Exxonv

Running some 185 grain .45 ACP loads through my FN FNX 45. These rounds were expected to be hotter (CFE) then I ended up getting - pretty strange to me... Tried the Berry's Hollow Base Round Nose bullets (HBRN), seated to 230 grain depth. No idea why they were that slow. The Green Dot was awesome, and I believe the CFE will be if I load them a bit hotter... Next up - JHPs in 185, will start those at 8.1 grains CFE and might try some TiteGroup. Thanks for watching, and as always, I am not doing this so you can replicate, just doing this to show you what I’ve done. Work up your own loads at your own pace and be safe!

In search of the best load for a small barrel 9mm pistol, I thought I’d try a 90 grain XTP over 6.4 grains of CFE Pistol. Holy wow, these are smoking fast! 1400+ through a Glock 17 and 1300+ through a Sig P365 3” barrel, these are for sure going to expand. No idea on penetration, but I’d consider these as a viable self-defense load for a Sig Sauer P365 or any of the Micro Subcompact Pistols on the market today. These were impressive! Recoil was low, no signs of over pressure, exceptional performance in FPS. Had some inconsistency in loads, but using pulled and primed brass, so I’m not shocked. All-in-all, these were done on a Hornady Lock-n-Load, so progressive press, done well enough to prove my point on speed. Ammo Manufacturers, take note, this is a solid type of self-defense load I’d buy from you if you made it! Thanks for watching, and as always, I am not doing this so you can replicate, just doing this to show you what I’ve done. Work up your own loads at your own pace and be safe!

Creating some 380 ACP handloads for range shooting – these are using pulled VCrown bullets (90 grain JHPs) from American Reloading, plus 4.3 grains of CFE Pistol – the bullets seated at a depth of 0.974. Not the best spread at 189 fps, but I’ve seen factory that bad… High was 992 fps, low was 897 fps, all-in-all, not bad for spinking, and some really great accuracy from some of the rounds. I’m sure pulled bullets are not the greatest for accuracy, but some had no pull marks. Happy enough to keep this one for plinking, will make a few more for the summer.

Running some 38 Special +P 110 grain XTP handloads through a Ruger LCRx 1.87 inch barrel revolver. These are rounds I was making to attempt to create a lower recoil, hot 38 Special +P round for self-defense. These are 7.0 grains of CFE Pistol with a 110 grain XTP, loaded at 1.455 depth. My 20 shots were a wide range from 791 fps to 1104 fps, no idea why. Removing all the 700 fps range placed this at an extreme spread of 251 with an average of 965 fps. Pretty hot for a snubbie, pretty dirty too. I'll probably try Titegroup next time to get to the 110 grain XTP load I'm looking for - not happy with the CFE Pistol on this load, but hey, using pulled brass, so who knows... Oh, and I can't hit anything w/a snubbie 1.87" barrel at 10 yards :(....

First off, did you like the “gun joke”? If you don’t know a little about the military handgun trials from roughly 1910 until modern day, it might not make sense. From the 1911 handgun (WWI, WWII, Korea, Vietnam) to the M9 Beretta to the Sig Sauer P320 (semi-auto era), these have been the US pistols. Glock lost out twice, as did other gun manufacturers. Say what you want, but the 1911 was on the throne the longest, and to me, still has the best trigger – the trigger all other handguns aspire to have – some get close, but none are as good to me. I’d not want to carry a WWI 1911 these days, but in 1917, I’d have wanted one FOR SURE! Today, I’m super happy with my Springfield TRP. Shooting a Glock 17 Gen 4 with a Brownell’s RMR cut slide, mounted a Holosun 407c X2 (green) and Night Fission sights. I’m having problems with the slide due to the striker spring(s). Started with a Ghost spring (light primer strikes), then a black spring (Gen 1), now going with the original configuration. Also shooting a CZ P-10F Optics Ready with a Holosun 407c X2 (Red), an adapter plate, and Night Fission sights. This one is almost good to go – I’ve put roughly 500 rounds through it with the optic, feeling better about it. Shot a Sig P320 Full Size with a Brownell’s P320 RMR cut slide, mounted a Holosun 407c X2 (green) with Night Fission sights. This was my favorite to shoot today, hands down. First time shooting w/the new slide, and I’ll get at least another 200 or more through before I feel confident. Last, shot the Sig P320 Compact with a Brownell’s RMR cut slide, mounted a Holosun 407c X2 (green) and it has Night Fission sights. This baby was also exceptional and fun to shoot – first time w/this new slide as well, feeling much better on this platform and will also put another few hundred down range before I am ready to carry it. I’m not 100% sure I love optics on carry guns yet – but warming to the idea. I’m old school for sure, iron sights are simple, they don’t need a battery, and they just work. Optics give me a better sight picture, and (I admit) some slightly better accuracy at distance, but I’m still getting used to the sight picture. Up close, I’m good with target focused shooting, that’s how I shoot anyway – at distance, I’m trying to get used to the co-witness (1/3rd) and the dot in the picture – again, trying to remain focused on the target, but still working on that… Hey, all good – just happy I could get the optics (Freedom Gorilla) and the slides (Brownell’s) to transform 3 older pistols into optics ready, but I can still go back to the iron slides… The CZ P-10F was already good to go, but I do miss that slide w/out the optics sometimes!

