40 S&W cartridge bulge

[Sprntcr8]

I'm experiencing bulging after I seat the bullet. I'm using new Starline brass and Hornady 180gr XTP bullets. I've checked the cases in a C.O.L gauge after every stage and they'll seat fine, until I seat the bullet. I use a Hornady crimp seater die and have backed off the crimp all the way. Any suggestions.

 

[Spike A]

I know you mentioned having removed all crimp .. but the only time I have had this issue is when that is not right.. only other thought I had was your expander die should open the case up some more so the bullet seats easier?

 

[gambleone]

What Spike said, expander die.

 

[std7mag]

Open up your expander die some.
Or...
Drop bullet weight.

When i was shooting 165s i didn't have any issue. It was when it was my neighbors turn to buy bullets, and he got 180s, that i ran into issues.

We both have since sold our 40s for 45ACP.

 

[Sprntcr8]

I know you mentioned having removed all crimp .. but the only time I have had this issue is when that is not right.. only other thought I had was your expander die should open the case up some more so the bullet seats easier?

Thanks, I'll give it a try

 

[Uncle Ed]

Where is the bulge at, just below the case mouth, or where the base of the bullet stops inside the case.

Seating and crimping in the same operation can bulge the case just below the crimp.

If you have a bulge at the base of the bullet on one side it normally means the bullet was tilted during seating. This happens when the seater plug does not match the upper bullet shape.

The Lyman type "M" expander insures the bullet is started straight into the case. The second step of the expander is slightly larger than bullet diameter and allows the bullet to be started straight even if the seater plug is not a perfect fit. The crimp will close up this expanded area and streamline the case mouth.

The 9mm cartridge below has a wasp waisted case showing a slight bullet bulge that is OK and shows the case has plenty of bullet grip. This can happen with thicker cases or if using a under size die that reduces the case diameter .002 to .003 more than a standard carbide die.

 

[shoot4fun]

I don't know what crimp your dies are built for. I always used a taper crimp on 9/40 & 45 auto loader cartridges.
Mostly I shot the 40S&W in a hi-cap 1911 so I loaded bullets long. They never fit in the ammo checker that way.
As an RO in many big matches I was always bringing home buckets of range brass in many calibers. The big issue with picked up 40 brass was that fired in a Glock. The unsupported chamber left a big bulge at the case head that didn't jibe well with the tighter chambers in my 1911 match barrels.

 

[Uncle Ed]

I have a Gen 3 Glock .40 and I do not have a glock bulge problem because they have a redesigned feed ramp that supports the base of the case better. The reason you find so many cases with the Glock bulge at the range is because these shooters do not reload. If they did reload they would get a newer barrel or have a bulge buster die.

 

[DirtySteve]

When you get to the seating stage seat the bullet to the COL you want. Then back off the seating steam and adjust the crimp. Then reset your seating depth it should load ok after this. Better is to seat the bullets and use a separate crimp die like the Lee factory crimp die.

 

[Twicepop]

Without seeing the cartridge or a picture, it's difficult to fully ascertain if you have a problem with the ammo or not. Some dies size the case down more than others and when a bullet is loaded in it, it gives a distinctive bulge at the base of the bullet. This hurts nothing, the post above of the 9mm cartridge is an example of this, some are more pronounced than others. The "M" die mentioned above is at it's best with softer cast bullets, it allows the bullet to be seated without the swaging effect of a case that has been sized in a "tight" die. It still works fine with jacketed bullets, but it works the case mouth a bit more than a standard expander die. All of your loads for an auto-pistol should be taper crimped as a separate step from the bullet seating. I tried load loading without this 4th step for years (seat and crimp at the same time) and my ammo never performed like I wanted it to until I started crimping as a separate step. A secure crimp makes the powder burn cleaner by upping the pressure by increased bullet pull. Most all powders are designed to be their most efficient at or close to their max load density.

 

[Cecil S.]

Following this one.

 

[Rsadams]

When you get to the seating stage seat the bullet to the COL you want. Then back off the seating steam and adjust the crimp. Then reset your seating depth it should load ok after this. Better is to seat the bullets and use a separate crimp die like the Lee factory crimp die.

+1 on crimping in a separate stage... I do it in everything I load anymore....

 

[Uncle Ed]

The patent for the Lyman type "M" expander expired and Redding is now making their expanders the same way.

I have the Titanium Nitride coated Redding expander die below for my .40 S&W Glock.

 

[M-61]

Lee Bulge buster?

 

[D-4297]

I thought I was having a similar bulging problem when reloading for my Glock 22 , .40cal and after some very careful inspection , I realized that the expander plug wasn't going deep enough . Further checking of the expander proved to be the "real" culprit . The length of the angle at the base wasn't allowing the expander to "Bottom out" in the case , forcing the brass to "fill out" to length . The angle length of the case was shorter than the angle length of the expander . After taking .010 off the bottom of the expander , my bulging issue went away . All this being said , there was never any feed or jamming issues , even with the "Bulged" loads . They worked just fine . Even in Tactical Rapid Fire drills .

 

[Uncle Ed]

Lee Bulge buster?

Lee makes a factory crimp die with a carbide ring in the base, and the carbide ring will size any bulging crimps. There is one thing the majority of pistol shooters never do, and that is trim the cases to the same length. And the longer cases will bulge below the crimp and the FCD will size the crimp bulge back down. So the factory crimp die is a cheat for reloaders who do not trim their cases.

The same FCD is used as the bulge buster die, the bulge buster will push the case up and all the way through the carbide ring. ThIs sizes the bottom of the case normally held by the shell holder and not touched by a normal sizing die.

Competitive pistol shooters try and pickup their fired cases but always end up with mixed range pickup brass. They use the bulge buster to bring the base of the case back to minimum SAAMI diameter. These mixed cases may have a bulge created by a over sized feed ramp. Or the entire base of the case may be over size due to repeated firings.

These same shooters may also use the Lee Undersize die that reduces the case diameter .002 to .003 more. This is for cases fired in pistols with oversized chambers and older cases that become harder and spring back more after sizing.

If the cases are bulged as bad as pictured below they should be thrown away. Using the bulge buster die on them will weaken the case and could cause a kaboom.

Below a case like above that was sized with the bulge buster, the bulge was over worked and the case cracked. And even if the case does not crack, if the same area of the case is fired over the feed ramp again it can let go and kaboom.

And its not just Glock pistols that can cause the bulge. Two things were done to prevent .40 Glock bulge, Glock modified the feed ramps and the ammunition manufactures made the cases thicker in the base.

 

[Rsadams]

I would say to make sure you have the die backed out far enough to seat but not crimp in the same time.... Try readjusting your seating die again.... I would still crimp in a separate step with a crimp die like the Lee factory crimp die...

 

[TimS]

Colt 10mm Gold Cup. I don’t buy ammunition from this company and more.