XrayDoc88

Thanks for the link to that thread and for Fasthenk65 originally asking the question. I get so much smarter by using these forums!

What is a U-die and why do you prefer that?

1. I don't really understand how COLs are determined. I understand that if a bullet is seated too deeply, there is less room for the powder which causes higher pressure. But if you seated the bullet "long", wouldn't that just decrease the maximum velocity of the bullet? My manual says to use a COL of 1.069". If I just seated longer, might these problems mostly go away? 2. I'm following this advice. 4. I deprime and then wet tumble my brass before it gets resized. 5. Again, lube all pistol cases on carbide dies? What's your favorite way to lube in bulk?

Thank you for the detail. It almost sounds like you might be back to loading at single stage press speeds however. Are you wet tumbling or dry vibrating?

The bullets are slightly tipped as they get seated. I was using the Dillon flat nose seating stem. I might try the round nose stem and perhaps the MBF expander will help the bullets sit more straight. I also use the Redding micrometer seating die on my Forster and it has worked great. I guess I can also use that on the Dillon. I was just trying to use the Dillon dies that came with the press so I could leave my Forster setup as well.

Oh my gosh! You mean some steel cases look like brass? I had no idea. I never buy steel ammo, but didn't realize it could be made to look like brass. I did have one brass looking case, (WIN I believe) last night that the bullet just dropped into when I placed it by hand. It was as if the case hadn't been resized. Was this likely a steel case? Did I damage my Dillon resizing die? I didn't have many S&B nor GFL. The WIN came the closest to passing the plunk test.

I've wondered if my OAL might be a misprint in the 2019 Hodgdon reloading magazine. For 125 gr Hornady HAP it states a COL of 1.069". That is the shortest COL for 124/125 gr bullets in the magazine. A more common COL for that weight of bullet is 1.169". Do you think that is an error? Am I seating my bullets too deep? I barely crimp to about .378". That works fine on the thinner brass. I'm sure the crimp is more damaging on the thicker brass. Should I sort brass and change the crimp for non FC, Speer, or Blazer brass? I've plunked into a Sheridan gauge and also into two of my 9mm barrels. They all stick the same.

I haven't been lubing all my brass with carbide dies. I have applied some Redding Imperial Sizing Die Wax to a few cases out of each hundred on my single stage press. I don't think I have stepped brass, but honestly had never heard of that possibility. As far as setting up the Dillon sizing die correctly, all I did was screw it down to light contact with the shell plate and then back it off 1/16 of a turn. Is there another way to check that it's sizing properly?

Wow! Thanks for the information. I don't know if this will help, but I thought I'd post a picture of the offending brass. Then I'll try to ask a few more questions.

I loaded my first 140 cartridges on the Dillon last night. It was so much faster than using my single stage press! But even so, placing the bullets by hand was the slowest step. I think I will probably add the Mr. Bullet Feeder. I just wish it was less expensive. Thanks for the insight. I have been using separate seating and crimping dies on my Forster and want to continue that on the Dillon.

Help me figure this out. I've just setup a Dillon XL 750 with all Dillon dies. I'm using 125 gr, .356" Hornady HAP bullets. I can load brass with head stamps F.C., Blazer & Speer just fine. When I load CBC, WIN, S&B, GFL or SIG the cartridges fail the plunk test. I believe the cartridges are slightly bulged or just a little too fat near the bottom of the bullet, but it's hard to know where they are rubbing for sure. I've also noticed that when running the press on these brands, they stick a little bit coming out of the powder/expansion die. This is what I think is wrong. The offending brass is probably a little thicker and my Hornady bullets are .001" larger than most. Together they make the finished case diameter a skosh too fat. Does this sound reasonable? I'm amazed that .001" and possibly the brass would make that big of a difference, but I don't know what else could be wrong. Have others experienced this problem? Is there a way to adjust the dies, change dies or change components to make all brass usable? Thanks!

My Redding isn't hollow to allow a powder drop on the Dillon press.

I came across a post from 2015 that mentions a "coke bottle" shape for brass. Rather then reviving that old thread, I'll start anew. I"ve been reloading 9mm brass on a Forster press using Redding dies. The cartridges look nice and straight when I'm finished. I just switched to a Dillon XL 750 with Dillon dies. Some of my finished cartridges have a slight constriction immediately below the seated bullet, as if the sizing die is too agressive. 1. Is this the "coke bottle" shape that the old thread mentioned was good for preventing unwanted deeper seating of the bullet in the firearm? 2. The cartridges don't look like factory ammo with this shape. Should I ignore this? 3. Wouldn't it be better to call this the "coke glass" shape, fat at the top and narrow at the bottom? 4. Or, do I need to get a different sizing die? Thanks!

