practical_man

Yes! This one. Warrens design is elegant, secure, and very fast. Works with my 617, 686, and 627.

An aside. I bought a Bailkal 20 gauge about a year ago after I had survey. Much lighter gun was easier to shoot well during rehab. That gun is impressive, ESP for the price. It shoots very well and has proven durable with almost 8 pounds of international powder run thru it so far. They need a little work to smooth out the action and fix that infernal auto safety. The finish is utilitarian to say the least. But it breaks targets and that's all that really matters. I have gone back to my Citori for main shooting now, but still shoot the little Russian over-under in league for fun. I suspect my sons will shoot that gun quite a bit when they come of age.

The Golden Clays is exactly the same as the base model 625 in terms of mechanical durability. It's just got some stuff on the receiver and nicer wood. In no particular order: Browning, Beretta, Blaser, Guerini, Perazzi, Krieghoff, Kolar Those are the brands to stick to and you won't go wrong. Pick the one that fits you best, fits your budget and you like. Don't be afraid to look at a used gun. Or better yet, take the money you would spend and buy targets and ammo instead. That'll do more to improve your shooting than a new gun. Yes! I started off with an 11-87 and shot it till I could routinely shoot a clean round. Then I bought a Citori Lightening with 30 inch barrels and a tube set. Shot that till I could break a hundred straight. Then the wars got me real busy. I still shoot that shotgun more than any other. I got rid of my 391 and shoot the Citori or an 870 when I shoot shotguns. Both will break all targets with 3/4 ounce loads if I do my part. I shot a lot of other people's guns before I bought because I only wanted to get one. Kreighoff, Beretta, and Perazzi, along with cheaper imports. Citori Lightening shot best for me so that's what I bought. You can't go wrong with the Browning or Beretta over-unders. Just get one that fits properly and shoot the hell out of it. I have run ten eight pound kegs of Clays thru my Citori and it still runs like a champ. Also a couple of 8 pounders of international, universal, and Lil Gun in the smaller gauge tubes. It's a great shotgun and it fit me pretty well. I really recommend you get a 4-way adjustable stock and length of pull adjustment when you buy. That is a huge convenience when adjusting for summer vs winter clothes. Hope this helps -John

Can you post a link to podcast? It doesn't show up on my search. Thanks, John

Yep. With my XDm. Gave away the Carver mount and use the pistol for production

Welcome to the forum! And to the joys and challenges of hand loading. The consequences of squib loads have been well explained. They are serious indeed. That said, don't let it frighten you away from hand loading your own ammo. Likely everyone on this forum has had a squib along the way. Most are survived without serious injury to the shooter but often with permanent damage to the gun and budget. Now that you've had yours make sure you learn from it. Pull ALL the bullets from whatever remains of that batch and start again. You can save and reuse to components without worry. No need to deprime the cases either. The kinetic bullet puller is your friend here. Just put a foam ear plug inside the puller to prevent damage as you pull the bullets. Closely examine your loading process and quality control at each step. Good light, especially at the powder drop is indispensable. Check every round until it becomes second nature. Have a loading rhythm so you don't make errors. Never stop until the round is complete or you pull it out of the process for rework. Get a mentor in your local area to walk you thru the tips and trick of your first several loading sessions. It makes a world of difference having an experienced loader work with you as you learn. Read a couple of good manuals in detail. Lyman, hornady, Sierra, and nosler all have good sections on the basics. Follow them and you should be fine. Ask lots of questions on this forum. The folks here will gladly help and provide you with what works for them. Some deviate from published procedures and data based on great experience and testing. Up to you to decide when you think you are ready and properly equipped to start down the satisfying road of coloring outside the lines. Get a good chronograph. It is well worth the small investment to get hard data on how your loads perform in your guns. I have had a couple over the years. My current favorite is magneto speed but it isn't pistol friendly. Hang in there. With practice and careful procedures you will really enjoy hand loading. As for your son, encourage bilut supervise until he demonstrates proficiency no matter his age. Don't let him get discourage by this sma but VERY SERIOUS error. Again welcome to the hobby and a great forum.

I like the JM spring kit. have them in most my revolvers....and Wolff --- Not much experience with brownells or wilson springs. I like the JM hammer spring but the return spring in the kit is a little heavy for me, I'm guessing about 14lb, so I use the 11lb Wolf return spring instead. I like the 11 or 12 pound Wolff rebound slide spring. Weight depends on what primer and whether hammer is lightened or not. I use the factory mainspring and put more of a bend in it at both top and bottom. Works great for me. And Toolguy''s trick of the 8-32 x 1/2 inch setsscrew to replace mainspring screw. I wish I could afford to have warren do all my work. He knows ALL the tricks to make revos run. Someday...if I win the lottery. -john

Dan's light kits are great. He can supply you with a battery power option if you ask nicely. Mine was money well spent.Everything I have gotten from Dan @ inlinefabrication has been great. Most of it has been one-off modifications of his designs to meet my requirements. Highly recommended. Edited to correct spelling. Damned iPad autocorrect.

I just gave away a Carver mount. I haven't found a good solution for me, yet. For now I shoot it in production.

