D. Manley

FWIW, if cleanliness is a factor I'm yet to see any factory ammo in 9MM that equals Blazer Brass (or, the aluminum case version for that matter). Whatever they load them with burns so clean the cases are still shiny inside.

For a simple, accurate & reliable beam scale, the Dillon Eliminator is hard to beat for the bucks. I use one merely as a check against the electronic and find nothing not to like.

I use the Hornady in 9MM & .45 and next time I have to order anything else I'm going to grab a .40 as well. They work very nicely once you get a "feel" for them. Common collets sizes are below and others are listed on the attached .pdf file: 9MM = Collet #9 (.358) .40 = Collet #11 (.416) .45 = Collet #13 (.451) Hornady_Shellholders_Collets.pdf

Sent an antique SD in and came back like new with all missing parts replaced & even replaced old-style (but functional) PM system with new style. Several thousand rounds later, a couple of the helicoils (which accept the toolhead bolts) worked out and they replaced the frame. Good service is one thing but Dillon is in a class of their own.

Tee-Hee ...just in case, be sure to take pictures.

"CLICK"

Frankly I can't imagine why you're having tumbling issues with 5.3 grains BE under the 230 Gr. MG's...fairly stiff load but that ain't gonna' do it. Have you miked the bullets to see if you happened to get some a bit undersized? On the target load, 3.9 grains of Clays under 230's works for an awful lot of people. I use N-310 under 185's but I'm sure someone will come along with a Clays suggestion there as well.

Did you order your springs from Dillon or find a suitable replacement at a local H/W shop or something? Dillon still has the springs available on request, I ordered a few just to have on hand. I don't know if the new PM failsafe system smooths up after time or I'm just getting used to it but I've come to like it. Still keeping the springs on hand though.....

All I can say is, "wow", talk about maintaining a consistency of motion!

Anybody shot any N-330 minor loads in .40? I know how popular N-320 is (I like it too) but prefer N-330 in 9MM and due to a very old backorder showing up unexpectedly, now have a good deal of it on hand. I ran a trial batch of 4.5 grains under 180 JHP's today and had a very pleasant surprise, the tightest 10-shot, 25 yard (benched) group to come out of my G-35. Yeah I know, can't seem to avoid the requisite flyer. No chrono but should have been just over 800 FPS/145-ish PF with a feel much the same as N-320 around 4.1/4.2 grains or so. Just wondering why N-330 seems to be the odd-man-out in the VV lineup...so hard to come by, never tried, just don't like it, what...?

Re-reading this thread reminded me of the number of post both here and other forums about the "sticky brass" problems. Seems logical to me that this would over-stress the shellplate (bolt) much more than the other functions that occur on the downstroke where the shellplate is supported by the ram. Whether this is true, I have no idea but its at least a reason to take a little care to make sure the brass isn't sticking in the powder die/case-flaring stage. Lots of threads on prevention of this and all of them probably work. Of the 4 caliber conversions I have, the .40 caliber was the toughest to get working smoothly...I actually worried about breaking the bolt pulling it off the expander when I first set it up. I prefer not to have lube inside the case so thoroughly polishing (for the 3rd time) and a little dry lube on the expander section seems to have done it for me.

Any chance the little plastic bellcrank "cube" (Part #13871) that rides in the slot is missing? I had one escape and surprisingly, it ran quite well without it for however long before I noticed it gone.

You're looking at data for a lead bullet. Below is a representative sample for jacketed, this one from Sierra: 180 Sierra JHP Vihtavuori VV-N320 Starting load: 4.1 Grains - 850 FPS Maximum load: 5.2 Grains - 1000 FPS

I'd bet a Big Mac, with or without cheese, that the problem isn't sizing at all but small extractor burrs on the case rim causing the problem. I just finished processing every single piece of brass on hand and this was the problem on every one that didn't gauge after sizing. Oddly, I found it much more prevalent in .45 than 9MM or .40 caliber. A lighted magnifier is a big help spotting them and a few licks with a small hobby file will tell you if burrs are the problem.

Fine for me...always has been.

Interesting, seems most of the longer loads are being used in 1911 styled guns. A little bit confusing to me is, I've seen pretty long loads listed as being used in other style guns as well (Glock, in particular) and just looking at mine, seems to me anything over 1.135 would be really pushing mag clearance.

