Hi, I am new to reloading. All (but one) of my 9mm is failing both the "plunk and turn" test and the case gauge checker test. I have not installed the primer nor the powder.
One round has passed the "plunk and turn" test and case gauge checker, however I didn't write down what I did that allowed it to pass. Not sure if its the press now..
The setup:
Dillon 550B Reloading Press
Dillon 9mm Carbide Reloading Dies 14406
KKM 1:32 Match Grade Barrel
EGW 7 Bullet Case Gauge Checker
The Components:
Brazos 115gr bullets in 0.356"
Starline or Federal brass, once fired
The Process:
Brass is inspected and cleaned
Pre-sizing
Brass passes the case gauge checker without sizing
Re-sizing
Brass passes the case gauge checker and can be dropped/turned inside the gun barrel
Brass measures 0.377" at the head and ~0.387" at the bottom
Was thinking the bottom "bulge" was the issue, however after putting brass through the resizing stage, I would test it via the case gauge checker / barrel turn test and it passes.
Expansion
The brass mouth is expanded properly so a bullet can be seated with minimal bell shape
Seat
The bullet is seated in the brass mouth. There are no burrs, noticeable signs of crooked bullet placement
OAL is ~1.128.
Taper Crimp
Crimp is applied and measures 0.376" to 0.377"
OAL is ~1.128.
Plunk Test / Case Gauge Checker
Fails. The round sticks slightly outside of the barrel or case gauge.
Other Tests:
I've also used just brass and no bullet going through the same process (no bullet is seated) steps 2 through 7 and it passes.
I'm thinking the issue is with the seating die, so I repeated steps 2:7 testing various seating parameters. I've seated bullets from 1.1 to 1.38. All fail.
I've removed bullets from Atlanta Arms and Winchester rounds and replaced the Brazos bullet with either of these two and it still fails both tests.
I've removed brass from AA and WIN rounds to see if it was a brass issue and rounds fail both tests.
AA and WIN manufactured ammo passes both tests, so the problem is not in the barrel or gauge checker.
I purchased a new Dillon 9mm die set to replace with the existing one. It will arrive today, so I might switch these out to test if the dies are having issues.
I'm out of ideas at the moment. I'm going to try to load 45 to see if I have the same issue to understand if the problem might be in the press itself. Any help would be greatly appreciated. I've been working through this problem for two weeks and cannot find a solution.
Photo of round after going through steps 2:7.
Fails plunk test, sticks out slightly from barrel. Makes a straight mark through the sharpie at the base of the round on the brass. I disassembled this exact brass, removed sharpie, resized and it passes case gauge checker... Not sure what to do.
https://ibb.co/9cxmqLc
