Guy Neill

Hmm - a container. I've used zipper bags - like a bank bag. I've seen such at Walmart. Either Walmart or an office supply should have utility boxes of various sizes that may serve.

Generally, any tools required to field strip the gun. Rags to wipe it down and oil So, if any Allen wrenches are needed, include them. A bushing wrench, if needed. Paper clips if a one piece full length spring guide needing to capture the recoil spring for field stripping. Whatever wrench/screwdriver to tighten grip screws or adjust sights. If you have any anticipation of removing the firing pin, a punch or small screwdriver for that. A cleaning kit That should cover most needs.

For a 1911, I've broken; Bushing Full length recoil spring guide Sights (front, rear and optic) thumb safety Had a plunger tube pull out of the frame Bent firing pin Extractor Recoil spring plug Slide stop Barrel That I recall at the moment. My dry fire gun has a broken firing pin stop. The best procedure is to have a backup gun. Then you can explore the problem at greater leisure for the gun that broke.

If you think the maximum loads are conservative, point the finger at SAAMI. All the reloading manuals I've worked on had the maximum loads at the SAAMI Maximum Average Pressure.

Try a small batch first and evaluate after shooting. Were the loads worked up at the present OAL? Jacketed or plated bullets? Plated are generally more forgiving. If the bullets are presently contacting the rifling, giving them some distance off the rifling will likely be beneficial.

I suppose clues were there even if I don't pay much attention to dates. Never thought guns and ammunition were joking matters. Not that there cannot be humor. Ask me sometime about the fellow that called to complain that the primers he bought had no bottoms.

Is that the correct orientation of the gauge?

Technically, I believe the frame ramp angle is a bit different on the 38 Super than the 45, but I'm not certain how critical it is. Kuhnhausen may have details. (How have you been?)

Colt first offered 1911s in 38 Super in 1929. Ramped 1911 barrels didn't become a "thing" until something like the mid to late 1980s.

The primers are cratering. A sign of high pressure. That they are doing it in the new barrel and, I'm assuming, not in the old barrel indicates the new barrel may have a tighter chamber or shorter throat.

Sounds like you need a thumb shield. Pachmayr used to have one, and Swenson offered a thumb safety that had a shield integral. I don't know what is currently available, but I think that would work better than new grips.

The full length sizing will take care of the neck sizing. Generally no crimp on rifle ammunition. If you are seeing bullet movement, crimp may be used, but not commonly needed.

1. Depends on the quantity you are loading and the time you have. 2. Only if you are loading great quantities. Plus carbide dies are currently hard to get (along with many other things) 3. If loading for semi-autos, stay with full length, maybe even small base sizing. 4. Most makers are providing serviceable dies. Take your pick. I've never used Forster dies, but hear good things. Redding and RCNS are very good, alklong with Lyman and Hornady

If using factory ammunition we would suspect the gun. If using reloads, we'll suspect the ammunition, with the primer seating being the main concern. Did any rounds fire with a second firing pin strike? If so, it points to the primer seating needing top be deeper initially.

The extractor is the first thing to check.

Also not an expert or a doctor, but it sounds like a vision thing to me. I guessing he has determined his dominant eye. Perhaps do the dominant eye test ten times to see if it remains the same or flips on occasion. You might also try covering his weak eye while he shoots. In my case my dominant eye is my weaker eye, so the non-dominant eye tries to dominate. One other test might be to have him shoot a group using his weak hand on the trigger. We tend to concentrate more when using the weak hand.

I have seen bullet in bore (BIB) squibs that left the bullet closer to the muzzle than the chamber. I've seen others that would not let the next round chamber. There is no "one way" for a BIB. I once witnessed a GM have a squib on the first shot of a course of fire on a 2-3 yard target. He stopped and inspected the gun, noting that the bullet was not in the barrel, reloaded and proceeded with the course of fire. It depends on how much you value the gun and the potential for injury. Fortunately, pistols are held away from the face and tend to blow up (and down), so severe injuries are not common. Overall, I would recommend stopping if anything is "off" about a shot. I also recommend electronic hearing protection to better hear if anything is not right.

Most important long term is to determine the cause of the light strikes. It's between the gun and the ammunition. Does factory ammunition work in the gun, or still deliver light strikes? It the factory ammunition gives problems, it points to the gun. Areas of the gun to examine include teh firing pin, the firing pin spring and tunnel, the hammer (or striker) spring and any firing pin block if present. Fort the ammunition (assuming reloaded) the primer is likely not completely seated. Look for primers that are above the case. This can be felt, or put them on a flat surface and see if they rock (they should not) Do any of the cartridges that failed fire if you try them a second time? The only time such would occur is if the primer was high for the first strike.

From what I've seen, the roll sizing only affects the base of the casing and does not resize the entire case. Thereby, sizing in a sizing die is needed after roll sizing (or maybe before - I haven't tried that) to bring the entire case dimension down to allow gauging.

The Shooter's Connection range bag has generally been the bag others are compared against. It will do the job. Shooters Connection Tournament Series Shooting Bag PRO II (shootersconnectionstore.com)

Historically there has seemed to me a tendency to look at the steel instead of the sights. I don't know if this plays a part for you since it's only the first shot, but maybe something to think about.

Is there a problem with the ammunition as is? If not, why go through the effort of pulling bullets and reloading? What sort of quantity are you looking at? If you do disassemble the ammunition, how are you pulling the bullets? Inertqil pullers take some time. Are you salvaging the powder, or discarding it? You will need to remove the decapping pin to avoid knocking the primers out. Sizing should not be a problem. You can remove teh entire sizing die, but it doesn't hurt to resize teh cases. With the decapping pin removed, proceed as normal for loading.

As I read it, he said the lighter bullets were hitting lower than the heavier bullets. The heavier, slower bullet was in the bore longer, and would be expected to hit higher than the lighter, faster bullet. Oh, okay, I see your confusion. I simply misstated. It should have read that the heavier bullet strikes higher. The math should confirm. The longer time translates to higher impact. Now if I could type what I had in mind and was trying to say. Thanks for the information.

zzt - I'd be interested in your explaining #1. Thanks.

I believe I have worked it out. Multiplying by 2 seems to be correct. So, t = (2s/v) for the barrel time. I won't go into the derivation unless someone really wants to know.