Which Dillon is Right for YOU?Page 6

Which Dillon is Right for YOU?Page 6

The Grace USAGun Care Tool Set

Page 62

The Grace USAGun Care Tool Set

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Blue PressBlue PressOctober 2016

$2.95 U.S./$3.95 Canadathe

DP

Downloadour FREEMobile App!

See Page 4

Downloadour FREEMobile App!

See Page 4

4

Michael J. Dillon - Publisher

Mark G. Pixler - Editor

mpixler@dillonprecision.com

Gary Kieft - Technical Editor

Contributors:Peter CarolineBrian Dillon, Ph.D.John Marshall

Robin TaylorDuane ThomasBarrett TillmanJ.B. Wood

All the electrical and/or electronic components of Dillon equipment and all Dillon textiles are covered by a one-year

warranty from date of purchase. Any modifications performed to Dillon machines, or the addition of any unapproved

equipment, including automated or mechanical add-ons fromother manufacturers, is expressly not recommended and

will void the Dillon warranty.

Issue #292October2016

Copyright 2016 byDillon PrecisionProducts, Inc.

THEBLUE PRESS

Product IndexDillon Precision Products Reloading Machines:

BL 550, Pg. 13; Square Deal B, Pg. 8; RL 550B, Pg. 14; XL 650, Pg. 20; SUPER 1050, Pg. 30; SL 900, Pg. 38;

and “Big Fifty Reloader, ” Pg. 50

RF 100 Automatic Primer Filler 3Vibratory Case Cleaners 18Case/Media Separators 18Dillon Progressive Reloading Dies 34-35Redding Reloading Dies 52Dillon Reloading Scales 86Reloading Components 42-43Books & Videos 82-83Ear Protection 7, 12Eye Protection 12Dillon Ammo Boxes & Bins 64Dillon Leather by Mitch Rosen 24-25NEW Concealed Carry Tote 26“Plan B” Dayplanner Holster 51Range Bag/Border Shift Ammo Bag/Pistol Cases 32Targets and Target Stands 54Firearms Maintenance 66-67Shooting Accessories by Manufacturer:Arredondo Accessories 54, 56, 59Blade-Tech Industries Holsters, etc. 28California Competition Works 39, 56, 57, 70CED Chronograph/Timer 85Chip McCormick Magazines 68C-More Sights 76Dewey Cleaning Supplies 67Hogue Handgun Grips 60International Handgun Leather 27Lone Wolf Distributors 58MAGPUL AR-15 Magazines/Accessories 72-73Mec-Gar Pistol Magazines 70Mernickle Holsters 26ProMag Rifle Magazines 70Safariland Holsters 29, 57The Wilderness Tactical Products 27Wilson Combat Magazines, Parts 68Wise Company Gourmet Freeze Dried Food 84

Transitioning Between Targets

in the Action Shooting SportsPage 36

NINE is FINE:Ruger’s SR1911

9mmPage 10

Shooting the D3LLC9mm Carbine

Page 78

Dillon Precision Products, Inc. nowoffers a smartphone app for both

Apple and Android phone systems. Searchfor “Dillon Precision” at either the iPhone

App Store or Google play.

We READ Our Mail!What’s Inside:Just received my September issue. They are always good,but “Some Perspective on Orlando” by Barrett Tillman

was OUTSTANDING! Thanks.Ron Stinson – Vietnam ’68-‘69

In your September 2016 Edition of The Blue Press youhave a brilliant article by Barrett Tillman – “Some Per-

spective on Orlando.” This article needs to be distributedespecially to the anti-gun people and people who vote forHilary Clinton. What are your copyright restrictions? CanI purchase articles from The Blue Press to be distributed?

Don Raines – NRA/ATA/USPSA/IDPA MemberDon, for articles like this, I encourage everyone to distrib-ute them wherever they think it will do the most good. Allwe ask is that credit be given to the author and The BluePress. In addition, we ask to be notified of any reprints. Asfar as copyrights go, I only purchase first serial rights fromauthors, so after we publish, the rights revert to theauthors. Like Barrett, most authors don’t mind giving per-mission to reprint gun-rights-advocacy articles.

Irecently had an issue with my XL 650 machine, and Imust say that the support I received in resolving the

issue was outstanding. I had difficulty determining theroot cause of the problem at first, but once it seemedobvious what the real issue was – a worn platform – Istripped the part from the machine and returned it viaUSPS on a Saturday. The replacement part was in mymail box when I returned home on Thursday, along withanother new case insert slide and the tool necessary toproberly align the assembly on reinstallation. Withinabout an hour I had the machine back together and itwas functioning like it was brand new. Here is a shoutout to the Dillon “No-B.S. Lifetime Warranty!” Thanksfor your support.

Michael Taylor – Albuquerque, NM

On the CoverThis month’s cover features Rachel. To see more photosof Rachel and other Blue Press cover models, you can“follow” us on Instagram@bluepress on your smart-phone, or go to www.instagram.com/bluepress and

click “follow.”

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By Mark PixlerOK, once in a while, this job has some real

perks – and no, I’m not talking about occasionallygetting to hold a reflector at the cover-photo shoots.I’m talking about having the opportunity to shootfirearms that I otherwise wouldn’t be able to. In thiscase it was a suppressed, full-auto 9mm carbinefrom Desert Design & Development LLC (D3LLC).

Cat Thomas – one of our sales reps – gave methe contact information for James Seto, and saidthat he had expressed interest in showing mesome of his products. D3LLC specializes in sup-pressor manufacturing and providing integrallysuppressed firearms for law enforcement, securityand personal-protection applications. Of course,my response was to immediately contact him andschedule a time to shoot the carbine. (I mighthave also said something like, “HELL yeah,” atthe time. I don’t recall.)

