gargoil66

And that is 'zakley' why I just bought a UniqueTek funnel for .358 bullets. Sick of having to put the bullets back upright when they flop over or even pop out of the case on rotation of the shell plate. Also, the straighter the bullet goes into the brass, the better. GG

M Die widens the case so powder coated and cast bullets can seat into it straighter and without shaving lead. I am not positive my Lyman M die is of more value than my taper crimp die so I pulled the M Die and will keep on the taper crimp. I am positive the taper crimp is functional. The M Die is for .38 Spl and I am using it on .38 Super so there may be a problem with the size of the expander punch not opening up the Super brass well enough for it to do what it was designed to do. I am putting a slight roll crimp into the brass with my seating die but am depending on the taper crimp to do most of the work holding the bullet in under recoil. Must be working because I haven't had problems with bullets getting pulled except for my 327 TRR-8 and that stopped once I got it magna ported. I do see a lot of value in an M-Die but will take a look at a specialty funnel from Unique Tek as BHB advised. GG

Five stations on my press and I need six. So, I can either remove an M-Die and depend on the funnel on my Dillon powder measure to flare the case or I can remove a Taper Crimp die and depend on the seating / roll crimping die for a crimp. Let me 'axed' this question. Which die should I ditch - Taper Crimp or M Die? GG

Vic: Doesn't take much to do that to a powder coated, lead bullet. GG

BE: Does it work with factory loads? Also, did you install a after market 'competitive' main spring? If so, you may find the only primers that work reliably are Fed 100's. By all means, check that the hammer isn't scraping on the side of the frame as JFD recommended. Go to Fed 100 primers since they are the most sensitive on the market. Ensure that what ever device is seating the primers is seating them firmly to the base of the primer pocket. .005" below the rim is the amount I believe. It is easy to measure with calipers but visually the primer will be far enough below the rim that you can easily see it. Guys here have other suggestions but the primer and seating depth seem to be the two big issues with handloading for revolvers. Particularly if a guy dropped in a competitive mainspring. GG

YR: Try canting the revolver. Ergonomically it is much more natural a position and you will find it to be steadier and give a better (more direct) trigger pull. Just that you will need to break the shot at about 10 on the target. Bullets always go down and in the direction of the cant. I will say that your hold will be better, trigger pull better, and confidence in weak hand will increase. Salt Lake. Ugh. Two solid day drive. Did the SC match there last summer and do not want to make that drive again. Hope the wind is coming from the South because there is a significant garbage dump directly to the North. The ranges are good and the staff there runs a professional and well organized match. Ought to be pretty decent, given a south wind of course. GG

Hmmm.... Only 2,670 miles one way! GG

As a related question. Is there another name for this venue? I looked on Practiscore and it seems the only matches are in Canada or the South and North Eastern USA. They look really fun and I wouldn't mind doing some. GG

Yo B.D. How can a front sight 'explode'? GG

Above my pay grade now. I just did a 'trigger job' using the Miculek DVD. Followed his directions to the letter. I think he is correct when he says that all I did was give it five or so thousand rounds worth of wear. Is the pull better? Yes, much smoother but I put in a TK main and rebound spring. Eight pounds down to six. It was a good way to learn the workings of a revolver but the problem at hand on this thread with the hammer hesitating on a cylinder makes me think there is a problem with the ratchet but the funny thing about these situations is that it rarely is anything anyone thought up. My advice, call TK and 'axed' them. GG

Happened with a Power Custom and a issued firing pin. Probably not the firing pin Only other two things you added were shims and a fifteen pound rebound spring. Apparently it was working with the shims and rebound spring? Remove grips, loosen strain screw, remove side plate. Do a visual inspection for anything that is chipped or broken. Clean and lube. Put it back together and see if it works. If it is doing the same thing, remove the shims and try. If it isn't working still, put the original rebound spring back in and try. If not working still, you need to consult a good revolversmith. GG

Ha! At least you had the tool for the job! Wish I was that fortunate! GG

As Jason said, try some .38 Short Colt before getting the cylinder reamed for 9mm. Since you can use SC brass with moons, speed loaders (although the brass is short), or load it as is, it is more versatile than a cartridge that can only be loaded with moon clips. I have a V Comp with the cylinder reamed for .38 Super and TK will get er done perfectly so if you really think that 9mm is the way to go with a TRR-8, send the cylinder to TK. I don't care for 9mm as a cartridge due to its taper and variations in sizes between companies. I do own two firearms that take 9mm and do load for it but as of late, I can buy Blazer 9mm for the same cost as reloading so I buy a case or two when I run low. Also, your barrel is for .38 caliber bullets, not 9mm, so you will end up having to load oversize bullets into the 9mm cases which isn't a huge deal but to me, just another problem waiting to happen. GG

That would be a use of 'cue words'. He, he.

