A true, full length resizing die?

[Ceapea]

I recently ran into a "new" problem, after several years of hand loading. I have a new Springfield EMP 4 in 9mm that will not feed 80% of my hand loads. I am using the Hornady titanium nitride 9mm die set. Any and all of my loads made with this sizing die have always worked/fed into any of my 9mm pistols...until now. It seems that the die is not a true FL sizer. There is a small bulge/ring around the case approx. 3/16" up from the base. It happens with any headstamp brass. I have the die/press set according to manufactures recommendations IE, base of die hitting shell plate with just enough pressure to slightly "deflect" the plate. Strangely, some rounds function normally. The bad ones fail to seat in my case gauge. Running them through a Lee FCD helps about 30% of the ones that fail the first (sizing die only) time. The rest will not feed. It makes for a pretty serious jam-up. Jacketed or lead, no matter.
Again, all produced ammo feeds in all my other 9mm pistols. Do I need to have a smith open up the chamber a .001" or so? Or do I need a true FL sizing die? Does such an animal exist?
This is the first time I have run into anything like this.

Thanks!

 

[rwsmith]

There is something called......

A small base die that sizes the whole case to minimum size. Could be the chamber is really tight. If it's that tight, I'd consider getting a gunsmith to run a reamer into it.

Afer years of good reloading, my 30-06 cartridges have been off for quite a while now. I've corrected several problems but there always seem to be more with my method or the gun. Cartridges that test fine in the gauge don't chamber easily. I just took my rifle apart and cleaned it in case it was causing misfires. The gun's fine, I think I got a bad box of primers. The primers dent, but don't go off in two different guns. I've almost giveln up rifle because it's so frustrating.

 

[WILDPIG]

After ensuring case mouths not flared with plunk test, I would think about the dies. I have bought "bad" brand new dies. I would call the manufacturer.

WILDPIG

 

[6string]

This is a more common problem than you'd think, especially with 9 mm. All so-called "straight wall" cases have some degree of taper. The 9mm has a lot, relatively speaking. Carbide dies have a fairly small ring of carbide whose inside diameter is, at best a compromise. Generally speaking, the carbide ring will typically size the majority of the case to much smaller specs than ideal. Your flaring die then opens up the case mouth. If you've used carbide enough, you know the ugly look of a loaded round with the tight middle and the bulge above and below. Because of the more pronounced taper of the 9mm case, this carbide ring has to be made with a bit more surface area to help compensate. That's why the list price on a set of 9mm carbide dies is often higher than for other cartridges.
Your pistol, like most 1911 types, very likely has an unsupported chamber right at the feed ramp. So, your fired cases come out oversized at the base, especially with warmer loads.
The next problem with carbide dies is that, due to the brittle nature of the carbide, they cannot be allowed to hit the shell holder. So, that rear oversized base is left unsized.

Nothing is broken or out of spec. You just have an unfortunate combination of circumstances.
Your best option is to get a plain old all-steel non-carbide sizing die. These are cut to match the taper of the cartridge according to SAAMI specifications.
Of course, you'll have to lube your cases.
On the up-side, you'll get ammo that generally is, according to statistical evidence, more accurate.

I've found that 9mm all steel dies by RCBS and Redding to hold true to SAAMI specs, be propery heat treated for long life, and nicely polished for ease of use.

In any case, opening up the chamber of your pistol will just make matters worse.

I hope this helps,
Jim

 

[JHB51]

I had that problem now I use a Lee bulge buster with a 9mm Makrof factory crimp die with the crimp removed. A lot of videos on youtube about this set up.

 

[growr]

Your description seems to match that of casings that were originally fired in a Glock....

My Dillon dies in my 550b seem to have no problem ironing "Glocked" casings.

Redding also makes a push through die ( Redding GRX die) specifically for casings fired in guns with unsupported chambers.

Randy

 

[SuperMan]

EGW (Evolution Gun Works) contracts with Lee for dies that size just about down to the extractor groove.

EGW Gun Parts

I had the same problem with bulged brass in .38 Super not wanting to feed in a very tightly chambered new Colt Commander. This die eliminated all the problems and now all my reloads will go into a check die.

Bought one for loading 10mm and will be buying another for 9mm...

Bob

 

[keithherrington]

How many reloads in this brass?

The OP doesn't say how many reloads the brass has been through. Regardless, the best way I know to cure the problem is to have the brass remanufactured by someone with the correct press. The press that does this pushes the case all the way through the die and in the process resizes it from the mouth all the way to the rim, tightening the primer cup as well. Normally, folks that offer this service only do large quantities of brass. When I had my 45 brass done several years ago I had all 15000 pieces done at one time...two 5 gallon buckets worth. Cost me about $60 but considering it all feeds through my Dillon 1050 like new and chambers perfectly, it was money well spent.
Keith

 

[Ceapea]

A small base die that sizes the whole case to minimum size. Could be the chamber is really tight. If it's that tight, I'd consider getting a gunsmith to run a reamer into it.

Yep, you and SuperMan have me looking at the EGW undersized die. I should have mentioned, the pistol flawlessly feeds any and all factory rounds. The chamber is tight, no doubt. But it appears to within spec.

Thanks.

 

[Ceapea]

After ensuring case mouths not flared with plunk test, I would think about the dies. I have bought "bad" brand new dies. I would call the manufacturer.

WILDPIG

Thanks,
The dies in question are 8 yrs old. They have produced many thousands of really good ammo in the past. Still do as a matter of fact, all ammo from these dies work in any other pistol. One of my first thoughts was that after 10's of thousands of rounds, the die wore out. I did call Hornady. They said that if the die was bad, it wouldn't leave a (perfect) ring, it would be non-uniform in pattern. Seems to me that it would wear evenly around...IDK.

