LawDog64 Posted May 14, 2016 Share Posted May 14, 2016 I have been loading Montana Gold 115 grn FMJ's for a while now and using them in competition. However I have decided to start shooting 147 grn bullets in competition to get a lighter recoil while still maintaining a good power factor. I decided to use The Blue Bullets and loaded up 500 today. When I checked these rounds using my EGW case gauge they all failed to completely fit into the gauge. I tried using a 115gn Montana Gold bullet I had and the rounds fit perfectly. I didn't change anything on my dies when I switched to the 147 grn. Any thoughts on what would cause this or the best way to fix it? I know its not a case bulge issue as I already use the EGW undersized sizing die. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RangeHooligan Posted May 14, 2016 Share Posted May 14, 2016 LawDog, do they go into and then drop out of the chamber of the barrel from the pistol you will be firing them from? If so' you should be good to go. I haven't used Blue Bullets but if they are coated lead they probably are larger than .355, which is what your MG's are sized, and will not completely seat in your drop gauge. RH Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrumpyOne Posted May 14, 2016 Share Posted May 14, 2016 First, if you didn't change anything on your dies, you need to pull 500 bullets. The 147's will sit deeper into the case and if you still have the same powder charge you used for the 115's, you very likely have overcharged those rounds severely. And since you didn't change anything on the dies, it's also very likely that you buldged the brass seating the bullet because of the extra powder, causing them not to fit your case gauge. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gixxerjunky Posted May 14, 2016 Share Posted May 14, 2016 So you did nothing but change the bullet? Didn't drop powder or change seating depth? Who loads 500 rounds without checking them. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dee loo Posted May 14, 2016 Share Posted May 14, 2016 What's your OAL and crimp measurements. Assuming they are good, drop check the rounds in your gun barrel and see if they are okay. For me, my EGW case gauge is much tighter than my glock barrels. I use an OAL of 1.140 and crimp at .379 with Blue Bullets 147 RN. When I load with factory american made brass no issues. With foreign brass like CBC, Aguila, GFL, and military crimped brass, the center of the case wall are a little thicker than standard american brass, the 147's are much longer than 115 and will seat into this thicker area and won't reliably case gauge for me but will drop check in the factory glock barrel. HTH. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LawDog64 Posted May 14, 2016 Author Share Posted May 14, 2016 (edited) Sorry If I wasn't clear. I did change the powder measure and dropped the correct amount of powder in each case. As I went along I checked each round in my case gauge and they just wont sit flush with the top of the case gauge, they sit just a little high. They do however pass when I checked them using my barrel. I just like to be cautious which is why I would prefer them to fit into the EGW case gauge as I use a Glock 34 and know if they fit in the EGW gauge I will have no problem with feeding or extraction. Edited May 14, 2016 by LawDog64 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Southpaw Posted May 14, 2016 Share Posted May 14, 2016 The EGW case gauge is sensitive to OAL. Depending on bullet profile and OAL the bullet is likely hitting the gauge, not the brass. As long as the rounds plunk in your barrel you're GTG. I have the EGW 7 hole gauge and it's useless because of this reason for certain types of bullets and the OAL that I want to load to; I think the 147gr Blue Bullets were one of the ones that didn't work in that gauge, but it's been a while since I loaded any of them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrumpyOne Posted May 14, 2016 Share Posted May 14, 2016 What is the OAL of the new blue complete round versus the OAL of the MG complete round? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LawDog64 Posted May 14, 2016 Author Share Posted May 14, 2016 Southpaw That is the same gauge I am using and one of the guys I shoot with said the same thing I just wanted to see what y'all thought. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blackhand Posted May 15, 2016 Share Posted May 15, 2016 I have the EGW 7 hole gauge and shoot Glocks. Same experience as you guys. When loading coated lead rounds, I have to adjust the OAL shorter to pass the gauge, even though longer OALs will pass the plunk test on my Glock barrels. The coating on Blue Bullets is rougher than bullets that use Hi-Tek coating and wouldn't pass the case gauge as consistently. With an SNS Casting 147gr coated lead flat point bullet, I could load to 1.135" OAL and pass the case gauge about 95% of the time. Loading to 1.125" OAL, and the rounds would pass the gauge 100%. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CZ85Combat Posted May 15, 2016 Share Posted May 15, 2016 i used to use the EGW 50 hole gauge. EGW makes all there case gauges to minimum specs. I now use the the 100 Round Chamber Gauge from Ben Stoeger pro shop. I have case gauged 7000 + rounds with blue bullets, works like a charm. http://benstoegerproshop.com/100-hole-9mm-luger-chamber-checker-cartridge-case-gauge/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IDescribe Posted May 16, 2016 Share Posted May 16, 2016 Using that case gauge isn't being cautious; it's verifying that the bullets will work in a gun you're NOT shooting. And every time it fails a cartridge that will work just fine, you THINK it's working. Forget about it. Waste of time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rowdyb Posted May 16, 2016 Share Posted May 16, 2016 (edited) Going from fmj,cmj to a moly coated bullet I've found I need more bell. I've also found they work best without all the "cool" dies like a U-die or factory crimp dies. Jacketed bullets love that stuff, moly not soo much. And I use the barrel of the intended pistol as the case gauge, rather than a separate item. Switching them is not just plug and play in my experience. Edited May 16, 2016 by rowdyb Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrumpyOne Posted May 16, 2016 Share Posted May 16, 2016 Going from fmj,cmj to a moly coated bullet I've found I need more bell. I've also found they work best without all the "cool" dies like a U-die or factory crimp dies. Jacketed bullets love that stuff, moly not soo much. And I use the barrel of the intended pistol as the case gauge, rather than a separate item. Switching them is not just plug and play in my experience. My experiences mirror yours...I don't even own a case gauge... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CodyAxon Posted May 16, 2016 Share Posted May 16, 2016 I also use the Shockbottle 100 round 9mm case gauge with 147 grain round nose blue bullets and I rarely have rounds that fail. What OAL are you running? Different profiles dictate different lengths in order for them to pass gauge. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IDescribe Posted May 17, 2016 Share Posted May 17, 2016 (edited) Different profiles dictate different lengths in order for them to pass gauge. Do people actually let the gauge dictate the OAL or OAL range they will load at with a particular bullet? Edited May 17, 2016 by IDescribe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CodyAxon Posted May 17, 2016 Share Posted May 17, 2016 Different profiles dictate different lengths in order for them to pass gauge. Do people actually let the gauge dictate the OAL or OAL range they will load at with a particular bullet? I don't. The load I use passes the gauge without me having to change anything. Others it's really important to them to gauge everything and they would rather change the load to something that passes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darqusoull13 Posted May 18, 2016 Share Posted May 18, 2016 I loaded up a bunch of rounds and used my barrel to case gauge until I found a suitable OAL and bullet profile. I then used the "Hundo" from Ben Stoeger Pro Shop because when I'm loading up a batch of 5000 rounds of ammo to used at Majors, I don't have the time to check each round 1 at a time. If the Hundo failed them, I put them in either a practice pile or a complete fail pile. Checking OAL in YOUR barrel is important, but case gauges can be very useful tools when used properly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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