Farmer: Reading into rituals. Have you ever done something to stop some sort of negative thought and or to get you back on track? For example, after working for ten or so hours, you have to face a deadlined piece of equipment. You feel the exhaustion and your mind reinforces the feeling. However you know you must fix the piece of equipment. So, to stop the negative thoughts and feelings, you stamp your feet, slap your arms, or something of the sort and say to yourself -- 'tough...am getting it fixed before I do another thing.' So you get the gear running without any sort of problem. That slapping or stamping would be something like a ritual -- not precisely because technically I guess it would be a physical cue but it does what a ritual does -- clears the mind of anxiety and intrusive thoughts and gives a person confidence they can do something and do it smoothly, quickly, and perfectly. Getting stuff prepared the day before probably isn't a ritual. It is something you do because you want some time to make sure you got everything you need to compete. It is a smart thing and I find prepping the day or even two days before an event to relieve stress and let me focus on the things I must do at the event to succeed. A ritual would be something you would do just before competing to clear the mind and let you 'get er done'. GG

Farmer: Most of the reason why guys perform some sort of ritual before they perform is to keep from doing things like second guessing themselves. Rituals or some simple act like clapping their hands together is something physical they do to stop intrusive thoughts and to put the image of perfect performance into their 'working memory'. Tells them they are done with the BS and now to do something perfectly. Not everyone has a physical ritual. Some just have a mental process they use with breath control to thought stop and cleanse the mind of negative or counterproductive thoughts and replace them with clarity and confidence. Never heard it called a 'tick' or 'twitching'. To me, a tick is a tick and not something someone uses to clear their mind. And twitching is a sure sign of a tweaker. One thing for sure is that top end performers have some technique to ensure that when they compete, their mind is clear of unnecessary thoughts and that their emotions are in a range where they know they can perform at their best. GG

Called a 'Ritual' or a 'Routine'. It is done before competing to focus attention, relax, visualize. What ever the athlete thinks he must do in order to put his focus in the right place to succeed. And yes, it has been proven beyond question that these pre competition rituals work. If rituals annoy you -- just remember that annoying the competition may be part of it. GG

Jason: Montana Gold has flat tip round nose jacketed but are out of stock. Imagine that.... I have used some Powder Coated 125 grain .358 round nose flat tip from Eggleston Bullets among the other PC bullets that I shoot. Testing loads with the .38 Super and was just below Major with Ultimate Pistol powder. 5 grains I believe but don't have my data handy. I think you can take it up another half grain and that would do the trick with something to spare. These particular PC 125's with Ultimate Pistol did not lead up the gigantic comp on the 627-4 but I only shot about two hundred rounds before cleaning. I have PC bullets that will fowl the comp pretty significantly at the same or lower velocities and can only surmise that lead hardness, type and application of the powder coating, and type of powder play their roles in leading or not leading up a comp. GG

Guys: Yes, you can normally 'get er done'. Have done it a lot but if you want it done right, use the right tool and supplies. Saves a lot of time and money. The big issue is this. Does a Super fill a requirement in a manner superior to a SC or other .38 cal cartridge? If so, avoid a bunch of wasted time and resources and either buy a 627-4 or get a cylinder reamed. Brain has a limited amount of working memory space. Getting the gear made for what ever purpose you have means you will dedicate that working memory to shooting and not thoughts about the loads you know are in the red zone or some other thing you bodged to get the blaster to work. Just my view. Way easier to get a cylinder reamed and use.38 Super brass to get the performance of a .38 Super than dealing with excessive pressures, loads for cold and hot weather, etc. GG

