9mm plated round nose getting flat nose

[Retired in 2001]

Using RCBS dies and Berry 115 round nose and a 38 round nose seating die.As soon as bullet comes in contact with the die it's starts to flatten. My oal is 1069 I have read the instructions from rcbs and can't for the life of me see a solution does anyone have a fix for a frustrating problem

 

[SteveFi]

sounds like the seating stem is wrong for that bullet - you can ask RCBS what other seating stems they have & if they have a better one or you can also modify one - i hear of some people using epoxy to make the end fit better

 

[M29since14]

What Steve said about RCBS is good advice. They've always been very helpful to me. I think a seating stem that works with your preferred bullet will be better for you in the long run than one doctored up epoxy and the like.

 

[Retired in 2001]

I was using the 9mm TMJ prior the 38 round nose was slightly better will have to call them soon

 

[Steve912]

Check contour of seating plug vs contours of bullet nose...plated
slugs are a lot softer than jacketed bullets.

You could touch up the cup of the seating die with a Dremel,
but a bit of nose-flattening might give a better terminal effect,
if you're hunting.

 

[snakeye]

You might try flaring the cases a little bit more might relive enough tension that makes it a tad easier to seat the bullet...not so much flare you loose neck tension.

 

[BLUEDOT37]

Using RCBS dies and Berry 115 round nose and a 38 round nose seating die

The newer RCBS expander dies are M-type. If your's is not you might try one of those. The expander plug is longer & stepped. I find they're better for soft bullets that are easily deformed since it expands the brass deeper making seating not as hard.

.

 

[stansdds]

Check your seating stem, it might be designed more for flat point and hollow point bullets. For round nose bullets you really do need a seating stem that does not apply pressure to the point of the bullet, especially when loading the relatively soft plated bullets.

 

[Marshal Kane]

A better fitting seater stem should contact the ogive and not the bullet's nose. Contact RCBS about this and they will likely send you a new seater stem.

 

[Imissedagain]

All my RCBS dies came with a seater for flat and round nose bullets. The round nose die might leave a slight ring where it makes contact..... as all RNs vary in contour.
RCBS is your friend.

Flare the minimum that allows the bullet to fit.... as stated before, not enough to compromise neck tension.
Make some dummies and give them a firm push to make sure they're in tight..... taper crimp is just to remove the flare but crimping to a lesser diameter is a Bullseye Shooter's science study.

I once, for clarity with newer reloaders, called it a ...
Remove the Flare Die, not Taper Crimp Die.... and was attacked by others, yet they revealed some of their Bullseye crimp diameter specs.

I keep a mags worth of dummies for all pistols as it's great for the less experienced when learning and when our guns are cleaned/tested after/during grip designing/fitting.

Read aloud
Stay safe
Have fun

 

[Nevada Ed]

You are loading 9mm ammo with a 38 spl die ??

My RCBS came with two dies for the bullets.
A flat and concave design for the types of bullets usually loaded.

Flattening the nose of a plated bullet, means your dies are not set up properly.

You need the concave bullet seater and............
you need to try a OAL of 1.12" for your first loads, plus
as mentioned, try belling the top of your case more.

Sounds to me like no belling and the wrong bullet seater in the die,
if I was a betting man.

Good luck.

 

[WR Moore]

I noticed the slight meplat on plated RN 9mm loads. [I use the flat seating stem for convenience, it eliminates a lot of fussing with the seating depth given the various bullets I load. I've since switched to FP plated for ball equivalent loads.] Check to make sure you do have the RN seating stem (you get two different seating stems-NOT dies- with some brands) in place. If you do and everything else is OK, don't worry about it. The bullet should feed OK (mine do) and the meplat is generally semetrical so there's no noticeable effect on accuracy.

One of the little things a lot of folks overlook is that various manufacturers brass is different for wall thickness and hardness. Since the sizing die squeezes the outside of the case and the neck expander works on the inside of the case, you're gonna get varying amounts of neck tension and resistance to bullet seating. What you don't want is bullets that set back during the feed cycle. Worrying about minor differences in bullet seating pressure in handgun loads is the on ramp to madness.

