Paulie Posted March 24, 2018 Share Posted March 24, 2018 My 40 loads are not fitting in LE Wilson 40 case gauge and I’m not sure why. First four rounds get stuck just before the rim goes into gauge. -I just increased OAL to load for a new gun. -Brand new 40 brass from Xtreme -xtreme 180 grain JHP plated bullets -1.185 OAL -Dillon 650 and dies Brass goes in fine frontward and backward. Obviously new brass doesn’t have a “glock bulge”. Thinking it’s one of three things: 1) LE Wilson gauge isn’t designed for 1.185 OAL in some way. Worked fine on all my shorter loads. 2) I have a concentricity issue- shell plate wobbly or something. 3) Crimp. New gun coming this week! Please help me out! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
microham Posted March 24, 2018 Share Posted March 24, 2018 21 minutes ago, Paulie said: My 40 loads are not fitting in LE Wilson 40 case gauge and I’m not sure why. First four rounds get stuck just before the rim goes into gauge. -I just increased OAL to load for a new gun. -Brand new 40 brass from Xtreme -xtreme 180 grain JHP plated bullets -1.185 OAL -Dillon 650 and dies Brass goes in fine frontward and backward. Obviously new brass doesn’t have a “glock bulge”. Thinking it’s one of three things: 1) LE Wilson gauge isn’t designed for 1.185 OAL in some way. Worked fine on all my shorter loads. 2) I have a concentricity issue- shell plate wobbly or something. 3) Crimp. New gun coming this week! Please help me out! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paulie Posted March 24, 2018 Author Share Posted March 24, 2018 I guess it could also be gunk in the gauge where it steps up but I didn’t observe anything that seemed extraordinary. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
microham Posted March 24, 2018 Share Posted March 24, 2018 Are you sizing the new brass? Try the brass just after sizing in the gauge. It should go flush with the gauge. Also check your crimp if the bell is not removed it won't gauge. The oal. should not keep the round from gauging, the projectile should just stick out the bottom. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paulie Posted March 24, 2018 Author Share Posted March 24, 2018 7 minutes ago, microham said: Are you sizing the new brass? Try the brass just after sizing in the gauge. It should go flush with the gauge. Also check your crimp if the bell is not removed it won't gauge. The oal. should not keep the round from gauging, the projectile should just stick out the bottom. Thanks for the suggestions! -Yes, sizing. -Will check after sizing. -Agree it could be insufficient crimp. I admittedly just wing it on crimping. Will give it more and try again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paulie Posted March 25, 2018 Author Share Posted March 25, 2018 It’s not crimp or the case resizing. I marked the bullet with a sharpie and it’s catching the last 6/100ths as it passes the barrel step portion of the gauge.... evenly all the way around so I think concentricity is okay. The bullet passes until the taper is done and the widest part of the bullet is tested. I measure the bullets to .400. I can’t tell if the bullets are bad or the guage is too tight. My Lyman manual shows .4005 for the bullet, .423 mouth of brass and .424 for tail end. I’m inside of those measurements all the way around. I have zeroed my caliper. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hi-Power Jack Posted March 25, 2018 Share Posted March 25, 2018 Have you tried a slightly longer, or shorter, OAL ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paulie Posted March 25, 2018 Author Share Posted March 25, 2018 (edited) 24 minutes ago, Hi-Power Jack said: Have you tried a slightly longer, or shorter, OAL ? Shorter OAL worked previously with same bullets. Assume that the portion that is catching was crimped down a bit at 1.130 out of my glock vs 1.185 for my forthcoming 2011. I just bought 2,000 of these 180 gr JHP’s on the St Patrick’s day promotion. I hope I didn’t waste my money. Found an interesting article http://www.shootingtimes.com/reloading/reloading-tips-the-plunk-test/ The blue sharpie’ed round is what mine looks like. Seems to suggest it it loaded too long. I could load shorter like the article says but 1.185 was the builder’s recommendation. I guess I’ll just wait for the gun to arrive and chamber check in the actual barrel. Maybe his barrel runs bigger than this guage. Edited March 25, 2018 by Paulie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hi-Power Jack Posted March 25, 2018 Share Posted March 25, 2018 10 hours ago, Paulie said: Shorter OAL works with same bullets. The blue sharpie’ed round seems to suggest its loaded too long. I could load shorter like the article says but 1.185" was the builder’s recommendation. Every time you change the bullet (not just the weight, but also the make) you have to run The Plunk Test and might have to lengthen or shorten the OAL. Possible the builder was using a different brand bullet ? All the evidence you provided above seems to support the notion that a shorter OAL will really help Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paulie Posted March 25, 2018 Author Share Posted March 25, 2018 2 hours ago, Hi-Power Jack said: Every time you