Might want to shoot Ramshot an email. I just did the same on Competition in .45 and received a .PDF file of their new and updated load data including, Competition. They've apparently finished testing, I have no idea why the updated data is not available in their published, on-line database. I've attached a copy of the new data for .45 for anyone interested. Ramshot45_New.pdf

I've been loading for a lot longer than I'd like to admit but right up front I'll fess up that I'm new to .40. That out of the way, I just finished wringing out several minor loads all using, Ranier 180 RN/FP's @ 1.125. FWIW, 3.5 TG (and, I'm not a big TG fan) was pick of the litter. Best groups (even did very well @ 25 benched) and nice, soft recoil track. The other loads tested along these lines were 3.3 grains Clays and 3.9 grains WST. All functioned a G-35 with stock spring fine...of the 3, the Clays load shot sweet but produced the largest groups - The WST load shot nearly as well as TG but (sorry), I just can't get past the smell shooting indoors.

I've only recently added .40 caliber to the bench and so far, have been pleased with the results. On one of my initial .40 runs I immediately noticed that a Rainier 180 RN/FP @ SAAMI OAL puts a lot of bullet in the case though, they shoot just fine. A bit of searching reveals that most shooters tend to load to considerably longer OAL than (the rather short) .40 SAAMI specs some, out to 9MM max lengths. I thought it would be informative to have thread along these lines including: Bullet brand, style and OAL used Power Factor for the bullet & OAL When loading long, criterion you used Longer throated guns & shorter throated guns (OAL "tolerance factor")

Precisely right. I've been on a 3 week project running all once-fired brass through EGW U-Dies prior to intitial reloads. The sized cases are then gauged. Now at somewhere over 10,000 cases every single one that failed to gauge was extractor burrs causing the problem. What I've found a bit odd is that most of the culprits are in .45 ACP, a few in 9MM and almost none in .40 cal. If I'd took a guess which caliber would have been in worse shape before I started the project I'd sure have missed the mark. FWIW, I pile the "no-go's" up and hit 'em a lick with a little small hobby file (too cheap to toss 'em). Its not necessary in most cases though...the "burred" cases don't quite gauge but chamber fine in my guns.

Lee likely uses Alliant's published data for a generic 200 grain JPH bullet which is 7.4. Hornady will use data worked up specific to their bullet designs. All that said, its never a good idea to "start at the top"...if you want to push them hard, start well below and come up incrementally watching for pressure signs as you go. You are working with a pretty linear powder in Power Pistol so you shouldn't have to worry too much about things going badly awry all of a sudden. I would imagine that 8.5 grains of PP under a 200 XTP will at the very least, light up the night for you.

OAL seems a little long, is that correct?

I've been using my SDB for 9MM, .45, .38/.357 and only now have added .40 S&W. On 9MM & 45, the RN profile seating stem seems to do a good job on most profiles but on the .40, both stems leave a distinct ring on the Rainier 180 grain RNFP bullets ogive. After first trying the shallower stem comparable to 9MM/.45 RN stems I found the larger left less indentation but still, notable. Both stems have rounded profiles but are apparently designed for differing meplat sizes. Either of the stems seems to do a good job on 180 JHP (as would be expected). Just wondering, is this an inherent deal in that particular bullet design and if so, does in apply to Rainier's other 180 designs as well -or- are other seating stem designs available from Dillon other than the supplied 2 that comes with the conversions? EDIT: Edited just to put a point on the original question. I took one of the conical shaped Cratex polishing wheels and broke the sharp inside edge of the seating stem and this helped reduce the problem. This morning, followed up with a call to Dillon to see if any RN profile stems were available (they're not) and the CSR I spoke to said his solution was the same as mine for that bullet. After talking with him, pulled the stem and buffed it down a bit more and put a final slicking on the inside edge with Flitz...problem solved. You can still see a very shallow indentation on every 4th or 5th round but now, you'd have to be looking they are no longer "ringed".

I'm presently in the process of running somewhere between 6000/8000 pieces of .40 range pickups through the EGW U-Die before putting them in my rotation. I'm checking the sized cases as I go and so far, every single one case gauged perfectly. Most of the cases have no noticable bulge but a respectable number do...after sizing, there is no apparent difference. And in the FWIW department, G-ManBart is exactly right. At some point Glock has significantly (and quietly) beefed up their chamber support on the .40's. I just picked up a new G-35 (dealer said he'd only just gotten it) and the chamber support at the 6 o'clock position is not only good, its about as good as I've seen. To my eyes, support extends all the way to the bottom of the extraction groove.

I fired off an email to Ramshot and asked about some reported discrepancies in current load data (for Zip powder) and, for any suggestions they had for .45 ACP with Competition powder. Below is the essential text of the email reply and I have attached the .PDF file for anyone interested: Ramshot45_New.pdf