First batch of reloads with Lee press at the range today

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  • strat56

    Member
    Feb 23, 2017
    82
    I went to the range today with the 200 rounds of 9mm that I loaded with my recently purchased used Lee Turret Press (thank you BigDaddy). Here's how they were loaded (recipe?).

    Berry's 115gr Plated Bullet
    VhitaVuori 3n37 powder 5.7gr
    CCI small pistol primer
    Winchester once fired brass (fired by me as factory ammo)
    OAL 1.162

    Here's how I loaded them so you have the whole story.

    The press came with a Lee Pro Auto-Disk Powder measure, it also came with Lee Primer Feeder but I didn't use that as I had already deprimed the cases with my Lee Hand press and primed them with my Lee Auto Prime Hand Priming Tool. I used the turret press and my Lee Carbide Pistol Die Set to resize the cases, flare the mouth, drop the powder, seat the bullet and using the separate Factory Crimp Die to crimp the cases.

    I did 5 test drops and it dropped 5.7gr or 5.8gr consistently during the test using the .53 hole in the powder drop, checked it a few times while reloading also. As I finished each round I dropped them in a Lyman Case Gauge and they all seemed to drop in flush.

    At the range today, I had 3 failures to fire, several failure to eject and most of the rounds that ejected, ejected directly back at me. The FTFs didn't even have a dimple in the primer. One of the FTFs was a little difficult to rack the slide to eject it.

    Obviously I'm not very experienced with reloading so I'm wondering what caused the above problems? Thanks in advance for your wise and sage advice!!

    Jack
     

    euler357

    ,
    Industry Partner
    MDS Supporter
    Apr 6, 2011
    584
    Odenton, Marylandistan
    Agree, sounds like possibly a crimp or sizing issue. The pistol is possibly not going into battery all of the way or very tightly when it does fire.

    Update - ok, I re-read your post and see that you did use the Lyman Case gauge. It should drop in freely with a solid thunk - is that the case?
     

    SKIP

    Ultimate Member
    MDS Supporter
    Mar 5, 2009
    3,248
    Glenwood/Glenelg
    I have never crimped 9MM. The 9MM head spaces on the shell itself.
    If the crimp is too deep the case will go too far forward and the firing pin may not make contact.
     

    euler357

    ,
    Industry Partner
    MDS Supporter
    Apr 6, 2011
    584
    Odenton, Marylandistan
    Yes, that is possible but it would have to be a LOT of crimp. 9mm should have a light taper crimp. This is done with some seating dies or a separate taper crimp die.
     

    euler357

    ,
    Industry Partner
    MDS Supporter
    Apr 6, 2011
    584
    Odenton, Marylandistan
    It is also possible that you are using brass that was fired in a Glock or other pistol without a fully supported chamber. This is known as the "Glock Bulge" in brass and you may need to use a small base sizing die or the Lee Bulge Buster die on your brass. If it was real bad then it shoudn't have gone into your Lyman case gauge easily. You can tell if your brass was from a Glock since it leaves a distinctive pattern on the primer.

    Can you please attach photos of the loaded rounds that FTF and tell us what you are shooting them in?

    Here are photos of a Glock-fired primer and Glock Bulged cases after reloading vs normal cases.

    Here is the Lee Bulge Buster to "fix" the brass I would personally recommend that you just toss the brass that is giving you issues since 9mm Luger brass is pretty cheap.

    Also, if you do this - apparently, you need the 9mm Makarov Crimp also. Here is a video explaining this. Not sure that I would go this route though.
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uk-x9bN5Ueg
     

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    SKIP

    Ultimate Member
    MDS Supporter
    Mar 5, 2009
    3,248
    Glenwood/Glenelg
    I don't own a Glock but some years ago I recall that Glock advised not to use reloads as it would void any warranty.
    Does anyone know it their manual states such?
     

    euler357

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    Industry Partner
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    Apr 6, 2011
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    Odenton, Marylandistan
    I don't own a Glock but some years ago I recall that Glock advised not to use reloads as it would void any warranty.
    Does anyone know it their manual states such?
    I'm not sure about the warranty - most all gun makers say to use factory ammo and probably wouldn't honor a warranty claim CAUSED by non standard loads. I'm not sure how they would tell unless the damage was caused by an out of spec reload.

