9mm not cycling

[LiveFire]

I think the answer was in the first couple replies. Most likely over expanding the case mouth and not crimping enough. You dont need to crimp tight. Just close the bell. 9mm is easy to load for although the variety of autoloaders out there can make things challenging occasionally.

I do my handgun plinker reloading on a dillon square deal and it works great. If i am trying to make some kind of match ammo I use my redding dies. Though I have no complaints about the quality or accuracy of the ammo loaded on my dillon. Good luck.

 

[RegionRat]

Don't know if you have tried an ammo gage that is a little more sensitive than your barrel, but the comments about gaging your brass and ammo are all good advice. There is a chance that if you saved and checked the ones that failed you may still find something.

I scanned the replies but didn't notice your recipe? Is there anything about your bullet choice, powder, etc., that makes you marginal in a semi-auto?

Once in while, a slow load will cause issues, or a barrel or magazine doesn't agree with a particular bullet choice.

However, with that all said... the other side of the possible troubleshooting list is the gun and not the ammo.

Some pistols need work when they are failing with what is otherwise "in spec" ammo so there is a chance that something else is the cause.

For example, certain style bullets have lube or poor quality coatings that can foul the chamber and cause feed issues.

In other examples, a particular chamber is cut slightly off spec and has statistical issues that require a spring change to become reliable with a certain load. If your loading is unusual, this can be a clue. Too "soft" or too "hard" can require a spring change to become 100% reliable.

Also, have you checked your magazines? Some feed issues are caused by damage or defects to a magazine and are just marginal enough to work most of the time.

In so many words, it is possible there is more to this issue than your ammo or brass prep.

I will suggest you save up as many failed rounds as possible and show them to someone who has some pistol gunsmithing experience.

 

[jm22250]

Have figured out my problem: With the advice of members here I bought an ammo checker and a lee crimp die. I took cartridges that failed to chamber and ran them through the crimp die. What happened is the bullet stuck in the die. I took a new bullet and It fell though the die. Speer 115gr cp round nose. From there i figured that with me being careful to not overexpand the brass, the shorter brass was not being exipanded enough. When I seated a bullet in the underexpanded brass, it damaged the plating and caused a slight burr that was causing the problem. I pulled the bullets and set my expander deeper, than reloaded with new bullets and now they all fit in my ammo checker. It's too nasty here to go out and shoot, but I'm sure they will work now.
Thankyou all for your ideas. And Merry Christmas

 

[NETim]

Great! That's the price you pay for running range/mixed headstamp brass. But, it's there, on the ground and it's free! Very hard to resist.

Once you have your dies dialed in, about 98% of it will gauge properly. At least in my experience. There will always be the occasional reject from brass that's just plain bad.

 

[rwj]

There will always be the occasional reject from brass that's just plain bad.

If you ever see brass head stamped with “A-MERC”, throw it away immediately!!!

 

[NETim]

If you ever see brass head stamped with “A-MERC”, throw it away immediately!!!

AMERC brass is the root of all evil.

 

[Monte F]

And I thought S&B was a problem to be trashed, now I have to look out for AMERC!

 

[NETim]

S&B has tight primer pockets and can be a PITA but AMERC is positively the work of the devil. Inconsistent case wall thickness, off center flash holes.... it's junk IMHO.

 

[rwj]

S&B has tight primer pockets and can be a PITA but AMERC is positively the work of the devil. Inconsistent case wall thickness, off center flash holes.... it's junk IMHO.

Even worse is that the brass is weak and the case easily becomes distorted when the bullet nose hits the feed ramp. Fortunately, the company has ceased operation and the amount of cases is dwindling.

 

[kneedtospeed]

NOE Expander Plugs work great!
You can spec dimensions in 2 places, to Set Your particular bullet diameter on a snug shelf, and seat tight without damaging coating, with no belling of the mouth, and need very minimal crimping. They’re under $10 so get a few different sizes .
Mixed brass will cycle better.

 

[DiRTY DOG]

A Lee factory crimp die fixes problems that shouldn't exist to begin with, from cheap dies or improper setup. I have a LFCD, bought on recomendation after reading posts like the ones in this thread. I don't use it anymore. There's a better way than buying extra dies and guages to correct problems: don't have the problems to begin with.

Use a quality sizing die like the Mighty Armory TNT sizing die that actually sizes brass correctly. Paired with the Mighty Armory taper crimp die (always crimp seperately from seating), you'll have as perfect ammo as you can make. Expensive? A little, but think about how much TIME you'll save not having to troubleshoot stuff like this.

Also, the Mighty Armory TNT 9mm sizing die will decap the heck out of those pesky crimped or small flash hole cases. Superior decapping for sure.

 

[kneedtospeed]

Wayne sells Excellent products @MightyArmory that work very Well, and the LFCD will make about Any round chamber reliability.
Due to machining/tooling variances, your own barrel is the best way to check loaded round fitment, by doing a plunk test .
You should also Slug your barrel Properly, for Bullet fitment in addition to just checking the loaded brass.
I like the flexibility that the NOE Plugs give you if you’re running oversize or coated Lead bullets. They will not compromise soft bullets or coatings, as LFCD & others will do on various thickness range brass.
Doing this will greatly improve reliability, and reduce barrel from building lead and copper.

 

[Doublejake]

I'm new to loading for pistols. Been loading for 50+ years for rifle and shotgun. with the 9mm I'm loading I have about 10% where the action won't close on my S&W M2. I've compared to a factory round and measurements are within .001 to .0005. Thats at the mouth of the cartridge and right in front of the groove. I've dropped them into the chamber and the bullet is not into the lands. Looks like it is in the chamber as far as a round that does chamber. I have not measured that thou. I'm using Redding carbide dies with my rock chucker.
Any ideas on what I'm doing wrong?

Are you using rang brass ? Glock has a chamber that creates a bulge. I just got a Bulge buster and now cycle all range brass through it. Mine are now cycling but I’m finding that bullet seating some have a visual bulge from not starting straight into case. I’m putting a tight crimp on them and it seems to remove most of it. I have not had a chance to get to the range but I loaded up 150rds. Prior to the Bulge buster and heavy crimp it would jam every mag sometimes multiple times in a magazine. Like you I have done rifles for years and just started pistol loading. Revolver’s don’t have any issues that I have encountered.