D3LLC’s D3-9SD “Ultimate Urban Carbine” isan integrally suppressed carbine that doesn’trequire subsonic ammo. According to James,“Someone once called it the ‘Ultimate UrbanCarbine.’ We liked that, and that term seems to besticking with us. Someone else said that this wasthe quietest 9mm carbine on the planet. While wecan’t confirm or deny this claim, we’ve yet to findone that performs as well. So, it’s ‘possibly thequietest 9mm carbine on the planet.’”

Years ago, no less than two Dillon employeeswere fortunate enough to own Heckler & Koch

MP5 SD subguns. I had the opportunity to shootboth of them at various times and was enthralledat just how quiet they were with subsonic ammo.Over the years, such guns have become virtuallyunobtainable, and even post-sample guns arepriced way beyond the reach of all but the VERYwealthy enthusiast.

That was no deterrent to James and his businesspartner Michael Lamb, though. Their solution wasto obtain a Class 7 Manufacturer’s FFL and buildtheir own. “I wanted an MP5 SD and simplywasn’t able to find one that wasn’t a) worn out andb) outrageously priced. So, I decided to build myown,” said Lamb.

Great move. The D3LLC DEFCON 4SDBarrel/Suppressor System features a 4140 ChromeMoly 6.75” match-grade ported barrel and a6061-T6 aluminum high-volume, maintenance-free 12” suppressor.

So, just what makes the MP5-SD so desirable,anyway?

James explains, “The beauty of the MP5-SDand our D3-9SD is that they can take a standardsupersonic 115-grain 9mm and bring it down tosubsonic speeds. In doing so you eliminate thesonic crack. Then, the suppressor does the rest.You won’t find this in any direct-thread suppressor.

“While the use of subsonic ammunition willmake any suppressor quieter, using it in our D3-9SD or the HK MP5-SD will make it EXTREMELYquiet. That’s why both are ideal for CQB, home

Having a “Quiet Riot”

Shooting the “Ultimate Urban Carbine”by Desert Design & Development LLC

79

defense and for indoor use. The use of hearing pro-tection is no longer required when using the D3-9SD with the majority of standard 9mm ammuni-tion. When using 147-grain or heavier subsonicammunition, it’s laughable how quiet it can be.

“This is where the similarities end with theH&K,” James continued. “We built on the AR plat-form because the AR is universally known. Every-one makes accessories, parts are easily obtain-able, and you don’t need an engineering degree towork on the AR platform. This is a huge benefit forthe civilian enthusiasts as well as for the armorersfor law enforcement.”

Now, my ears are REALLY sensitive. I havechronic tinnitus from years of…let’s see…LOUDmusic, LOUD mufflers, and that one time whenas an even-stupider-than-normal kid, I shot an8mm Mauser rifle WITHOUT hearing protection.I did, however pull one earplug out of my“already bad” left ear and test fire the D3LLCD3-9SD carbine with subsonic ammo. Notpainful. Normally I shoot with both soft earplugsand electronic muffs, regardless of what orwhere I’m shooting. With the D3-9SD, I couldget by with just about any earplug.

D3LLC also makes a “Kurz” version of theirbarrel/suppressor system called, appropriatelyenough, the DEFCON 4SDK. It features a 5.75”match-grade ported barrel and an 8” suppressor.Yeah, I got to shoot that one, too. Full-auto. OHyeah!

These products are available as Barrel/Suppres-sor Systems only, Complete Upper Assemblies, oras Complete Firearms. Of course all NFA rulesapply and require all the requisite paperwork,background checks, etc.

The examples I was able to shoot were all in9mm, but there’s also a .40 S&W version avail-able. A .45 ACP version is available as well, butwith a slightly different lower.

One of the things I was really impressed withwas the lower receiver they used on one of theirsample guns. It’s a forged lower that is machinedto accept GLOCK 9mm magazines. The first time Iever saw an AR-style rifle set up to use GLOCKmagazines I was hooked. It just makes SO muchsense for someone who uses a GLOCK to be ableto use the same magazines in a pistol-caliber car-bine. Law enforcement first comes to mind.

With some manufacturers, however, there areapparently some glitches in the last round bolthold open (LRBHO) that make these specialtylowers problematic. Or, they’re proprietary andrequire the use of their matched upper. By allaccounts, such problems simply don’t exist withthe D3LLC GLOCK-style lower.

Prior to this, I wasn’t aware of the LRBHOissues with some GLOCK-style lowers, but Jamesexplained what causes them:

“On standard AR-15 magazines, the bolt lifteris built into the rear of the follower, on the backside of the magazine, right next to the bolt

The Desert Design & Development LLC DEFCON 4SD.

DP

8080

catch. On pistol magazines, the lifter is at thefront of the magazine. The distance from thelifter to the bolt catch is a lot greater in a pistolmagazine. You have to design a lifting systemthat will transfer the lifting action in the front, tothe rear. The design of the lifting system is theweakness of most GLOCK-style AR lowers. Thisis so problematic that other manufactures justdon’t bother including one.

“Our system is designed to take the amountof force normally required to transfer that liftingenergy from the front to back, and reduce it byhalf. This is addressed by changing the lifting

system from a thin one-piece (with the fulcrumpoint at the front) to a stronger one-piece design(where the fulcrum point is in the middle). Thisreduces the amount of energy required to lift thebolt catch. The mechanism is also on the outsideof the lower, so there is less fouling that canenter the mechanism. This increases reliability.”

If you’re interested in a GLOCK-style lower, abarrel/suppressor unit, a complete upper assem-bly or an Ultimate Urban Carbine, you can con-tact Desert Design & Development LLC at 623-256-1827 or go to their website,www.D3LLC.com.

The Desert Design & Development LLC DEFCON 4SDK.