 

[Ceapea]

This is a more common problem than you'd think, especially with 9 mm.
Your pistol, like most 1911 types, very likely has an unsupported chamber right at the feed ramp. So, your fired cases come out oversized at the base, especially with warmer loads.
The next problem with carbide dies is that, due to the brittle nature of the carbide, they cannot be allowed to hit the shell holder. So, that rear oversized base is left unsized.

Nothing is broken or out of spec. You just have an unfortunate combination of circumstances.
Your best option is to get a plain old all-steel non-carbide sizing die. These are cut to match the taper of the cartridge according to SAAMI specifications.
Of course, you'll have to lube your cases.
On the up-side, you'll get ammo that generally is, according to statistical evidence, more accurate.

I've found that 9mm all steel dies by RCBS and Redding to hold true to SAAMI specs, be propery heat treated for long life, and nicely polished for ease of use.

In any case, opening up the chamber of your pistol will just make matters worse.

I hope this helps,
Jim

I have used the plunk test on (in?) the actual barrel. It seems to have quite a bit of support, more than most barrels really. And I do have two sets of older (but in great shape) steel 9mm dies. I have considered using them. I may end up using them for a few dozen cases, just to see what happens. But, the thought of lubing and re-cleaning as many cases as I use (approx. 12k-15k/yr) is not a pretty one.

Thanks.

 

[Ceapea]

I had that problem now I use a Lee bulge buster with a 9mm Makrof factory crimp die with the crimp removed. A lot of videos on youtube about this set up.

I have looked at that too. But for the number of cases I need to process, it probably wouldn't work for me. However, if it is the only solution...

 

[Ceapea]

Your description seems to match that of casings that were originally fired in a Glock....

My Dillon dies in my 550b seem to have no problem ironing "Glocked" casings.

Redding also makes a push through die ( Redding GRX die) specifically for casings fired in guns with unsupported chambers.

Randy

I'd say that 85%-95% of the cases were originally mine. I have a unique (read, time consuming) way of marking my brass. There is some "other" brass mixed in of course. That said, I haven't shot my 9mm Glocks in a while, too many other new-ish guns being tested/shot. That's not to say that some of the brass being processed isn't old "stock", as I have probably 5k or more of fired 9mm brass. So it is possible that it has been Glocked!

Thanks.

 

[Ceapea]

EGW (Evolution Gun Works) contracts with Lee for dies that size just about down to the extractor groove.

EGW Gun Parts

I had the same problem with bulged brass in .38 Super not wanting to feed in a very tightly chambered new Colt Commander. This die eliminated all the problems and now all my reloads will go into a check die.

Bought one for loading 10mm and will be buying another for 9mm...

Bob

I am thinking about getting the 9mm EGW die. I actually forgot about them. I have one in 40 S&W that I bought when I had several thou. bullets that wanted to "slip" in two brands of cases. That die fixed the problem. To this day, I still separate those two (FC and R-P) brands of 40 from all others. I still have a few thousand of the bullets left, they only go into the brass sized w/the EGW die.

Thanks.

 

[Ceapea]

The OP doesn't say how many reloads the brass has been through. Regardless, the best way I know to cure the problem is to have the brass remanufactured by someone with the correct press. The press that does this pushes the case all the way through the die and in the process resizes it from the mouth all the way to the rim, tightening the primer cup as well. Normally, folks that offer this service only do large quantities of brass. When I had my 45 brass done several years ago I had all 15000 pieces done at one time...two 5 gallon buckets worth. Cost me about $60 but considering it all feeds through my Dillon 1050 like new and chambers perfectly, it was money well spent.
Keith

Most of my brass has been loaded many times. How many? Can't tell you. I just check them after cleaning and process them as needed. I can tell when/if a case splits when resizing it.

Interesting, the bulk "reforming" of used brass. Did you find a place locally? Or did you need to send it out? The price of shipping that much brass could add substantially, to the overall cost.

Thanks.

 

[JHB51]

If the pocket's are deep this is what you need.
Case-Pro 100

 

[Big Cholla]

Posts No.s 4 and 8 IMHO sum up the apparent problem and offer again IMHO, the best solution. If you are using
and working with 10,000 rounds of brass that have been fired many times, the push thru reconditioning is the way to go about once a year for your brass.

FWIW, I wouldn't touch that pistol's chamber with anything except cleaning tools. ...........

 

[StakeOut]

You can try to rid cases of any bulges around the base with a Lee Precision Reloading Bulge Buster Kit

Lee Precision Reloading Bulge Buster Kit 90487 | eBay

 

[STORMINORMAN]

IMHO, the LEE Bulge Buster kit and the Makarov FCD is the only way to go especially if you also shoot 45acp &/or 40 S&W...

Cheers!

P.S. I couldn't find a Redding 9mm G-RX anywhere: do they even make one?

P.S.S. Xtreme reprocessed brass is all cleaned, full length sized, pockets inspected, etc. They have a brass credit/exchange service as well, although I've never felt the need.

 

[H Richard]

Before you waste any money on anything, try borrowing a set of different sizing dies. NOT HORNADY. The only dies I have ever had problems with were Hornady. I've used RCBS and Redding for around 35 years, without finding any gun they wouldn't function in. I used to own a couple sets of Hornady, .243 and 32 long/327 but I threw away the .243 and hate it every time I have to use the .32's (which I will replace at some point). The 32's are Titanium Nitride and I still have to lube most rounds to keep from sticking cases in the die. Never with carbide RCBS.