practical_man

Like others mine is 2x4 frame with two sheets of laminated 3/4" exterior plywood as a top. No flex at all. It is 24 x 36 inch work surface so that helps keep things rigid.

I have and use Lee, Dillon, RCBS, Lyman, and Hornady Dies. All work well when properly adjusted. Your problem description is a little unclear. If you loaded ammo, then resized the loaded round, you may have introduced a problem by swaging the bullet to a smaller diameter. Set the case gauge to the side for now. Use your barrel to chamber check. I would propose that you pull all of the affected ammo. It could be hazardous to shoot it, as bullet set back can seriously increase pressures. While you are at it, readjust your dies according to the instructions. I am not trying to be insulting, but it is possible that they are improperly adjusted. Screwing the dies down as far as possible helps a lot to get sizing done properly. You may have an expander ball in the sizing die that is too big for the bullets you are using. You will have to measure to check. Once the dies are verified as properly installed, load a few dummies - no powder or primer, and check them in your pistol. be sure to do the push test - literally push a round firmly against a table to see if the bullet will move - measure with calipers before and after to check this. If the RCBS dies are out of spec they will replace them. At least for me, RCBS has replaced everything for free, even if operator error caused the part failure. I use a lot of different brands of dies, collected over the years as I was learning. Now if I need dies I get Hornady or Dillon. It's worth the little added cost for me. I do like the Lee collet sizing die for rifle ammo. hope this helps.

Did you put it on a dial indicator? If not, you might. I had a model 67 that did what you describe. The ejector rod looked fine to the eye. When I put it on a dial indicator it was over .050 off true. After I straightened the ejector rod all was well.

Jman, That's great news. Now if only I could find some AutoComp... I'd really like to try some for Bianchi in both 9mm minor and 38 Special. I guess patience is a virtue... -john

The ranch products 38 special clips work fine with Winchester brass. They are about $75 per hundred. Sadly hey are terrible with any other brand of brass. I have a few Hearthco for starline brass. They are excellent. Haven't tried rsc yet

I've never had that problem. I set the die up with a wrench, then tighten the lock ring set screw. It's a one time deal for me. The set screw just keeps the die at the right place. Guess you could use green loctite to hold the lock ring to the die if you like. All that said, I only use set screw lock rings for single stage rifle calipers. On my progressive loader just tightening the lock ring to the tool head witha wrench does the job well.

^^this^^ I use a 6004 at work. It gets the pistol away from the hugely thick IBV armor. It does allow the pistol to move around more than I like and get hung up in seat belts in HMMWV or aircraft but I like it better than the alternatives I've tried. For competition I like BladeTech. Belt space can be an issue tho. Everything is a compromise, except safety

How was the accuracy? Did you get complete combustion? Thanks John

Chris, Thanks so much for your thoughtful reply. I'm going to give one of the rails a try. Probably one of their bolt carrier groups too. -john

^^this!!! Danny and company are great people and make a great product at a competitive price. When I buy pistol ammo it is from AAA.

Or use a pencil eraser. I keep a small paint brush and canned air on the bench to keep anvil clean. It's almost always powder flakes causing offensive dents.

Chris, Thanks for the comments. Exactly they type of info I was looking for. Your set up is pretty similar to what I want to end up with. A couple questions if you don't mind. - Any problems with float tube rotation with the foreward grip? How do the anti-rotation tabs on the forend function? The reason I ask is that I will put a BUIS on the front. - What light mount/vertical forward grip are you using? - What sling mount are you using? Does it adjust fairly easily on the rail? - Does the bottom of the rail have a flat on it for barricade? Lastly, that looks like a 16" barrel. How is that working out with the long rail. Any issues with getting your hand in the blast from the comp? Thanks, john

http://www.apfarmory.com/ar15-m16-apf-stripped-t-mod-rail/ Anyone ever used this set up? I am thinking of it as an upgrade to DPMS tube that I'm not thrilled with. I saw it while I was looking at bolt carriers. I've no experience with this company at all. Looking forward to your impressions and any technical data on their stuff. Thanks John

I am not a rabid MIM hater, it's a viable process for specific types of parts.... assuming some kind of basic QA is applied to the process. A few years back, it was incorrectly reported that the PC guns did not use MIM parts. In fact, they did not use the MIM hammers and triggers but did have some MIM parts including the rebound slide and trigger lever (strut) among others. On my 627, you will see a picture of the trigger lever which shows it is grossly and visibly defective. The end which is supposed to look like a ball did not form, incomplete penetration of slurry into the mold during injection. It was never noticed, it went for chroming and then was installed onto a trigger and put in my gun. The jagged end trashed the "cup" in the rebound slide and gave it a bad trigger pull. But that's what was shipped in the gun.The gun had a lot of other defects, the trigger lever/rebound slide turned out to be the easiest to fix. That is one ugly part. Sorry to hear of your misfortune. I hope S&W made it right, or at least sent you parts.