change the bullet (not just the weight, but also the make) you have to run The Plunk Test and might have to lengthen or shorten the OAL. Possible the builder was using a different brand bullet ? All the evidence you provided above seems to support the notion that a shorter OAL will really help Backpedaling a bit but I think it’s the guage. Shouldnt’t a .400 bullet (no case on it) be able to pass thru the entire case guage including the throat portion? I took one bullet (no case) from each of the five boxes I have and each is uniform width. They each get stuck at start of the throat coming in right side up or upside down. That tells me that the bulllets are within spec and not tapered too large toward bottom but rather the guage is varying clearance. Unless the beginning of the throat is supposed to be smaller than the bullet’s max diameter, LE Wilson is wrong here. Can anyone recommend a guage that definitely works with 1.185 xtreme JHP’s? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cs62 Posted March 26, 2018 Share Posted March 26, 2018 Dillon single gauges work for me just fine for spot checks, I also use Shockbottle gauges for final gauging. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paulie Posted March 26, 2018 Author Share Posted March 26, 2018 5 hours ago, cs62 said: Dillon single gauges work for me just fine for spot checks, I also use Shockbottle gauges for final gauging. What type of bullets are you running? Same ones? Thx Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cs62 Posted March 26, 2018 Share Posted March 26, 2018 15 minutes ago, Paulie said: What type of bullets are you running? Same ones? Thx Xtreme 180 RNFP with mixed range brass at 1.185" OAL. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
5pins Posted March 27, 2018 Share Posted March 27, 2018 (edited) On 3/25/2018 at 11:40 AM, Paulie said: Shouldnt’t a .400 bullet (no case on it) be able to pass thru the entire case guage including the throat portion? No it should not. It sound like you need to seat it deeper. At least that's the case with my EGW gauge. Edited March 27, 2018 by 5pins Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dlightning Posted March 31, 2018 Share Posted March 31, 2018 How is it in your barrel? In and out spinning freely? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paulie Posted March 31, 2018 Author Share Posted March 31, 2018 2 hours ago, dlightning said: How is it in your barrel? In and out spinning freely? So I’m learning as I go with reloading and the 1911 platform. It turns out that longer OAL ammo will not gauge in a standard SAMI gauge. I emailed the builder and he recommended the shockbottle xl Hundo gauge. The ammo now gauges perfectly. I’ll chamber check the ammo too but I’m pretty sure it’s GTG. Just got the gun yesterday. Thx Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dlightning Posted April 1, 2018 Share Posted April 1, 2018 That is what I use. The Hondo so that I can check 100 at a time. Good luck with the plateform. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dlightning Posted April 1, 2018 Share Posted April 1, 2018 How are you determining OAL? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paulie Posted June 27, 2018 Author Share Posted June 27, 2018 On 4/1/2018 at 9:12 AM, dlightning said: How are you determining OAL? Hornady digital calipers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4n2t0 Posted June 30, 2018 Share Posted June 30, 2018 (edited) On 6/27/2018 at 1:09 PM, Paulie said: Hornady digital calipers. The correct answer is that your barrel should always determine the max OAL for a given bullet (new bullet/barrel combo, new OAL). Once you know that figure you can shorten the OAL should you choose to do so. Edited June 30, 2018 by 4n2t0 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paulie Posted June 30, 2018 Author Share Posted June 30, 2018 43 minutes ago, 4n2t0 said: The correct answer is that your barrel should always determine the max OAL for a given bullet (new bullet/barrel combo, new OAL). Once you know that figure you can shorten the OAL should you choose to do so. Sorry I was slow on the uptake there. I am using the OAL recommended by the builder. Anyway- I’ve had zero gauging issues or ammo issues since switching to the Shockbottle XL Hundo. Best invention since the wheel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4n2t0 Posted June 30, 2018 Share Posted June 30, 2018 1 hour ago, Paulie said: I am using the OAL recommended by the builder. You keep saying that but what the builder recommends means very little, especially if/when you decide to load a different bullet. I'm not sure why they even recommended an OAL, OAL's should be found not recommended. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paulie Posted June 30, 2018 Author Share Posted June 30, 2018 19 minutes ago, 4n2t0 said: You keep saying that but what the builder recommends means very little, especially if/when you decide to load a different bullet. I'm not sure why they even recommended an OAL, OAL's should be found not recommended. Good point. Will double check that the length is appropriate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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