9mm loads wont chamber

[libiglou]

Hey Guys

Posted before about this issue. I thought I figured it out no dice. So here goes

I'm loading a 124gr jhp from precision delta. I have approx every 8th round that will not chamber. I have been using a wilson gauge to check the specs and have used 2 diff guns with the same results. The round does not go fully into the chamber and is a bi**h to extract. I thought I wasn't resizing the case enough but after an adjustment that wasnt it. I use mixed brass and all the offending cases are mixed , some old some just fired once. I then switched to a rem 115gr jhp and had the same results. I'm not new at this and have reloaded 1000's of 9mm mostly without issue and never with this problem. You can see the rounds that are not chambering have a slight bulge. The only other thing I can think of is the expander die not being set correctly. I use a Lyman expander powder through die(powder dispenser mounts on top) with a Lyman turrent press. Any ideas on what I'm missing?
Thanks

[dallasb]

Originally Posted by libiglou

Hey Guys

Posted before about this issue. I thought I figured it out no dice. So here goes

I'm loading a 124gr jhp from precision delta. I have approx every 8th round that will not chamber. I have been using a wilson gauge to check the specs and have used 2 diff guns with the same results. The round does not go fully into the chamber and is a bi**h to extract. I thought I wasn't resizing the case enough but after an adjustment that wasnt it. I use mixed brass and all the offending cases are mixed , some old some just fired once. I then switched to a rem 115gr jhp and had the same results. I'm not new at this and have reloaded 1000's of 9mm mostly without issue and never with this problem. You can see the rounds that are not chambering have a slight bulge. The only other thing I can think of is the expander die not being set correctly. I use a Lyman expander powder through die(powder dispenser mounts on top) with a Lyman turrent press. Any ideas on what I'm missing?
Thanks

Are you crimping after searching the bullet?

Sent from my Galaxy S8 using Tapatalk

[BigJimP]

Did your finished rounds ...drop into the case gague smoothly and just below flush ...and drop out smoothly by just turning the gague over..??

[libiglou]

The finished round does not seat flush with the gauge.(maybe 1/16") I'm using the lee fcb to crimp. Again maybe just every 8th or so round

[74A95]

First, use a magic marker to determine exactly why they won't fit. This will tell you what needs to be changed. The method is explained here: http://www.shootingtimes.com/reloadi...he-plunk-test/

[GJSchulze]

When you say they don't sit flush does that mean long or short? If long, any bulge is keeping them from fitting. If short then 1/16" is way too short and is a feed problem.

This is why I sort my 9mm brass. Certain cases just don't play nice. Specifically CBC and Aguila tend to bulge even after using the Lee FCD, which I also use. So have a look at what brand cases are giving you a problem.

[higgite]

Every 8th round or average 1 round out of 8? There is a difference.

Do the troublesome rounds all have the same headstamp or different? I had a problem with mixed brass that turned out to be one particular headstamp brass was too thick for the bullet I was using.

Same case length or different? Are seating/crimping with a combo die before you run them through the FCD? If so, could be that longer cases than the one used to set the die are getting crimped too soon in the seating process and are getting bulged below the case mouth.

Are the PD's a new bullet for you? I find I have to seat them deeper than some other HP's or they won't plunk.

[jetinteriorguy]

I've had this same problem. I went to an undersize sizing die, and used the Lee factory crimp die. So here is the routine, first size, charge, then seat without having the die set to crimp, then crimp as a final separate step from seating with the FCD. But there is one more crucial step, before even working up your load you must determine your bullet seating depth. Take a sized but uncharged case and seat a bullet long in it. Then drop it in your barrel, not the case gauge. Keep seating the bullet deeper until it passes the 'plunk' test. Once it plunks, seat it .01" deeper. Load up four or five uncharged cases like this and cycle them by hand to make sure they will cycle. Once you've done this then work up your load being careful not to wind up with a compressed load and once you've loaded it up to where it is accurate and cycles reliably, load up 100 rounds and test them for reliability. If the load passes all these tests, load and shoot away. Case gauges don't necessarily match your chamber in your gun, so other than a method for checking the length of your brass you can't rely on them for brass resizing testing. I have a couple of guns where I have to seat certain bullets fairly deep in the case or they will not go into battery due to the bullet getting jammed into the rifling before its fully chambered, but using this method will prevent this from being a problem. I use range brass and have to use the undersize sizing die to assure it will size the brass down enough so the springback won't prevent proper chambering.

[libiglou]

The bad ones all have diff head stamps(win,rp among others) Ive been using this setup for years, the only diff is the 2k 124jhp from precision. But I tried a diff bullet so that wasnt the problem. I did lighten the crimp and that seemed to cut the failure rate almost in half. (maybe 4 or 5 in a box of fifty) I dont measure the cases never found a need for that. I do seat the bullet tight. Maybe thats the issue.

[BigJimP]

You have a resizing problem....

Any time a finished round will not drop into a case gague.easily and just below flush...and drop out easily as you turn the gague over...it is not resized properly / ...and it will not feed ...

You may have some bad cases...like AMERC, or some badly bulged cases - like out of a glock....ideally you want to weed them out before you load them....but any finished cartridge that sticks going in or out of a case gague...needs to be rejected, bullet pulled, reclaim powder ...dispose of case.

I load all metallic on a dillon 650...and using standard carbide dillon dies ....( I cull out the odd ball cases agter cleaning nefore loading them )...as a result, I rreject maybe 1 or 2 rds out of 1,000...and I case gague 100% of my finished rds before i box them up for range...

