Having reloading issues!!

[$nipertime]

If you were me and I were you, I would chuck an empty case in the press. take the seater die cap completely out along with removing the die from the press. send the empty casing up. Then take your die that is taken apart and screw in untilresistance is met. Give it 1/4 more turn. Now re install your cap on your seater die to adjust bullet depth.

Your die is going to crimp the case, and your adj cap is going to control depth. Also expand or champher case mouths with the champher tool or the powder through expander die.

 

[Clarke123]

I'm still scratching my head on this one ... I know Beerman is probably following the Lee Die Set-up Instructions to-the-letter ... So, what could be causing this? As stated above,"too Much Flare" on the case mouth could cause it.

Another item is that he may be trying to do both crimp and seating length at the same time (this doesn't work). First you back-off the seating rod to the top of it's adjustment, then you set the die up for crimp / no-crimp (per the written instructions), then you adjust the seating depth, with a flared case and projectile (some use an already loaded, proper length round to do this).

However unlikely it may seem, I have had similiar problems with straight walled pistol cases where (unbeknownst to me) I had a mixture of trimmed and un-trimmed cases in a batch that I was loading. This particular set was rimmed cases where the load head-space is not based on the length of the case, but the rim.

If the seating die is set-up for the "shorter" case, then the "longer" one is going to "crunch". I know that this flies in the face of conventional wisdom for most straight-walled reloaders, however that's but one of the reasons that I use a Wilson or Lyman case length gauge on every case in a new (to me) batch of brass before it is loaded.

 

[Beerman]

I'm still scratching my head on this one ... I know Beerman is probably following the Lee Die Set-up Instructions to-the-letter ... So, what could be causing this? As stated above,"too Much Flare" on the case mouth could cause it.

Another item is that he may be trying to do both crimp and seating length at the same time (this doesn't work). First you back-off the seating rod to the top of it's adjustment, then you set the die up for crimp / no-crimp (per the written instructions), then you adjust the seating depth, with a case and projectile.

However unlikely it may seem, I have had similiar problems with straight walled pistol cases where (unbeknownst to me) I had a mixture of trimmed and un-trimmed cases in a batch that I was loading. This particular set was rimmed cases where the load head-space is not based on the length of the case, but the rim.

If the seating die is set-up for the "shorter" case, then the "longer" one is going to "crunch". I know that this flies in the face of conventional wisdom for most straight-walled reloaders, however that's but one of the reasons that I use a Wilson or Lyman case length gauge on every case in a new (to me) batch of brass before it is loaded.

I looked at all of the set up. Made sure all was set correct and restarted to load. I also changed brass to see if that was the case and my issue is solved. No more wasp waist.. Thanks for all the help guys. I am sure I will need help later with something..

 

[RamRoddoc]

I looked at all of the set up. Made sure all was set correct and restarted to load. I also changed brass to see if that was the case and my issue is solved. No more wasp waist.. Thanks for all the help guys. I am sure I will need help later with something..

9mm reloading has some particulars that are worth noting. The brass is tapered from base to case mouth. Some used brass, some brass fired in a chamber with a bit more generous amount of space (Glock) allows the brass to stretch a bit more. I find I have to cull 1-3 or more rounds (under 10%) from each 100 completed rounds due to the bulge at the base. Some are so close to working but once the bullet is seated/crimped then the brass expands just gnats lash and now won't fully chamber properly.

Here is a pic of the cause. Most pistols (perhaps all) have a bit of the chamber gnawed away in order to facilitate feeding of ammo. You have surely heard parroted "Glock has a unsupported chamber". Well they all (combat semi-pistols) do (correct me someone with a pic of your chamber). It's just a matter of how much of the chamber has been removed in order to enhance feeding. Too much and risk the case to fail. Good examples of that were the early .38 Supers and Glock early .40's. The makers left a bit more metal on the chamber to reduce the risk of blown case heads or as in the .38 Super did away with the link and went with a "fully supported" chamber which is close to the truth but rather a much more supported chamber is probably most accurate. Anyone with a .38 Super barrel and close up of the chamber entrance? Ferris Bueller, Ferris Bueller, Ferris Bueller......

From left to right. First run of Glock .40 barrels, next 2nd run/updated barrel and lastly an aftermarket barrel.

The die does not go all the way down and past the rim and bring it back to factory specs when re-sizing. Big time reloaders or businesses will use something called a roll sizer to bring rimless (and .38 Super) back to factory specs. You can spend several thousand on an automated roll sizer or a cheaper ($645.75 sizer + $ 179.11 roll die) hand crank type. http://www.casepro100.com/index.html

Here is an expensive automated roll sizer.

