reloading problem

[Mzuri]

I am a moderately experienced reloader. I have been reloading .38 and .40 for a couple of years and other than a few poorly seated primers I have not had any problems. Recently I decided to start reloading 9mm also. I bought a set of RCBS dies and followed all the same procedures I have followed for .38 and .40. I have now made two batches of 50 rounds and each time there has been one round that would not chamber and left the gun out of battery. Both times I ended up with a live round that I could neither chamber or extract. I had go home and use a mallet to get the round out.

I think this is either a problem with resizing or maybe that I am over crimping. Any thoughts?

Other info-I use a single stage press.

 

[jimbo728]

Are you using a taper crimp die? Is your OAL correct?
Correct taper crimp should be .377 at the case mouth..

Jim

 

[yep380]

You might not be belling the case enough and are causing a bulge when seating.

You could be overcrimping.

What bullets are you using?

I'm sure someone will be along and disagree, but I use a LEE Factory Crimp Die on all of my 9mm and 45ACP loads and never have a feeding problem due to a bulged case.

 

[dwh]

What type of bullets are you using jacketed or cast? Is your brass new or range pick ups?

 

[Ivan the Butcher]

If you over crimped, the rounds that you drove out will have the high spots "Polished" by the chamber walls.

Quality control is at an all time low! It could be an over or non sized bullet that causes that problem.

Ivan

 

[Oldfrt]

Get a chamber checker tool for each semi auto caliber, the only semi I reload for I check each and every round and have to do a lot of multi runs with the crimp die for them to fit smoothly in the chamber checker. Just a little off can create a problem with a round in a semi, revolvers are a little more forgiving. If you can't find a chamber checker then it's the old fashion measuring with calipers.

 

[rwsmith]

I've been reloading 40 years.....

....cases of all types, rifle, revolver.

But I never had as much trouble as when I picked up 9mm.

Taper crimp just enough to chamber. Overdoing it will cause case problems.

I had terrific problems with ball bullets because of the nose profile would only chamber at 1.060" OAL. One thousandth more and trouble. I had 1000 of those. What a bear.

There's a lot of variance in 9mm chambers from sub compact guns to full size. What works in one might not work in the other.

 

[AlHunt]

I am a moderately experienced reloader. I have been reloading .38 and .40 for a couple of years and other than a few poorly seated primers I have not had any problems. Recently I decided to start reloading 9mm also. I bought a set of RCBS dies and followed all the same procedures I have followed for .38 and .40. I have now made two batches of 50 rounds and each time there has been one round that would not chamber and left the gun out of battery. Both times I ended up with a live round that I could neither chamber or extract. I had go home and use a mallet to get the round out.

I think this is either a problem with resizing or maybe that I am over crimping. Any thoughts?

Other info-I use a single stage press.

A caliper or micrometer might be helpful. Check the diameter of your finished rounds. Especially if you still have one of the problem child rounds.

 

[reddog81]

Could be hanging up on either the brass or the bullet. Is the problem round long than others? Is there a ring towards the base of the case? There could be other issues but those are probably the most common.

Even when using a carbide die i spray the cases with Hornady one shot case lube. It just make the whole process go smoother.

 

[Mzuri]

I am using Berry's plated 115 grain. Range brass at a range that belongs to a USPSA club (lots of reloads used) so some well-used brass might have gotten mixed in with mine. I don't have any left to check, but I used calipers to measure OAL to the recommended length in Hornady manual when I set the dies up. Taper crimp.

 

[retnavyshooter]

I have been loading 9mm for about 2 years> Guns used were M59, 5906 and M39. They all ran everything I loaded. recently bought a new Springfield Ronin 1911 in 9mm. At the range I experienced the same problem as the OP. Went home and "plunked" about 500 rds. I had loaded; about 1/3 dropped right into the chamber, the rest would not seat. All rounds "plunked " into the M59 barrel. What's the problem? I don't have an answer, but I have a solution.

Mick

 

[Mzuri]

I have been loading 9mm for about 2 years> Guns used were M59, 5906 and M39. They all ran everything I loaded. recently bought a new Springfield Ronin 1911 in 9mm. At the range I experienced the same problem as the OP. Went home and "plunked" about 500 rds. I had loaded; about 1/3 dropped right into the chamber, the rest would not seat. All rounds "plunked " into the M59 barrel. What's the problem? I don't have an answer, but I have a solution.

Mick

Interesting. I'll try a different pistol and see if that makes a difference.

 

[WR Moore]

First question: do you have an cartridge/case gauge? If not buy one.

With that out of the way, you "bought a set of RCBS dies and followed all the same procedures I have followed for .38 and .40." OK, those are for all practical purposes, straight wall cases. 9 mm are tapered cases. You might want to read the directions that came with the dies and reset the sizing die per instructions. I screwed mine down until any case I resized dropped into the gauge and stopped right there. I don't believe it's set exactly as the directions.

You also mention you're using range pickup brass. Depending upon what the load was, the chamber it was fired in and/or the quality of the brass, the case just above the head may have become bulged. [Come to think of it, I had a buddy who's sizing die was adjusted to what I thought was over sizing and he used stiff loads. His reloads looked like tiny belted magnum rounds.] Often, the resizing die can't correct for this. However, your cartridge/case gauge will catch this during the loading process.

 

[Mike SC Hunter]

Simplest answer is to remove the barrel from your gun and do the plunk test with every round or buy a case/round checker. This is slow. Eyeballing each load will be faster. Checking for bulges/high primers/no taper crimp etc.

 

[STORMINORMAN]

Routinely check every finished bullet with a case gauge: in reloading 357 SIG it is usually a couple times...

I expect and maintain my firearms to function and do everything I can to insure my reloads do as well. It is time well spent IMHO.

Cheers!

 

[Hondo1892]

Pull the barrel from your pistol and do the drop test. That is you drop the round in the barrel chamber. Turn the barrel muzzle up and the round will drop out. If your round is too long or too large it won't seat in the barrel fully. Many handloaders do this with semi auto rounds. I only load 45 ACP and have never had a problem. I do check some of my rounds like this in every batch I load.

 

[SMSgt]

The only issue I ever had with 9mm is that my SIG 226 requires a COL a few thousandths shorter than my 6906, so I had to adjust the COL a tad to make the rounds work in both guns. Other than the guns' throats differences, I've never found 9x19 reloading to be any different than any other semiauto rounds.

 

[Nevada Ed]

Lets start on page #1.

1. Is the case .751 ~ .754" in length?
2. has the case been full sized with the die set correctly ?
3. was the belled case removed to flush, when seating the bullet?
4. was the bullet the correct Dia. for your chamber spec's ?

Good luck solving the problem.

 

[scattershot]

If they are lead bullets, they may not be seated deep enough to chamber. Also, you may not be crimping enough with a TAPER crimp. Do the plunk test a suggested above, and if you encounter a problem examine that round carefully. If the crimp looks OK, seat th bullet a few thousandths of an inch deeper and try again.

 

[minconrevo]

9mm is a little tougher to reload than the two you mentioned. If you've picked up some "major 9" fired 9mm cases both the primer pocket and the case base may be bulged. Your sizing die will never be able to resize the entire case body.

I prefer a TC of .376 +.005. An important test with 9mm is to push the bullet tip of a loaded cartridge hard against a solid object. If bullet telescopes in you need to slightly increase TC until won't.