harleyfan Posted March 10, 2017 Share Posted March 10, 2017 Bought and loaded some .40 200gr Acme bullets. Loaded them to 1.22. About half of them stick in my Lyman case gauge and in the barrel of my STI edge. I can't find any variance between bullets that stick or don't. If I pull the bullets the cases gauge fine. Could it be an issue with concentricity? At a loss. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tomjerry1 Posted March 10, 2017 Share Posted March 10, 2017 OAL maybe to long, use a caliper to measure your chamber and case gauge depth Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
harleyfan Posted March 10, 2017 Author Share Posted March 10, 2017 Did that. Thanks. Some stock and some don't, same oal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rishii Posted March 10, 2017 Share Posted March 10, 2017 Mixed brass? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob DuBois Posted March 10, 2017 Share Posted March 10, 2017 U die Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarge Posted March 10, 2017 Share Posted March 10, 2017 Simply sound too long to me Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hi-Power Jack Posted March 10, 2017 Share Posted March 10, 2017 7 hours ago, harleyfan said: Some stick and some don't, same oal. There's always a variation in OAL. If you set OAL to 1.22", some will come out as 1.20" (and they will NOT stick) and some will come out at 1.24" (and they WILL stick). Try dropping it to 1.18" and see what happens. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gransport Posted March 10, 2017 Share Posted March 10, 2017 Try coating the entire bullet and brass with a Sharpie. Then run it in and out of the case gage a bunch, pushing a little hard where it sticks. The look for rub marks to learn what the issue is. Probably just that the bullet isn't seated 100% straight. That'll put a slight bulge in one side of the case. That's my guess :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DougM Posted March 10, 2017 Share Posted March 10, 2017 Most likely your problem is one (or both) of two things. Either your brass hasn't been fully resized or your case flair hasn't been completely straightened out in your taper crimping stage. Resizing 40S&W in a press can be hit or miss due to slight bulges that may be present near the base that a die often doesn't completely reach. This is why many of us use a U-Die or other push-thru option with 40S&W and never need it for anything else. Once I made that a part of my normal reloading process, I had no more problems. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarge Posted March 10, 2017 Share Posted March 10, 2017 2 hours ago, Hi-Power Jack said: There's always a variation in OAL. If you set OAL to 1.22", some will come out as 1.20" (and they will NOT stick) and some will come out at 1.24" (and they WILL stick). Try dropping it to 1.18" and see what happens. Absolutely correct! First thing to do is measure the rounds that pass and then those that don't. It only takes 1/1000th to be too long Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
harleyfan Posted March 10, 2017 Author Share Posted March 10, 2017 I think it may be a variation in the diameter of the bullets. These are supposed to be sized to .401 but they are measuring .402. I have measured both the loaded rounds and just the projectiles prior to loading (no change). I have checked overall length of the bullets that are sticking in the barrel and there is no coloration. Some of the ones that stick are slightly longer than the ones that don't and vice versa. All of the bullets (sticking or not) are measuring .402. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hi-Power Jack Posted March 10, 2017 Share Posted March 10, 2017 4 minutes ago, harleyfan said: I think it may be a variation in the diameter of the bullets. These are supposed to be sized to .401 but they are measuring .402. If you're "crimping" - the variation in bullet diameter shouldn't matter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
harleyfan Posted March 10, 2017 Author Share Posted March 10, 2017 1 minute ago, Hi-Power Jack said: If you're "crimping" - the variation in bullet diameter shouldn't matter. It is the portion of the bullet, forward of the case, that is sticking in the bore. It has to be either a tiny variation in diameter or a variation in the shape of the ogive in these round nose bullets. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
superdude Posted March 10, 2017 Share Posted March 10, 2017 Do what gransport suggested. Use a magic marker and this will tell you EXACTLY why they are sticking. Then you'll know how to fit it. This link explains how that works: http://www.shootingtimes.com/reloading/reloading-tips-the-plunk-test/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrashDodson Posted March 10, 2017 Share Posted March 10, 2017 what barrel is it? I have had similar issues where blue bullets that are sized .400 and have a different profile then most all other bullets chamber in almost everything, other .401 bullets with different profiles are hit or miss. Especially in "AET" barrels. I dropped my AOL from 1.22 to 1.19 and have had much better luck and better feeding reliability. 1.19 feeds better out of the mags for me then 1.22. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
