reloading 9mm problems

[Guest mudduck]

well i loaded 500 rounds no problem,then i got some diffrent bullets and brass from the range and about one third of then after i load them i can just push the bullet farther into the shell just by pushing a small amount,one will do fine then one will be in the shell loose,i have reset the crimp and it still does it??? any help will be great

[rwt101]

I am no expert on reloading, but first I would reset my sizing die and make sure the brass is going all the way into the die. Also check and make sure all the cases are 9mm. Also check the size of the new bullets that you just got to make sure that they are consistent in size. That is all I can think of.

Bob T

[Guest mudduck]

thats all i could think of,so i did all that,but some of the bullets will set in the brass great and be tight and the rifgt lenght and all,then some of them will be alittle loose in the case,im not sure of the problem,but out of about 150,50 of them are bad???

[MemphisMechanic]

In nearly every case, this is the result of too much crimp. In a 9mm, the tension on the bullet is provided by the taper of the case, NOT by the crimp. Crimping the round actually reduces the friction between the brass and the cartridge. In a 9mm, you need to think of the crimp station as simply a flare-removal die.

You bell/flare the brass, drop powder and press a bullet into the case, and then crimp. At the crimp, remove enough flare so that there's no more fish-mouth to the case, and stop when the walls are straight. Just the slightest bit of inward bend is all you need. Look at a factory round for an example.

More info is needed.

What brand and weight bullet?

what press?

die used?

brass headstamp? (all same, or mixed?)

What length are you loading them to?

[Rightwinger]

I was thinking he has mixed lengths in there too. Hitting his crimp at different locations on different brass and essentially rebelling it if its lower on the case.

[CatsEye]

Don't take this wrong, but make sure there aren't any 380s in there.

[Idaho]

If you are using a die that puts on a roll crimp, your results will be more dependent on the length of the case as mentioned above. I understand some of the Lee dies apply a taper crimp at first and then a roll crimp if you tighten it down further. You don't need the roll crimp so I would try backing of the crimp die.

I think I got tired of messing with it before and bought a taper-only die and it solved my problems. It is more tolerant of variable length cases.

(btw my first suggestion was to be sure that the size die is all the way down and that you are not belling the cases any more than necessary to get the bullet in, but it looks like you already addressed those.)

Idaho

[glockster157]

Something I do when I want a stright walled case to hold a bullet tighter after I flare the neck is to check the neck expander pug and make sure it is not too big. If the plug, the neck of the expander, is as large as the bullet, it will not have any tension on the bullet. I usually polish those down a thousandth or so until I get a good tight bullet fit in the case. If the bullet is swelling the brass even a little when you seat it, it cannot slip into the case ay further as the it would have to swell the brass behing it to do so. Sizing the case smaller will not help if you expander plug opens it right back up.

[Guest mudduck]

well i still dont get it,i have reset all the dies and put less crimp and less flare,it still does the same thing,i just did about 75 rounds and about 20 of them the bullets are loose in the brass,they look tight but you can just push the bullet in farther,but the rest of them are fine.

i am useing a lee pro 1000

now i got winchester 115 gr bullets

mixed brass it dosent have a prefrence in the brass it happens to all the diif brands,both ways,fine and bad

and setting them at 1.13-1.14 lenght

i did 500 with zero bullets and they all did fine no problems,switched bullets and now i have problems,all the new bullets are the same size so i am not sure what is going on ?

and they are all 9mm brass

[Guest MERRILL]

I was having similar problems only the bullet was sticking in the seat die. I went back and re-read the instructions on how to set up die. I use Lee carbide dies so I don't know whether the following will apply to your set up. (1.) raise the ram (2.) screw in die until it touches the shell holder in the ram. (3.) back out the die for 3 full turns (4.) adjust the bullet seat depth. Hey, it worked for me. Note that you will be setting the crimp before the bullet seat depth. Mark your die before unscrewing to get 3 full turns.

