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It's amazing how the human mind thinks that a few shelves full of gum and candy is "cover". Why didn't he just shoot through the shelves? I'm really glad that no one got shot and it's amazing considering the way this was handled. The owner was shooting like a hollywood gangsta. I give him kudos for recognizing the serious threat presented by the hoodlums and for a quick draw on his concealed weapon but wonder why in the world a round wasn't chambered.

Yep, that's the one I went to. I thought that match was FUN, although I must say there was nothing pleasant about the weather that day. I wasn't too intimidated by the courses having shot a few times at the Montgomery County Complex matches. I look forward to shooting more of these.

That makes me feel MUCH better, ha ha.

Yeah, it'll be a minimum of a year and a half before I have to worry about any incidents with children's hands in the equipment. The wife has a long way to go before delivery. My concern was with the gunpowder. I didn't know if it would "dust" up if spilled or when filling the powder reserve on the press. Chidren in the womb can be very susceptible to chemicals. I didn't think there was a big danger with gunpowder. I just wasn't sure being new to all of it.

Well, I could do that but it's more $$$. The ATI FX45 I have is brand new. I really like the look and feel of that gun. I've only shot about a box of ammo through it. So, I'd hate to sell it to fund a 9mm 1911 purchase. It's my understanding that 9mm 1911s can be fussy. The cost of the ammo really doesn't seem to be an issue to me since I recently bought my first reloading setup. I just haven't churned out any ammo yet. We recently discovered the wife is pregnant and I've been trying to find out if reloading in the house is safe for her and the child with the gunpowder and such. We don't have a garage. Part of my concern was when I looked at the courses of fire for the upcoming match for Mid Tenn Shooters (see the other subforum on local competitions). I have shot their beginner/first timer introduction match a month or two ago and shot my XD. The courses didn't look nearly as intimidating or high in round count that day compared to the courses posted for the "real" match this time. So, the question that hit me real quick is how would one ever get through one of those courses of fire without doing 3-4 reloads in a 1911. That's what got me wondering about whether using the XD was a better option due to mag capacity. That, then, led me to wonder if I should shoot my 3" sub compact XD or just trade the ATI 1911 for a 4.5" XD to gain the extra sight radius on the XD format for competition shooting.

I've shot in a few beginner matches over the past year and I'm wondering if many people shoot .45 in IDPA. I did in my first match because I shot my carry 1911. The next two times I shot my XDsc 9mm, the first time because it was new and I wanted to try it out, the second time because I had more 9mm ammo on hand. I noticed that a lot of folks shoot Glock and other 9mm predominately. Are there not many folks shooting .45 1911s? I'm really trying to decide whether I should make my ATI FX45 an IDPA Gun, or trade it for a 9mm XD or XDm. The follow up shots are quicker with 9mm, but not sure how much difference that makes. I like my 1911s and I like my XDsc quite a bit as well. I'm not into hot rodded guns. I like them stock or real close to stock. I can understand getting some trigger work done to help a bad trigger pull, but aside from that I'm pretty much a stock gun shooter. I like to keep things realistic. I do like both 9mm and .45 calibers for different reasons. .45 is fun to shoot because of the power and because of the 1911 platform. 9mm is very comfortable and faster. I looked at the course layout for the next Middle Tenn Shooters IDPA match and I'm really wondering how many magazine changes would be necessary with a 1911 to get through a course of fire! At least three if you don't miss a shot on some of those COFs. I did buy reloading equipment for both 9mm and .45 but haven't bought components to produce ammo yet. Kinda wondering what you guys think about all of this. It's like a whirlwind in my mind. I probably won't shoot IDPA more than 3-5 times a year for various reasons. But it definitely is fun.

I DO like the way you think!!

I bet you are really going to love that gun. I'm a 1911 guy and bought my XD9sc last fall. I just couldn't put it down after feeling how comfortable it was in my hand. Things have not improved. I'm now kinda wanting a service size XD with a little longer barrel for some IDPA type shooting. My XD has been solid. The only thing I've had trouble with is my thumb hitting the slide lock, so I've had to adjust my dominant thumb position. The XD9sc literally feels like a glove to me. Hope you enjoy yours as much!

