Lead Bullets

John William · August 14, 2009, 12:34 PM

I need some help. I recently purchased some Oregon Trails Lazer Cast 9mm bullets in 115 and 124 grain. I loaded a few rounds using the load data supplied by Oregon Trails. The bullets would no go into battery in my gun. The first one stuck in the chamber to the point I pulled the bullet apart when I pulled the slide back. I measured the bullets and they were .356 as they are supposed to be. Any idea how I can get these bullets to work?

DiscoRacing · August 14, 2009, 12:43 PM

did you not seat them far enough down into the brass shell??

cbm1948 · August 14, 2009, 01:04 PM

OAL, overall length, needs to be watched closely. Sounds like some of your loads are way to long. Just seat them to proper length and everything should be fine. Be Safe.

Clint

**Mal H** · August 14, 2009, 01:05 PM

Right - I think you simply need to seat them a little deeper. That's not uncommon with lead bullets that have a high ogive such as the L-C ones.

Remove the barrel from your pistol and use it as a gauge to determine the optimum seating depth. Be sure to back off your load if you are at or near max since a deeper seated bullet will push pressures higher, but it doesn't sound like you've gotten to the range testing stage yet.

John William · August 14, 2009, 01:15 PM

I did seat the bullets to the length recommended by Oregon Trails and even tried them a little shorter. I was .080 from going into battery.

Farmland · August 14, 2009, 02:25 PM

Where these your first reloads? What powder were you suing? What was the exact load data use, powder, new/used cases, what OAL were the bullets taper crimped?

Do you have and lead build up in the chamber?

Chances are they are OAL but I don't want assume it may be another problem.

RidgwayCO · August 14, 2009, 03:38 PM

You don't say who manufactured your pistol, but I've read that CZs have very short throats and need much shorter COLs than other 9mms. By contrast, my Beretta's eat anything up to the SAAMI max COL of 1.169" with gusto (I've never tried to load them longer than that).

I recommend you remove your barrel from the pistol and use the chamber as a "custom gauge" to see what your pistol likes/needs as far as COL.

sltintexas · August 14, 2009, 04:18 PM

I agree with Mal H. I had the exact same issue with my missouri bullets. I was using a COL of 1.125 but found a recipe with a shorter COL of 1.095and now they fit correctly.

To test just make one with a shorter COL and see if it works... then find a recipe in that range.

for my 125gr bullets I'm using 3.3 grains of winchester231 & a COL of 1.095. It is very accurate and light recoil!

LHB1 · August 14, 2009, 04:37 PM

John,
Load one dummy round with NO powder and NO primer. Seat and taper crimp as normal. Measure OAL and try to chamber in your gun. If it won't chamber seat it deeper, measure OAL and try to chamber it. Repeat until the dummy seats. Then tell us what the OAL is. I'm sure some one who loads 9mm can then tell you if the OAL is acceptable or excessively short.

John William · August 14, 2009, 05:20 PM

Thanks to everyone for the help. I sent the bullets back but I ordered a sample from Oregon Trails today so I can follow LHB1's recommendation. I'll let you know what the OAL is.

August 14, 2009, 12:34 PM	#1
John William Junior Member Join Date: August 13, 2009 Posts: 3	Lead Bullets I need some help. I recently purchased some Oregon Trails Lazer Cast 9mm bullets in 115 and 124 grain. I loaded a few rounds using the load data supplied by Oregon Trails. The bullets would no go into battery in my gun. The first one stuck in the chamber to the point I pulled the bullet apart when I pulled the slide back. I measured the bullets and they were .356 as they are supposed to be. Any idea how I can get these bullets to work?

August 14, 2009, 12:43 PM	#2
DiscoRacing Senior Member Join Date: December 19, 2008 Location: milton, wv Posts: 3,640	did you not seat them far enough down into the brass shell??

August 14, 2009, 01:04 PM	#3
cbm1948 Senior Member Join Date: August 10, 2008 Location: Georgia Posts: 143	OAL, overall length, needs to be watched closely. Sounds like some of your loads are way to long. Just seat them to proper length and everything should be fine. Be Safe. Clint

August 14, 2009, 01:05 PM	#4
Mal H Staff Join Date: March 20, 1999 Location: Somewhere in the woods of Northern Virginia Posts: 17,066	Right - I think you simply need to seat them a little deeper. That's not uncommon with lead bullets that have a high ogive such as the L-C ones. Remove the barrel from your pistol and use it as a gauge to determine the optimum seating depth. Be sure to back off your load if you are at or near max since a deeper seated bullet will push pressures higher, but it doesn't sound like you've gotten to the range testing stage yet.

August 14, 2009, 01:15 PM	#5
John William Junior Member Join Date: August 13, 2009 Posts: 3	I did seat the bullets to the length recommended by Oregon Trails and even tried them a little shorter. I was .080 from going into battery.

August 14, 2009, 02:25 PM	#6
Farmland Senior Member Join Date: July 5, 2009 Posts: 869	Where these your first reloads? What powder were you suing? What was the exact load data use, powder, new/used cases, what OAL were the bullets taper crimped? Do you have and lead build up in the chamber? Chances are they are OAL but I don't want assume it may be another problem.

August 14, 2009, 03:38 PM	#7
RidgwayCO Senior Member Join Date: March 22, 2008 Location: Western Colorado Posts: 244	You don't say who manufactured your pistol, but I've read that CZs have very short throats and need much shorter COLs than other 9mms. By contrast, my Beretta's eat anything up to the SAAMI max COL of 1.169" with gusto (I've never tried to load them longer than that). I recommend you remove your barrel from the pistol and use the chamber as a "custom gauge" to see what your pistol likes/needs as far as COL.

August 14, 2009, 04:18 PM	#8
sltintexas Senior Member Join Date: August 23, 2005 Posts: 171	I agree with Mal H. I had the exact same issue with my missouri bullets. I was using a COL of 1.125 but found a recipe with a shorter COL of 1.095and now they fit correctly. To test just make one with a shorter COL and see if it works... then find a recipe in that range. for my 125gr bullets I'm using 3.3 grains of winchester231 & a COL of 1.095. It is very accurate and light recoil!

August 14, 2009, 04:37 PM	#9
LHB1 Senior Member Join Date: March 25, 2005 Location: Houston, TX Posts: 1,545	John, Load one dummy round with NO powder and NO primer. Seat and taper crimp as normal. Measure OAL and try to chamber in your gun. If it won't chamber seat it deeper, measure OAL and try to chamber it. Repeat until the dummy seats. Then tell us what the OAL is. I'm sure some one who loads 9mm can then tell you if the OAL is acceptable or excessively short.

August 14, 2009, 05:20 PM	#10
John William Junior Member Join Date: August 13, 2009 Posts: 3	Thanks to everyone for the help. I sent the bullets back but I ordered a sample from Oregon Trails today so I can follow LHB1's recommendation. I'll let you know what the OAL is.