RobfromME

Round_Gun_Shooter, I think that's a good policy. I wish I'd followed it now. I'd bought a couple guns that were first issue and never had a problem, an HK USP45 and S&W 1006, but that's the extent of it. What's equally discouraging is that I'd saved and bought a brand new 625JM a month ago, and as soon as I opened the box it had to go back to S&W. The barrel was not against the frame and it was noticably off-angle. When I consider the statistical chance of one individual getting two new guns with such issues out of the number produced, it's impossible for it to be random, but rather points to poor quality control, but NOT poor quality. I believe the designs to be well thought out and robust, but the execution is in need of oversight. The revolver, especially, went through several hands after barrel install and before shipment. I'm still waiting to hear from S&W. I'm sure they'll make it right, and I hope their addressing the larger concern of quality. Two Walther recalls and a rifle recall, alone, cost them $1.8 million in 2008-2009. I'm sure that caught the attention of management. Thanks for the input, everyone. I'll post my outcome. Warmest regards, Rob

The Speer (non +P) and the Speer +P looked more like Glock 40 brass, bulged, but not imminent failure like the Winchester and Remington.

Good morning, The manual says +P is acceptable in standard S&W vocabulary (i.e. it wears pistol out faster, etc). Warmest regards, Rob Shield Manual page about ammo.pdf

Good morning, I picked up an M&P9 Shield a week ago and shot it over the weekend. Very accurate (1 1/2" groups on average at 15 yds from a rest). However, I noted severe case head bulging with all Winchester (+P) and Silvertip ammo, and some noticeable bulging with Remington (+P)Golden Saber. Speer (+P) and 147 grain standard pressure Gold Dots did not bulge the brass noticeably, however a deep scratch appears as on all of the cases from this gun. I've also included a picture of my chamber for comparison so other owners might be able to compare and comment. Have you experienced this with your M&P9 Shield? Thanks in advance for your time and interest. Warmest regards, Rob

Good afternoon, I've got a question for those who have fired both a 625 with the full underlug barrel and the standard style (same barrel length). How significant is the difference in handling and muzzle rise for major loads? Do you feel it's negligible or is it noticeable? Thanks in advance for your time and interest. Warmest regards, Rob

I would also suggest Bayou Bullets. Excellent product and Mr. Miculek is a true professional and a real gentleman. It's a pleasure to do business with him. Warmest regards, Rob

I have the Wilson and it's a well made, robust sight. I'd buy another without hesitation.

Good morning, Has anyone else run into the following problem, and if so, what brand of hammer? I have a 1911 hammer I purchased in 2008 that I never used, but this week began fitting to my 1911. It is a tool steel, US made hammer, but I bought it from a company that re-brands parts with their name. I am unable to identify the original fabricator. Here's the problem: This is the hardest hammer I've ever experienced. I believe it to be over-hardened, but would like opinions from those with a bit more experience than myself. A file would not cut it, and I had to use ceramic stones to reduce the hammer hook height to the .020" that I typically use. Further, the Brownells hammer hook file could not be used to square the hammer hooks. They are slightly less than 90 degrees so the sear has to "push up" on the hammer before release. It did a job on my ceramic stones, too. I typically use them for what they were made for: truing up a surface and polishing (depending on the stone), but this hammer was only workable with stones and they suffered the effects. Up until this point, I've worked mostly with Wilson fire control parts and they are outstanding....you can file them, but they are plenty hard to hold their angles and edges indefinitely. They are typically Rc 50, give or take a point or two, so a file (typically Rc 61) cuts it fine, and a stone polishes. However, I've found the Wilson's rarely need work unless the gun is out of spec. I'd forgotten about this re-branded "brand name" hammer and wanted to try it out, but it's now going in the "bad parts" bin and a Wilson is in it's place. Have any of you folks run into a hammer this hard? If so, who was the manufacturer? There's no discredit to the hammer maker; it is a fine hammer, but just much too hard for my liking. I want to avoid them in the future. Thank you in advance for your time. Warmest regards, Rob

Beautiful Commanders! What did you use for the finish? It really looks nice. Warmest regards, Rob

