need help with sizing 9mm brass

[Terry Archer]

when i prep my brass all is good see picture one



after i run press to insert bullet everything looks good but when i place it into the sizing tool things look bad i need to know what im doing wrong please help thank you

 

[#40Fan]

How about a picture of just the round? Are you crimping afterward?

 

[Terry Archer]

you said something about crimping that should be the last stage do i move the die ?

 

[JLT]

It's an extra step but it ends up simplifying things in the end - get a taper crimp die for the 9mm and run your cases into the taper crimp die after seating. It can be a bit frustrating getting your seater die to get the desired OAL and getting the right amount of crimp at the same time. A taper crimp die will allow you to back off the seating die so that it will not apply any crimp and all you have to do is set it to deliver the desired OAL.

I'll bet your loaded round is proud of the gauge because your current set up is not crimping enough to get rid of the case mouth flare.

 

[dolek]

Does your bullet have a groove in it for crimping ?

 

[riflewoman]

You need to taper crimp. Most dies sold now for 9mm will taper crimp.

Back off the seating stem 2 turns then screw down the seating die until the case mouth is slightly crimped. Use a caliper on a factory round to determine how much. The diameter on your loaded rounds should be the same. Don’t worry if the bullets don’t have a groove. You’re not crimping much. When you get the crimp set, lock your die ring. Now readjust the seating stem to get the bullets at the OAL you want. You may now seat and crimp at the same time.

 

[retired]

trash the gauge, pull the bbl from your gun.
size and load for your bbl.
if you size for the gauge you are doing work you
do not need to do.
IMHO

 

[JMayo]

I gauge check every one. My m&p is very tight. I don't want failure to battery. The ones that don't pass the gauge get set aside. If there are allot and I know the brass .... Something I'm doing is causing it.
I see the painted bullet, that's where I'd think the over size comes from.
My Sig eats anything, no gauge needed.

 

[pirate ammo]

9mm requires little or no crimp,run mine through a seperate crimp die set just enough to get all my case mouth flare out,,use Lee dies on my handgun ammo on a progresive press

 

[mikld]

I have a similar case gauge, somewhere, but since I'm not shooting the ammo out of a gauge, I use my gun's barrel and "Plunk Test". Most gauges are minimal dimensions and many (most) chambers are a bit larger than the gauge.

Any time there is a fit problem measure. Measure the diameter of the cartridge in a few paces along the length of the case. Measure the OAL. Any "too big" measurement will tell you where the cartridge is and from there you can determine when it happens and correct the issue. Many newer reloaders put too much crimp on their semi-auto reloads but neck tension is what holds the bullet, not the crimp. Seating and crimping in two steps very often eliminates this problem. I do not crimp my 45 ACP or 9mm, I just use a taper crimp die to remove any flare in the case mouth (I "deflare" only)...

 

[retired]

again your bbl is the best gauge.
my guess is too much crimp is bulging the case
as has been pointed out you really only need to remove the bell, not much if any crimp.
even my hottest round ( 135's in a 9x21 at 1300 fps) only have about a 1/2 thou crimp.
got calipers ??
measure the dia at the crimp.
a mic in 1/10000 is better but not all have them.

I gauge check every one. My m&p is very tight. I don't want failure to battery. The ones that don't pass the gauge get set aside. If there are allot and I know the brass .... Something I'm doing is causing it.
I see the painted bullet, that's where I'd think the over size comes from.
My Sig eats anything, no gauge needed.

 

[Milo 2.0]

Just from the pic of loaded rd and the gauge, the loaded rd looks longer than the gauge. Pick the gauge up, does it drop in now? I use shockbottle hundo gauges, you have to pick mine off table and hold it free hand to gauge.

 

[pirate ammo]

I do not crimp my 45 ACP or 9mm, I just use a taper crimp die to remove any flare in the case mouth (I "deflare" only)...

thats the same I do with mine 40 S&W also,and I load alot of handgun stuff,

 

[cdhbrad]

Just from the pic of loaded rd and the gauge, the loaded rd looks longer than the gauge. Pick the gauge up, does it drop in now? I use shockbottle hundo gauges, you have to pick mine off table and hold it free hand to gauge.

I agree with you.....whenever I use a gauge, which isn't too often, I always hold it in my hand because some loaded rounds are longer than the depth of the gauge. I do agree with the others that seating and crimping should be handled in separate stations on the press. A 9mm only needs to be crimped to measure between .379 -.380 to function properly.

 

[Sniper338]

Most likely you die isnt set just right... once you set the die in the sweet spot it will seat a bullet and crimp enough on the same pass. I have a dillon 650xl progressive Ive cranked out 1000s of 9mm... I dont use a seprate crimp die for anything... not needed. Its all die set up.

If you change bullets though you will have to set up the seater die again...

Take a round, seat long, seat slow, adjust the die as you go on the same round until you get it all set up right. You want the die set perfect for a taper crimp, and the seating stem set just right to push the bullet in to the right position before it taper crimps.

 

[retired]

the problem with this process, and why it is selfom used, is that you are still MOVING the bullet, while CRIMPING the case. not good.

Most likely you die isnt set just right... once you set the die in the sweet spot it will seat a bullet and crimp enough on the same pass. I have a dillon 650xl progressive Ive cranked out 1000s of 9mm... I dont use a seprate crimp die for anything... not needed. Its all die set up.

If you change bullets though you will have to set up the seater die again...

Take a round, seat long, seat slow, adjust the die as you go on the same round until you get it all set up right. You want the die set perfect for a taper crimp, and the seating stem set just right to push the bullet in to the right position before it taper crimps.

 

[243winxb]

Seat the bullets deeper. Shorter OAL.

 

[LVLAaron]

Bullets are out of spec because of the coating?

 

[Rsadams]

What's your OAL...? I load Berry bullets at 1.150 , from the picture it looks to long... And yes get a Lee factory crimp die and use it only enough to remove the bell on the case.. Trust me on the Lee factory crimp die it's worth the $15 bucks or whatever , then you don't have to keep adjusting your sizing die , Especially if you just loading for one pistol...

Remember as you seat bullets deeper in 9mm it raises pressure... The COAL I use is because I load Berry bullets like lead bullets..... Are you loading from a manual or just guessing..? If you don't understand exactly what your doing , STOP... I load thousands of 9mm and can answer just about any questions you have... Feel free to PM me...

 

[AckleymanII]

Terry, I believe that some of the bell on the case mouth is not removed. Also, coating could add dia to round, mixed brass will see different dia on loaded rounds. Longer OAL's on mixed brass, vs shorter can become an issue when you set the bell on the case mouth. If you used a short case to set case mouth bell, then the longer case may have a tad bit of bell left in it when you seat the bullet....taper crimp fixes all.

I varied my seating depth in .005 increments and found an OAL that shot teriffic...hard to believe the difference.

Your taper crimp die should be ordered, and from other's responses, you have already figured that out.

By now, your confidence level is low, remove barrel and use that as a gauge as another poster has suggested. Chamber dimensions are all over the map, use the barrel.

Did you run your cast bullets through a sizer or are you coating them straight from the mold?