For a first loader, get the 550 "as it should BE", scales and a good loading manual like Lyman or Hornady. Call Brian. He will help.

Push thru isn't too helpful with the tapered 9x19 case, at least for me. I use Dillon dies properly adjusted and have no trouble with minor PF loads. I turn the sizer die down as far as I can so it just clears the shell plate. Could be a tight or short chamber in the new barrel. How do factory rounds check in that chamber? Could be the bullet profile combined with the occasional long OAL masquerading as base not being sized enough. I do not care for the FCD with pistol cases because it resizes the entire case again. This caused me some trouble with 45ACP so I quit using them. Plain taper crimp works fine and doesn't distort the case so much. Following with interest.

Links?

Loose shell plate would be my guess too. Don't forget to tighten the set screw in the main shaft to keep it from loosening. You know how I figured that out

Another vote for Springer Precision. Scott did mine with a short turn around and it turned out great! I normally do my own work but have zero experience with the XDm platform and am unlikely to buy more than one so I hired a professional. Easier and cheaper than fussing with one of the aftermarket kits, at least this time. If I ever feel the need for another XDm I might take the plunge and try it myself with Springer precision or another parts kit. I am very happy with the springer precision work and would use them again. Great work and great customer service.

Craig N BreakFree has come in a 16 ounce spray bottle for at least the last 20 years. It's what we use on M240, M249, etc. doesn't burn off either. Just gets dirty. I use the little needle oiler from brownells filled with Mobil 1 for game guns. And slide glide lite where grease is needed. Your idea is valid and validates over many deployments with crew served weapons. Seems a bit overkill for individual weapons tho. -John

My open is a 627 with Douglas barrel and separate comp. works fine. I am leaning o like h N frame a lot. If I had to do over I would just machine the comp into the barrel. Live and learn. Can't post a pic from my phone.

Keep the 4.5 and spend money on a Springer Precision trigger and primers

Extreme Engineering ignition parts. Caspian firing pin EGW fixing pin stop Wolff recoil spring and 19# mainspring STI Ambi safety S&A mainspring housing or mag well MSH 10-8 Flat Face trigger Get the rest of the small parts from Gary at Caspian That's what I have used in a few guns. Of course you know we expect you to take lots of pics and post a step-by-step tutorial to educate us on all your new skills Related, I have become a fan of the True Radius jig for making short roll triggers. Roll versus crisp is a preference thing, but you should know how to do both for your future customers.

This. And they work fine. Even a ail able in Dillon blue.

When this happens to me on any platform I call it chicken finger. It is usually from gripping too hard or trying to snatch the shot with perfect sight alignment instead of keeping sights aligned and just pulling the trigger. My mental fix is to "look the shot off" by focusing on the sights. Usually works unless the gun is broken

Sarge hit the big points. Here are a couple things I do that might help #1 get into a loading rhythm. This helps keep things consistent. Sarge alluded to this #2. Throw the Dillon. Die wrench in the trash and get a real 1 inch combination wrench. More consistent torque on the lock nuts. #3. Set up dies with brass in every station. This keeps things aligned. #4. Lube your brass. One Shot, Imperial Sizing Wax, Dillon Lube really doesn't matter but use something even with carbide dies. This smooths things out and helps with rhythm and consistency. Similarly, lube the press every now and then - the shaft and the lube points I the pivot arms. #5. Get a strong mount or InLinePrecision mount and load standing up. This helps me a lot. #6. Use plenty of light. Makes it easier to see what you need to see and do what you need to do. Hope this helps some. I have been very happy with my 550 and it produces great ammo when I do my part.

I am right handed left eye dominant. I use Dawson Precision and Warren Sevigny FO sights on my Glocks. I prefer the .04 diameter fibers. Using a darker fiber may help your problem, say red or blue. I like a d use green but I also occlude part of my left eye so I have only peripheral vision. I have the larger .06 dimer rods on a couple of revos and an XDm because that's what the .125 wide sights come with. As budget allows I am replacing those sights with narrower .100 wide front sights.

I wouldn't really call it a problem with the machine, the machine itself is excellent. - I just require my primer depths to be a little more specific due to the nature of the light triggers on my revolvers. And there wasnt an option for me to do so from dillon via the press itself. and when I say that I seat them too deep or too shallow, that is specific to the parameters i'm aiming for depth wise... Any other gun ( factory/stock/whatever) would light them off regardless. Thanks Alec. I guess I have just been lucky so far. I am running my triggers around 6 pounds to get reliable function with federal primers. Never thought about being more consistent with seating depth. I will experiment some with this when I have time and get some new brass. Mostly I use mixed head stamps. It's about time to call Starline...

I too have loaded a boat load of Pb projectiles with standard dies. Properly adjusted there are no ill effects on my 550 press. I do use a Lyman M die when loading lead bullets for RIFLE cartridges. For pistol, standard dies work fine for me with lead bullets

Alec That is a cool idea. I use a 550 so I don't think I have ever experienced the over seating problem. I am thinking about a 650, so is this a problem unique to that machine? Thanks