    There is a real reason not to use lead bullets (unplated) though. The polygonal rifling in the Glock doesn't like lead - collects in the barrel. If you want to shoot lead in a good then buy an aftermarket barrel for it like Timberwolf.

    Chris
     

    strat56

    Member
    Feb 23, 2017
    82
    Crimping was most likely the problem. What kind of crimp?

    It was done with the Lee Factory Crimp die that came with the 9mm die set that I purchased. I figured since it was a 9mm die set that it would do the right kind of crimp. I know the bullet has no cannelure so it should be a taper crimp and not a roll crimp, I think are the right terms.
     

    strat56

    Member
    Feb 23, 2017
    82
    Agree, sounds like possibly a crimp or sizing issue. The pistol is possibly not going into battery all of the way or very tightly when it does fire.

    Update - ok, I re-read your post and see that you did use the Lyman Case gauge. It should drop in freely with a solid thunk - is that the case?

    I loaded these a couple weeks ago and I thought I made sure that the rounds dropped in flush with the groove in the gauge and not just the top of the gauge. I don't remember a thunk but now that I know that I'll remember to listen for it.

    What do you do with the ones that don't thunk? Take them apart and try again?
     

    strat56

    Member
    Feb 23, 2017
    82
    I have never crimped 9MM. The 9MM head spaces on the shell itself.
    If the crimp is too deep the case will go too far forward and the firing pin may not make contact.

    I heard/read that they needed to be crimped to prevent the bullet from seating further into the casing while in the magazine waiting to be fired. Talked to a guy at the range one day that said he had it happen to him and having a crimp was very important. Since I'm new at this and don't know, I'm not disagreeing with you just telling me what he said.
     

    strat56

    Member
    Feb 23, 2017
    82
    It is also possible that you are using brass that was fired in a Glock or other pistol without a fully supported chamber.

    The rounds were originally fired in the same pistol that I fired the reloads in yesterday, a Sig P320 Compact. i've not read or heard anywhere that it has a non fully supported chamber. But thank you for the info on case bulge it's something I'll check for.
     

    ToolAA

    Ultimate Member
    MDS Supporter
    Jun 17, 2016
    10,500
    God's Country
    What do you do with the ones that don't thunk? Take them apart and try again?


    Depending on the problem you could just run them through the crimp die again.

    If the problem cannot be corrected and you are using cheap uncoated projectiles i don’t bother trying to salvage them. Time would be better spent on perfecting the process.
     

    strat56

    Member
    Feb 23, 2017
    82
    I have the 3 rounds that failed to fire, I'll take pics of them and take them apart and post the pics here to see if that helps with the diagnosis.
     

    Doobie

    Ultimate Member
    Jan 23, 2013
    1,777
    Earth
    Been reloading 9mm once-fired brass as well as range pick ups for over a year and have never had any issues with bulging. They have all been shot out of a Glock and some of them has been reloaded several times. I use RCBS carbide dies and don't crimp them. I've never had any issues by not crimping and they seem to be fairly accurate.
     

    outrider58

    Eats Bacon Raw
    MDS Supporter
    Jul 29, 2014
    49,818
    This is easier, isn't it?
     

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    euler357

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    Industry Partner
    MDS Supporter
    Apr 6, 2011
    584
    Odenton, Marylandistan
    I usually get 2-3 out of every thousand that has a problem with bulging or other case deformation that I didn't notice while reloading them. This usually manifests itself by a failure to feed / go all of the way into battery. If I'm shooting in a competition, I'll use the gauge on every one. I use a Dillon 650 with the Dillon carbide dies and it works great. The Dillon taper crimp die makes a smooth slight taper crimp that feeds in most everything - would recommend this die even if you're not using a Dillon press. Glocks are a lot more forgiving in feeding than others like an FN Hi-Power (can be finicky).
     

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