deerslayer

SHARPPOINT, Skip the additional single stage press. Most 9mm sizing dies will do all you need. Some folks also use a Lee Factory Crimp Die after seating a bullet when they are reloading slightly bulged brass, which comes from large chambered barrels like old Glocks. The Lee FCD re-sizes while crimping the bullet and works well. The Square Deal B can't use such a die, since it uses non-standard dies. With a 550 (and most other presses), yo can mix and match your dies. I would definitely recommend the Dillon seating die, though. I would also seat and crimp the bullet on two seperate stages. In addition to the press, I would pick up a scale (~$50), a bullet puller (inertia hammer type, ~$20), a dial caliper for measuring overall length and crimp diameter (~$35), and a cartridge gage (~$15). If you get a 550 and are really feeling frisky, I would get a strong mount, a bullet tray, and a case bin. None are a must, but man they are sweet.

If you are serious about getting into reloading, go ahead and get a Dillon 550. It's been around since the 80s and the bugs have been worked for a long time. I would avoid a Dillon Square Deal B--I believe it uses proprietary dies, where most other presses use standard dies. The 550 is fully manual, meaning that you can use it as a single stage press until you get the hang of things. Once at this point, you will quickly appreciate a progressive press if you shoot much at all.

While I haven't shot an LCR, I had a 442, which is pretty comparable. I got rid of it for a CM9 and never looked back. I would rather have a slimmer gun with 7 rounds of 9mm vs. a fatter gun with 5 .38s. Plus, I couldn't hit the floor with the 442; with the CM9, I can wear out steel plates at 25 yards at a decent pace. Yes, this was a training/practice issue, but I didn't want to spend a lot of time practicing with a gun I would rarely carry, especially since it was so different from anything else I have. The CM9 makes a hell of a pocket/ankle gun.

Health/injury issues are definitely a mitigating factor, but there are too many big strong healthy guys carring BB guns. Not really my business, I guess.

By "mouseguns" I wasn't referring to all pocket guns; I meant .22, .25, .32, even LCPs and P3ATs. I consider my Kahr CM9 a pocket gun. My point was that, other than the beach, I can take it anywhere I can take an 8 oz. .380 or .25 (not that I carry a gun in my swimsuit, lol). I believe some folks simply grab their .25s because they haven't bothered to experiment with a j-frame or mini-9. As for small 9mm autos being hard to shoot, I disagree. My wife is 140 or so (don't tell her I posted this number) and she can easily handle our CM9. In fact, she jogs with it.

Within arm's reach, a man with a knife is more dangerous than a man with a gun. Any weapons-defense class will quickly illustrate that a knife is much more difficult to deal with at close range than a gun is. My dad witnessed a man getting shot four times in the chest at point-blank range with a .25. After the fourth hit, the victim grabbed an old lady and used her as a shield. According to my father, the old lady began to "sing a tune." I bet. The .25 didn't stop the fight, but it did make the victim realize that he may soon face a serious change of status. They are better than nothing, but I feel people carry them due to simple laziness. Other than at the beach, I can carry and conceal my Kahr CM9 just as easily as I can any mouse gun.

I just received 2000 bullets I ordered from LA two weeks ago. The freaking lazy-ass mailman left them in the front yard beside the mailbox. I wonder how their claims process would work if I didn't get them, or if they got soaked.

+1 on the Saiga--I've never seen one run two stages in a row. To the above poster who mentioned safeties--As far as handguns go, I've never shot a match that required a shooter to use a safety that he wouldn't use when carrying. For example, 1911 shooters are required to start safety on (as they should--disengaging the safety as part of the draw is standard procedure for any competent 1911 shooter), but DA shooters with Berettas, S&W 5900 series, etc, don't have to start with the safety on.

Depends on the rules. If shooting matches with USPSA rules and/or scoring major/minor, you are at a definite disavantage with a 9mm. Get a hi-cap .40. If major/minor power factor is not an issue, get a hi-cap 9mm.

Who said his prior convictions involved violence?

Well, I'm sure someone will be along sooner or later arguing that this moron deserves to have his gun-owning rights restored in the future.

My M&P 15 has been flawless--even with Russian ammo. Get the polymer-covered stuff and stay away from the old lacquer-covered (which, fortunately, is getting harder to find) and you'll be fine.

+1 I've always been pleased with UMC.

I have moved/helped move two or three 500 poundish safes. All involved steps, a furniture doll, and a buddy. Two men of average strength can easily move one that small with a furniture dolly.

+1 Pissed off drivers being funneled through one lane next to a bunch of runners who are perceived as causing the delay is a recipe for disaster. I do sometimes wonder about 5Ks that use residential streets as race courses. I've never heard homeowners complain about them, but I'm sure someone's arse gets chapped about it now and then. I hope a 5K is never scheduled on my street. As for the ill-timed scheduling of the event, would Friday morning at 7:30 or Monday afternoon at 5:15 have been better?

True, but firearms are still banned in some state park facilities/buildings.

EMP +1 My every day carry gun and I've even held my own in IDPA with it.

Thanks to Mike, Greg, Chandler, Rick, Chip, Glen, John, and all the MCTS folks (and non-MCTSers) who helped make this match a success. Good to hear there will be a MCC 2!

I don't think you were wrong to do so. I try to say "move" or "cover" before the shooter takes a shot. If I don't make it, they get a PE. If I make it and they fire anyway, they get a PE. If they adjust, then fire, no PE. A lot of the time, they hesitate and then adjust. Sometimes, I'm so far behind the shooter that I don't say anything. Why--he's already done before I can get it out. So, I don't think saying it or not saying it really presents a consistency problem. Consistency is much more important in situations like calling how much cover someone uses or at what point they can begin a reload, etc.

LOL@ No apology needed--you weren't rude or anything. Another guy argued that he shouldn't get a PE because I didn't yell "cover" quickly enough. I did yell "cover," but he was too quick on his first shot for me to catch him. Not my problem.

I helped run stage 5 and had a shooter grumbling because I gave him a PE for shooting flat-footed without telling him to move first. After the shooter left, I told my scorekeeper, "I think that guy was serious." I gave numerous PEs yesterday.

9mm 1911.

+1 A kid who is unfamiliar with the gun, the holster, and the method of concealment. Put any Sharpshooter class and up IDPA shooter with his/her concealment rig and you get vastly different results.

He can give us both FTDRs, but we'll still beat him.