[Guest mudduck]

yeah i have the same lee carbide dies and i have reset them up 3 or more times,what gets me is how some times it all works out the way it should and the very next one will not then the next one will be fine,still trying to figure it all out

[rstandley]

I don't know man. I have loaded 10,000 rounds of 9mm on my loadmaster. The only loose rounds I had were from cracked brass. I would mic. a handfull of bullets and make sure they are at least .355. At the powder station, use the least amount of belling, just enought to start the bullet. I also use a final sizing die in station 5 that puts a taper crimp on the round. The seating die just removed the bell.

[I_Like_Pie]

Yes...I would spend some time with the mic and see if they are running .355 Eliminate possibilities one at a time and you will find out exactly what is causing your problem. I too have never had this problem after many, many loaded rounds...it should really jump out at you after some real quantitative poking around.

-ALSO-

That newer brass you have just picked up giving you fits may be a longer OAL then the stuff you have been using...causing the crimp problems that people have mentioned before.

...either way this is dangerous as there is little case capacity in the 9mm cartridge. Pushing that bullet in creates significant pressure spikes that could hurt you. This is the same situation that causes KB in 40 s&w

[Guest mudduck]

let me understand this right,the bullets them self must be .355 at the base that goes into the brass?? if this is right then i found my problem,the bullets are only at .353,am i checking this right??

[DWARREN123]

9mm jacketed bullets should be .355 and lead .356 (standard size) so .353 is a little undersized. Measure the main body diameter, use calipers and measure cross wise and long wise.

Sounds like you may have found the problem!

[I_Like_Pie]

let me understand this right,the bullets them self must be .355 at the base that goes into the brass?? if this is right then i found my problem,the bullets are only at .353,am i checking this right??

Yes..that is it. If some are measuring .355 and you are rolling across a .353 you will likely see the very problems you are having. Generally a little bigger won't matter much, but smaller sure might. Those winchester bullets should not be off by that much.

Are all of them that small!?!? If so...how many you got? A factory cripm die may help a bit with neck tension enough to shoot, but not 100% on that. Someone in your area might have one you can borrow for that batch.

If nobody has a FCD in Nashville (not very likely) hold on to those bullets and I can lend you mine till you load them up and test some more...then send down via mail to Chattanooga when done.

Edited June 18, 2009 by I_Like_Pie

[gsbell]

If I had .353 bullets I'd be calling the manufacturer for a replacement batch or a refund

[Guest mudduck]

i got them locally,i will call them in the morning to see what we can do,not all of them are small but alot of them are,i have about 300 left.

[glockster157]

I ran into this problem one time with .224 bullets from River Valley Ordinance, will never order from them again, some of the bullets were way under in from of the crimp groove so if you pushed them they would fall into the case. They were supposed to be new bullets but many were obvious pulls.

[Guest mudduck]

yup thats exacatly what mine are doing,you can just push them right into the case,not all but about 1 third of them.

[Guest mudduck]

well i finally figured it out,i didnt have the crimp set and i was flaring them to much,i still have a few that the brass is to big but i found out that since i have mixed brass some is thinner cased than others,but so far since i got the crimp right it had all worked out now,thanks for all the info and help,i am new to reloading so it all helped me double and triple look at evrything and i think it is all right now, thanks again to all

[I_Like_Pie]

Good to know....I guess that drives home the "sort your brass" bit. I don't do it with my .38 because I have yet to run into this, but now I know what to watch for if it does happen.

[Guest wilcoxr1]

It sounds like you are using range brass. You need to understand that there is a large variation in 9mm Luger cases. Some brands differ in neck thickness while others differ in internal taper and case capacity. It is best to segregate cases by manufacturer and construction and load accordingly. if you segregate and adjust the dies for each type of case that problem should be minimized. If you have done that, IMO - Memphis Mech Has it right. Don't crimp in the Bullet seating die; just Unflare. Assuming you are properly resizing with a undefective 9mm die, minimize the expander/flaring to just be able get the bullet started without shaving the bullet or crushing the case. Just unflare in the seating die, (that is no discernable crimp or flare. you should be able to feel the edge of the case on the side of the bullet distinctly.), Then try a Lee Factory crimp die with as little crimp as possible to secure the bullet. The edge of the case should still be prominent. Remember the 9mm head spaces on the case mouth. This works for me. If none of this and all the good advise everyone else has given you doesn't help, your loading bench has been invaded by evil demons