9 mm reloading and gage

[9mmPatriot]

I loaded my Barry's 124gn RN at an OAL of 1.159.
I started longer and did a plunk test until I got the desired result.

I don't use a case cage.
I do use mixed brass.
I don't crimp my 9mm either.

I've heard that glock fired case tend to have a fire-formed bulge. I don't own a gloxk so I can't confirm. Could this be the cause of your problem?

 

[WR Moore]

I went and looked at my 2 sets of RCBS 9 mm dies. Both sets have full length of case carbide inserts. One set bought 1984 the other set around 2005 or so. Don't know what brand you're using, but you might double check the directions to make sure they're adjusted properly. I've never owned a steel sizer in 9 mm, so I've no idea if they'll size further down the case than a carbide die.

Now then, chamber sizes aren't the same in all handguns. Some brands are famous for generous chambers, others aren't. Some support the case better than others to prevent expansion near the case web. If you've got range pickup brass that's been fired in one of those barrels, you may/may not be able to size the brass down far enough on the case to chamber in your gun. There are drive through bulge buster dies for .40-due to Glock chambers/feed ramps-I've never seen one for 9 mm.

Now, there's also another possibility. The 9 mm case head/extractor groove seems to have a much wider variation than most others*. If your problem is that the round drops into the gage, but hangs up on the rim, it may simply be the case head dimension. The "plunk test" using the chamber of your gun barrel will tell you if they're going to chamber in your barrel.

* The best option here is to use a .38 Super shell holder or make sure whatever brand you're using is listed to work with both 9 mm & .38 Super.

 

[DeplorabusUnum]

Plunk test the the rounds that wont fit in the Wilson gauge. Use a "Bulge Buster" from Lee using the 9mm Makarov FCD. It's works very well. There are youtube videos on using the bulge buster on 9mm rounds. I've been using 4.2g of W231 under a 125g LRN home cast bullet for many years without issue.

9mm Lee Bulge Buster Review - YouTube

^I bought one of these^ for 9mm and 45 ACP and used it for a while. It works, but I was bothered by why I needed it in the first place. I found that if I took the rounds that wouldn't drop in the Wilson gauge and screwed the taper crimp die down a half turn more, it generally solved the problem. Maybe it has to do with differing thickness of brass or shot from a different pistol??? At any rate, before buying a bulge buster kit, just try a little more taper crimp and see what that gets you. It's a cheap test and may solve your problem.

 

[GeoJelly]

I ran into a similar problem, and solved it completely by discontinuing use of my Lee carbide set, and buying a Hornady die set. The sizing insert on the Hornady sizing die is longer and I think does a better job of not sizing the case down too much at the case mouth end. I also use a little Wilson gauge, and make sure that the tip of the bullet is just poking out of the gauge when the round is inserted. When I used the Lee dies, I would also notice that loaded rounds would clatter when they were rolled on glass. The Hornady seating die is a pain in the neck to adjust but also completely resolved that issue. OP, I can tell from your photo that the bullet on the left is seated cock-eyed for the lack of a better term. Rolling it on a glass table top, when your wife isn't watching , will tell the tale.

 

[jag22]

A couple of thoughts.
You don't mention you are having any problems shooting so why are you looking for one? It's something that newbies do, there is no perfect round. That's what reloading is all about. What works for you and your guns is what you are seeking. Reloading manuals provide proven suggestions, there is no perfect number. As others have mentioned your OAL seems long, I think mine are usually 1.10 to 1.125. What you need now is experience so go shoot 'em and see what you have.

 

[AlHunt]

I have reloaded a bunch of 9 mm brass using 231 Winchester powder 4.1 grain, small pistol Remington primers, with 9 mm 124 grain Berry's round nose, OAL 1.162 on average and yet after crimping, many will not fit in the 9 mm Wilson gage. Some do and yet some do not and I do not understand why when I am using the same technique. Is it due to the fact that the brass I pick up is varied and some are Federal, some RC, etc?
The one on the left seems to have a very subtle bulge and the one on the right fits perfectly in the Wilson gage.
Would appreciate any suggestions
Thank you

Are you using Lee dies, by chance? If not, read no further.