Now I find it hard to justify the cost of those machines, perhaps if I shot competition, I'd consider the manual roll sizer. So what can one do for cheaper? Probably the best option I could arrive at is a special custom modified die based on .380 Mak. Lee makes them for right at $30 and it requires the "bulge buster base" at around $15 (Midway). http://www.midwayusa.com/product/882261/lee-bulge-buster-base-sizing-kit-380-auto-40-s-and-w-45-acp

Contact Lee directly for the special custom modified .380 Mak die. It takes several weeks to make and send out. In the next week or so mine should be here and I will post up more information on the "9mm bulge" and the Lee custom modified .380 Mak die that corrects as close to factory spec without purchasing a roll sizer. http://leeprecision.com/

I have also heard good stuff about just using the Lee factory crimp die alone for the 9mm bulge. It does not resize as much as the custom built die. I have used the Lee factory crimp die for .223 and .308 and I am very pleased with it as it concerns accuracy.

Disclaimer: I am not employed, nor have been employed by Lee or its affiliates or have stock in Lee. I just like the price of their stuff and it just works.

 

[Clarke123]

Again, as I posted above, I have gotten into the habit of "gauging" all of my (new to me) cases prior to reloading them. This includes "fully-processed" brass that I have bought. I always find about 1%-3% (sometimes more) that will not fit the gauge because of "Bulge". While I see this with my .40's and 9's, there is normally quite a few in .223 / 5.56's (Machine-Gun Bulge") that I see. I used to just toss them into the brass bin for recycling, and that may just be the best course of action for most,

For what it is worth, Lee has an "inexpensive" Bulge-Buster that I have successfully used to "straighten" both 9mm and .40 S&W cases with the "Glock Bulge". It has worked on 95% of the less than 100 that I've used it upon ... Is it worth it? Probably not. Is gauging worth it, I think so as I don't have FTF or strange reloading problems!

Oh, the Lee "Bulge Buster" utilizes the body of the Crimp Die to do the actual "Full Length" resize .. the brass is pushed entirely through the die body.

 

[Springfield 1911]

Again, as I posted above, I have gotten into the habit of "gauging" all of my (new to me) cases prior to reloading them. This includes "fully-processed" brass that I have bought. I always find about 1%-3% (sometimes more) that will not fit the gauge because of "Bulge". While I see this with my .40's and 9's, there is normally quite a few in .223 / 5.56's (Machine-Gun Bulge") that I see. I used to just toss them into the brass bin for recycling, and that may just be the best course of action for most,

For what it is worth, Lee has an "inexpensive" Bulge-Buster that I have successfully used to "straighten" both 9mm and .40 S&W cases with the "Glock Bulge". It has worked on 95% of the less than 100 that I've used it upon ... Is it worth it? Probably not. Is gauging worth it, I think so as I don't have FTF or strange reloading problems!

Oh, the Lee "Bulge Buster" utilizes the body of the Crimp Die to do the actual "Full Length" resize .. the brass is pushed entirely through the die body.

I thought the Bluge buster could not be used on a tapered case like 9mm? Maybe I'm wrong.

 

[RamRoddoc]

I thought the Bluge buster could not be used on a tapered case like 9mm? Maybe I'm wrong.

You are mostly correct due to the taper. Lee through special order modifies their .380 Mak die to be used to push the 9mm case through a die (Lee taper crimp) to resize the base of the case. Hence a modifed-9mm bulge buster die.

I gauge my rounds using the barrel with the tightest tolerance but for peace of mind I will just add another step to processing my 9mm. I'll see if it's worth it.

Any brass that has a visible bulge I toss too.

 

[Springfield 1911]

You are mostly correct due to the taper. Lee through special order modifies their .380 Mak die to be used to push the 9mm case through a die (Lee taper crimp) to resize the base of the case. Hence a modifed-9mm bulge buster die.

I gauge my rounds using the barrel with the tightest tolerance but for peace of mind I will just add another step to processing my 9mm. I'll see if it's worth it.

Any brass that has a visible bulge I toss too.

Man you Gotta love Lee. Good equipment at reasonable prices.

 

[Clarke123]

You are mostly correct due to the taper. Lee through special order modifies their .380 Mak die to be used to push the 9mm case through a die (Lee taper crimp) to resize the base of the case. Hence a modifed-9mm bulge buster die.

I gauge my rounds using the barrel with the tightest tolerance but for peace of mind I will just add another step to processing my 9mm. I'll see if it's worth it.

Any brass that has a visible bulge I toss too.

Gauging is another step, but think of it as being a "final inspection" after re-sizing.
It goes very quickly and does give you a lot of confidence in your cases.
Using a barrel as a gauge works just fine, but I think using the Wilson / Lyman
gauges is a lot faster ... but that's just me. AND "Yes" you will find an occasional
out-of-spec piece.

For those that are interested, Precision Delta does roll-size their once-fired brass.