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Posted: 11/4/2010 8:37:04 AM EDT
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So I JUST started reloading. got a set of 9mm dies, primers(small pistol, CCI) , primer pocket cleaner, berry's bullets(124 grain) , pound of IMR 700x hi skor, and a bunch my buddie's mixed once fired brass. I cleaned it all up in his tumbler, deprimed it all(about 2k rounds, on a single stage, and Yes my bicep is that strong), and then opened the neck on all of them, primed, and worked up a load (3.0 grains of IMR 700x hi skor, data showed 2.9 min 3.6 max). dropped in bullets and they sank past the bell on some of my cases till the slug was resting on the powder(way too short), others were perfect and sat just where they should have on the bell and pressed in and crimped at the same time by the die and were "finished"(i think). several issues arose when i was doing this though.
one, is using mixed brass a problem becuase the variances in thickness would change the "belling" of the brass, resulting in some slugs falling through the "sweet spot" and far below the OAL required. two, my slugs are loose in the brass, I can wiggle them up and down about 1 or 2 100th's of an inch. the brass crimped into the side of the slug and then the slug was pressed down by the OAL center post of the die, this created a small ring around each bullet. three, im paranoid, is my load too light or to much powder for my p95 ruger(I care far more about my hand/face, than the gun). |
| I don't sort my 9mm brass when loading light charges and 122 grn hard cast lead. That said when I started I had problems with bullets keyholing or lead being scraped away by the case. It was solved by re-reading the instructions that came with the dies and making adjustments. IMHO as long as you are using a light powder charge then there is no need to sort by brand. You still need to sort out the cracked cases and the 380 autos and 9x18s I also throw out the ones with crimped primers as I don't want to bother reaming the pocket out. |
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You didn't say that you sized them but I want to assume you did. That was my first thought too. If sized, make sure you're not overdoing the case mouth expansion...use just a small amount. I barely expand my pistol rounds to keep neck tension tight and to avoid having to do a crimp - I use just enough crimp to remove the bell. |
| To me it seems you are over-expanding the neck, and using too much crimp. Berry's bullets are plated lead, they are not jacketed so heavy crimping is going to compromise the shape of the bullet. If bullets are falling into the case you are belling way too much, the trumpet appearance of the case mouth should be so slight as to almost be unnoticable. If you can see a trumpet shape, you are expanding the case mouth too much. Back off the expander die. Generally I don't even need to expand cases, the only time this operation should be done is if you can not seat a bullet in the case without shaving copper or lead off the bullet. |
| what type of dies you useing? i know on the lee your 2nd stage bell/powder drop you dont need to pull the handle all the way down just kept a eye on the podwer drop and just a little pressure on the case you will feel this action over time. with a lite load i wouldnt really worry about loseing fingers. but make sure you check evey 10 th bullet or so for o.a.l and powder |
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To me it seems you are over-expanding the neck, and using too much crimp. Berry's bullets are plated lead, they are not jacketed so heavy crimping is going to compromise the shape of the bullet. If bullets are falling into the case you are belling way too much, the trumpet appearance of the case mouth should be so slight as to almost be unnoticable. If you can see a trumpet shape, you are expanding the case mouth too much. Back off the expander die. Generally I don't even need to expand cases, the only time this operation should be done is if you can not seat a bullet in the case without shaving copper or lead off the bullet. I agree that too much crimp will ruin the plated lead bullet, more or less squishing it smaller than it's suppose to be. The crimp only needs to make the case wall straight again, no extra pressure should be applied to the bullet. I think the only way you can get the bullet to wiggle is by forcing it smaller than originally intended. |
| I think you need to look at readjusting your dies, on my 550 when I set up for 9MM I adjust the funnel to cycle the powder bar 100% open then turn it in by small increments until I get a very small bell maybe .002-.003" (the bullet just sits on top barely inside) and as far as the taper crimp goes I set it at bullet diam +wall thickness x 2 which comes to .374-.376" and I have never had a issue with set back or the bullet dropping on top of the powder during reloading and I pick up range brass all the time |
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I highly recommend a Wilson case gauge for 9MM. Quick way to check max length and correct body taper after resizing.
It also helps pinpoint oddball brass that should be scrapped. I came across a bunch of once-fired 9MM brass that had a "spare tire" just above the case rim. The resizing die did not remove or straighten out the fat spot, and the resized brass would not fully seat in my case gauge. I tossed 'em in the brass bucket. |
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Quoted:
I highly recommend a Wilson case gauge for 9MM. Quick way to check max length and correct body taper after resizing. It also helps pinpoint oddball brass that should be scrapped. I came across a bunch of once-fired 9MM brass that had a "spare tire" just above the case rim. The resizing die did not remove or straighten out the fat spot, and the resized brass would not fully seat in my case gauge. I tossed 'em in the brass bucket. +1 and if you don't have one shame on you but you can drop your barrel out and use it |
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