[jell-dog]

Your barrels are the best "case gauge" for your reloads.
If the reloads "plunk" and fall out easily when you turn the barrel up the reloads are good to go.
Just my .02 worth.
JD

PS:
Do this testing with barrel removed from pistol.

[snakeye]

If this is happening on every 8th round of a magazine then you have a magazine/feeding issue

[74A95]

libiglou, Have you done the magic marker thing as linked to in post #5?

That will identify what's wrong. You won't have to guess.

[pete2]

Size the cases and try them in the chamber, if they all go in then it is NOT a resize problem. Check closely after seating and crimping, most of mine have a bulge at the base of the bullet but all will pass the plunk test, no failures to feed. I have had to seat 45 ACP bullets deeper than my normal for my Ruger CMD, it has a shorter throat than my other 5 guns. All 3 of my 9mm guns seem to have long throats. Yours may be short. Make sure you crimp enough to straighten out the bell. Until you solve the problem use the barrels to check the loaded rounds. The chamber in the barrel is what matters. Seat and crimp in separate operations.
My 2 cents.

[RC20]

Always crimp last. May not be the4 problem but its the only way to go.

Also TAPER crimp , not roll crimp and just enough to roll the front edge back.

I don't know how many cases I had fits with before I leaned that back when I loaded pistol only.

Most of my loads would not seat in the Wilson but 99,9% did in the gun barrel.

Ergo, any question I figured out how far above the Wilson they had to be.

[std7mag]

Your crimp is fine. So is everything exvept one thing.
Your COAL is too long.

Ran into this with Sierra HP. Shape of the bullet. It's hitting the lands in the barrel. Then the crimp luckily doesn't allow the bullet to pull out of the lands.

Doubt me? Put round in mag. Cycle slide by hand slowly. Bet it doesn't go fully into battery.

[Doublehelix3216]

Your crimp is fine. So is everything exvept one thing.
Your COAL is too long.

This was my first thought as well. You are right on the ragged edge of COAL, and some get sized just slightly long and end up being out of spec for that gun/barrel.

Just a guess, but something to look into for sure.

[mikld]

No offence intended to anyone above; but a chamber is a hole and a cartridge is a peg. For the peg (cartridge) to fit into the hole (chamber) it has to be smaller than the hole (chamber). If the peg is too large in any dimension, diameter, or length, it will not fit. Whenever there is a fit problem, measure...Measure the cartridge...

[libiglou]

Thanks for all the responses. Lots of good info. All the cases have been put through the wilson gauge and are ok. Same issues when put through a HK and BHP barrels. I'm going to try and shorten the col and then try seating seperately . Not happening today. NFL kickoff so were having a party with friends(beer, chili, heroes etc) even though our team sucks(jets) Kids cant wait.

[higgite]

If you mean the Wilson Pistol Max gauge, it will tell you nothing about COL in relation to the lands. It isn't reamed like a pistol chamber with a tapered leade. A bullet will drop straight through the gauge. My Wilson and Dillon gauges only "gauge" the case, not the entire cartridge. Well, they do give you an indication if your cartridge exceeds SAAMI max cartridge length, but that is of no help in fitting reloads to a particular pistol. COL is best established by plunk testing in your pistol barrel(s). Once that is established, the Wilson gauge is great for determining if your reloads will fit your pistol chamber(s).

[T. O'Heir]

A Wilson gauge is not as good a gauge as the chamber. However, you're describing either an OAL(1.169" just works) or insufficient crimp issue. More likely the latter caused by operator fatigue or just plain operator failure.
"...have a slight bulge..." With or without a bullet seated and crimped? Usually means the seater plug is down too far. Might have come loose with prolonged use.
"...2 diff(SIC) guns..." Two pistols have 2 very different chambers. However, it does prove it's a cartridge issue.
"...cases have been put through the Wilson gauge and are ok..." No, they aren't.

[GJSchulze]

Could you supply some more info? What OAL are you using? Did you just switch to a JHP after using a RN? If you are using the same OAL, a JHP provides a flatter tip which means the bullet is farther forward and may be hitting the lands. Do the non-problematic rounds slip in and out of your chamber? I use the Wilson case gauge and find that my barrel is slightly looser. If you place the gauge on a flat surface a round that is too long with not go all the way in. Many barrels with certain bullets won't take a 1.1169" OAL.

[sfbandit]

I think that it could be those rounds were fired from a glock maybe. The case doesn't go all the way in to the barrel on a glock and causes case bulge. Me myself I have a Lyman case prep center and I size and deprime all my cases on my rock chucker then I trim and uniform all my primer pockets. This gives me time to inspect my cases one at a time. I simply throw away any bulged cases. I too use to have this problem from time to time. Since I've started doing all the case work on my Lyman case prep center first all my cases chamber perfectly and load more consistently. As an added bonus my groups down range have shrunk almost in half.

[libiglou]

Hey Guys sorry I havent replied, been real busy lately. I think I might have solved this. I made a change to my expander die to flare out the cases a little further and after close to 50 rounds reloaded no issues. Have another 50 to go so I will report when its all good or not. Thanks

[libiglou]

Well I finally figured it out. In my case it looks like it was the expander die not being set down enough. The ball was expanding just the the very top of the case. After a few more turns of the die the ball is expanding to just about midlenght. For whatever reason it works. Finished 100 rounds yest, checked on gauge ok. Went to the range last night and 9mm heaven is back. i've had similar issues before and it always pointed to the resizing die, not in this case. Going forward I'm going to a check a few rounds with the gauge every 50 or so rounds reloaded. Now I have about 150 rounds to pull. Def a winter project. Thanks to all for the many suggestions. I was going crazy on this one.