For 9mm how much should I flare the mouth of bullet to seat it?

[marathonrunner]

Guys, I am in the process of now flaring the mouth of the brass case so I can seat a bullet up there. But I don't know how much to flare the brass. I tried to fully open it and the bullet sinks in like half way disappearing inside. I don't know how much to flare. Been told just enough to sit the bullet on top but is there any way to measure this?

 

[ArchAngelCD]

Flaring that much IS WAY TOO MUCH flare. Not only are you removing a lot of the necessary neck tension you will probably see split case necks in only a few loadings. You should flare only enough to get the very end of the bullet to seat with jacketed bullets and with lead bullets only enough to prevent shaving of the bullet when you seat them. If you can get the bullet just past the edge of the neck and it doesn't flop over and sits in place that is enough flare. Don't add more when you get to that point...

 

[Twoboxer]

A bullet will sit cockeyed on sized but unflared cases.

Flare the case just enough to sit a bullet on it.

Cases that alllow bullets to slide inside to any depth are flared more than necessary.

 

[Mushki]

I have only loaded lead bullets but I have loaded thousands and I flare the case mouth until the first .030 or so of the bullet fits in. If this is too much flare you wouldn't know it I have never had a problem. Just my two cents.

 

[SW_shooter]

Hey marathon, I'd really suggest going to YouTube and watching some videos on loading. There are some excellent videos where the guy shows you step-by-step how to load.

One guy I really like is jiujitsu2000. He is former US Navy and goes nice and slow and explains seating, flaring, crimping and everything else in very good detail as well as language I can understand and relate to.

He shows exactly what to look for and how to get there when you flare for the projectile and shows in close up just exactly how it should end up.

I'm new too and I spend a lot of time on here and watching videos to look for answers and comparisons. And yes guys I have several manuals, but I'm a visual guy also.

 

[scooter123]

Mushki has it correct, all you need is enough flare to allow the base of the bullet to drop about 1/32 inch below the case edge. If you have calipers the very edge of the case should be about 0.003-0.005 inch larger than the diameter of the case just below the flare.

Yeah, that isn't much of a flare. The reason why is the more your expand and then crimp your brass the more you work harden that area and this shortens the reloading life of your cases. Rule of thumb for flaring is to use just enough to allow the bullet to be pressed into the case without shaving lead or jacketing from the bullet.

 

[smokindog]

Not a bad series here.

Reloading 101, Part 5 Expanding Case Necks & Priming - YouTube

 

[jepp2]

The Lyman M die will properly expand and flare your case mouth. If you don't have one or intend to use one, flare the least you can. Using a Dillon 550 expander I flare for jacketed and plated 0.0015" and just under 0.003" for lead. That isn't much but that is all I need.

 

[venomballistics]

Guys, I am in the process of now flaring the mouth of the brass case so I can seat a bullet up there. But I don't know how much to flare the brass. I tried to fully open it and the bullet sinks in like half way disappearing inside. I don't know how much to flare. Been told just enough to sit the bullet on top but is there any way to measure this?

grab the case by the rim and drag your thumb and fore finger from the middle of the case off the mouth of the case.
if you feel a little ridge at the mouth, your pretty close.
Load a few rounds and inspect each.
If you see either lead or copper being shaved off and resting at the case mouth .. give the expander another tickle till the shaving stops.
that's more or less the purpose of the flare, to avoid shaving the bullet, and not much more.

 

[marathonrunner]

thanks guys! You have given me much better and helpful advice than the non existent tech support from Lymans. They are awful and only have 1 guy who can provide tech support but he is either in a lab or on the phone, or out to lunch or not at his desk. Been playing phone tag forever. Was ready to return all the stuff and get RCBS .

 

[Bkreutz]

Don't flare it this much



This is what happens when a .38 super comp case gets mixed in with the 9mm and runs through the sizing die.

 

[venomballistics]

thanks guys! You have given me much better and helpful advice than the non existent tech support from Lymans. They are awful and only have 1 guy who can provide tech support but he is either in a lab or on the phone, or out to lunch or not at his desk. Been playing phone tag forever. Was ready to return all the stuff and get RCBS .

Noob question as it may be, we do try to shoot straight with the predictable one's.
It's the oddballs we might give you grief over.

 

[noylj]

I think the over-flared case went through the expander die too far.
The flare is only there to help start the bullet being seated and to prevent case-mouth damage to lead and plated bullets. For jacketed, many times you don't need any flare--just case expansion.