want2race

No I didn't. This SNAFOO is a noun. Not to be confused with SNAFU, which is an adjective I believe. Or at least a description.

SNAFOO sometimes creeps into matches and shows his head at the most inopportune time. Two weeks ago, he showed up at the classifier and put MY finger between the magwell and magazine base during the reload. On the classifier of course. Went to shoot, mag fell out since my finger was in the way of it fully seating. Last sunday he showed up in my chamber. He prevented the rounds from fully entering the chamber. And yes, happened during the classifier. I don't have that picture since he was hiding inside the barrel. I'm not a sandbagger, I have a SNAFOO problem.

Some scribbles...but this is what it looks like.

..and if you shoot fast 'enough', you can throw some -1's and STILL win. Once, I practiced (i.e. cheated) my draws on a plate rack. Draw, knock one down, reholster. This did wonders for my speed WITH accuracy. There is no -1 on an 8 inch plate. I did this for about an hour and dropped my draw times down a bunch. The biggest improvement was how it "felt". I went from being a little quick but awkward, to being very quick and feeling smoooooth. Sorry for the drift....

No kidding "hard to draw from". Shoot, with that holster I could conceal my Ltd spec Edge.

I'm around 1.25 from concealment (unbuttoned Dickies shirt, which is my "real" concealment garb too). I think the holster is more important than the type of garment you wear over it. I like a little bit of forward cant since I wear it behind my hip. As my thumb rakes the shirt, my wrist is in perfect alignment with the grip. It works for me anyway. ETA: Safariland 5182 is what I use in IDPA. I'll have to see what times I can get with my Sparks Watch Six.

Thought I had a decent run...until I pulled up the calculator. Jeez. 7.2 HF in Limited is barely a B run. DaUm.

I'd say CH47, not 46. A bit bigger and more powerfull. I had a CH47 exfil ride out of the Panama jungle that would make a little bird pilot sick!

I'm on this topic since the last couple local matches seem to LOVE 20 and 21 round stages. I have two STI mags with Grams followers and Dawson pads that hold 20. One is TIGHT at 20 and the other is a nearly reloadable 20. My other two mags have only Dawson pads and hold 18. These are usually my 2nd and 3rd reload mags, or for Ltd10.

Concur with HSmith. A small detent placed right where the plunger hits, will help this. Before getting out the drill press, check your plunger tube, spring and plunger to make sure they are all good first.

I've fixed a para that did the exact same thing. I installed a KKM barrel in my Edge and had to tune out the same problem as well. One: What is the diameter of the Precision Delta's? My bet is that they are .401, not .400. You can ream the throat out a little if insist on using the cheapest bullets (as I do). We shoot Bear Creeks and they are .401's with some probably bigger. Yes they bulge the case a scoach when loaded. Two: I had to lower the mouth of the feed ramp. This is the near absolute cure for long, less than ideal bullet loads. The round was wedging itself, nose on the top of the chamber, middle of the brass on the feed ramp and the base and the breech face. The para had the PXT extractor (ick) and is not very nice to adjust (coil spring), nor did it make much difference with tuning. If the smiley is on the circumference of the bullet, between the case mouth and cone it's (most likely) hitting the headspace shoulder inside the chamber. This isn't usually the cause of it sticking out of battery, it's just hitting the headspace shoulder in the chamber. Shoot 500 to 1000 jacket bullets and it will soften the shoulder a bit. I don't shoot jacketed so I did it manually. This is my opinion based on what I've seen and fixed that is very similar. I wouldn't touch this one however, nor have anyone else but Bob. I don't have the luxury of shooting expensive bullets so I have to tune the gun to run anything. As an aside, my STI barrel was shot out so it feed anything I threw at it. The KKM, being new, needed to be broken in manually (polisher).

Thanks for the comments. I had the benefit of watching Cheely run stage 9 before I did. He shot everything through the end ports. I didn't think I could hit the plates as fast while leaned way over so I decided to use the door. With my points, I was 2.4 seconds off of the lead pace. I'll take it! I'm sorry to my other squad mates, after that run I couldn't shut up, I was so jazzed from that point on.

At the risk of exposing my mad B class skillz....... Actually, this was my (and Steel1212's) first big match. Loved the stages. Took me 5 stages to pull my head out of my rear end and actually shoot. Started on 4 and didn't get with the program until 9 (finished on 3). Stages 1 through 6: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=8857805836175859737 Stages 7 through 9: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=652231780253046655

I decided to go back and pick up my 4th classifier in Production. Shot my carry gun, G23. Drew on center and shot right 4. Reload then outside in on the left. 70pts 9.69 for an 86%. No more big U for classification.

