BayouSlide

Been waiting for the date to add to my calendar. It's hard to imagine how y'all keep finding ways to improve it every year, but somehow you manage to guild the lilly.

I bought a Buckmark Contour URX 5.5 just to play around with and to see if I---and my aging eyes---might benefit from an Open gun. Liked the gun and barrel length. Naturally, with the rail I soon began experimenting with some inexpensive red dots. I began to REALLY enjoy with it with a ATN Ultrasight, a C-more style red dot but with multiple recticles....the balance felt perfect, especially since I mounted it a little on the forward side. The additional heft in the right spot was the ticket to smoothing transitions for me. Prior to that, the balance always felt a little odd, considering I shoot a Glock 34 in Production. Great fun now with steel plates. We have a 4-gun match yearly and I've been shooting Open class just to use the Buckmark with the dot. Mine just loves Federal Automatch, BTW.

One thing I've noticed about Federal brass in 10mm, if I run across a cracked case after a reload or three, it's a Federal case nine out of ten times. These are not overly hot loads, BTW, just target loads. And in 9mm, the brass that feels roughest running in my 550B is, in this order, S&B by a long shot, then probably Federal. Not problematic, just not as smooth in the press. I normally save once or twice fired Winchester for match brass and run the mixed case stuff for practice. I shoot at a range with a lot of LE training so I get a chance to scarf up a reasonable quantity of Remington brass in 9mm. For some reason, the Remington brass consistently seems to load a two or three .001 longer than the Winchester on average...Speer runs just the opposite, a few thousands shorter. EDITED: because typos drive me

I prefer Winchester (9mm)...works the smoothest and most consistently in my 550B. YMMV.

Until you find some live training, you may find Matt Burkett's DVD "Practical Shooting Volume 8: Shotgun Mastery" useful. Here's a link: http://www.mattburkett.com/burkett/index.p...a656219598c6288

Have used both captive and non-captive guide rods in stainless and tungsten without any issues of any sort in both my G17 and G34 for tens of thousands of rounds, but they are not Lightning Strike. I use ISMI springs on THE guide rods purchased from Custom Glock Racing (http://www.gunracing.com/Qstore/Qstore.cgi?CMD=009&DEPT=000001&CAT=000009&BACK=A0007A1B0000001B1).

Look in every case for powder (add a light to help make it easier to see) and follow the excellent advice above and you'll be fine...My only squib in 16K rounds on my 550B could have been averted if I had always followed that advice--or at minimum checked each station---after an interruption or a press hang-up. The only time I disregarded it, cost me a zeroed stage at a major match due to a squib.

Way too light: not even close to 30 weight. I use Mobil 1.

As I mentioned in your other posting: Check with Danny Wisner at Atlanta Arms & Ammo. www.atlantaarmsandammo.com (770) 464-2203

...and to think I was worried that I needed to run it a hour or two longer than normal because the media was getting old Had to put on sunglasses before I could bring it into a lighted room

Best way to obtain: forget you left your tumbler running in the garage for about 18 hours

Here's my recipe for my Glock 34: - Zero 147 gr JHP - 1.112 OAL setup with Winchester brass (results with mixed brass range from approx. 1.104 - 1.118 - approx. 2.75 grs (avg.) of Titegroup - 136 - 138 PF on chronos, match or mine Very accurate and reliable with 13# ISMI spring.

Check with Danny Wisner at Atlanta Arms & Ammo. www.atlantaarmsandammo.com (770) 464-2203

My experience is pretty much the same as Doug's. I load in a room in my house (heated and air conditioned) and just leave powder (Titegroup) in the measure, unless I'm changing powder or calibers. It may sit for a month or two and I just top it off when I load. However, I am anal about running a few 10-measure-average powder drops before settling in to loading so the "old" powder gets knocked about on my 550B pretty well to break up any clumping. And I've recently added a UniqueTek Powder Baffle, which works amazingly well. I did have a clumping problem on one session recently before adding the Powder Baffle 'cause I was too ecologically minded/cheap to run the AC during some unseasonal high humidity.

