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Posted: 8/7/2013 6:05:04 AM EDT
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I've done some research on the net but lets hear from the Ar15 clan. I have some once fired 40 SW. I purchased a dillon case gauge and after 40 Rounds, they all pass. I also purchased a Wilson 40 Max gauge and many of them don't pass. They stop just short of the base. So, I pulled out my barrel on my 40 (non-Glock) and after testing 40 rounds, two are about a thousandth off and needed a tad of encouragement to fit. I have dillon carbide dies.
I've read that there's several ways to address this. One being to get a Lee FCD and that will iron out the bulge. I'm leaning in this direction. The other is the Lee bulge buster but I don't have a single stage press to use the RAM with it and I'd rather not have to run 1500 cases through that. .....and future range pickups. there's other options. a lee small base U 40 die. My question is, what works for you? A small percentage of my cases are not fitting my barrel. Of all the 40 I did, the majority did not fit the wilson max gauge. My dillon dies are set up correctly. |
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RCBS Oops... Redding G-RX die
http://www.uniquetek.com/site/696296/product/T1326 |
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I don't have a single stage. A 550 and a 650. That redding die has a RAM that has to be lifted to push through the cases. Seems to be a pain. I was hoping the Lee FCD would suffice. Cabelas locally has one on hold for me. I'll try that and see if it passes my Wilson max gauge.
I'd like to try the lee U die as well but where I purchase, it's not in stock. |
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I have the same problems and ended up using EGW undersize die and it fixed my problems.
My thread |
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I have the same problems and ended up using EGW undersize die and it fixed my problems. My thread Ok, for you, the Lee FCD got about 8 out of 100. That EGW undersize is backordered for 4 months from what the website says. I may just try the Lee since it's at Cabelas. Someone also said in that thread that the EGW was just a lee filed down. You think there's some relevance to that? |
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If you can find them, buy the set of Lee dies with the FCD. They will resize lower then diliion dies. I have loaded thousands of mixed 40 and have never had a problem with bulges. also, use some lube on the cases will help a lot in the resize effort.
They work so well that i don't even own a case guage they are available here http://www.midwayusa.com/product/622255/lee-deluxe-carbide-4-die-set-40-s-and-w-10mm-auto |
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I've been using the Bulge Buster (Which Uses a LFCD) on my 40.
It results in a 100 percent yield through my tight Lone Wolf 40 barrels I do have some reservations about it though. I worry that working the brass at the base like that, where it needs to be the strongest, will weaken the brass. Edited to all: I also have a LFCD die in the last stage but it seems to be redundant after using the Bulge Buster. |
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OK I'm confused... I see people throwing around acronyms and I can only assume the meaning. Does FCD mean Factory Crimp Die? And if so, how would a crimp die have anything to do with removing the bulge at the bottom of the case?
I would assume the Lee Full-Length Resizing Die would be what takes the bulge out better than the Dillon Die. But I don't know..... |
| Yes, factory crimp die. From what I've read, some folks have gotten good resizing using the lee FCD because the diameter of the lee resizes the bulge. The crimp part isn't what is of concern. The lee bulge buster is a ram that forces a complete case up through the 40 Lee factory crimp die with the crimp portion removed. So, the die itself should do the trick. The other suggestion, the EGW die is a Lee factory sizer die set 0.001 under stock. So it re-sizes a little more- kind of like a small base die |
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If you can find them, buy the set of Lee dies with the FCD. They will resize lower then diliion dies. I have loaded thousands of mixed 40 and have never had a problem with bulges. also, use some lube on the cases will help a lot in the resize effort. They work so well that i don't even own a case guage they are available here http://www.midwayusa.com/product/622255/lee-deluxe-carbide-4-die-set-40-s-and-w-10mm-auto I had avoided loading .40 for my Glock, I don't shoot it more than 100 rounds a month, it seemed an unnecessary hassle as long as I could buy a $15.95 box of 50 at Wallyworld. But then they became scarce, and the price jacked another $5, so I decided it was time. I bought the Lee carbide factory crimp die, which is the heart of the Lee bulge buster kit. The kit adds the catch reservoir and the ram. You use the ram to swage the brass completely through the die with the crimper removed. I sized a few hundred cases with my Lee carbide resizing dies, then set up to run them through the " bulge buster". They passed right through without touching the sides. 
