help 9mm luger

[Bubba the Roach]

So Im just getting into reloading about 4 months now. First time loading 9mm, cleaned my cases, resized, expanded case mouth, and filled with 6gn power pistol. But when I went to seat the bullets each time my case would bulge. Could see and feel a ring where the bottom of the bullet was. new dies (Lee), went to the letter of the instructions. Dont know why, thought I would ask some expert advice before I called LEE tomorrow.

Thanks
Bubba

[ScottRiqui]

What diameter bullets are you using? Do the finished rounds drop cleanly into your gun's chamber? I can see/feel a slight ring on my .45 ACP case where the bottom of the bullet is, but they still pass the "plunk" test when I drop them into the chamber.

[dunerjeff]

It is common. The resizing die usually will size the cases a little smaller than say a factory round, then you expand it but mostly where the bullet goes so the case is still under farther down. It gets worse if your loading oversize lead bullets.

[Bubba the Roach]

its just not slight bule, but quiet noticeable. the odd thing is i get a good round about every 3rd one. check the bullets .354" and case mouth is .364"

[medalguy]

Be sure you have flared the case mouth properly. If the bullet starts to be seated crooked, it can cause more of a "push out" on one side than the other. If it's equal all the way around, check the bullet diameter as suggested. A slight bulge is normal. Pics would help too.

[justsoIcanupvotethis]

You dont have the die set down too close do you? Are you crimping as you seat the bullet? I just seat the bullet in the first go round then use the facttory crimp die to crimp after I have the seating depth set.

[Bubba the Roach]

as stated above case mouth is .364 and bullets are .354 will try to get pics on here Im going to call Lee today will post response from them

[Stressfire]

Have you tried reducing the flare a bit? I don't do anywhere close to that large, just barely enough for the base of the bullet to sit comfortably.

Seater/crimper is same die on my setup. I do get a bulge, but not a huge one and they chamber fine

[Hoosier_Daddy]

I get a slight bit of a bulge in the case near the bottom of the bullet with 124 grain bullets (Speer TMJ RN) but not much if any with 115 garin Speer TMJ RN.
The 124 grain rounds still pass the plunk test in an of my 9 mm handguns and a Wilson Combat 9 mm Case Gauge.

[ScottRiqui]

Have you actually tried dropping them into your chamber? It could very well be that all of the rounds you're making are just fine, and the occasional "good" ones you're seeing are just the result of either a slightly undersized bullet, or a case with slightly-thinner walls.

[dunerjeff]

Is that case mouth dimention you gave,.364, inside or outside? Either way it is off. O.D. should be around .377, id would be .352/.353ish before seating a bullet. The very tip may be flared a little so it would be bigger, but usually isn't measured. Your bullet probably isn't .354, more like .356.
A picture will help big.

[Hoosier_Daddy]

I reload 3 different brands of 9 mm brass.
Blazer brass doesn't show any bulging.
Federal brass doesn't show any bulging.
But with Winchester (WCC) brass I get the bulging. I haven't measured the (WCC) wall thickness but do notice that the wcc brass has more resistance getting pushed or pulled through my dies. Not sure if this is just a brass hardness difference or a thickness difference.

[mikld]

oops...

[mikld]

Are you trying to seat and crimp in one operation? If so, measure case prior to seating, after seating only, and after crimp is applied. You need to locate when buldging happens...

Troubleshoot, don't guess; measure.

[Bubba the Roach]

measure bullets again .354-.355 flared case mouth .374 did upload some pics and no im not trying to seat and crimp at the same time. I use factory crimp die last step

[Mike40-11]

You're not using A-MERC brass by any chance are you?
Every time I've tried it, that's what I've gotten. Bad, bad brass.

Failing that, seat without crimping and see what you get.

[dunerjeff]

Make sure one of your dies(seater if the brass isn't bulged before the bullet is seated)isn't bottoming out on the top of your case. If your seating and crimping in one step ,try backing the dies out 1full turn(to stop crimping) and screw the seater stem down to get your oal back to mormal. See if the bulging stops.