Shred: I am not wondering if going from .38 ACP through what ever generation .38 Super it is I am using that the cartridge dimensions haven't changed dramatically. Oh yes, correction on the nylon moons that you can load and unload by hand. They do fit the standard Super brass but are too thick so once again insufficient headspace. They work perfectly with Super Comp brass which means the Super Comp brass has a thinner rim. No big deal for me anymore. Got stuff that works now. GG

Jason: The cylinder TK reamed out to .38 Super has taken every 9mm moon clip that themselves would take my RP .38 Super and Starline Super + P brass. Don't bother with the .38 Super Competition brass. It is too small to fit securely in any metal 9mm moon clip I tried. Eli informed me that I needed to try as many different 9mm moon clips as I could find to figure out which one worked the best with my brass. He sent me a packet with one each of his 9mm moon clips to try. Pretty squared away IMO. You can always measure your revolver for headspace and then add the rim thickness of a .38 Super +P (.050) and the rim thickness of 9mm moon clips .035. My measuring tools are crude at best but I got about .070 Headspace for my .627-5 and .085 for the rim and moon clip thickness. Insufficient headspace on the revolver. And the brass was sized down with the undersized sizing die. Even cammed over. I will say that it was extremely close but I had to use force to close the cylinder. I figure if I could find a 9mm moon that was .025 that it would have worked as long as I kept things very clean. I mean it would have been very close to zero headspace but would have worked. I am happy with the cylinder TK reamed out. Works really well and the .38 Super is a very versatile cartridge. Just measure your own revolver first. Could well be that yours will work just like Bill's. GG

Jason: I did size down the brass and they did fit the cylinder. Barely any headspace left so I tried a couple of brands of .38 Super and the .38 Super Competition brass. All fit the cylinder, no problem. The .38 Super Comp brass was the closest but it fell out of every 9mm moon clip I was able to get. The standard Super with every moon clip I was able to find was too thick. Just looked at Brownells and their moons are no longer available. I do believe I did buy some and try them. Too thick. It is worth the search for the right moon clip so if I were you, I would ask TK to send you a sample of their 9mm moon clips and try them. Who knows, you may get lucky and find one that works like Bill's do. Just that nothing worked for me. At least not in two each 627 - 5's, a V Comp and a TRR-8. GG

OK: I tried Bill's advice of using an undersized die for .38 Super and that will work except that the moon clips for the Super are too thick for the 627-5. Cylinder won't close. So I tried .38 Super Comp brass which is dimensionally smaller than standard .38 Super +P. Problem was the moon clips that fit .38 Super are way too big for the Super Comp. The Super Comp brass will fall out of the moon clip. So I sent the cylinder of my V Comp to TK and they reamed it out for .38 Super. Kind of a pisser because I scored a 625-4 and called TK to cancel about one day too late. So now I have two revolvers chambered for Super. The Super is bigger than .38 Special or its various cousins so when you shoot a .38 Spl in a Super chamber, the base of the brass bulges out to an extent that about half of them won't size down enough to easily go into a .38 Spl chamber anymore. If you want your cylinder opened up to Super, do yourself a favor and send it to TK. You will have it back in a week and it will be perfect. Easiest and in the long run least expensive way of turning a .38 Spl into a .38 Super. I think my big issue with .38 Super is the moon clips. I have Starline and RP .38 Super brass and Starline .38 Super Comp brass. Both the Starline and RP .38 Super seem to have a good number of pieces that are extremely hard to seat into the TK moon clips I have. And I have checked the moon clips and found them to be just fine in size. Its the brass that isn't as uniform as I would have expected. GG

Most likely it is near impossible to get them anymore. Not a lot of bowling alleys around anymore and the ones that are still running sell the pins to recycling places. Like getting wheel weights that didn't need alloying at the local tire store, the days of going to the local bowling alley and getting a couple dozen worn out pins for free is over. Much easier and much less problematic to shoot plates too. GG

I got one with a 586 L Comp which is seven shots. Could even have been a 627-5 too. Was blue but I think it was only a disk and to show nothing was in the cylinder. One of these would do a good job of showing no live were in the revolver as well. To me, a visual indicator of a safe revolver is a good thing. Being able to dry fire with it is an added benefit. Until you want to practice reloading! GG