Hello again, all, I would also like to recognize Shooter's Connection and CZ Custom as outstanding vendors, too. They have both been stellar as well. I would gladly order with any of them. I didn't know if perhaps some vendors were considered "distributors" and others "dealers" with Zero bullets. In some industries that seems to make a difference whether or not they get high demand items in sufficient quantity to meet needs. I must say that, unlike some hobbies/interests I have, the folks in the shooting world have, 99% of the time, been fantastic people to deal with. I haven't run into a bad one yet, although I'm sure there's one or two. The quality of the people in shooting has been one of the best aspects of the hobby/sport (addiction!) Once again, thanks to all for your continued suggestions and input. Warmest regards, Rob

Good afternoon, You are absolutely correct about Donnie. He's one of the finest. I ordered my first bunch of bullets for 38 Special from him and can't wait to try them out...they just came yesterday. I was actually looking for jacketed bullets for this application, though. However, I'm tempted to go to Donnies bullets in my autos, too. Thanks for the feedback! Warmest regards, Rob

Unfortunately, Montana Gold is also showing backorder for 147 grain 9mm

Good morning, Is there a preferred place to backorder Zero bullets where you are relatively sure to get them on the next run and not be put back in the queue for the next run months later? Thanks in advance for any suggestions. Warmest regards, Rob

Thanks to all for the helpful, informative feedback! That's just what I was looking for. Have a good weekend, and thank you. Warmest regards, Rob

Good afternoon, all, Thanks for the great answers and info. I should clarify my use of the ammo; sorry for not doing sooner. I'm not running 38 Super in Open. I shoot a Glock 22 in Limited and a XD9 Tactical for Production in USPSA. These are for shooting ESP for IDPA and just to have fun practicing with factory-similar loads in my 1911A1. I understood why companies would make 125 grain bullets since 124/125 is a common 9mm size, but the 121 grain bullets baffled me a bit (not that it's hard to do! ) If there had been an inherent problem with the 125 grain bullets in 38 Super, then that might explain the 121 grain "solution", but that doesn't seem to be the case. Thanks for the insight! I'm all ears for anything else. Warmest regards, and thank you again! Rob

Good afternoon, RH45, That's a good idea, but unfortunately, I had loaded up the whole bunch before I shot them so I hadn't thought to check until after, and I was too lazy today to go pull one. I'll have to pull a couple and check. I'll post the results. Thanks again, and I appreciate the feedback. I'd heard of difficulties with Berry's 40 cal bullets, but hadn't heard much about Rainiers. It's academic for me at this point since jacketed bullets are now so close in price but so much more tolerant and robust that I've switched entirely and I'm shooting up the last of my plated. I had to ask about these, though, just to satisfy my curiosity! Warmest regards, Rob

Good morning, I've read the various topics here regarding the accuracy advantage of the 125 JHP over the 125 FMJ in 38 Super due to the length of bearing surface increase with the JHP. For the Zero brand specifically, what is the actual difference, on average? Is one significantly more accurate than the other (for example, 5" groups as opposed to 3" groups at 25 yds)or is it largely academic for the average guy (or below average like me) ? To prevent cluttering the topic with too many posts from me, I've got another question regarding Zero bullets in 38 Super; What is the advantage of 121 grains over 125 grains, if any? What about 121 FMJ vs 122 JHP? Thanks in advance for your time and patience with my questions! Warmest regards, Rob

Good morning, I've been experiencing tumbling/keyholes with Rainier 180 gr RNFP bullets with the last bunch I bought. Originally, I suspected overcrimping, however after correcting that (no crimp other than to remove bell) there was no difference. It will be a moot point shortly as I've purchased 2K Zero bullets, but I've still got a bunch of loaded Rainier's I'll burn through at practice. The load is 4.7 gr TG, chronographed velocity is 931fps for a 10 shot average, 76F. Has anyone else run into this problem with this particular Rainier bullet? I've used plated bullets for some time and understand how fickle they are to crimp, etc. but I've never experienced this problem. I've also pushed some 9mm plated bullets to 1380 fps in a 357 SIG with 2" groups at 25 yds. I obviously wouldn't suggest it or depend on them, but it was interesting to see how far a plated bullet could be pushed. As I mentioned, it may be a problem of the past, but I'm still troubled by what the cause could be and will be more satisfied if I've got more insight into the problem. If there's a good answer, I figure it will be found among the members here. The gun used is a Glock 22, Gen II. It shoots other stuff I've loaded just fine. It's nothing fancy, standard factory barrel. Thank you in advance for your time and interest in considering this! Warmest regards, Rob

