Hey fellas I been reloading 9mm and have found a lot of brass that is “swelled” at the base. I have done a lot of research and am contemplating machining a “buldge buster” for the 9mm cases. I don’t have an issue with chambering rounds resized with my Lyman resizing die however you can see where it stopped on the case. I am also very safety oriented when loading 9mm and tend to throw out any brass that is swelled more than I’d like, hence I end up throwing away a lot of cases that I other wise might me able to use. These cases do not have a huge glock smile there are just bulged prob .005 to .008 over spec. Has anyone here ever attempted machining there own?
Machining of a 9mm Buldge Buster
- Thread starter Shooting in the wind...
- Start date
I don’t know if that would work because of the 9mm case taper. I was thinking along the lines of a straight wall push threw die.
The Lee FCD for the 9mm Makarov is used as a bulge buster for the 9mm Luger.
The problem with using a Makarov FCD is the 9mm Luger case rim has a larger rim diameter than the case base diameter. Meaning to size the case above the extractor groove you end up sizing the 9mm Luger case rim.
That being said if the 9mm Luger has a true Glock bulge I would trash these cases.
The problem with using a Makarov FCD is the 9mm Luger case rim has a larger rim diameter than the case base diameter. Meaning to size the case above the extractor groove you end up sizing the 9mm Luger case rim.
That being said if the 9mm Luger has a true Glock bulge I would trash these cases.
Here’s some ideas
maybe a push through die
maybe a push through die
paperpuncher
Gold $$ Contributor
Something like this?
push through sizer
push through sizer
Last edited:
I think we found the first problem. . . namely that you imagine that pushing the bulge back in is somehow safer than not.
It's not. The only reason to reform the bulge is to ease feeding if the bulge is large enough to interfere.
If a piece of brass is bulged enough to weaken it, busting the bulge dies nothing to repair the fault. There's no improvement in safety whatsoever. It probably makes it worse by concealing it and further workhardening it.
That said, I've done this in rifle brass with a Lee push through sizer (well-polished) on a Rock Chucker
These case don’t look like the typical “glock smile” they just look buldged some. I have no problem shooting the reloads thru my glock 43x but I am throwing a lot of cases away that I could be using if I could machine a die that could make a compromise between the rim dia and the base dia. I have a capable metal lathe and stock of 12L14 steel that I can use and 15 years of machining experience to help. I haven’t found any commercial avaliable die marketed just for the 9mm Luger as a “buldge buster”. Does anyone know what the inside dia of the 9mm Makarov die is? Even from the drawing above if I made one 0.391 it may shave off 0.003 off the dia of the rim.
nakneker
Gold $$ Contributor
I was researching loading 9mm and “Glock bulge” a couple months ago. There’s the bulge buster kit by Lee, I think that’s what it’s called and I also found this video. Both look like decent solutions, I have zero experience with loading 9mm, just thought I’d share what I found a couple months ago. I’ve always shot factory but the current situation is causing to look at reloading.
leeprecision.com
Lee Precision, Inc. - Lee Bulge Buster Kit
Assure your handgun brass is bulge free with the Bulge Buster Kit and Factory Crimp Die. This push through die adapter will quickly remove the annoying bulge rings that shell holder constrained dies simply can't reach. Kit includes extension sleeve, push through punch, and catch container.
Nice but nooo way.
shoot4fun
Gold $$ Contributor
When I shot 25K pistol rounds a year in competition and practice I also did a lot of Range Officer time. One befit was range brass for the taking at the match's end. There was a ton of brass, both 40 and 9mm, that had developed the bulge from being fired in unsupported chambers (such as the Glock) and I reclaimed all that brass with a CasePro roll sizer. I also found it let my 38 Super brass become snag-free as well.
It was easy and fast for me because I had it set up to use the case feeder from my Dillon 1050.
It was easy and fast for me because I had it set up to use the case feeder from my Dillon 1050.
I can't help with the case sizer but I think you are over thinking this.
In the last 30 years of reloading over 100K rounds of 9mm in dozens of different pistols, including HK, Dan Wesson, Glock, Springfield, Beretta, Sig, and Taurus, the issue of a bulged case has never stopped a gun. I use a Dillon carbide sizing die and run it all the way down to the shell plate on the press. Buy one and try it. Dillon will take it back if you aren't satisfied.
In the last 30 years of reloading over 100K rounds of 9mm in dozens of different pistols, including HK, Dan Wesson, Glock, Springfield, Beretta, Sig, and Taurus, the issue of a bulged case has never stopped a gun. I use a Dillon carbide sizing die and run it all the way down to the shell plate on the press. Buy one and try it. Dillon will take it back if you aren't satisfied.
I could be over overthinking this to some degree, mainly cause of all the WARNINGS you see about using reloads in glock. Even though my chamber appears to be almost fully supported there is just a little space on the bottom of the feed ramp and it’s almost nothing. Thoes case sizer are awesome but I don’t shoot thousands of rounds of 9mm. My main concern is I get range brass and the idea was to make them all uniform not necessarily for function.
If you decide to make a die out of 12L14, it probably wont last for a dozen cases. All sizing dies need to be hardened and polished.
Hoser
Gold $$ Contributor
The issue with bulged brass is the reason that rollsizers and case-pros exist...
More than once I have had a pistol get locked up due to a fat case. That is why I bought a case-pro and then a rollsizer. And when you size a case in a rollsizer, the effort needed during reloading is much less.
Dillon resize dies have a substantial radius on the bottom of the die which doesent size it as far down. Dillon makes good stuff, but their resize dies are just average.
Yea but for that kind of money I better be a pro shooter sending 10’s of thousands of rounds down range to justify the cost
I use a regular Lyman die for sizing and it seems to do fairly well, I don’t have any trouble shooting them and they pass the “plunk” test with flying colors.
Upgrades & Donations
This Forum's expenses are primarily paid by member contributions. You can upgrade your Forum membership in seconds. Gold and Silver members get unlimited FREE classifieds for one year. Gold members can upload custom avatars.
Click Upgrade Membership Button ABOVE to get Gold or Silver Status.
You can also donate any amount, large or small, with the button below. Include your Forum Name in the PayPal Notes field.
To DONATE by CHECK, or make a recurring donation, CLICK HERE to learn how.
Click Upgrade Membership Button ABOVE to get Gold or Silver Status.
You can also donate any amount, large or small, with the button below. Include your Forum Name in the PayPal Notes field.
To DONATE by CHECK, or make a recurring donation, CLICK HERE to learn how.