I ended up not carrying because, well, apparently my waistline has grown lol. My attire wouldn't allow room It was way too warm for a cover garment and too formal for an untucked shirt. I don't remember seeing any posting while there. My wife and I both thought the food was excellent. I highly recommend a night out there, just not too often. A little $$$.

I'm taking the wife out to the Melting Pot for our anniversary tonight. Do any of you know if it is posted for carry?

I thought some of you may like to see how the holster rides. It holds the gun up tight against the body. I really like it a lot. It conceals every bit as good as my Tucker Answer IWB with a cover garment.

I didn't intend to make you guys think I was interested in the maximum charge for my loads. I was merely comparing those maximums and how much they vary from one another. My concern was going by data for one manufacturer's bullet, and then having a scenario where I was using a very safe charge for their bullet, but a charge that would be close to maximum for the bullet I was actually using, ...if you can follow what I mean there.

To be honest, I don't even remember when I placed the order. It was around February or March this year. All of these guys are buried with long lead times, but now that I have the holster in my possession I can say it is well worth the wait. I have an order in with Milt Sparks for an Axiom as well. I say just order it and forget about it and then be surprised when it shows up.

After the long wait, my 5 Shot Leather Concealment Pancake holster has finally arrived today. John Ralston has been a pleasure to deal with. Very fast response to emails, and quite informative and kind. I was a little concerned as this was my first full leather holster order from anyone and I wondered if the quality was really that much better than what I've seen in stores like Don Hume, Bianchi, Galco, etc. Well, I can say in no uncertain terms that John's work blows away anything I've seen with my own eyes. The fit of the gun in the holster is just astonishing. It's as if the gun and holster were born together at the same time. No photos my crappy camera and lighting can take will do justice to the quality of the leather. It is as slick as can be. The stitching is simply perfection. I have a comp-tac belt that got me started off last year when I got my permit and told John I'd be using that belt for now. I was a little concerned about the fit of the holster to that belt since he wasn't crafting them both together. The belt fits the holster completely snug with no wiggle room whatsoever. I wanted to share my experience with others who may be curious. Unfortunately, I don't have a great camera or lighting, but I hope you get the idea from the photos. The lighting makes the leather appear porous but none of that is visible to the naked eye. All I have to do now is wear it and let it conform to me. If you are curious about John's products, I don't see how you could go wrong or be disappointed.

Thanks Greg. I suspected this to be the case but wanted some reassurance from someone with actual experience. The other question I have is regarding barrel length. I will be loading initially for my compact 1911 with a 4 1/4" barrel. The load data is for 5" barrel length on .45 Auto. Do we just ignore the shorter barrel length and load for the 5" barrel? Would seem to me that with less barrel length you end up with either less pressure in the barrel due to less time in there, and/or a slower velocity on the bullet. I guess you have to live with the slower velocity incurred by the shorter barrel length on compact guns because you can't load the cartridge hotter without case failure.

Wow, I don't know what happened on the forum, but when I posted this thread it took about three minutes to post. Then I actually got an error rather than seeing the post. Then I hit "back" one time on my browser and tried to post again since I got the error. Now there are 4 threads under this heading! If a moderator can delete the other 3 threads, please do! That was a weird computer glitch thing.

Okay, so this may seem dumb to you experienced reloaders, but I am a beginner and haven't loaded anything yet. I have two books: The ABC's of Reloading, and Hornady Handbook of Reloading. I've been reading them both and read all of the Hornady manual's information before the actual load tables for each caliber. A friend at church informed me that the Hornady manual is only for Hornady bullets. I was kinda bummed because I found that Hornady bullets are quite pricey! So, another forum member has recommended Precision Delta bullets. I know the diameter of all bullets of a caliber should be the same. But, what about the depth? I found that while the Hornady manual lists a max load of 6.1gr for their .45 Auto 230 grain FMJ ENC bullet, Alliant Powder Reloaders Guide lists a max of 6.5gr for the Speer 230 grain TMJ bullet. (both loads are for Unique) I presume the difference is the length of the bullet which determines how much space is remaining in the case. A smaller volume in the case will yield a higher pressure, therefore a longer bullet will yield a higher pressure in the case and vice versa. So, when I buy bullets from somewhere like Precision Delta, how do I determine which powder charge to load with when there is no data for that bullet?

