Another bulging 40 case question

[JMPhotog]

Before I go and buy a GRX or Lee bulge buster, am I missing something? I’m using a LNL AP press, EGW U-die which is adjusted as low as it can go. I’m using the Hornady nitride taper crimp die and loading Bayou 180gr. I’m getting close to 20% failure on the Hundo XL. The failures go into practice ammo, but even a couple of those won’t even chamber in my CK Arms. Am I missing something or is a push through really ticket?

[bwikel]

You state you have the EGW U-die set as low as it can go, does that mean you have the press set up to cam over at the end of the stroke? If not I would test that and pull several cases off the press after sizing to see if they pass the Hundo gage. 

[Banacek]

You are not missing anything but where are you sourcing your brass that you are getting that many failures?  It would have to be Glock brass from what I have heard.  I ran all of my .40 through the GRX, its just worth my piece of mind, I also bought the GRX because I reload .357 SIG and that saves me a ton of time doing the GRX die and then running it in my Dillon 550 with just a whiff of lube for the cases. 

 

The GRX is worth it if you are running a ton of range .40 cal brass

[JMPhotog]

Mixed range brass from matches mostly. A buddy gave me a bunch that he shot mostly with a Glock. 

Yes, the press does cam over at the end of the stroke.

[Rnlinebacker]

Before I go and buy a GRX or Lee bulge buster, am I missing something? I’m using a LNL AP press, EGW U-die which is adjusted as low as it can go. I’m using the Hornady nitride taper crimp die and loading Bayou 180gr. I’m getting close to 20% failure on the Hundo XL. The failures go into practice ammo, but even a couple of those won’t even chamber in my CK Arms. Am I missing something or is a push through really ticket?

Hi J, resize 10 cases and throw them into the hundo without a bullet in them. What results do you get?

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[MikeyScuba]

Are u new to  reloading 40? First time using these projectiles?

[JMPhotog]

11 minutes ago, MikeyScuba said:

Are u new to  reloading 40? First time using these projectiles?

 

Started reloading 40 back in July when I started shooting 40 in Limited.

[muncie21]

1 hour ago, JMPhotog said:

I’m getting close to 20% failure on the Hundo XL.

 

My Hundo has tighter tolerance than my Dillon case gauge.  Luckily the tolerance of the barrels on my pistols is greater than both the Dillon or Hundo. Moral of the story- use your barrel as a case gauge if you're unsure. 

I use my Hundo for mass case gauging before a match, however I have enough experience with it to know how high is too high for my guns.

[JMPhotog]

34 minutes ago, Rnlinebacker said:

Hi J, resize 10 cases and throw them into the hundo without a bullet in them. What results do you get?

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Hmmmm... I just ran 25 through just the U-Die and they all dropped right in the Hundo. OK, so now what, I am intrigued? What else am I doing wrong?

[MikeyScuba]

I have bullets going in ever so slightly crooked.  You will notice a bulge on one side from the base of the round but not the other side.  Have a look

[MikeBurgess]

9 minutes ago, JMPhotog said:

Hmmmm... I just ran 25 through just the U-Die and they all dropped right in the Hundo. OK, so now what, I am intrigued? What else am I doing wrong?

now look at the bullets,  

they can be slightly too large to fit the throat on your gauge and or gun 

they can be fat enough to make the brass to large to fit the chamber 

you could not be taking all the bell out with your crimp

you could be over crimping and causing a bulge

lots to check

[JMPhotog]

OK, I just took the 25 that I ran through the U-die and now ran them fully through the press. I had 5 that would not chamber check. It is going in until the last third, it looks like I am creating bulge near the rim. Am I over crimping?

[Naka16]

From Lee's bulge buster instructions: 

 

"The Lee Bulge Buster Kit restores free function of rimless cases that have low base bulges. Low base bulges usually occur from chambers that do not fully support the cartridge or cases resized in carbide dies from manufacturers other than Lee. These show a noticeable stop ring near the base. You will most likely find cases with these problems in mixed range brass. Do not use the Bulge Buster Kit to reload for the 40 S&W Glock or similar guns with chambers that do not fully support the cartridge due to the intrusion of the feed ramp."