Thanks so much for the info so far, everyone. Based on a search here, others who ran into this had been suggested a Redding seat die as the ideal solution so I was trying to find out, specifically, which plug they found to have worked. Does the Redding come with more than one seating plug like RCBS does? Once again, all good information and I appreciate it, but I was hoping to get the Redding, correctly plugged, and run with it. Thanks to all so far. (By the way 1SOW, I see your AC-130 image...were you pilot/crew or ground crew on them? Incredible aircraft/weapons system!) Warmest regards, Rob

Good afternoon, What Redding seating plug do you recommend for seating the Zero 125 grain JHP bullet in 38/357? I currently use an RCBS seating die, but it damages the exposed lead. A search of this forum revealed that Redding avoids this problem with their die. However, I also see that they have several different seating plugs. Which one do you folks suggest using? Warmest regards, Rob

Good morning, I have both of Kuhnhausen's books and they are indeed excellent! Two more excellent books that I've found very valuable are: The M1911 Complete Owner's Guide and The M1911 Complete Assembly Guide Both by Mr. Walt Kuleck. They're well written and interesting with a great deal of technical information, history, and other info regarding the 1911. Additionally, Mr. Kuleck is a gentleman in every sense of the word. He'll answer any questions in a timely manner and has always been very helpful. Warmest regards, Rob

Good morning, I had also noticed the residue with AA7 back in the early 90's when I was using it with 10mm loads. Regardless of powder charge, it left yellow grains of residue in the gun. I never had a problem with functioning (S&W 1006), but then again I didn't shoot nearly as much as I do now. AA9 that I now use for 357 SIG wasn't nearly as bad, but there was still a tiny bit of residue. This was noted with maximum 357 SIG loads. Perhaps the formulation of accurate powders? Warmest regards, Rob

Good morning, gmg, I'm sorry to hear of your experiences with your Chrony; It sounds like your chrono is performing exactly like mine did back in the 90's before I sent it back for the new sensor lenses and software upgrade. If it helps, I can send the info on mine and you can share that with the factory to see if they can help. (I did forget to mention; I aim for a point 1/2 way between the unit and the skyscreens, and I do make sure it is parallel to the bullet path...it DOES seem more sensitive to that, but less so the higher you get, up to a point,over the sensor since the field of view gets wider) Mine did go back to the factory last November (11/2010) for repair when the wind blew the tripod over and the plug to the printer got driven into the electronics. However, when it was returned nothing had changed in it's performance. I also checked to make sure it gave the same velocities for a given load (and a given temperature) as it did before I sent it out. However, if you're like me, you may have had enough back and forth with it already and want to move on. If I can send info or specifics that may help, I'd be happy to. There's nothing more frustrating than equipment that doesn't work or doesn't work as advertised. Warmest regards, Rob

Good morning, I've found the Chrony excellent in all lighting conditions as long as I use the skyscreens all the time!! When I do, it can record accurately right into dusk. The manual says to use the screens on clear sky days, but I found that they should be used all the time. It suddenly becomes very tolerant of where the bullet path is...high or low. Here's some background.....I purchased a Beta Chrony in 1995 and it was very sensitive; ERR all the time. A call to the factory at the time didn't help much. I put it in the closet and there it sat for 3 years. Finally, I decided I'd try once more and called Chrony. They said "send it in, we've got new sensors and lenses for it". When it came back, it was as reliable as a screwdriver! The technician who I spoke with said he used skyscreens all the time and recommended it. I've shot over a couple brands of chronograph in line with my chrony and there's no difference in recorded velocities (<10 fps). Every so often, I think about getting something new, but I can't think of anything that a different chrono offers that is that much better than what this one does. I have the printer for it and that is nice. I guess if I could download directly to the computer without transferring from the paper to the spreadsheet would be convenient, but I don't mind. I just can't justify spending a couple hundred bucks to replace something that works so well! Warmest regards, Rob

Good morning, gng4life, I just posted the info here: http://www.brianenos.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=129827&st=0&p=1470464entry1470464 Let me know if that answers the question. If not, please let me know and I'll get more info. Warmest regards, Rob