So, I stopped it at 1hr 15min. Brass is clean and shiny. The only mistake I made was dumping 9mm and 45 into the same batch to clean. A lot of the 9mm cases got stuck in the .45 cases and were wedged in by the cob material. I got em all separated and let the 9mm run another 45 minutes or so and it came out nice after that. Do you guys run through the de-prime and size die before tumbling? Looks to me like that would be the way to go if it won't ruin the die. It will allow the tumbler to clean the primer pocket too.

Thank you guys for the help. I thought I'd post a pic of my first reloading outfit. Still waiting on a few items from Midway (the digital scale is on backorder).

I stopped by G N L and picked up some Flitz. Tumber has been running 1 hr and 15 min. How long should I let it cook?

I just got my tumbler and corn cob media in from Midway. I was about to embark on my first brass cleaning adventure and realized I didn't have any brass polish to add to the media. Is the polish a requirement or can I clean without it this time and add it next time? Hopefully if I have to have it, someone local like Bass Pro or Guns and Leather has it?

Order Placed. Now, which bullets? Cast or Jacketed? How do you pick a powder? I've been told I should start with Unique. Both of those may be answered by reading my reloading manuals. Haven't got very far in those yet.

Yes sir. Problem is that from my understanding, they aren't open for pickup on Saturdays and I can't get their by 5pm during the week due to work. I live about 30-40 minutes from them though. Shipping from Midway on all of that appears to be about $30 which is better than I thought it would be. **EDIT** Wow. I just compared pricing between Midsouth and Midway and it's actually a little cheaper at Midway with shipping.

Thanks for all the input and advice. I've decided to get started with the Classic Turret Press. It fits my price range and my needs as best as I can judge. I would like your help making sure I get everything I need! I want to order everything in one order. So far, here's the order list I've compiled with Midway USA item numbers. Alternative recommendations are welcome if there are more affordable or similarly priced items that are better. Lee Classic Turret Press - 814175 Extra 4 hole Turret - 292460 Lee Deluxe Carbide 4-Die Set in .45 ACP - 242098, and in 9mm - 885350 Lee Pro Auto-Disk Powder Measure - 348753 Lee Safety Prime Small and Large - 548630 Hornady Electronic Caliper - 417494 MTM Mini Digital Reloading Scale 750 Grain Capacity - 713049 Lyman Magnum Impact Bullet Puller - 667064 Hornady M-2 Case Tumbler - 711534 Frankford Arsenal Brass Cleaning Media Corn Cob 7lb bag - 730107

Sir, it matters tremendously exactly which holster you wear. I have tried 4 different IWB holsters and every one of them feel very, very different. Before you throw IWB carry to curb, you need to give it a fair chance plus one or two. There's no way a home made holster that is rigged is comparable to something made by experts. Angle, depth, shape, profile, type of leather, etc. all make a big difference in the end result. Why don't you give a Milt Sparks VMII, Comp-Tac MTAC / Spartan, Tucker's The Answer, or other holster like them a serious try and see if it doesn't work out for you. When I started out, i didn't have jeans/pants one size larger than I normally wear. That was a mistake. Upsizing pants one size larger made a 100% difference in feel and comfort. Also, you cannot believe how much difference a real gun belt makes in carry comfort and support. I use the Comp-Tac belt and love it. There's nothing wrong with pocket carry. However, it is generally slower to draw from IMO and every pocket is cut different. My opinion is that you need to really give IWB a serious attempt with the proper equipment and clothing. If it doesn't work out after that, THEN throw it to the curb. IWB carry will not be "incredibly comfortable" until you get the right equipment, and get used to having a foreign object inside the pants against your body. However, after a month or two, with the proper equipment, my suspicion is that if you carry it every day, you will soon feel "incredibly uncomfortable" without it. If you buy from a top quality leather maker, OWB also is a good option for most of the year if you don't mind dressing around it. But just like IWB, comfort varies by holster. All holsters are not equal. All of this commentary is based on my own experience and that of thousands of others. Take it or leave it. Just trying to help out.