Bison Bud

I have to agree that the Lee 4 die set is hard to beat for the money and does and danged fine job. However, the bullet seating and taper crimp can be done in the same position with the 3 die set, it's just a bit more difficult to set up and maintain. I would also like to comment that especially if using range or once fired brass that there is a lot of it out there with crimped in primers (military). This makes it almost impossible to seat a new primer unless the primer pocket is reamed back to size. Personally, I sort all my previously fired 9mm brass by headstamp and only reload the civilian manufactured brass like Winchester, RP, and the like, or use brass manufactured for us reloaders like Starline. This saves a lot of headaches when trying to load on the press.

I would have to agree with some of the others here in that a firm roll crimp could be important for lighter loads, especially in a big case like 45 Colt. If the bullet moves too quickly/easily upon detonation, it would be even more difficult to develop enough pressure for the propellant to burn properly and this could cause rather inconsistent rounds and a lot of unburnt powder. There is also the issue of a bullet getting pushed back into the case when using a taper crimp in a tubular magazine and that can cause multiple problems with feeding/jamming and shooting the rounds. Basically a taper crimp is simply a friction crimp and as also already mentioned is generally used in guns that headspace on the case mouth (modern semi-auto pistols, etc.). A roll crimp actually bites down into the lead of the bullet and provides a much better grip on the bullet, which should be far more suitable for our purposes. I'm not saying that you can't use a taper crimp and be successful, but it makes good sense not to if possible. Personally, I use a Lee "Factory Crimp" die on all my cowboy loads and would highly recommend one here. Good luck and good shooting to all.

When using a single stage press, hand priming would be preferable to me. However, on a progressive press, I let the machine do the work. My Dillon 550B has somewhat of an advantage over some of the other progressives I have used in that seating the primer takes a reverse stroke of the lever after the sizing operation, rather than seating the primer on the upstroke of the plate when all the other operations are being performed. This separation of operations allows one to actually feel the primer seat on the Dillon, which at least to me is a real advantage. Seating the primer on the upstroke of the plate does work, but the operator can't feel it happen and a problem in any one of the other stations can effect the primer seating operation. In any case, all my loads are inspected closely after putting them in the field boxes by holding the box up to a light and looking directly across the headstamp end of the loads. While I have found a few high or flipped primers, I have yet to get out in the field or to a match with this problem. Unfortunately, it can happen with either method of primer seating and quality control is important to prevent problems when they are least needed. I've said this before and I'm going to say it again: "If you want to shoot fast, it's best to load slow." Good luck and good shooting to all.

I think the opposite is even more surprising in that lighter bullets require more powder! However, there is a trade off with that statement in that a smokeless powder burns at the same rate with either projectile, but the lighter bullets can and will leave more unburned powder simply because they don't develop enough pressure. Therefore, there is a real limit on how much will actually increase the pressure or just be wasted. While I agree that our game needs lighter, target type loads, rather than hunting or magnum loads, I also think the whole advantage to very light loads has been way over blown. When I was shooting regularly, I was very successful with a .38 Special load with a 140 grain bullet that clocked about 800 fps. and that is pretty hot compared to many I've seen. I simply never needed to go any lighter to control recoil or otherwise, but that really is the true beauty of hand loading as it is an individual choice and loads can be tailored to suit you personal needs and/or preferences. Good luck and good shooting to all.

Great score indeed, especially the lead sheets that are most probably pure lead! My Grandson recently scored a couple of large sheets of pure lead from a construction job and gave them to me, probably as payback for all of my lead he put down range growing up. It was a bear to cut them up and melt them down, but now I'm set for soft lead for quite awhile. Many years back a good friend of mine went out of the printing business and gave me 6 buckets full of linotype which should last me the rest of my life, even after giving some away to club members. Between the two, I can alloy up some danged fine bullets and although I'd like to get my hands on some pure tin, I have yet to spend a single cent on casting metals and have put thousands of cast bullets downrange. Again, a great score here and it seems to be getting tougher and tougher to even find lead scrap, so good on you!

Depends on what power level your looking for and the .45/70 can be loaded from pretty light to bear defense loads. I too have had good luck with XMP 5744 in this cartridge and the 22 grain, 405 grain pill load mentioned above should be very good. I also use Unique in the .45/70 to make some lighter loads with about 14 grains under a 320 grain pill, real easy on the shoulder and I've shot it accurately out to 300 yards. I have also used IMR 3030 and made some mule kick loads with it, but I have little use for that type load anymore. Trail Boss makes a decent mild load as well, but is currently out of production and probably not available. Anyway, to try to answer the original question, my favorite 45/70 load would probably be the Unique load with either the 320 grain or the 405 grain pill. Good luck and good shooting to all.