harleyfan Posted March 10, 2017 Author Share Posted March 10, 2017 I will do some more testing when I get home this evening. I will let you know what I find out. Thank all of you kind gentlemen for the advice! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
harleyfan Posted March 11, 2017 Author Share Posted March 11, 2017 Well, here is where I am. Overall length has zero effect on this problem. Some bullets loaded to 1.229 load fine, some at 1.15 stick in the barrel. If I load one of the sticking rounds and and allow the slide to close with full force, it shaves the Hi-Tek coating and (come lead) off of one side of the bullet. I would have to assume this means that these bullets are not seating straight in the case. These are round nose bullets and I am using a Lee bullet seating die. I am careful to make sure that the bullets are straight when they enter the die. Ideas? Am I looking in the wrong area? Maybe I should just go back to plated bullets and be done with this BS. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
harleyfan Posted March 11, 2017 Author Share Posted March 11, 2017 I also forced loaded rounds into a case gauge and got the same result. Scraped coating and lead off of one side of bullet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrashDodson Posted March 11, 2017 Share Posted March 11, 2017 What brand bullets? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
harleyfan Posted March 11, 2017 Author Share Posted March 11, 2017 21 minutes ago, CrashDodson said: What brand bullets? Acme 200 gr round nose. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IATURNKEY Posted March 13, 2017 Share Posted March 13, 2017 I had a similar problem recently. I was using up some Missouri Bullet Company uncoated cast 200gr. and they would stick in my EGW case gauge and in my Glock 35 with a KKM Barrel. After measuring the bullets, I found most of them measure .40175 compared to my BBI that measure .40050. I contacted KKM and they advised me that the barrel could be throated to accept my ammo with the larger .401 bullet. Sent the barrel out with a couple of my inert cartridges and received it back a couple of weeks later. Now all my ammo passes that plunk test without any problems. I also found that the Dillon case gauges are a little more open and will work to measure the ammo loaded with the .401 bullets. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrashDodson Posted March 13, 2017 Share Posted March 13, 2017 I had my barrel throated to accept more bullets as well. No perceivable change in accuracy and no more malfunctions due to the slide not going into battery. I dont have any experience with acme bullets and have only ran 180 grain bullets. Blue bullets are sized .400, have a thinner profile and seem to run 100% in all of my barrels. That blue stuff rubs off and I find that annoying. I had an SV with an AET barrel and super tight chamber. In that gun I would have trouble running anything but blue bullets. I have another SV that has their regular hybrid barrel. Most bullets ran fine but I had the occasional problem you are having. I had this barrel reamed and no longer have any of these problems. I am having a new gun built by Peine Custom and sending him some of my bullets to make sure the barrel accepts all of them. I am now running bullets made by "Tougher n' Nails" and have not had any problems. If your bullets are very inconsistently sized I would ask ACME about that. If you want to reliably run all different brands of bullets I would have your barrel reamed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
harleyfan Posted March 14, 2017 Author Share Posted March 14, 2017 I had my barrel throated to accept more bullets as well. No perceivable change in accuracy and no more malfunctions due to the slide not going into battery. I dont have any experience with acme bullets and have only ran 180 grain bullets. Blue bullets are sized .400, have a thinner profile and seem to run 100% in all of my barrels. That blue stuff rubs off and I find that annoying. I had an SV with an AET barrel and super tight chamber. In that gun I would have trouble running anything but blue bullets. I have another SV that has their regular hybrid barrel. Most bullets ran fine but I had the occasional problem you are having. I had this barrel reamed and no longer have any of these problems. I am having a new gun built by Peine Custom and sending him some of my bullets to make sure the barrel accepts all of them. I am now running bullets made by "Tougher n' Nails" and have not had any problems. If your bullets are very inconsistently sized I would ask ACME about that. If you want to reliably run all different brands of bullets I would have your barrel reamed. I think you are right. It is a combination of a tight throat and misaligned bullets that are slightly too large in diameter. Even the bullets that gauge correctly are a tight fit in the barrel when it is a little dirty. I am going to fix the misalignment problem and try .400, xtreme, plated bullets.Sent from my XT1585 using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Edmooberry Posted April 5, 2017 Share Posted April 5, 2017 I run 200gr SNS coated without issue. All of the bullets I have measured are .401 or a hair under. I keep them at 1.15" oal and they have run 100% through my DVC. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now