I started out with WWB and Blazer 115 grainers, back when that ammo ran $4.99 and $3.99 per 50 at Academy. Ahh, the good ol' days when it wasn't worth reloading for 9mm. I then switched to 147 gr. loads from Atlanta Arms and never looked back. With the continuing rise in ammo prices, I jumped into reloading. I prefer a recoil push over the muzzle rise from snappier 115 gr loads. I now load 147 Zero JHP over approx. 3.27 grains (approx. average) of Titegroup and am happy as a clam. When I loaded a little softer I'd begin to have some slide velocity problems---occasional but rare stovepipes---on the lighter loads from a batch. This load will chrono in the area of 136 - 138 PF. Granted, the higher velocity 115 loads cycle the slide faster, but I find I regain the front sights quicker with less muzzle rise and that's more important for my aging eyes. If I felt faster slide cycling was more important to my shooting, I'd just load 147 gr up to the 142+ PF level or so for more velocity. I actually started with hotter loads with Vihta Vouri powders when I started development of "my" load and preferred the softer loadings. A much better shooter than me gave me some of his 124 gr. loads and they felt like my hot 147 grain loads...just didn't do it for me. My loadings are still higher than some of the real soft loads I see posted: I sorta feel I get the best of both worlds for my shooting with what I'm running. YMMV.

Another vote for Charlie Vanek's trigger...spend the bucks and get back to shootin' with no worries.

I know what you mean. That's why I got two...lessened the hit, so to speak. I used to about shipping and handling fees. Then I started selling some stuff occasionally via this forum and others and found I ALWAYS underestimated the real cost of shipping. I guess I'm a little more understanding, now. Compared with the cost of gas and my time, I usually consider it a bargain if under $10, unless someone's really out to take advantage of me. Love businesses who ship via Priority mail for small items...and the $8.95 flat rate USPS charge for more bullets than I can comfortably lift always makes me smile.

I adjust it so that the case base just "clicks" past it into place as I slide a case into the shell holder. If I recall correctly, if you have set too tightly, it will rub on the shell holder as it rotates. When adjusted correctly, it just touches the case base enough to hold it securely in place, no more, no less. Just slide it forward and backward after loosening the retaining screw until this is accomplished. Hope this helps.

Bought a couple of these ( http://www.uniquetek.com/site/696296/product/T1278 ) to install in my Dillon Powder Measures after seeing some fairly substantial variances between beginning and end-of-run powder drop averages in my last reloading session, which occurred in rather high humidity. When I emptied the powder measure to install the baffle, I could see significant clumping. I installed the drop-in Precision Powder Baffle in my measure. Basically you line it up, per instructions, drop it in the measure, and give the measure a little squeeze until it falls into place. I just finished running 500 rounds of 9mm. For both initial setup and end-of-run QC, I always measure 10 powder drops and divide by ten. My starting ten drops this evening totaled between 32.7 - 32.8 grains (for an average of 3.27 grs of Titegroup per round). When I finished the run I weighted another 10 powder drops. Result: 32.7 grs. I've never seen such tight consistency before in any reloading session. Gotta say, the UniqueTek Precision Powder Baffle seems well worth the $6.95. [Edited to correct truncated heading...failed miserably ]

I used to be worried about the price increases in ammo components so I stocked 'em deep as I could afford...but now that I just received a notice of a 40 percent price increase in my medical insurance, I have other things to worry about As Woodie Guthrie rightly noted, in a song from an earlier time, "How can a poor man stand such times and live?"

Four Sidearmor singles, followed by a BladeTech double at the back, for my Glock in Production.

Ryan, the best I've found is Bull Frog SPF 36 Quick Gel...it passes the "Louisiana summer" (humid) as well as "southwestern desert" (dry) tests for me. Best of luck, buddy.

Here ya go, Jamie: http://www.brownells.com/aspx/ns/store/Vie...2100000&u=1

Chris, it's actually an Amazon Marketplace listing...normally a good place to buy and sell books not available through the "new book" Amazon.com listings. I've got plenty of bargains there, buy most of my books used that way, actually. The world is full of dreamers: just don't tell whomever is trying to get $150 for that Plaxco book that a few are still available at Brownell's...they'd have to buy 'em up to preserve their "investment"

Jamie, I was always amused by the heady amazon.com price listings for copies of this apparently out of print book. If anyone wants one, they are still in stock from Brownells where I got mine...$19.95 plus shipping in softcover. Not autographed, though