9mm bulged brass

[bboswell]

My reject rate when case guaging after reloading 9mm is typically less than 2%, and often less than 1%.

However, in my most recent 1,000 - 1,500 loaded rounds, that has jumped to 5-8%, so I'm trying to figure out the cause.

Everything on the Dillion 550 and the Dillion dies appears to be good. Rejected cartridges appear to be similar to .40 "Glocked" brass, so they wont come close to seating in the case gauge after reloading.

I'm thinking I must have loaded a bunch of brass that was shot in 9 Major, causing the brass to bulge, and my Dillion die with its generous relief allowing the progressive to work smoothly, even though the die adjusted to go as far down as possible but not quite touch the shellplate, is simply not resizing the entire cartridge.

Anybody else having this issue? If so, have you tried resizing 9mm as is common with Glocked 40? Some articles say you should not resize 9mm due to the difference in case body diameter versus the rim, but other comments have said some reloaders do it anyway and dont have an issue.

I'm about to start reloading 40, and actually just bought the Lee factory crimp die and a Bulge Buster kit, but haven't yet bought a cheap single stage press to set this up in (any suggestions appreciated, as the local Tulsa retailers are all out of the cheap stuff due to the recent surge in buying). Now I am wondering if I need to start case guaging my 9mm before I reload (PITA): resize them all like I think you 40 reloaders do, to get my reject rate back down, or take a different approach that the BS braintrust have already perfected.

Thanks for your comments.

 

[brandt9913]

My 9mm reject rate is the same 1-2% you normally have. I think you are correct that you got some brass that has been loaded in 9 Major.

 

[ryanncass]

I took a grinder to the bottom of my sizing die and put the lock nut on upside down so the die reaches more of the case. It got rid of this issue for me. I did the same thing with my 40 dies and I dont seem to have an issue with bulge cases.

 

[Beau]

(any suggestions appreciated, as the local Tulsa retailers are all out of the cheap stuff due to the recent surge in buying). Now I am wondering if I need to start case guaging my 9mm before I reload (PITA): resize them all like I think you 40 reloaders do, to get my reject rate back down, or take a different approach that the BS braintrust have already perfected.

Thanks for your comments.

I bought the lee hand press. I use it to deprime and resize all my cases before I tumble them.
I think I got it on amazon for like $20 roughly

 

[sarnburg]

I use a EGW U-die and it cures the 9mm bulge. Of course I shoot them in a 9 major and put it right back. :ninja:

 

[bboswell]

I bought the lee hand press. I use it to deprime and resize all my cases before I tumble them.
I think I got it on amazon for like $20 roughly

Beau, so the Lee hand press has enough torque to resize the brass? Have to tell you, I was playing around with the bulge buster on my Dillon 550, which I used a wooden dowel rod inside an empty case to use a the pusher, since the Lee pusher wont fit in my shell plate, and even after lubing the cases, I can barely get enough torque to press the case thru the Lee FCD.

I must be doing something wrong, so any suggestions are appreciated.

Also, looked around for a few minutes on line last night and couldn't find any Lee hand presses or basic presses in stock, and on Ebay used units were going for $70+. Any of you Tulsa shooters have a cheap single stage gathering dust you would be willing to sell for a reasonable price? I just need to resize my brass but my current solution is flawed.

 

[Corey]

I use a EGW U-die and it cures the 9mm bulge. Of course I shoot them in a 9 major and put it right back. :ninja:

When I started reloading 9mm I did not have my die adjusted far enough down & I had a bulged base issue, I screwed the die in a little more problem solved.

I had a. 40 RCBS FL die that would not resize all the way I determined this by chamber checking resized range pick up brass casings. Probably 20% would not chamber in my STI. I was camming the hell out of the press.
I got the EGW U die and that fixed the problem without adding extra steps.

Someday I may start a crap I learned the hard way thread.

 

[scubor2]

That would probably take up too much bandwith if everyone confessed. :sarcastichand:

 

[slider]

I took a grinder to the bottom of my sizing die and put the lock nut on upside down so the die reaches more of the case. It got rid of this issue for me.

+1 on this. I use a Lee carbide resizing die that has been ground down so it goes down further on the case. My usual CG failures are typically a nick in the rim.

 

[bboswell]

Currently station 1 on my 550 has the standard Dillon deprime and sizing die. think these have generous bevel at the mouth which I believe helps make feeding in a progressive press a little easier.

After grinding down, does smooth feeding become a problem? How much do I remove? I have die adjusted to reach the shell plate but not depress it.

Think I have access to a grinder, but don't want to over do it. Especially after already wasting $ on the Lee FCD & Bulge Buster kit that I can't figure out how to make the pusher fit in my 550 shellplate, but hey, live and learn. Besides, never been accused of being the sharpest knife in the drawer.

 

[bboswell]

And why doesn't this tapatalk program keep the paragraph breaks when posting?

 

[Wall]

Especially after already wasting $ on the Lee FCD & Bulge Buster kit that I can't figure out how to make the pusher fit in my 550 shellplate, but hey, live and learn. Besides, never been accused of being the sharpest knife in the drawer.

Use an empty case with a dowel in it

 

[JMorris]

The brass we shoot out of SMG's is worse than "Glocked" brass. I automated a casepro that makes them as good as new, including the rim and extractor grove. That's something you can only get with a roll sizer.

 

[dennishoddy]

When I started reloading 9mm I did not have my die adjusted far enough down & I had a bulged base issue, I screwed the die in a little more problem solved.

I had a. 40 RCBS FL die that would not resize all the way I determined this by chamber checking resized range pick up brass casings. Probably 20% would not chamber in my STI. I was camming the hell out of the press.
I got the EGW U die and that fixed the problem without adding extra steps.

Someday I may start a crap I learned the hard way thread.

Start the thread. I'm sure there will be a lot of input!

 

[dennishoddy]

And why doesn't this tapatalk program keep the paragraph breaks when posting?

Because tapatalk is easy to use but sucks at the same time.

 

[martinga111]

Beau, so the Lee hand press has enough torque to resize the brass? Have to tell you, I was playing around with the bulge buster on my Dillon 550, which I used a wooden dowel rod inside an empty case to use a the pusher, since the Lee pusher wont fit in my shell plate, and even after lubing the cases, I can barely get enough torque to press the case thru the Lee FCD.

I must be doing something wrong, so any suggestions are appreciated.

Also, looked around for a few minutes on line last night and couldn't find any Lee hand presses or basic presses in stock, and on Ebay used units were going for $70+. Any of you Tulsa shooters have a cheap single stage gathering dust you would be willing to sell for a reasonable price? I just need to resize my brass but my current solution is flawed.

I couldn't tell from your post, but if you are trying to take the bulge out of 9mm brass, you need a 9mm Makarov FCD to take it out. If you use a 9mm luger, you will have a very hard time pushing it through.

 

[Fyrtwuck]

As has already been said several times, the EGW undersize dies are great. I fought with the bulge on the 40 S&W for quite a while before my son told me about the EGW. Since then, no problems, but I eventually got away from the 40 and gave most of that stuff to him and now shoot mainly 45.

I have the Dillon 650, but I keep my old single stage mounted to another bench just for small batches and the bulge buster.

 

[JMorris]

Where are the cases failing? Rim or above?

 

[Corey]

This thread is two years old but when I saw a JMorris post I thought hell yeah what has this man invented now.

Edit: then I scrolled up & realized JMorris has already been there done that.