Anyone have any experience or opinions on the C-Bar Armory PTX? I found a lot of post about the PowderFunnel.com PTX but the website is either down, the URL changed, or the company is out of business. The C-Bar is the only PTX for the Hornady Lock-n-Load AP I could find that is "universal".
Additionally, since I am still trying to set up - I noted two things on the Hornady PTX. (1) some are listed as "lead" and others not depending not he website; and (2) the sizes are very limited, particularly there is no PTX for .41Mag and I sort of need one for that caliber - or do I?
Let's start with observation #1 - is "lead" PTX a marketing thing? i.e. I read at least one post (nearly 6 years old) that stated "the new lead PTX was shelved so I bought the Powder
Funnels.com universal expander . . . ." This would seem to imply either it is a marketing term for a new and improved version, or that the poster in question loads lead bullets and there is in fact two versions of the PTX. It also caused me to ask if the PTX is only needed if I load lead bullets. I am pretty fond of BTSP bullets for my rifles, no flare needed. Do all pistol bullets require the case to be flared or only lead/cast bullets? More succinctly, do I need a PTX or is this just another tweak in the set-up to make the process go faster? Is a PTX just a "go faster" tool? Or is it necessary? (I am aware I can use an expander die, I plan to use a Powder Cop and want to seat and crimp separately.)
Assuming the responses to part 1 are all "yes, you need one" and "no, it is not optional in pistol ammo reloading" - is it possible to use the .451 PTX for .41Mag and just barely kiss the mouth of the cartridge or am I relegated to finding a true "Universal PTX"- or in the alternative, the .41 rounds have to be made sans Powder Cop. FYI - I cannot give up the separate crimp on this round. I own a DE41 and a RedHawk. The RedHawk will eat almost anything but without the FCD, it would refuse 1 in 10 rounds made on RCBS dies and 1 in 3 would not chamber in the Desert Eagle.
BTW - the problem is confirmed the dies. I had a buddy with a lot more experience help me out. Bullets would literally come apart in the mag because the crimp was not sufficient, but 1/8 turn would buckle the brass. Even took the press to the range and tried to make a "extremely fine" adjustment - the margin was so small we could not get consistency - we did manage to find a sweet spot that would consistently feed the revolver though. The Lee FCD was the solution but on a single stage it became too much - ergo a LnL press followed me home from Cabela's one day and now I want to know if I need PTX or not.
Additionally, since I am still trying to set up - I noted two things on the Hornady PTX. (1) some are listed as "lead" and others not depending not he website; and (2) the sizes are very limited, particularly there is no PTX for .41Mag and I sort of need one for that caliber - or do I?
Let's start with observation #1 - is "lead" PTX a marketing thing? i.e. I read at least one post (nearly 6 years old) that stated "the new lead PTX was shelved so I bought the Powder
Funnels.com universal expander . . . ." This would seem to imply either it is a marketing term for a new and improved version, or that the poster in question loads lead bullets and there is in fact two versions of the PTX. It also caused me to ask if the PTX is only needed if I load lead bullets. I am pretty fond of BTSP bullets for my rifles, no flare needed. Do all pistol bullets require the case to be flared or only lead/cast bullets? More succinctly, do I need a PTX or is this just another tweak in the set-up to make the process go faster? Is a PTX just a "go faster" tool? Or is it necessary? (I am aware I can use an expander die, I plan to use a Powder Cop and want to seat and crimp separately.)
Assuming the responses to part 1 are all "yes, you need one" and "no, it is not optional in pistol ammo reloading" - is it possible to use the .451 PTX for .41Mag and just barely kiss the mouth of the cartridge or am I relegated to finding a true "Universal PTX"- or in the alternative, the .41 rounds have to be made sans Powder Cop. FYI - I cannot give up the separate crimp on this round. I own a DE41 and a RedHawk. The RedHawk will eat almost anything but without the FCD, it would refuse 1 in 10 rounds made on RCBS dies and 1 in 3 would not chamber in the Desert Eagle.
BTW - the problem is confirmed the dies. I had a buddy with a lot more experience help me out. Bullets would literally come apart in the mag because the crimp was not sufficient, but 1/8 turn would buckle the brass. Even took the press to the range and tried to make a "extremely fine" adjustment - the margin was so small we could not get consistency - we did manage to find a sweet spot that would consistently feed the revolver though. The Lee FCD was the solution but on a single stage it became too much - ergo a LnL press followed me home from Cabela's one day and now I want to know if I need PTX or not.