 

[gwpercle]

Using RCBS dies and Berry 115 round nose and a 38 round nose seating die.As soon as bullet comes in contact with the die it's starts to flatten. My oal is 1069 I have read the instructions from rcbs and can't for the life of me see a solution does anyone have a fix for a frustrating problem

Custom fit the seating stem to the bullet nose with a small ball of epoxy putty. Clean the stem , grease the bullet (release agent),
press small ball of epoxy putty in stem...reassemble and gently seat bullet so epoxy custom forms to exact bullet profile,leave the bullet and case in press and let cure overnight.
Next day remove case and stem , clean off any excess epoxy and you now have a perfectly fitted stem for that bullet.
No machine shop or buying half a dozen stems that never seem to fit exactly right ! It's the easiest and best way to skin that squirrel ( I like cats)
Gary

 

[Retired in 2001]

Thanks for all of the replies I contacted RCBS she told me to send 3 Bullets to them they will machine a new seater stem for with shipping foe $24 bucks so it's no terrible.i also asked her about plated Bullets she said that they are softer than solid copper thence the deformities to my round nose.
I have also read here that some people use 38 special Bullets in 9mm and 9 mm Bullets in 38 special they are very close in size to one another.
A friend is loaning me his Lee 9mm seating die going to try it out before ordering the RCBS seating stem that's all for now folks

 

[Forrest r]

The newer RCBS expander dies are M-type. If your's is not you might try one of those. The expander plug is longer & stepped. I find they're better for soft bullets that are easily deformed since it expands the brass deeper making seating not as hard.

.

+1^^^^^

Typically when you start smashing/swaging bullets down when trying to seat them, it's from too much neck tension from using the wrong expander ball.

Unless specified reloading dies come with expanders that are designed for jacketed bullets. Jacketed bullets tend to have shorter bodies (less bullet in the case) and smaller in diameter than their lead/plated/pc'd counterparts. The end result is it takes so much force to get the bullet into the undersized case, it gets deformed.

A m-die expanding cases.

The m-die goes deeper into the case, this helps to not only protect the soft bullet's base. It take less force to seat the longer/softer bullets. Less force ='s less pressure on the nose of the bullet which ='s less deformation of the soft bullet.

I made a custom expander to use my .358" diameter cast/coated bullets in the 9mm cases. The custom expander next to a lee factory expander, you can see the brass "watermark" on the custom expander. That shows/tells you how far it is going into the 9mm brass.

A factory 45acp expander ball next to a lyman m-die. You can see the ring/watermark the brass left on the factory expander.

When reloading 9mm's with cast/plated/pc'd bullets a lot of reloaders use a 38s&w expander or buy a cheap expander from NEO bullet moulds of use a lyman m-die.

You're going to spend $24 to get a custom seating stem & still have to use too much pressure to seat it. Look forward to swaging/deforming the bullet bases of your soft plated bullets.

2 of my favorite bullets to cast/coat/load in 9mm cases. They are +/- 9bhn and sized to .358". What you don't see is any bullet deformation, wasp waist, bullet base showing thru the case, bullet bulge, etc. O ya, that's what a +/- 3/1000th's taper crimp looks like.

The correct expander for the bullet you're using makes reloading 9mm's child's play.

 

[fredj338]

The only perfect seating stem is one you make yourself. It has to match the nose perfectly. The only way to do that is machine one or as I did, use some JB Weld & form your own using a stem you. Then the very nose point will not take all the force of seating. As noted, pretty common with soft plated or cast/coated lead.

 

[WR Moore]

On the way back from voting something else occurred to me that might cause the meplat: loading density. If the powder you're using is being compressed by whatever bullet you're using, deformation of the nose can happen.

It so happens my favorite 9 mm powder is Unique. That pretty well fills the case and makes a double charge impossible.

 

[Retired in 2001]

On the way back from voting something else occurred to me that might cause the meplat: loading density. If the powder you're using is being compressed by whatever bullet you're using, deformation of the nose can happen.

It so happens my favorite 9 mm powder is Unique. That pretty well fills the case and makes a double charge impossible.

I am using 4.4 of win 231

 

[jag22]

What others have said. I have some Hornady dies and they came with two seater stems, one flat and one concave. I would think RCBS has a concave stem (for sure with their 9mm, maybe not for 38) did you ask about that? Doesn't seem like you should have to have one custom made. Something just doesn't sound right. Did you buy an RCBS 3 die set for 9mm or are trying "adapt" something you already had.

 

[Retired in 2001]

What others have said. I have some Hornady dies and they came with two seater stems, one flat and one concave. I would think RCBS has a concave stem (for sure with their 9mm, maybe not for 38) did you ask about that? Doesn't seem like you should have to have one custom made. Something just doesn't sound right. Did you buy an RCBS 3 die set for 9mm or are trying "adapt" something you already had.

In My rcbs plastic bag 9mm TMJ/38/9mm RN
"""""""""""""""""38/9mm RN 38 WC
The difference between 9mm and 38 special is one thousandth of a inch
Hopefully this cleared it up