60167's Pissin Hot Screamers

[revchuck38]

Attachment 131390

3000 rounds of Summit City 147. This should get me through a few weeks.

Right before Covid hit, I ordered a case of 124-grain FMJs and an eight-pound jug of BE-86. I rarely time things that well.

[SecondsCount]

Attachment 131390

3000 rounds of Summit City 147. This should get me through a few weeks.

So awesome 😎

[60167]

Well shoot darn. You guys were right. It's not that I didn't believe you, it's that I ordered all those Summit City bullets weeks ago. The Titegroup burns really fast and burns the Hi-Tek Coating, causing it to smoke and smell funny.

The new gen coating on the Brass Monkey bullets doesn't smoke or smell nearly as much, if at all. I need to shoot up all of these, but it seems like I'll be standardizing around the BM bullets for the time being.

[revchuck38]

I've had good luck with 231 and BE-86 with coated bullets.

[mmc45414]

Yeah, maybe something just slightly slower might be better with 147gn anyway.

[60167]

I think I should rename this thread "Misadventures of a Stupid Person"

Anyway... As a stupid person, I am easily parted with money so I decided it would be neat to get the Armanov Powder Drop Knob so I can (theoretically) have a finer adjustment of powder I drop.



I get to work on removing my existing powder drop and I can't get the original bolt out. Nice.



I manage to get the new unit installed and everything works as advertised. Unfortunately, the knob is plastic and feels very flimsy and cheap. I'm in no way better off.

[60167]

I got an order of Servicios y Aventuras primers in. I loaded up 300 rounds and hit the range for a practice session. Out of the 300, I have 15 that failed to ignite on the first hit out of my factory M&P. 12/13 ignited after a second hit and one failed to ignite after several attempts.

I understand seating depth is the culprit. A brief search online determined there's little I can do to change primer seating depth on the 550, but there's a two-stage technique that some report using to push the press handle forward for decent results. At this point I think I'm going to rely on CCI primers for matches and things that "matter."

[60167]

Before



After:



Thus far, I've had the usual 550 experience. The primer bar would get dirty and hang up in the back position, I'd tap it lightly and it would shoot forward and launch a primer, thereby gumming up the works. I could prevent that from happening if I went slowly, but that too compounds over time.

Enter this thing: I found it on Reddit, ordered it on Ebay from a dude who makes them in his garage. The extended plate holds things steady and the bearing keeps everything aligned and smooth. I haven't used it yet, therefore I'm probably posting too soon, but I'm optimistic.

This unit, plus the spent primer drop mod (a finish nail) and the Armanov powder knob has this setup about as good as it can get.