Need advice - troubleshooting 40 loads with coated bullets

[IHAVEGAS]

On 5/18/2017 at 0:27 PM, Hi-Power Jack said:

3% isn't too bad - as you mentioned, most of them would probably load and fire

successfully.

 

I just take the failed cartridges and use them for practice - I use a LOT more than

3% in practice, anyway.     

 

+1 

I keep them separate and use them for a practice session or local match where I do not retrieve the brass. Almost never have an issue with shooting them. 

 

Other thing. Usually coated bullets are larger diameter than jacketed, from memory in 9mm Montana golds are advertised at .354 and the coated I use are advertised at .356.  .

(220-221 whatever it takes). 

[IDescribe]

On 6/29/2017 at 7:15 AM, IHAVEGAS said:

 

+1 

I keep them separate and use them for a practice session or local match where I do not retrieve the brass. Almost never have an issue with shooting them. 

 

Other thing. Usually coated bullets are larger diameter than jacketed, from memory in 9mm Montana golds are advertised at .354 and the coated I use are advertised at .356.  .

(220-221 whatever it takes). 

 

Right.  In 9mm, .355 is standard for jacketed, but some pistols do better with .356.  In lead or coated lead, .356 is standard, and some pistols do better with .357 or .358.  People will tell you to slug your barrel.  I find it easier to just shoot both in a pistol to figure out what the pistol prefers.   

[Fantom919]

On 6/28/2017 at 11:12 AM, JayDee said:

Thanks to everyone for the advice. It seems like it ws combination of coated bullets and crimp die that needed some tweaking in my system. I finally figured out an adjustment that gets really good results:

 

I ended up adjusting my Lee factory crimp die about 1/4 turn tighter. The crimp is about .420-.421, which is just under spec. I thought this was where the FC die was set, but evidently it still needed a little more for the ammo to pass the case gauge. I also go a hundo XL case gauge. I've cut the number of rounds that fail the case gauge in half. Now, when I'm sizing finished cartridges, only 2-3 out of 100 fail the case gauge. These are added to my practice stash and have so far worked 100% of the time, so I'm really happy with the results. 

 

PS-  Eggleston bullets have been very consistent and accurate from both my 1911s and my CZ. Great price too. 

 

Do your bullets easily fall into the case gauge? I just got a Hundo XL after trying the normal Hundo and all of mine seem to stop short (maybe 2 widths of the case rim) and I have to give them a little push to get them flush. You can see that the brass gets a little scuffed from having to press the round down. 

 

Here is my setup:

Dillon 550

Blue bullets 200gr, Bayou 180gr, Montana gold 180gr

Crimp .421/.422

OAL 1.185

All brass goes through GR-X die before loading

 

Do I need to crimp more? Doing the case wall thickness x 2 + bullet diameter .421/.422 seems to be correct. I'm worried going down to .419/.420 is going to swage the bullet a bit. 

 

It could be that I'm just used to using my 9mm Hundo gauge where they all fall in with no resistance as well.

Any input would be appreciated.

[IHAVEGAS]

Sizing die down all the way (lots of folks use the Lee or EGW undersized dies for various reasons, some grind off the bottom of the sizing die to eliminate taper).

 

Too much crimp on coated bullets can have you shooting curve balls at the targets out past 15 yards or so. I sight in at 15 but check at 30 & 50 after finding that out the hard way. 

Edited December 2, 2017 by IHAVEGAS

[Fantom919]

On 12/2/2017 at 12:37 PM, IHAVEGAS said:

Sizing die down all the way (lots of folks use the Lee or EGW undersized dies for various reasons, some grind off the bottom of the sizing die to eliminate taper).

 

Too much crimp on coated bullets can have you shooting curve balls at the targets out past 15 yards or so. I sight in at 15 but check at 30 & 50 after finding that out the hard way. 

 Thanks I'll have to look into that a bit more.

 

All of the rounds seem to drop in just fine if I do the base of the bullet first so that should confirm at least I won't have any issues further down the round right? Or is that not worth the time since I already use the GRX die?

Edited December 4, 2017 by Fantom919

[CamboSoup22]

http://forums.brianenos.com/topic/255752-acceptable-oal-variance/

 

The thread discusses some similar issues dealing in 9. I made the following comment there that I learned about loading coated lead. 

 

I had similar issues when loading the same bullet. Getting the crimp right was a big part of it as most have said. I cant find my oal for that specific round but i want to say it was around 1.130. Loaded it for a glock22 with 9 conversion barrel. I also found that the lyman m expanding die helped a lot with consistency of seating those bullets as well. Using the lee expander i wouldnt be able to press the bullets as straight down as i wanted. With the 147 that youre using it was enough to cause the ogive to kiss the lands and not go to full battery especially at the longer range of your oal. It could also fail the chamber check as well. Switching to the m die pretty much eliminated that issue. I now use the lyman m for all my expansion needs. They are pretty much the same design as the daa powderfunnels (i recently switched to these since i got a bullet feeder and lost a stage) Excellent product that i would highly recommend.

 

good luck and happy loading. Hope you solve your issues soon!

Edited December 5, 2017 by CamboSoup22

[IHAVEGAS]

3 hours ago, Fantom919 said:

 

All of the rounds seem to drop in just fine if I do the base of the bullet first so that should confirm at least I won't have any issues further down the round right?

 

Seems right.