Running some 9mm handloads through the chronograph to see where they are at in terms of velocity and power factor. 125 is the minimum power factor for USPSA Minor, these loads all are fine for meeting / exceeding that number. The 9mm 115 load is a favorite for most shooters because it’s ubiquitous and inexpensive. Lower priced bullets, but it uses more powder, and does sometimes introduce a little muzzle flip. It’s 9mm, so not anything like a .357 Magnum for sure, but muzzle flip = slower splits… 124 grain is the “middle ground” and most self-defense loads are 124 grain Plus P (hotter). This 124 grain load is Plus P for sure, but I really need to double check that the 115’s and 124’s didn’t get mixed up, more on that later… 147 grain is my “go to” for USPSA practice and frankly, I carry Federal HST 147 +P rounds or Critical Duty 135 grain +P in my full-size handguns. 147 grain seems to have a little more backwards recoil, but way less muzzle flip for me, and it uses less power. All-in-all, my favorite. For USPSA Matches, I use 150 grain Federal Syntec, it’s been awhile since I shot a match ☹. The 147 HSTs were on sale (pulled) and I bought 1,000 for fun, and it never hurts to have a good solid self-defense load you can make “just in case”. As always, DO NOT use my recipes, test your own and always start lower and WORK YOUR WAY UP to avoid any issues!

Building up some 77grain Sierra HPBT MatchKing 2nds using Lovex D73-04 Powder. Lovex D73-04 does not show a load for 77grain, so I thought I'd try this out at 22.2 grains to start. Solid accuracy (only at 40 yards) and no over pressure signs, average FPS was around 2522, so not too fast. I'll try this with a few loaded at 22.8gr and maybe at 23gr to see what we get next.

Running the CZ P10F Optics Ready pistol w/a Holosun 407c X2 – needed a plate to get this mounted. I went with the CHPWS plate from Freedom Gorilla – seems to be holding up so far, but I also felt like I was chasing the zero on elevation a few times. Just getting used to the dot maybe… The CZ P10F ran well, good accuracy – I actually enjoyed the Glock a little bit more this time (not normally how it goes). Looking forward to trying out the Brownells Sig Sauer P320 RMR Cut Slide soon! Take care!

Running a Glock 17 Gen 4 Brownells RMR Cut Slide with a Holosun 407c X2 (green dot). I wanted to try optics on my duty guns, but didn’t want to cut the slide(s), so I bought the Glock 17 Gen 4 Brownells RMR Cut Slide, as well as the Sig Sauer P320 Full Size and Compact Brownells RMR Cut Slides (those reviews coming soon). The only problem I ran into was from using a Ghost Striker Spring – that gave me some light primer strikes. I’ll get that fixed and this baby will be ready for prime time!!! Enjoy!

Running a couple pistols w/optics and a rifle. The pistols were a CZ P10F with a Holosun 407c X2 and a Sig P320 XFive with a Romeo Pro. The rifle is a sweet piston driven Adams Arms rifle with a CMC 3.5lb trigger and a Vortex Spitfire X1 Optic.

Picked this baby up in an Estate Sale for a great price, thought I'd better get it out to the range to see how it performed and wow, awesome rifle!!! Savage rifles have the AccuTrigger which is a major plus, this baby also came with a Pentax 3.5-10x50 scope and a bi-pod. Factory muzzle break was awesome, and while she is a bit heavy, dang, nice shooter!!! I hope you enjoy the video.