Its hard to see in the pics,but they don't appear that bad and you often will get a bulge from the bullet. It may be that what your seeing is normal for the way sizing dies size brass down smaller than factory, so the bullets "look" like they are bulging the brass. Do they fit in your barrel?

To get less of a bulge (for oversize lead in my case) I back my sizer out a couple turns so I don't size the brass down as far. Just a little farther down than the bullet seating debth so I still have neck tension. It makes less of a "bulge".

[valleyforge.1777]

Dillon.
Get rid of the Lee equipment and get a Dillon.

[Mac Sidewinder]

valleyforge.1777 - I get it that you hate Lee products but you don't have to say so in every post you make. I'm sure Dillon makes the very best reloading equipment in the world but evidentally there are quite a few people that like Lee also. How about some real advice instead of free advertising for Dillon.

Mac

[Gster]

I agree, everyone has their preferences and not everyone has the same issues with name said brand. I myself use Lee equipment and have never had any issues. They have made a good impression on me and will continue to buy Lee.


To the op, what kind of brass are you using? I have used Fed. mostly, but some Speer and Blazer with no bulging. I just acquired some S&B and it is bulging also. I also read on another forum that s&b runs tight and is actually brass plated steel which I don't believe because I run a magnet on this stuff and it is def. solid brass.

[ScottRiqui]

As others have pointed out, even with everything set up correctly, you can still get occasional bulging, depending on variances in the case diameter, wall thickness and bullet diameter. I'll ask again: Do the "bulged" rounds still drop cleanly into your gun's chamber?

[Gerry]

It better bulge at least a little bit where the bullet is. It just means the case was a smaller diameter than the bullet when the bullet was seated. This is good.

Otherwise if the inside case diameter is the EXACT size of your bullet, then the bullet just falls out of the case when you hold your round upside-down because there's no tension holding it in. This is bad.

I size my home cast lead 9mm to .3575, and they have a huge bulge. In fact, if I couldn't detect a bulge with my eyes or micrometer, I'd worry about bullet setback and probably pull them for safety's sake. They aren't supposed to look like store-bought commercial cartridges.

I've never had chambering problems because of the bulge caused by .3575 lead in any brand of case. Chambering difficulties are more commonly due to having the OAL too long.

[mikld]

Gerry, Have you pulled a bullet and measured it? Just wonnerin' if your bullets are swaged doen in the tight case. For my info only...

[Gerry]

mikld, good question and the answer is yes I measure. It's important to ensure that the bullet diameter remains as you expect for proper barrel obturation to prevent leading and keyholing. Brass is soft, and there is no way you'll swag proper lead alloy bullet during the seating operation, provided it doesn't crimp too.

The danger of bullet swagging from my experience lies in the crimp stage. I used to use a Lee Factory Crimp Die with these bullets. Measuring the pulled .3575 bullets showed that it was swagging them down to around .3565 to .357 or so. This not only creates a problem with possible leading, but can actually lesson the tension that supposed to hold the bullet in place during seating. It's because lead isn't as elastic as brass.

I no longer crimp these bullets at all. That station on my Dillon 650 is a "no-op".

[dunerjeff]

A 9mm case will/can swage down a lead bullet, Many other caliber won't as easliy but can, depending on bhn and how much neck tension is left from expanding. The 9mm case is tapered on the inside and it is quite stiff up to where the bottom of the bullet gets seated. I have seen this by doing my normal expanding and then seating some .357 sized lead bullets as I normally did with jacketed. A couple days later I pulled them and all bullets where swaged down to .353/.354 at the base and kind of tapered up towards the tip. They were not crimped, non of the bullets had any marks from the case mouth either.
I then made my own PTX(other use .38 expanders) that went a little deeper plus was another .002" bigger than the factory, along with not fully sizing down the case.