New member-new to reloading-all new gear-first post

Bocefus78 · August 2, 2013, 10:23 AM

Hi all,

Due to the ammo shortage, I recently purchased a big lot of reloading supplies.
Included in the package was a Lee classic turret press, dies for 9, 40, 45acp, and 223. I also got 8lbs of Unique, 2 1lb cans of something else (cant remember), and a lot of bullets. 1000 plated 9mm, 500 lead 45, 500 plated 45, and various brass for it all. I located some ranier 165gr 40 bullets and have been saving cases for a while. It also came with 200 lg and sm pistol primers.

Ive read the ABC's of reloading book, set my press up according to the directions, and made a few dummy rounds with no powder or primers to get overall length and crimp to spec. I think I am there. I get within .001-.002 overall case (loaded length) and have the taper crimp spot on spec.

question 1: I think I am ready to make some real loads BUT the 9mm bullet seating die is out of round. (I can take pics once Im home...Im at work now) If you look up inside the die, the part that actually contacts the tip of the bullet is not round. The outside edges of the concave portion of the die are bent inward. The previous owner must've had it cranked too far down and bent it up. It makes 2 little lines on the bullet itself above the case but seats them fine. Is this going to be an issue?

question 2: I've also read lots of threads on here about this but...I gotta ask....my .40 is a glock. Keeping it on the low end of a charge, how unsafe really is it to shoot reloads?

I hope I can learn lots here!

Shootest · August 2, 2013, 11:53 AM

Answer 1
Not sure what you mean by out of round, but the seating die is not carbide only a small ring on the sizing die is carbide. Can’t really give much of an answer without more info.

Answer 2
It is not any more dangerous to shoot reloads in a Glock than any other gun. It is just Glock trying to protect themselves from legal action.

Mike / Tx · August 2, 2013, 05:21 PM

IF your die set that has the bent seating plug is a Lee set I would just pick up another one and be done with it. No since fighting with something just because, Lee sets are cheap but very effective.

As for you Glock, about he only issue that comes to mind is the "Glock Bulge" on your fired cases. I do not have any Glock's myself so I cannot say as to one way or the other how this might limit case life.

I can say that I have found numerous cases at the range in 10mm that had been fired in an unsupported chamber like Glocks are reported to have in some models. I managed to get some of them resized and loaded up but as far as how long they would last against say a Starline case I haven't a clue as they usually end up being lost long before I wear them out.

flashhole · August 3, 2013, 08:10 AM

A picture would help a lot.

I load 40 S&W and use range pickup brass. Lee makes a Bulge Buster tool that irons out the Glock bulge quite handily. I got into the habit of running all my cases through the bulge buster Glocked or not.

I'm not familiar with the specific bullets you mentioned. I make my own but I can share a lesson I learned was to be mindful of false shoulders when seating bullets for auto pistols. My bullet profile is a truncated cone shown below. I have to seat it sufficiently deep that the base of the cone is flush to the top of the brass. It will not cycle through my gun if the shaft of the bullet below the base of the cone is sticking up above the brass. It creates a false shoulder that the gun tries to use for headspacing and jams the action. Even .001-.002" makes a big difference in cycling. Seating to the base of the cone results in a seating depth a bit shorter than what is recommended in the manual but they work great.

mikld · August 3, 2013, 02:04 PM

Take apart the seating die and you could prolly clean up the bent portion with a file, but light marks on the bullet are usually cosmetic only and won't affect accuracy.

There is a lot of talk about the "Glock bulge" going around forums today, and It seems to be about 25% "don't reload Glock bulged brass" (bulge area weakened), and 75% say "go ahead, use a "bulge buster" and load away". I don't shoot a .40 so I can't offer an opinion...