Thanks for the helpful information. I will probably purchase the MBF funnel. Also, I just switched to the Dillon flat head bullet stem and I think my OALs are more consistent.

So tell me about this MBF funnel/expander. I have been reloading on a single stage press using Redding dies. The Redding expansion die works great and the slightly flared case seems to hold the bullet vertically and solidly before I seat it. My first experience using the Dillon expansion/powder die is that the bullets are always tipped quite severely before getting seated. The expansion just doesn't seem as well designed.

I'm just setting up my first Dillon XL 750 press for 9mm and Hornady HAP bullets. I would think that the flat nose stem would be the best choice, but there seems to be less "slop" when I hold the bullet in the round nose stem. Which should I use? Thanks!

I've been reloading 9mm with great success. Now I'm switching to .40 S&W. The recipe I've found is very similar, but not exact to the components I've purchased. The powder is the same. The recipe specifies Hornady 180 gr XTP bullets and Winchester SP, small pistol primers. I have Hornady 180 gr HAP bullets and CCI small pistol 500 primers. I assume the bullets are essentially identical. But does the primer difference matter? Thanks!

Yes, that's the bullet and the powder I chose to learn with.

Exciting day at the range yesterday! I fired my first 60 reloaded 9mm cartridges and every single one went boom! It was a good learning experience. My powder charge range is listed at 4.2-4.8 gr. I reloaded 15 each at 4.2, 4.3, 4.4 and 4.5 gr. The 4.2 batch caused malfunctions with almost every cartridge. I had one empty cartridge stay in the chamber, several stove pipes and several double feeds. It was a depressing start, but I assumed the powder charge was just too low. Then I shot the 4.3, 4.4 and 4.5 loads and every one cycled the gun perfectly. The 4.5 loads felt close to my American Eagle commercial loads, but I think they were still a little less powerful. I'm going to try some 4.6 and 4.7 gr loads next. I don't have a chronograph however. Any advice on how to settle on my steady load without a chronograph? I haven't seen any signs of excessive pressure so far. This is very fun!

Thanks olstyn and HesedTech. Bullet shape differences! That makes perfect sense to me. I can see how a shorter c.o.l. with the right shaped bullet might actually engage the rifling at the same time as a longer c.o.l. with a long gradual taper bullet. I've never heard that concept before. Thanks.

Thanks Sarge! I've got it dialed in correctly now. There's minimal resistance when I crimp and the case mouth measures about .377". The c.o.l. also is not changing after the crimp. I was basically squeezing the case way too hard with my first attempts at crimping. I noticed something, that leads to another question. My commercial self defense ammo has a much longer c.o.l. than the recipe I'm following for Hornady HAP bullets. I assume this is probably to accommadate a greater powder charge, plus the bullet is longer at 147gr. So I'm thinking that my HAP bullets are held back further from the throat and rifling than the self defense rounds. Am I correct that it is not a good idea to increase the c.o.l. of my target rounds to get the bullet closer to the rifling and possibly increase accuracy? I assume that this would make a larger space for the powder charge and result in lower pressures and lower velocities. My gun can obviously handle a longer c.o.l., but the longest c.o.l. isn't always desirable?

Not sure what's been confusing. I've learned a lot. Anyway, thanks for the encouragement.

So to accomplish that, do I just raise the die off of the shell holder plate? I don't see any other adjustment.

OK, I need some help. I'm using Redding dies and a Forster Co-Ax press. I'm using 125 gr Hornady HAP bullets. I have my bullet seating die adjusted so that my C.O.L. is 1.069". But when I use my Redding tapered crimp die the C.O.L. increases to 1.074". I feel quite a bit of resistance when using the crimp die and the crimp looks a little severe to me. I guess the crimp die is squeezing the bullet out a little bit. Do I back off the crimp die or do I need to do a better job when expanding the case for the bullet? I thought the crimp die was always adjusted properly when the die rested on the case holder.

So I've finally found some time to actually start the reloading process. I deprimed and then wet tumbled my brass. That is really a sweet process for making your brass look new. I set up my single stage Forster Co-Ax Press and so far I have resized and primed 200 9mm cases. I've yet to weigh powder and seat bullets, but that should occur soon. Would it be wise for me to purchase a bullet puller? I don't really know the process yet for adjusting the bullet seating depth. Will I likely go too deep on some and half to pull bullets? Which style is best, hammer or collet die?