Match Ammo.....

[joecichlid]

I do things that most other shooters do and a few things that you will rarely hear about, I guess I am just picky that way. lol

Use once or twice fired brass, all sorted with the same headstamp.

Clean the primer pockets to insure that the primers all seat the same.

Run the primed brass through my three stage press with powder drop on station one, seat on station two and Lee FCD on station three to crimp and full length resize.

After that I load all my ammo into my plastic ammo boxes and mark the heads with a destinctive mark so I can ID my live rounds from anyone else in case I happen to drop one or two.

You may notice I don't case check my ammo, with the Lee Factory Crimp Die I have never had an ammo related problem once I got my OAL set for my gun and magazines. Maybe it is just me.

Joe W.

[wide45]

.40

Tumble brass clean

Inspect and sort

• FED and RP brass previously fired in my gun. Used for major matches, can be used for practice where I will get it all back.
  
• Other good brass. Used for club matches, and practice.
  
• Junk brass. FC, PMC, glocked magtech, belted magnums, anything been roll sized, etc. Toss.
  

Put about 500 cases in a cardboard flat, apply One Shot lightly, shake.

Store in labled boxes.

Load on 1050

• EGW U die
  
• RCBS .40 seating die with 9mm/.38 round nose plug
  
• Dillon crimp
  

Ammo batches for major matches get chronoed

Store in bullet boxes.

No post load inspection other than a quick check when loading mags.

Edited June 10, 2007 by wide45

[kevin c]

For Production and Limited:

The load for major matches is the same load used in local matches, but with a couple extra quality control steps in loading and checking the ammo.

Single head stamp factory once fired brass (or twice fired, the second time being through my gun). Same lot bullets, primers and powder for all ammo going to the match. In loading, my SDB occasionally will seat a primer a bit off the level, so after priming I rotate the empty case 180 degrees and reseat the primer. For light charges of a flake powder like Clays, I have gotten into the habit of tapping the side of the press to shake down any bridging (though, honestly, I don't know if I'm really accomplishing anything there other than giving in to my OC tendencies ).

If there is time, the first run off the press is chrono'd, and if good to go, productions starts in earnest.

All rounds are run through a case gauge and put in tight fitting trays bullets down to check for high primers and for striping over the headstamp, not because I'm gonna get this brass back at any major match, but just for internal inventory control. Ammo is then boxed and labelled.

I usually make major match ammo well in advance and in amounts to last me most of the year. I usually bring twice what I plan to shoot. And of course, I make sure I'm zero'd in with whatever load I'm bringing.

Local matches, I skip most of the QC stuff, because the load is so consistent just running through the press the way Mike Dillon intended.

Oh, and since I often shoot cheaper bullets/powders in practice and occasionally in matches, I will make up a batch of practice match ammo and use that to run up to the major match.

Edited June 13, 2007 by kevin c

[Matt Griffin]

Not to be "that guy", but my main process is a firm, definite hand on the upstroke of my 650. Granted, I'm shooting Glocks, but I've never had a failure to feed in the last 8k rounds, the only failures were high primers. I've also learned that I can't really see bad primers, but if I seat them forcefully, I don't have any problems. This is with a Wolff reduced striker spring. Other than that, I just throw them all in a box, make sure I haven't got any flipped primers, and away I go. Fancier guns may have varying mileage.

As a sidenote, I did accidentally buy a box of Aguila 180gr .40, which fails to chamber about 50% of the time. I can only assume that it is a seriously underpowered load, but I haven't chronoed it yet.

H.

[XRe]

Tumbling live rounds? You are braver than me my friend.

Been over it time and time again... there is no harm in tumbling live rounds, especially for the couple of minutes we do it to get case lube off the rounds... How do you think factory ammo arrives so nice and clean? I imagine it isn't jostled and vibrated heavily during shipping either, right???