Ha! Ha! Ha! Okay, so I love Glocks and I love Sigs (and CZ's and Beretta's and, and, and...). But it has been a bit since I ran a sort of full size non-competition pistol. I've shot the P365 P380 and a few awesome resolvers, but today was 9mm Compact Pistol Day! This baby SINGS!!! She's a beauty, runs like a competition pistol, is accurate, fun to shoot, and makes me look good! Thanks for watching!!!

Shooting my HK 416 SBR. Decided to chrono two different 22lr loads to see how far off the published velocity they might be - amazing results: Winchester 555 36 grain 22lr stated 1280 fps. Through the HK my chronograph reported an average of 1214 fps. Federal Auto Match 40 grain 22lr stated 1200 fps, through the HK my chronograph reported an average of 1151 fps. The HK 416 is a great little pistol, or configured as I have mine, a great SBR (yes, it's legal, relax!). I hope you enjoy the video! Dave

Follow-up, got the chronograph working and captured performance for 6.5 grain and 6.7 grain loads of MP-180 through a Ruger LCRx (1.87" barrel) and a Smith & Wesson 686 (6" barrel). The data provided from American Reloading was simply this: MP 180 Stick Powder - Burns around 35 - 38 on Hodgdon Burn Rate chart Caliber – 9mm Charge – 5.2 gr Bullet – 115gr FMJ Avg. Velocity – 1,100 fps Work up all loads minus 10% Minimum Load American Reloading had it cheap at 5lbs for $103.99 shipped (including Hazmat) - so a great deal. Awesome performance and accuracy - will be my standard 38 Special and 38 Special +P powder till I use it all!

Working up a load for MP-180 Powder (from American Reloading). The data provided was simply this: MP 180 Stick Powder - Burns around 35 - 38 on Hodgdon Burn Rate chart Caliber – 9mm Charge – 5.2 gr Bullet – 115gr FMJ Avg. Velocity – 1,100 fps Work up all loads minus 10% Minimum Load I've gotten from 5.5gr to 6.5gr and it's doing great! Plan is to get GOOD chrono data at 6.5, 6.7, and 6.8gr and see how this powder does... American Reloading had it cheap at 5lbs for $103.99 shipped (including Hazmat) - so a great deal.

Loading 300 Win Mag using Accurate 4350 powder, mixed headstamps, and Hornady Interlock 180gr Bullets. Chrono through a Savage 110 and a Vortex Venom 5-25x56 optic, and then out to 200 yards to sight it in. Some EXCEPTIONAL groups and some weird stuff after moving the reticle around a bit to see how accurate I could get - will need to go back and double check on zero, but fired almost 50 rounds downrange to have some fun. Nice setup for a newbie (to rifles) like me - 300 Win Mag is a nice all-around big game round for me. Thanks for watching!

Running my Cajun Gun Works CZ Shadow 2 through the "Dot Drill", some 30 yard shooting, and some rifle to pistol transitions. Enjoy!

First, handloading a blow back design cartridge isn't as easy as recoil driven, and the .380 is super sensitive to power loads. Changing from CFE Pistol to TiteGroup has helped quite a bit, but loads need to be consistently towards the top end of my Lee Reloading Book to get good results. Now, the P365 is a micro compact, and micro compacts have some "limitations" in terms of how they run compared to a full sized handgun... Or at least they should - but in reality, the Sig P365 runs like a full size handgun for me, and I've been highly impressed with the 9mm version. The .380 ACP version is no slouch - getting great results with the Mozambique Drill, and running on a small steel target at 25-yards, you can see that this pistol performs!!! Thanks for watching.

Wow, some hot loads of 38 Special +P running through a snub nose Ruger LCRx. Horrible accuracy at 10+ yards for me, but after getting in closer, bingo... Love little revolvers, they are fun to shoot! Enjoy

Hey Folks, Just a fun day breaking in a new PSA rifle build. Awesome PSA Lower with a BCM Lower Parts Kit that had the PNT Trigger, excellent MILSPEC Trigger that I found to be, frankly, more than good enough! The rifle also has my 3x Vortex Prism Spitfire and some off-set iron sights - had some great fun despite the wind. Thanks for stopping by!