So out came the calipers, and as far as I can tell, my Lee Carbide resizing dies completely remove the bulge, rendering the " bulge buster" redundant. No bulge to be found. YMMV |
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Your issue is the result of Dillon's design decision of their carbide resizing die. They advertize that their pistol dies have, "Radiused Carbide" resizers (page 34 of Aug 2013 Blue Press) that they claim makes for smoother operation of their presses. However, that very radius also means that the carbide resizing case can't fully resize the very lowest portion of the 40S&W case in contrast to Lee's Deluxe Carbide resizing die which is not radiused anywhere near as much. What difference does the larger radius make, you ask? The slight case bulge in the 40S&W (as well as the 9mm) caused by the limited case support at the feed ramp area is not fully removed at the point closest to the case rim because Dillon's radius at the bottom of the carbide resizing ring allows the lowest part of the bulge to be less than fully resided. I use Dillon resizing dies for all 5 of my rifle calibers because they use a carbide expander ball, but I use Lee's Deluxe Carbide 4die pistol sets for the 6 pistol calibers I handload; two being the 40S&W and the 10mm. Why? Because with them I can resize both of these caliber back down to .421" dia all the way down to the case rim. This completely removes the case bulge allowing my 40S&W and 10mm cases to fit into any weapon or case gauge with ease. |
| Lee dies will correct that problem. As much as I want to buy Dillon pistol dies the fact that they radius them at the bottom so much means I will never own a set as it is a solution in search of a problem. Put your case into the shell plate correctly and you don't need the unnecessary radius. |
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OK I'm confused... I see people throwing around acronyms and I can only assume the meaning. Does FCD mean Factory Crimp Die? And if so, how would a crimp die have anything to do with removing the bulge at the bottom of the case? I would assume the Lee Full-Length Resizing Die would be what takes the bulge out better than the Dillon Die. But I don't know..... The Lee factory crimp die apply's a factory crimp to the case mouth and it also has a carbide ring in the bottom of the die that sizes the case as it enters the die. Basically the die sizes the case and crimps to factory specs. There are also rifle FCD's but the rifle dies do not size the case they just crimp the case mouth. .40 is no harder to load then any other round, I have hit a couple bulged cases out of the 5000 I have loaded and these just go in the trash bucket. I was loading cast at the time so I was not running the FCD as it tends to size down over sized lead bullets and creates problems. All you guys that just toss .40 brass I would be more then happy to take it off your hands as I can never have to much brass. |
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Lee dies will correct that problem. As much as I want to buy Dillon pistol dies the fact that they radius them at the bottom so much means I will never own a set as it is a solution in search of a problem. Put your case into the shell plate correctly and you don't need the unnecessary radius. Try running a set of old RCBS dies with no radius at the bottom and you will see a little is good. Every 9mm case into the sizer die needs a little finger tap to get it to feed, its a big enough pain that I just size 9mm first then re run them through the progressive to load them up. I don't load enough 9mm right now to worry about it but if I ever start cranking them out a new sizer die will be in order. |
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Lee dies will correct that problem. As much as I want to buy Dillon pistol dies the fact that they radius them at the bottom so much means I will never own a set as it is a solution in search of a problem. Put your case into the shell plate correctly and you don't need the unnecessary radius. I have an old set of RCBS .45 ACP dies with no radius and cases need to be guided in almost every time on a single stage, and certainly every time on a progressive. Even with my Lee 9mm dies cases get hung up occasionally. Dillon and Hornady work 100% and size it enough to drop in and out of a case gage freely, never had any issues with either of them 
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| I had a large lot of .45 brass shot out of Glocks . The EGW die worked wonder on that brass. I ended up selling off the rest of the brass to a guy with a roll sizer anyway though. Now that I'm getting ready to load .40S&W . I made sure I had a good source of brass that's been shot out of SIGs and has matching headstamps to boot . |
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Got the Lee FCD today and took out the crimp portion. I ran those 2 rounds that were tight through it and they dropped right into the chamber from my pistol. They still didn't pass the Wilson max gauge. I suspect that gauge is made to check for really tight chambers. Since I only own one 40 cal, I'm done for now.