I struggled mightily with varying case lengths on some mixed brass a while back.

Sparing you the gory details, it came down to differing pressure required to seat bullets in the mixed brass and my Lee dies. The seating stem has a rubber o-ring which would compress more or less depending on how hard it was to seat the bullet and gave me varying OAL.

You said "OAL 1.162 on average" They should all be the same. I went back to the RCBS dies and the problem went away.

I am not beating up on Lee dies. In that particular case, they weren't the right tool for the job.

 

[Golphin]

I use mixed brass and Lee dies and have never had a problem with any of the many thousands of rounds loaded over the last 10 years. I have also never had them seating different length's not that it would matter much unless you are seating them to max OAL. I also use the Lee FCD and that might be the difference not sure.

 

[Moe Mentum]

I also use Lee dies, loaded 10's of thousand 9mm's without a hitch. I also load 9mm to 1.12 to 1.15, no longer....Mixed brass and whatever I could scrounge at the range, never had one problem.

 

[WR Moore]

Revisiting this caused me to recall something. Try gaging all your cases as they come out of the sizing die. If they fit without issue, the problem lies in your bullet selection/seating/crimping.

If they don't perhaps you need a better sizing die or become more selective on picking up brass.

 

[Mike0251]

many will not fit in the 9 mm Wilson gage. Some do and yet some do not and I do not understand why when I am using the same technique.

Welcome to the world of range brass and it's nothing new. I shoot competitively and use nothing but range brass/once fired/whatever you want to call it, Lots of it. The problem is not your dies and anything your doing in so far as them not fitting the case gauge. The problem is you and I have no knowledge as to what type of chamber these rounds were fired in prior to us. Unsupported chambers (some Glocks) and LEO full auto will bulge the brass at the base and most of the time you can't even see it. But sure as heck it don't go. These rounds may or may not work in your gun depending on your chamber. A plunk test will reveal that. My CZ's are extremely tight whereas my 1911's not so bad. But one out of spec round will lock me up on a competition costing me a lot of time clearing the weapon.

I became very tired of this and was also finding many rounds in 9mm and especially .40 would not pass the case gauge and that leads to breaking down a lot of shells with that dreaded plastic hammer. My solution, and it wasn't cheap was to rollsize all my brass. However I shoot a lot and obviously reload a lot. Rollsizing eliminated all my issues! I too tried undersized dies and they helped, but I still would see 5 rounds out of 50 that would not pass. If you are collecting brass fired from your weapon only, then you will have better results out of the gate.
Rollsizer.mp4 - Google Drive

 

[Hasbeen1945]

Dies are like chambers. Some are minimum spec, some are max. If you are lucky and get a minimum die any brass you resize will probably work in your firearm. The thing to remember is anything fired in your firearm should rechamber. If not your reloading technique is wrong.

 

[ArchAngelCD]

I started out using Lee dies for all my handgun loading. They have always worked well for me except for the neck expander on the .45 ACP dies but that's another story. I did buy a Hornady full length 9mm sizing die when I saw it on sale cor a low price. The only reason I bought it is the Titanium Nitride insert makes resizing short semi-auto cartridges very easy to do. I have one other for the .45 APC but no others.

What I'm saying is, I feel it's not the dies giving a problem, it's the loading itself. The bullet looks to be seated crooked and I also feel the OAL is too long. Like said many times above, use your barrel as your cartridge gauge.

 

[mikld]

Sometimes I wonder. I reload 9mm for 4 pistols. Mixed brass, cast, jacketed, small/light for caliber and large/heavy for caliber bullets and I don't have any chambering problems (I thought I needed a case gauge when I first started reloading 9mm, but I soon learned the plunk test was the best indicator. I put the gauge in a drawer, somewhere, and have loaded 9mm for 18+ years, trouble free). Lee carbide dies, no FCD, no bulge buster, no resizing after completion. (I have no idea how many rounds, but a WAG would be upwards of 9,000, plus 1,200 rounds of my "JIC" ammo).

Any time there is a fit problem, measure. Measure the OD in a few places and check OAL with a marked bullet. First find out where the round is too big, and then you can determine when it happens and fix it.