I thought this was pretty slick - bought some 380 ACP Premium pulled bullets from a reloading "de-milling" company. These were 80 to 100 grain Premium .380 ACP bullets. The mix came with bullets such as Sig V-Crown, Federal HSTs, and Federal Hydra-Shok Deep. In the mix were these "tracer like" rounds. I found out they're called "Streak" made by Ammo Inc: https://ammoinc.com/streak/ The Streak is a visual ammunition that uses one-way luminescent tech (O.W.L. technology), which as mentioned is already made by AMMO, Inc. in red color. This non-incendiary technology does not use pyrotechnics to illuminate the trajectory of the projectile. Instead, a patented non-toxic composite takes light emitted from the ignition of the gun powder to “flash charge” the rear of the projectile. The result—the shooter has a visible trace as the round leaves the barrel of the gun, and is completely undetectable from the target’s viewpoint, masking the location of the firing position. Due to its non-incendiary design, O.W.L. technology does not generate heat or lose mass in flight.

The P365 from Sig Sauer has really changed the market for conceal carry. I carry mine quite often as a primary OR as a backup. Sig recently offered a P365 Caliber Kit to allow P365 9mm owners to swap out the slide with a 380 ACP caliber P365 slide, I figured “why not”? This is a FUN little blaster to shoot!!! Would I feel underpowered with this? Nope – 12+1 on tap in any caliber is not too bad – while .380 is not up to the same “caliber” as 9mm (see what I did there…), it is viable for recoil sensitive folks. Love the gun, had to change the sights. The slide comes with SIGLITE sights – I love the contrast (front and rear sights) of the X-Rays and Trijicon HDs, so I tried a #8 front and #8 rear (came with #6 for both). The point of aim was higher than I liked, so I picked up a #6 front and we’re now in business!!! Bonus, I used the #8 on my Sig Sauer M11A1 as that one needed to drop a little as well. ALL GOOD now!!! Thanks for watching!!!

Testing out my new PSA ALG Trigger. Long story - bought a PSA AK-47 back in 2021 (Covid purchase). When I got a chance to shoot the AK, it ran very well. I wasn't a big fan of the trigger, but left it alone. Decided in March of 2023 to upgrade the trigger to an ALG, and when I went to look at buying, PSA an ALG trigger that was around $25 cheaper than the regular ALG triggers, so I bought from PSA. Got the trigger, tried to install it, could NOT get the trigger pin to sit flush on in the receiver. Yep, did all the right stuff, but try as I might, could not get the trigger to sit flush, so I tried a bass punch/hammer, a steel punch/hammer, and got it pretty dang close. When I tried the trigger, it was sweet - however, the safety would not engage 100% and on every 3rd or 4th try to pull the trigger with the safety "on safe", the trigger would fire.... Not good. When I tried to remove the trigger, nope... Would not move whatsoever... Called PSA, sent it back for warranty repair. Now, PSA Customer Service is awesome, and PSA products are awesome. But the PSA Warranty folks take FOREVER, they never get back to you on time, and it seems they're super overwhelmed. They did finally get to my rifle and discovered that the hammer and trigger pin holes were "out of spec"... So, the PSA OEM trigger worked because it has some "play" - but the ALG trigger, nope. I got a new receiver and PSA installed the PSA ALG trigger - so I'm trying it out at the range... What do I think? This is a MUST HAVE for any AK - period. Thanks for watching!

I decided to try out making some 9mm +P rounds using the following: CFE Pistol Primed Mixed HS cases (brass) 147gr XTP Bullets 124gr Precision Delta JHPs 99gr Federal Hydra-Shok Deep The video shows my progressing through .1 grain increments with the 147 and 124 grain. I also show the 99gr Federal Hydra-Shok Deep getting in the low 1300 fps range, and for comparison, I chrono my USPSA Practice/Competition Load. Some interesting observations, and I believe I can go up a tiny bit with both the XTPs and the Precision Delta bullets. I also have some Federal HSTs (147 gr) that I'll be making into some +P loads soon, so keep an eye open. Lastly, I run through some drills after the testing for fun. Enjoy!

Making some 380 ACP and discovered that my Lee Disk system was not dropping accurate powder loads with CFE Pistol and Unique. I tried to use my RCBS Chargemaster 1500, but it was over throwing powder. After some research, I found how to tweak the setting to get the unit to show accurate powder loads. NOTE: Use at your own risk - this is just for educational purposes!