I have been shooting S&W revos for a long time. I think the newer ones are better quality. I had reservations about MIM parts that have so far been unfounded. Warren summed it up very well above, and he's really helped me learn a lot of the finer points in revolver maintenance. Truth in advertising, he's done quite a bit of machine work and revo smithing for me the past few years and I think his work is top shelf - better than anyone I've ever encountered. If I'd met him years ago it would have saved me a lot of money and a ton of frustration. Bounty hunter sums up the problems I've seen in my own guns. I would add crappy barrel crown and forcing cones that look like they were cut by a hungry beaver. All are easily fixed at home, except the barrel clocking and cylinder gap. Those require tooling that I don't have. In short, buy new S&W revolvers with confidence. They are much better quality now than in the 80's. Not pretty, but good shooters. Parts are readily available - unlike older production stuff where parts are getting scarce and pricey. I really like my 627. No complaints at all. I will add that I wouldn't pay one cent extra for a Performance Center product. The PC stuff looks neat, but the workmanship isn't any better than regular production. Unless PC is the only way you can get what you want, stick with the production line because it's just as good and a much better value. Other opinions may differ.

Paul, Not sure what to say about your misfortune. Seems like you're on the path to recovery. I have had some pretty serious injuries over the years. I'll spare you the details, but successful recovery followed the general path of getting mobility back, then aerobic balanced with anerobic strength. Looks like you're on that path. Don't overlook stretching. It's really important to both strength and range of motion. I use it as an "active recovery" approach to rest days - do stretching on days you don't exercise. Stretching should include some balance work as well. I like the BOSU ball, but you can get the same result with standing on the edge of stairs, or soup cans or whatever you have around the house to get started. This also strengthens your core. I would also add grip strength as a deliberate activity. Captains of Crush are hard to beat - and don't overlook stretching your hands. I have bad tendonitis in hands and elbows that's related to nerve damage. I stretch hands a lot. Shoulder stability is important in our sport too. Side raises in addition to your upright rows will help quite a bit. Also range of motion for the shoulders with lighter weight. If you're feeling up to it, do the Turkish Get-up. One set of 4-8 reps each side will get your heart pumping and help a lot with erector muscles. It's optimized for a kettlebell, but you can do it with any dumbell too. You'll see me post a question about tendonitis soon. I have small boys and what I call "baby elbow" - pain in both elbows from holding twin infants a lot. I've tried lots of stuff with guidance from a physical therapist but not had much luck. Docs tell me it's more persistent because of cervical nerve damage from my last tour in A-stan; surgery didn't really fix the next so it propagates thru the body. Luckily, G-d has blessed me with some resilience and I'm glad it's not worse than it is. Persevere in your recovery and do try to be patient. -john

Can be done. I have had two slides on a shared frame for a while. Mechanically it functioned fine, but was a PITA. More trouble than it's worth given the relatively low cost of a second frame.

How about caspian web page? It works for me... Receivers: http://www.caspianarmsltd.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=7&Itemid=7 Slides: http://www.caspianarmsltd.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=6&Itemid=2 Gary and company are great to work with. Nancy B. usually handles my orders and does a great job with parts orders large and small. Hope this helps, -john

As wide45 said, you are seating some of the bullets crooked. It doesn't take much to produce this effect, and the bullets will look straight to the naked eye. They will show runout if you check them against a dial indicator. I first encountered this with a brand new square deal B. The factory assembled the seating die just a little off true center. Easily fixed on that machine, and easily fixed on others. Make sure you set up dies with brass in every position on the shell plate will help a great deal. You should also try flipping the seating stem on the Dillon Die to see if that works better with your bullet profile. The hot glue mod of the seating stem might work well for you if you only use one bullet profile. Hope this helps.

Manson makes a nice throating reamer is bullet profile is part of your trouble. It's very affordable. Their chambering finish reamer will cut the chamber longer and correct any undersized dimensions. It can cause headspace issues if you cut too much. The plunk test can tell you which you need. I haven't had a problem with throating reamer negatively affecting 50 yard accuracy. Ymmv

This has been my concern with modifying the aluminum parts. My alternative plan is to do exactly as you describe. The upper I want to rebarrel is modified for Service Rifle competition so it's not quite as cheap as buying another $89 upper from Aero. Oh well, as I tell my lovely and understanding bride, guns are relatively free.... it's the ammo and training that cost real money. Thanks, -john

Thanks. I had seen these pix years ago and dismissed the idea of mix and match. I didn't forsee that we'd ever see the day when replacement parts would be so hard to get.

For those who have actually done it... will a new barrel with the M4 feed ramp extension function properly with an old school rifle-type upper receiver? Seems like it should work to me, but be a real challenge to keep clean and be damned ugly to boot. Reliability is the main concern for me when I re-barrel this rifle. I am having a tough time finding an in-stock barrel (18 or 20 incher) with a rifle extension on it. Seems M4 is all the rage these days. Thanks for sharing your thoughts. -john

Twindad I think I have a spare copy I can send you. Please PM if you are interested

I recently got a 9mm RO and like it as a range gun. The adjustable sights would be a little tough for concealed carry tho.