First reload + first boolits combined - last questions before I hit go!

[OnceFired]

Hey all

Just wanted to report back. I finally took those 1.110"-1.130" OAL rounds to the range tonight. I am happy to say all those hand loads went downrange smooth as silk.

Recoil was moderate and roughly normal. I shot a magazine full of Winchester white box just prior to my hand loads, and noticed very little difference between them. Wasn't looking for accuracy - just for typical operation of the pistol, which it did quite well.

I actually had one of those white box rounds sound funky when I fired it. Although operation seemed ok in general, I did get a spray of something at my face on the 3rd round. Couldn't tell if it was powder or what. Nothing hurt, just aware of "dirt" hitting my face. The RSO came over to check it out too saying it didn't sound right to him either. I thought I saw the target paper jump from that round, but wasn't 100% certain. So, I did a field tear down and made sure nothing was where it shouldn't have been. That particular case was more blackened than I usually see, but that was about it.

My son was there for his 2nd shooting session ever. This time with a 22 in AR platform, which I believe was an M&P. That was a rental from the range, and they didn't have a bolt action which I would have preferred. He shot with his regular glasses this time, and was a far better experience for him than the pistol session with safety glasses was. He showed focus, wisdom, and illustrated he does know how to listen quite well. The RSO had some advice for his shooting too, which reinforced what I was telling him. Dad-advice-itis was avoided 100%.

AND...I finally got to fire my AR15. I just put 10 rounds through it tonight, just to see it cycle, get accustomed to the report & feel of it, etc. I am shooting high with it, but I don't even have iron sights on it right now, either. I blame lack of practice - it's been at least 15 years since I shot a rifle with any regularity.

I got back from the range and my wife immediately asks me if I blew off any limbs using my hand loads. My son chimed in "nope, but we had a factory round malfunction of some kind." It felt good to know my stuff worked, even if the factory one in 10,000 had its rare issue. And my son was there to prove it wasn't mine. hahahahah

I can finally say I have reloaded my own ammo, pushed my own cast boolits, and fired a gun I built from parts. This site has a lot to do with all those things, and I appreciate the community here for all the advice!

Now, I have a ton of reloading to do. Talk to you guys later!

OF

[OnceFired]

As I sat down today to prepare more 9mm reloads, I wanted to completely re-create the scenario I had last week, so I was certain I could break down my equipment and re-set everything again and still get good results.

This is when I found a problem that perhaps was affecting me throughout the entire process.

The brass screw that holds the seating/crimping die lock in place is stripped. It does a very poor job of holding the die precisely in place. It moves ever so slightly with every pull of the handle. The lock itself is oriented pointed toward the back of the press, and if I had seen what it is doing NOW back then, I think I would have saved myself quite a bit of headache. Since it is pointed away from the front of the bench, I usually just reached all the way around, and tightened or loosened as I was making my adjustments.

The screw will wind in or out with some effort (since it mostly spins) but it just doesn't grip worth anything in the housing it's inside. And even when fully engaged against the die, it still allows the die to move in either direction in very minor but noticable amounts.

I'm going to contact RCBS about getting a replacement set screw or perhaps the lock ring.

OF

[Motor]

OF,
Its the little things like that which makes you a better hand loader. Once you are aware of what little things matter and how to trouble shoot them it becomes so much eaiser.

There are several reasons for your OALs to vary and it gets complicated some times so its hard to comment and give easy solid advice.

Once you get your set screw issue taken care I am betting your OALs will be a lot more consistant. Don't be surprized to see +/- .005" or even better.

BTW: That factory round you had malfunction sounds like nearly a squib. What hit you in the face was very likely unburned powder. Sometimes its burning powder so you got lucky.

Motor

[arclight]

Another thing that will affect your consistency, is that the nose of the bullet will get mashed down a little bit each time you run the seating die over it. So it might dull it down .001-.002" as you are dialing in the OAL. Then the same sort of thing will happen as you dial in the taper crimp part. So once you've created a "perfect OAL" round, backed off the seater stem, and set up the taper crimp...you'll find that all of the virgin rounds are off.

What I do is:

1. Load one round up and dial in the OAL.
2. Do 1-2 more fresh ones to make sure the OAL really is correct.
3. Dial in the taper crimp with these rounds that only went through the die once.
4. Run 2-3 virgin rounds through to make sure everything is still OK. Move the seating stem up and down to adjust. 1/10th of a turn = ~.005"

Do not re-run the seat/crimp die on already crimped rounds - start with a new case each time.

If you do it in small steps, your test rounds will still be close enough to spec that you can set them aside as plinking ammo and safely shoot them. Just don't shoot any that are really short or if you're working near max. Aside from better accuracy and less wear-and-tear on the gun, your process is a lot more forgiving on non-max loads.

Arclight

[Yodogsandman]

I had the same problem once. I called RCBS and they sent me a bunch of replacement brass set screws. They also suggested using a lead BB under the set screws for a better purchase on the die threads. I didn't have any BB's and they sent me some of them, too! What a great company!

[OnceFired]

@Yodogsandman yup that's what RCBS is doing for me, although I didn't learn about the lead BB before I had contacted them. We'll see what shows up!

[OnceFired]

I received a pack of brass screws & brass-colored inserts on Saturday. About 10-15 of the screws and even more of the little brass flat pellets. They might be lead, but they look brass. Either way, thank you RCBS!

I pulled the stripped screw (the tip of which had sheared) as well as added one of the pellets against the die, and tightened everything back down. Then I went through the steps to zero in on seating depth as well as crimp. I'm already reliably getting 1.110"-1.120" OAL's.

Halle-flipping-lujah

I think I'm finally in business.

OF