 

I know that I would have quite a few range pickup brass reloads that won't fit in my Wilson(or Dillon, I can't remember) case gauge while using the dillon 3 die set. The bulge buster fixed the problem, but it does take a good while to run a few hundred empty cases/loaded rounds through it. 

[JMPhotog]

Here’s some of the culprits 

[SWprotected]

Drop them in the hundo primer down, if they fit you know its not the case but the bullet. The GRX will fix brass related issues for sure I have used one for the last couple of years.

[MikeyScuba]

Crooked bullets. See the rim at the base? Especially the top round.  I still get 1-2% like that so I didn’t do anything but I did bell less at the powder station and switch bullets.  Only for $ reasons but it did reduce issues 

Edited March 25, 2019 by MikeyScuba

[wgj3]

Just now, MikeyScuba said:

Crooked bullets. See the rim at the base? Especially the top round.  

 

Best way to fix?

Add a little more bell to help seating?

[MikeyScuba]

Opposite, sorry for the edit

 

[Rnlinebacker]

Hmmmm... I just ran 25 through just the U-Die and they all dropped right in the Hundo. OK, so now what, I am intrigued? What else am I doing wrong?

what overall length are you running? what company bullets are you using?

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[JMPhotog]

11 minutes ago, Rnlinebacker said:

what overall length are you running? what company bullets are you using?

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1.180 OAL and Bayou 180 gr TCG

[Rnlinebacker]

1.180 OAL and Bayou 180 gr TCG

are you using hornady dies besides the U-die?

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[858]

40SW is a straight wall case, there should be no bulge of any kind. 40SW should be boringly easy to reload without any of the idiosyncrasies of 9mm. This is probably an issue with your seating stem. Does the bullet fit into the stem taper or is it seating from the nose of the bullet? If it is seating from the bullet tip you may need to modify the stem.

 

 

[Brooke]

When I first started loading 40 I had this problem. About drove me crazy.

 

Put the loaded round into the gauge upside down. If it drops freely to where the bullet end of the case is even with the gauge surface, you have a crimp issue. Tighten your crimp slightly and it should go away. I never have the problem now and rounds drop freely into the 40XL gauge.

 

One other thing I changed (not sure how important it was to the fix), I went from a 0.401 coated bullet to a 0.400 coated Blue Bullet. Believe it or not it might be important because the 40XL gauge freely accepts a max diameter of 0.423 and rejects 0.424. Many of the 0.401 coated bullets will be damaged by cranking down to 0.423. The BB coating on a 0.400 bullet is thin and resistant to damage.I think that helped me also.

 

I went from a frustrating situation with 40 where I thought I would never be able to load it successfully to a miracle result where the problem disappeared. Interestingly since I use a Lee undersize resizing die, I took out the Lee Factory Crimp Die in the crimp station and went back to a Dillon crimp die. That allows me to operate only on the crimp area of the cartridge at the crimp station. The case diameter at the bullet end is now 0.422-0.423. The rounds gauge just like a factory round.

[Furrly]

Could be your bullets are oversized.. I used 401 and they where a Pain.. I only load 400 now and they are a dream to load.. 

[JMPhotog]

Thanks for all the helpful info. I tried the suggestions here and have come to believe it’s a concentric issue and crimp. The bullets gauge perfect upside down up to the end of the case. I ordered a Lee Factory crimp die and also a new seating die, the Redding competition micro. I was using the Hornady seater/taper crimp die, but only using it as a seating die. I don’t know how to explain it, but the case only goes in so far then gets stuck on the sleeve of the die. I believe the case is then being crushed a little by the die when the seating is being done. See pic below. That’s why I’m biting the bullet and getting a new seating die, and the LFC die was only a couple bucks so why not try it. The Hornady die had 2 seating stems. I was using the one with concave tip. I tried the flat ended stem but that didn’t seem to help the concentric issue.