August 2, 2013, 10:23 AM	#1
Bocefus78 Junior Member Join Date: July 30, 2013 Posts: 9	New member-new to reloading-all new gear-first post Hi all, Due to the ammo shortage, I recently purchased a big lot of reloading supplies. Included in the package was a Lee classic turret press, dies for 9, 40, 45acp, and 223. I also got 8lbs of Unique, 2 1lb cans of something else (cant remember), and a lot of bullets. 1000 plated 9mm, 500 lead 45, 500 plated 45, and various brass for it all. I located some ranier 165gr 40 bullets and have been saving cases for a while. It also came with 200 lg and sm pistol primers. Ive read the ABC's of reloading book, set my press up according to the directions, and made a few dummy rounds with no powder or primers to get overall length and crimp to spec. I think I am there. I get within .001-.002 overall case (loaded length) and have the taper crimp spot on spec. question 1: I think I am ready to make some real loads BUT the 9mm bullet seating die is out of round. (I can take pics once Im home...Im at work now) If you look up inside the die, the part that actually contacts the tip of the bullet is not round. The outside edges of the concave portion of the die are bent inward. The previous owner must've had it cranked too far down and bent it up. It makes 2 little lines on the bullet itself above the case but seats them fine. Is this going to be an issue? question 2: I've also read lots of threads on here about this but...I gotta ask....my .40 is a glock. Keeping it on the low end of a charge, how unsafe really is it to shoot reloads? I hope I can learn lots here! Last edited by Bocefus78; August 2, 2013 at 12:14 PM.

August 2, 2013, 11:53 AM	#2
Shootest Senior Member Join Date: February 9, 2011 Location: Just outside Cleveland, Ohio Posts: 722	Answer 1 Not sure what you mean by out of round, but the seating die is not carbide only a small ring on the sizing die is carbide. Can’t really give much of an answer without more info. Answer 2 It is not any more dangerous to shoot reloads in a Glock than any other gun. It is just Glock trying to protect themselves from legal action. __________________ The private ownership of firearms is an American Heritage. Anyone who disputes that is Anti-American and unpatriotic. NRA Life Member

August 2, 2013, 05:21 PM	#3
Mike / Tx Senior Member Join Date: April 8, 2000 Posts: 2,101	IF your die set that has the bent seating plug is a Lee set I would just pick up another one and be done with it. No since fighting with something just because, Lee sets are cheap but very effective. As for you Glock, about he only issue that comes to mind is the "Glock Bulge" on your fired cases. I do not have any Glock's myself so I cannot say as to one way or the other how this might limit case life. I can say that I have found numerous cases at the range in 10mm that had been fired in an unsupported chamber like Glocks are reported to have in some models. I managed to get some of them resized and loaded up but as far as how long they would last against say a Starline case I haven't a clue as they usually end up being lost long before I wear them out. __________________ LAter, Mike / TX

August 3, 2013, 08:10 AM	#4
flashhole Senior Member Join Date: February 9, 2005 Location: Owego, NY Posts: 2,000	A picture would help a lot. I load 40 S&W and use range pickup brass. Lee makes a Bulge Buster tool that irons out the Glock bulge quite handily. I got into the habit of running all my cases through the bulge buster Glocked or not. I'm not familiar with the specific bullets you mentioned. I make my own but I can share a lesson I learned was to be mindful of false shoulders when seating bullets for auto pistols. My bullet profile is a truncated cone shown below. I have to seat it sufficiently deep that the base of the cone is flush to the top of the brass. It will not cycle through my gun if the shaft of the bullet below the base of the cone is sticking up above the brass. It creates a false shoulder that the gun tries to use for headspacing and jams the action. Even .001-.002" makes a big difference in cycling. Seating to the base of the cone results in a seating depth a bit shorter than what is recommended in the manual but they work great. __________________ ,,, stupidity comes to some people very easily. 8/22/2017 my wife in a discussion about Liberals. Are you ready for civil war?

August 3, 2013, 02:04 PM	#5
mikld Senior Member Join Date: February 7, 2009 Location: Southern Oregon! Posts: 2,891	Take apart the seating die and you could prolly clean up the bent portion with a file, but light marks on the bullet are usually cosmetic only and won't affect accuracy. There is a lot of talk about the "Glock bulge" going around forums today, and It seems to be about 25% "don't reload Glock bulged brass" (bulge area weakened), and 75% say "go ahead, use a "bulge buster" and load away". I don't shoot a .40 so I can't offer an opinion... __________________ My Anchor is holding fast! I've learned how to stand on my own two knees...