Palo Alto Kid

Adjust your powder drop till it fills the case where you want it. Right around 13 gr for APP 3F sounds about right. American Pioneer Powder does recommend filling to the point that the base of the bullet will very slightly compress the powder, about 1/16” when it is seated. No further compression is recommended.

I’ve had the same experience as you-shoot straight through a multi-day match with nothing more than wiping down the cylinders and frames. I do use 125s over 105s with a nice, tight crimp-I think that helps too. I’d recommend that to the OP. I’ve played around with various fillers, but don’t have the patience for the extra work. I have to confess, as much as I like APP, I prefer the flame, smoke and smell of the holy black, and hate the APP dust that ‘floats’ around the Dillon while loading; however, when on the road away from home, cleaning and maintenance are a breeze-you don’t have to jump on it right away and break everything down, particularly with the rifle. APP is a great product and Brett that runs the outfit is a really nice guy.

Grain for grain, APP creates more smoke than the holy black. You won’t see the sparks and flame nor enjoy the the same burnt sulfur scent, but you’ll produce plenty smoke. Captain George Baylor did some testing that found .7cc by volume meets our smoke standard. That’ s about 9 grains by weight.

We had a little debate among our local club members concerning what constitutes a ‘secured bandolier’ as per the shooters handbook referenced below: Cartridge Belts, Bandoleers, and Pouches - Bandoleers, cartridge belts, and pouches must be of traditional design (e.g., bandoleers must be loose and not secured in any way to prevent movement). To me, the plain language ‘secured’ means physically affixed, attached, pinned, buttoned, tied etc. On the other hand, some have argued that when wearing double bandoliers, the outermost bandolier prevents the inner bandolier from moving, thus ‘secures’ it and makes it illegal to obtain ammo from the lower during the stage. I’m not so sure the original intent of wearing cross bandoliers was to ‘secure’ one or the other to prevent either from moving, but rather to carry as much ammunition as possible when confronting the competition-los soldados, Bandidos, or federales, depending on which side you were on…. For some of us, playing the part is just as much fun and rewarding as shooting fast and clean. How does the rule apply to those that choose to wear cross bandoliers because they reflect our local border history/culture or they just look really cool?