways (not all - resizing is slightly more difficult with 38sc than 9), but unless you're going to fully commit to 38sc then the benefit isn't going to be there.
  7. I picked up 2 8# jugs a few months ago via Grafs. AA7 seems to be made in batches only a couple of times a year, and I'm assuming that SWMP only gets imported a couple of times a year. Honestly, I prefer AA7. Both of the 8# jugs of SWMP I picked up are the "medium" burning 115 lot of SWMP - not the fast lot that has the same burn rate as AA7 and not the slowest burning. 9.6gr of AA7 behind a 124 JHP got me 172PF and I need 10.2gr of SWMP to hit the same.
  8. Was finally able to get consistent drops tonight. The trick seems to be to hand snug the lock nut on the plunger assembly vs using a wrench to tighten it. I’ve always used a wrench to tighten and never had any issues until SWMP. Usually, when I’m adjusting the power measure I’ll hand tighten, do 10 drops, weigh and repeat as necessary. When everything is dialed in then I use the wrench to tighten and it usually lessens the charge by 0.1-0.2gr, which I account for with other powders. With SWMP whenever I tighten down the wrench the initial drops are a 1.0-2.0 gr light and work up with more drops, but it is always inconsistent and never near what I’m going for. Guess I’ll just keep it hand snug going forward since the drops across 300 rounds were all consistent.
  9. I have an automated Apex 10 with the newer (post 2019) mechanical powder measure. I have mostly loaded AA7 & 3N38 with it and never really had an issue until now. Bought some SWMP a few months ago after exhausting my supply of AA7. With SWMP my charges vary +/- 0.5-1gr. Seems that it will run the same charge for several cycles, but eventually throws out something off for a few cycles only to start throwing consistently correct again. Had an instance this morning where it was repeatedly dropping my target of 10.1gr consistently, and then I come back a few hours later only to find it is dropping a 4ish gr charge now. My lot is 115 which was very clumpy out of the jug. I've used dryer sheets and wipe down the internals of the powder measure with no success. I see no powder sticking on the sides of the funnel, so I don't think the issue is static electricity. Anyone else using SWMP reliably on their Mark 7?
  10. Curious if you ever got SWMP measure reliably in the Mark 7 mechanical powder measure? I've used AA7 previously in it and had zero issues, but bought some SWMP a few months ago. My charges vary +/- 0.5-1gr. Seems that it will run the same charge for several cycles, but eventually throws out something off. Had a case this morning where it was repeatedly dropping 10.1gr consistently, and then I come back a few hours later only to find it is dropping a 4ish gr charge now. My lot is 115 which was very clumpy out of the jug.
  11. I've shot minor ammo occasionally out of my SAS 2 UR and it cycles fine with the factory 9# spring or lighter. Loads were 124gr around 130-135 PF.
  12. All of the old Front Sight magazines are on uspsa.org going back to the early/mid 80s. Definitely check them out. It is very interesting to see how the sport and guns evolved in print. The old reloading and gunsmithing articles are also a wealth of knowledge.
  13. @AZ123456What were your observations switching from the 15# to 13# spring?
  14. Dillon pickup tubes definitely work. I'm not using the RF100, but I use the Dillon pickup tubes and the primers drop fine into the Apex 10 primer feeding tube. I actually prefer the Dillon tubes to the Mark 7 ones, as the Mark 7 ones seem stiff with no plastic and don't pick up the primers as well as the Dillon tubes with the plastic tips.
  15. Put an order in earlier this week. Any ETA on shipping? Looking forward to getting my hands on it and using it for a training class that I have next weekend.
  16. RHT makes good stuff. Didn't know they had a PDP offering. I ended up going the Black Scorpion route, which has the boss plate, spacer, and holster. As for optics, the slide cut on the PDP is a couple of mm too small for the RTS-2 footprint. It would probably work if someone made a slide plate that wasn't flush, but there's no point. Went with the HS 507c X2, and I like it so far. Haven't had a chance to put any rounds through the gun, yet. Didn't know if I would like the 2 MOA dot after shooting 6 MOA this season on my Open gun, but it seems to work OK.
  17. Got the ZR Tactical guide rod and installed it today along with a 15# Glock flat wire ISMI. Was a PITA to get in there, but I got it in. Ended up using a punch as a guide rod from the muzzle direction and that helped. Maybe the spring will compress a bit to make field strips & cleaning easier. Definitely feels lighter than the factory spring. Going to take it out this weekend with my 130-135 PF minor loads and see how it does. Thanks again!