Back from page 9. FAL

I've got flare! The bolt that holds the clamp to the press has to be a little loose. If I tighten the bolt the die tilts left. I pull the handle with a case at station 1 and 2, leave handle down as instructed. Tighten the clamp bolt, then just snug the bolt that holds it to the press. This bolt just keeps the clamp from turning so I don't see why it can't be left a tad loose. No more one sided bulge after loading the bullet. It's even all the way around. The threaded portion of the die has a little lateral movement but as the case comes into contact with it and flares it, it centers itself giving a full 360 degree flare. Also the powder charge is closer between preflared and non flared cases. I still have the light or heavy charge, by up to .2gr, but that could be due to inconsistant lever speed during testing. When I'm loading at full speed (not one at a time) my lever pressure and speed is about the same every stroke. I presume this will even out the powder charge a little more. The white piece was in there. Thanks for all the help. Now to chrono these so I can start cranking 'em out.

(says to self) oooooooooh. I'll check for that tonight. Thanks for the suggestions.

After making a powder change I cycle 6 cases through before weighing the charge. I tried loosening the bolts and tightening it down with the lever down. No change. The inside (closest to shellplate bolt) is the side with next to no flare. The flare is over .010. I added a bit more, it helped get the flare near 360 but it is still very slight on one side and very flared on the other. I had a fellow shooter/reloader over tonight and he'll concur. The bolt that holds the upside down L shaped bracket, on the right side opposite the other two bolts. It holds the powder measure on the die. When I tighten that one down the whole powder measure leans to the left. I don't know if this is causing the issue or not. I was told that I was too anal in regards to the tilted primer so we can forget that issue for now. The offset flare happens at every shell station. The bullet is visably offset once fully assembled. There is a bulge on one side of the case, confirmed by a second set of eyes. If I can get the flare centered I think that issue will go away. It was suggested to take advantage of Dillons' warranty and send it.

Will do. Thanks. I'll do this first.

I will measure the amount of flare, but I'm near certain that it's more than .010 from unflared. The die is adjusted down far enough that if I cycle the press without any brass, the shell plate hits the powder funnel (part that does the flaring) and moves it up. Not enough to drop powder though. I've only loaded Winchester brass, flare amount is consistant will all brass inspected (post flare stage). Brass buttons installed, .40 caliber kit. The buttons matched the Dillon chart for the caliber. The primers aren't too canted, but enough to notice upon close inspection. Usually worse if the primer pocket is a bit tight (dirty?). On those, I spin the case 180 and repress the primer. The reloaded amunition is at least as accurate as factory. I think it's better but I'm biased. I will do some more R&D tonight as to which hole in the shell plate, or all of them, has primer tilt. Flare amount, and will try more flare. I think adding more flare will just flare one side more than the other still. Although the flare will be 360, it will be offset to one side still. I'll check it out though. Also, I will inspect the shell plate closely. ETA: If I take the case out after priming, noting it's relation to the shell plate, the high side of the primer is on the outside. The lowside (below flush) is on the inside (as it sits in the shellplate). I will double check, but this is what I had found previously. This is what lead me to believe (and watch it) lean inward when primer pressure is applied.

Good points. I will mark a case so I can check the flare position, using the same position relative to the center of the shell plate. New to me press. Sportsmans Warehouse just opened near me and they have 550's for $340. Darn tempting, just because it's too easy to pick up. I'll hold out for a 650 though. Same dies (SDB), happens with all brass. I use once fired Winchester. The flare issue also causes the bullet to load slightly off center. I can see the case more bulged on one side. The bullets are .401-.402 diameter. I may try a new shell plate.

Shell plate bolt is tight, first thing I checked. I think the shell plate is either worn or just hold the brass too loose. I do the same thing, half turn and repress primer. Some cases are worse than others, if the primer goes in with more effort than normal I give it a half turn and repress. The ones that go in easy are usually fine.

SDB, Winchester brass and primers. Univ.Clays powder. Lyman digital scale. First pass through powder and flare stage yields .2 gr more powder. If I dump and reset case for another pass through powder stage, the pre-flared brass will have a .2gr lighter powder charge. I spent an hour chasing "the right" powder weight until I figured this out. I normally run the same case through the powder stage until the desired weight is acheived. Now, if I have to rerun a case through the 2nd stage I weigh it individually and add powder as needed. One more thing, actually two. First time the case is flared and charged the flare is only about 270 degrees around. If I dump and run it again, not only do I get .2 gr less powder but the flare is 360. I have to run a bit more flare due to moly coated bullets. I don't use case lube. Second thing is a primer issue. They seat at a slight angle. I've determined this is due to the case leaning in the shell plate when primer seat pressure is applied. They work, but sometimes one side of the primer is right at flush while the other is below.

I shot pretty relaxed last sunday (local match) and was slow. I had it in my head to slow down a bit after blowing the classifier last month. It worked, I was slow. I wanted to really focus on all A's. Found out, that's a pretty good way to NOT win a match for me. My hit percentage was nearly the same, just slower. I was in "having fun" mode. Chatting, pasting, fixing the odd gun, oop I'm up. "I'll go here, shoot there, ok I'm ready." Yep, that doesn't work out too well for me. I need to shoot every stage of every match like it was 'the big match'.

Besides, the above attribute wouldn't necessarily be wise in a shooting sport. Some people take it serious and might take it to a... 'ho notha leble'.