I just got a Dillon 550 and all the accoutrements to start loading. My immediate goal is to be able to efficiently churn out the highest quality 130PF gamer loads with the least amount of heartache as possible. My long term goal is to be able to apply what I've learned to to developing accurate and consistent rifle cartridges.
More to come.
If you're not going to learn to use the front sight properly, don't bother with it. If pointing the gun, screaming "Ahhhhh!" and cranking on the trigger is all you can learn to do, work on doing that safely. -ToddG
Welcome to the slope, The Slippery Slope...
Are you new to reloading?
This! It never ends. And you never stop learning.Originally Posted by mmc45414
Welcome to the slope, The Slippery Slope...
OP, what caliber are you going with for 130 PF?
It looks like he has loaded rifle before.
-Seconds Count. Misses Don't-
To clarify, I've never reloaded before but I'm familiar with the process since I am surrounded by people who do. I'm hoping to find the right combo so I can shoot 130 PF in 9mm with a soft recoil impulse.
I've set up the Dillon 550 Press with Hornady Dies. I purchased 124 Xtreme Rn Bullets, CCI 500 Primers, and Tightgroup. Based on a fair amount of internet research and suggestions from friends, my specs are: 1.145" OAL and .375" Crimp.
My initial goal was to load 3.8, 3,9, 4.0 and 4.1 grains of Titegroup and go chrono. After making 75 rounds, I found that I had really inconsistent seating depth due to the Hornady combination seating and crimping die. My OAL was floating between 1.138" and 1.152" for some reason. I didn't think using a chrono would be that fruitful because my understanding is that seating depth variance over .003" effects pressure. I went to the range and shot those rounds just to see if they would work. The rounds functioned and were fairly accurate, but I was surprised how harsh the recoil impulse was; it felt like I was shooting full power nato spec ammo.
I went back to the Hornady instruction manual and Youtube to revisit the the seat/crimp die setup. I set it up again twice following the directions carefully. I think it's improved, but there's some variance ( as much as .0004" intermittently) in seating depth but I suspect that it has to do with using mixed brass. I have a separate seating die on order and I'm going to try seating and crimping as separate processes to see what that does to fix the issue.
In the meantime, I made new rounds one-by-one to maintain QC on the OAL. I loaded 3.5, 3.6, 3.7, and 3.8 grains of Titegroup. I made 10 rounds of each grain weight with a .375" and a.380" crimp for science. I'll be shooting those and measuring with the chrono to see what I need to make PF.
I think I'm going to eventually go up in bullet weight and perhaps change powders based on recommendations from others. I purchased the components I did because they were on the shelf in front of me when I went on my shopping spree, I'm not married to anything at this point.
If you're not going to learn to use the front sight properly, don't bother with it. If pointing the gun, screaming "Ahhhhh!" and cranking on the trigger is all you can learn to do, work on doing that safely. -ToddG
Generally speaking, loading for the action pistol games is more about reliability than it is accuracy. Accuracy is wonderful and should be a goal, but first and foremost, get the gun running reliably. Make PF with a little to spare if you’re playing gun games for real and have to contend with match chronos.
Components like powder and primers aren’t so critical as they would be in the precision rifle/benchrest game. These days, it’s just nice to have the components that will work, even if they’re not optimal accuracy wise.
Loading on a progressive press, I look for powders that drop consistent charges, like most any ball powder. Flake shotgun powders can be problem children.
Make sure the bullet seating stem in your seating die closely approximates the bullet profile. Some guys will put some RTV in the stem and press a bullet in it to get a better fit, which should yield more consistent seating depths as long as the bullets themselves are consistent anyway. (Allow the RTV to cure naturally.)
I have an aftermarket powder baffle in my Dillon powder measure on my 650. I think it delivers more consistent powder charges.
Also, consider getting a case gauge of some kind. A Shockbottle/Hundo is worth its’ weight in gold IMHO. A single gauge will get you by but the Hundo greatly speeds up the process. I load range pickup brass and HiTek coated lead bullets. That combo invites trouble. Mixed headstamp brass fired out of all kinds of guns with all kinds of chamber dimensions will give the occasional round that the case gauge will reject. Better to find it at the bench than in the middle of a stage with club bragging rights on the line. Stuff that passes the Hundo test is GTG.
Good to hear that you have mentors. Good luck!
In a sort of ghastly simplicity we remove the organ and demand the function. We make men without chests and expect of them virtue and enterprise. We laugh at honour and are shocked to find traitors in our midst. We castrate and bid the geldings be fruitful.” ― C.S. Lewis, The Abolition of Man
Very solid advice. Insert "Like" here
In my experience, bullets like the one you're using will show up to 0.005" in variance in overall length, sometimes more.
0.0004" of variance would be awesome...😉
I read somewhere that commercial reloaders use a tolerance of +/- 0.005" in OAL. That's typically what I see unless I'm using premium bullets like Hornady XTPs.
The "blemished" 115 gr FMJ bullets I'm currently reloading that I bought from American Reloading are giving me a OAL of +/- 0.005". Considering that I'm using them for action pistol and steel plate matches, and that I got 2000 real FMJs for $120, I'm perfectly happy with that.
Last edited by Exiledviking; 02-20-2025 at 01:13 PM.
Ditto.
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