Yeah, not uncommon for a right hander to "milk" shots to the left, especially when in a hurry. However, I'd still give the gun a good cleaning, especially the forcing cone area to make sure there isn't any lead buildup. Targets shown are probably grouped well enough not to be a leading problem, but I'd eliminate that possibility anyway. Otherwise, try putting just the tip of your finger on the trigger and get some range time. Not real sure about the improvement with APP over real black powder, but it could be a velocity issue causing a bit more lock time and exaggerating the pull to the left on the slower rounds. I guess it could be a bullet sizing issue as well, but I tend to doubt it. Good luck and good shooting to all.

Have they changed the rules to allow ejectors on the break barrel shotguns. Back when I was an active shooter, they were illegal and I had to disable it on my nieces single shot break barrel. To attempt to answer the original question, there is simply no way a single shot gun can keep up with a SXS after a little practice. Some of the fastest I've seen used SXS shotguns!

I've had great luck using an RCBS Cowboy mold for the 140 grain pill. It's a two cavity, steel mold, who's bullets have a nice rounded ogive and a flat point. It makes a great all around cowboy bullet in .38 Special and .357 Mag cases. I also much prefer the steel molds over the aluminum ones as they seem to cast far more consistent bullets. However, Lee sells a lot of the 6 cavity, aluminum molds and they do cut down on casting time. I own one of these molds for 9mm pills and have found it to throw very inconsistent diameters, to the point of actually being oversized to the point of being dangerous without sizing. I know that Lee says that you can cast bullets, use their liquid lube (a product I also really like) and not worry about sizing them, but I'd be real careful about doing so from the diameter differences that I've seen thrown from this 9mm mold. Otherwise, I'd go with a truncated cone shaped bullet with a flat point in whatever weight you might prefer and there should be several choices available from multiple manufacturers. If your using Unique, realize that can be picky with light loads and even the 125 grain pills can be a bit light for it to generate enough pressure to burn completely and consistently. I've had good success in all my cowboy lever guns with 5.0 grains of Unique under the RCBS 140 grain pill mentioned above. Anyway, choose you new mold wisely as you will either use it for quite a long time if you like it, or end up buying something else in short order. Good luck and good shooting to all.

Frankly, these loads are a bit light for my taste, but I don't see a major issue with the chrono results you posted. Yeah, the ES and SD are a bit higher than I'd like to see, but I'd bet that this is mostly due to the low power factors. All smokeless powders need to develop enough pressure to burn completely and consistently and that's simply not a lot of powder in those big cases. In my experience, Clays has been probably the cleanest and most consistent burning powder for use in light loads, but even it has it's limits. I'd wager that even a slight increase in propellant would probably tighten up those ES and SD numbers a bit and still provide a manageable cowboy load. However, for what we are doing your present load should serve you well as is and an improvement over the chronograph probably won't make a whole lot of difference in the grand scheme of things. Good luck and good shooting to all.

I never said that any of it wasn't good advice, I simply said that I'm sorry he got offended. I for one think we need to focus more on the questions offered rather than be so hyper-critical and all inclusive, but to each his own. One does indeed need to learn to read between the lines and simply let some things go when posting on the internet. Anyway, I'm sorry if I ruffled your hackle feathers by my previous comments, as that was not my intent! On another note, I would also like to clarify that I do not use Titegroup in true rifle cartridges, only the pistol caliber ones that I use for Cowboy shooting and for me that's primarily .38 Special/.357 Magnum and .44 Special/.44 Magnum. Good luck and good shooting to all.

I think others have already beat me to this reply, but the best way to tell how position sensitive a load might be is by testing with a chronograph. Position sensitive loads will have large "Extreme Spread' and "Standard Deviation" numbers when tested across the chronograph. Testing can be done by randomly firing the loads for the first string, then tilting the gun back to get as much powder near the primer as possible before firing for the next string. Most loads with empty space will show some difference when done this way and some propellants will vary far more than others. In my testing, Titegroup was one of the best at being consistent and I like it in my rifle rounds very much. However, I seldom use it for the handguns as it does have a very sharp report and recoil impulse when compared to other powders. I also feel the need to reiterate that all smokeless powders need to build enough pressure to burn properly and trying to create really light loads can cause some very erratic results. Try to stay at or above the manufacturer's minimum loads and you should be just fine, but going below that can cause some real problems. Good luck to you and I'm sorry if you got offended by anyone here. Unfortunately, the internet is not a very friendly place and some folks just seem to enjoy causing issues. Adios.

I think Titegroup makes a great load in .357 cases. For cowboy rifle I generally use about 3 grains under a 140 grain lead bullet and it's subsonic, very manageable, and quite accurate. Titegroup is generally far less position sensitive than other propellants loaded in cases with lots of empty space. There are other fast powders that make good target type loads such as Clays, Unique, Winchester 231/HP38, Red Dot, all of which can be loaded light to moderate. However, if your also looking for magnum/high velocity type loads, then slower powders than these would be your best bet, although Unique can be loaded up pretty darn well and is probably the most flexible of all in it's load range (it can be rather dirty in very light loads and they all need to build enough pressure to burn consistently. Good luck and good shooting to all.

Stone Creek Drifter, a true "King of Ka-Boom!"