The portion that wouldn't fit the gauge was the thickest area of the head. Not anything above it. I tried a case that wouldn't pass the Wilson max gauge and used a bolt as a ram to pass the case completely through to FCD. It fit the Wilson max gage. So as long as I don't have any issues with my pistol, I'll stay as is, but if I do, I'll get that bulge buster. |
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I use with success, the Dillon carbide dies on my 550. All rounds so far shoot fine through my .40S&W Glock. BTW, I lube all cases. The range brass I bought was full of bulged cases. None were bulged so bad I was afraid to re-load them though. My $.02. I'm sure they will. The Glock is the problem child causing bulged cases because the chamber is not fully supported |
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I think with the later generations of Glocks the chambers have changed to prevent the bulging.
My reloads shoot fine through my brothers 1911 .40S&W also. With that said, I must admit that I'm not impressed with my Gen 4 Glock. It has nothing to to with the way it treats brass though. I am not a big fan of striker type handguns. I bought the Glock to see if I could warm up to it and they are reasonably priced. I will never buy another striker type gun. But that's just me, and off subject. |
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I think with the later generations of Glocks the chambers have changed to prevent the bulging. My reloads shoot fine through my brothers 1911 .40S&W also. With that said, I must admit that I'm not impressed with my Gen 4 Glock. It has nothing to to with the way it treats brass though. I am not a big fan of striker type handguns. I bought the Glock to see if I could warm up to it and they are reasonably priced. I will never buy another striker type gun. But that's just me, and off subject. Just out of curiosity, but what don't you like about striker guns? |
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Go to a USPSA/IPSC match near you and ask if anyone has a Case-Pro Roll sizer. Usually someone in a club of 75-100 people will have one.
Most guys charge beer to roll size brass. I charge Ginger Ale. After I started roll sizing all my pistol brass, I stopped gauging ammo. Last year I put a PW motor on it so I no longer have to pull a handle. Just flick the switch and let it go. |
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Just out of curiosity, but what don't you like about striker guns? Quoted:
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I think with the later generations of Glocks the chambers have changed to prevent the bulging. My reloads shoot fine through my brothers 1911 .40S&W also. With that said, I must admit that I'm not impressed with my Gen 4 Glock. It has nothing to to with the way it treats brass though. I am not a big fan of striker type handguns. I bought the Glock to see if I could warm up to it and they are reasonably priced. I will never buy another striker type gun. But that's just me, and off subject. Just out of curiosity, but what don't you like about striker guns? The main thing is the trigger pull. Lack of a hammer. And the polymer frame. |
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Ok, back on topic. I decided to do a little experiment. I have two case gauges. One is a dillon and the other is a 40 S&W max Wilson gauge.
After using the dillon dies last week, I found that two out of 20 cases didn't fit the dillon case gauge and multiple didnt fit the Wilson max case gauge. Out of those 40 reloads, two or three of those rounds didnt chamber fully. You could force them but they didn't go in and come out easily. I ordered a small Lee press, the bulge buster and a deluxe 4 die Lee 40 S&W die set. I took some newly fired brass and ran it through the bulge buster alone and they didn't fit the Wilson gauge. So then I took a seperate set of cases and ran them through the lee resizer die olone and some didnt didn't fit the Wilson --all same head stamp.. So next I tried running a set through the lee sizer die and the lee factory crimp die together. Again, some didn't pass the Wilson. So, lastly, I ran some cases through the lee sizer die and then the bulge buster. Every case passed. The sizer, nor the Lee FCD fully resized the base of some of the cases. This may never be a problem for some with forgiving chambers......besides the Glock. So, what does this mean to me? As long as my loaded cases fit my chamber, I'm happy. There were a few that didnt. So probably what I'm going to do is run the lee dies instead of my dillon dies for the 40 S&W since the dillon dies don't size low enough. Into the case head area. The ones that are loaded with the lee dies that don't pass the Wilson case gauge get the bulge buster. I'll probably run the live rounds through it. I see no reason why you can't as the ram is no different than a primer seater. If the primers are seated as they should be, the ram on the bulge buster should not come into contact with the primer at all. Even if it does, it's no different than a primer seater. Of course there's other solutions like undersized sizer dies but most of those, I found, are back ordered for MONTHS The area I found that was consistently not passing the Wilson max case gauge was the area of the case head right above the extractor groove. Not the body of the case. And I'm also wondering why this area was not consistent with same head stamps, where some would pass the gauge and others wouldn't. Does this area of the case go through expansion? I would assume only the body and neck (in the case of a rifle cartridge) would expand. 
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