  18. I'll have to give those a try. The Walther PDP FS TF base pads get me to 22.
  19. I've to the 4.5" FS model w/ the 18rd mags. I can confirm the TF base pads will fit 22.
  20. Thanks for the info. I went ahead and ordered some of the TF basepads. I've also got the Black Scorpion Gear CO holster on order. Should be in soon. I'll post some pics and feedback when I get it in. As for a dot, I settled on the Holosun 507c. Just waiting for my optics plate to come in. As far as guide rods go... does any Glock guide rod work or do I need something that is PDP/PPQ specific? Enjoying the trigger on the PDP so far. Best striker fired trigger that I've come across. Only other issue that I've had with the gun is my support hand pinches my right hand middle finger against the ridge on grip where the ambi mag release can be moved to if you're a lefty. Thinking of getting a dremmel or shaving that ridge off with a file.
  21. Been shooting Open for most of this year and got the bug recently to jump into CO since I've got a lot of components sitting around for 9 Minor and I suck at irons. Picked up a PDP FS 4.5" today after doing some research. Seems that I can go with the 140mm Taylor Freelance basepads assuming I can find some Walther FS mags. If not, I've heard the Canik mags work fine. Anyone know how many rounds I can shove into those Taylor Freelance basepads? As far as holsters go, seems there aren't any from Bladetech and I'm not into Comptac, but I did see Black Scorpion has a nice competition holster for the 4.5" - https://www.blackscorpiongear.com/products/walther-pdp-pro-competition-holster?_pos=2&_sid=c43492ddd&_ss=r As far as optics go, I'm a big fan of the C-More RTS2. They are cheap with a big window, and have a decent warranty; however, I haven't seen any plate options for the RTS2 footprint and looking at the slide, it seems the rear sight takes up real estate and forced Walther to make the optics cut just a few mm too small for the RTS2 footprint. Anyone know if there's a way to mount an RTS2? If I can't go that route, I'll just suck it up and put a Trijicon SRO on it. Lastly, TF seems to have some other nice accessories like the brass backstop that I may try out. Probably going to throw 15# or 13# Glock ISMI spring in there. I saw someone else on here going that route, so I'm assuming they are compatible? Anything else I'm missing? Thanks!
  22. He will either come back to more major matches or he won't. Hopefully, he takes it as a lesson in safety and becomes more muzzle aware. There's nothing you can do one way or the other except to enforce the rules, keep yourself safe, and keep others safe, which you did. I had a friend that we went to our first major match together a few hours away from our local match. We had hotel charges, match fees, etc. He got DQ'd on the first stage at LMR because he had a dummy round in the chamber from the previous night's dry firing. He swore up and down he needed to use dummy rounds during his dry fire in order to feel the resistance when reinserting the magazine. He ended up hanging around, though I offered to go ahead and drive back since it was my idea to go to the match in the first place. I still give him crap about the whole thing. He still enjoys shooting, but he hasn't been to a match since then. Some of it is personal priorities and moving further away, but it is what it is. On another note, I got DQ'd at my first IDPA match years ago for breaking the 180. I didn't come to another match for a year and then decided to give it a try again. Haven't been DQ'd since then (knock on wood) after giving up IDPA and moving onto USPSA for the last couple of years. I've also had some other close calls over the years that really taught me what to focus on from a safety perspective like having an AD during a reload in the middle of a practice session. Ended up packing my gear up immediately and driving back home that day to think about it. All you can do is enforce the rules, hope the shooters take the DQ to heart, and come back to the sport with their head on right.
  23. @SJBriggs@tenx100s this is an excerpt from a FB post that I made a few weeks ago to the Mark 7 Reloading group. I think that Lyman’s recommendation to run a sizing die over the priming station is flawed. You are better off running a standard hold down die or no die at all. When you think about it there is no other press that runs a sizing die over priming. I've been chasing down an issue with priming on my Apex 10 for several weeks now. Out of 100 rounds I would end up 3-5 crushed/shaved primers. Just right on the edge of the primer pocket. It was consistently with 9mm GFL brass, occasionally some Win, and other headstamps, but mostly GFL. GFL is also not crimped AT ALL and primers seat just fine on my XL750, so more swage isn't the fix. Cleaned out the priming system over the weekend and did a full teardown using the Apex 10 Priming Setup video on YouTube thinking something wasn't aligned. Very good video but the teardown didn't help. Followed the advice that Jamie Lanzilotta gave someone else awhile back about not running a sizing die over the priming station, and using the hold down die instead. MAGICALLY all of my crushed/shaved primer issues went away. Also tried it with no die over the sizing station and that worked fine as well. I'm not sure if it is a problem with only certain sizing dies and combinations of brass, but there was definitely something bad going on between my Redding sizing die, GFL/Win/other brass, and the priming station that was causing the primers to clip the edge of the pocket as they were being seated. I should have known to try the hold down die or no die at all when I tried some Shell Shock cases with no sizer over the priming station and everything was running smoothly.
  24. The limited setup with Czechmate is Limited Minor. No 40 S&W options. If you want to shoot 40 major in Limited, you're better off going to the Tactical Sport route. If you really want a gun that can convert between Limited & Open, the Honcho is the best option in town at the moment.
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