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S&W 929 WON'T RUN MY RELOADS !!!!


TheGoatMumbler

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I was hoping to use the same  9mm reloads I run in my Walther PPQ Q5 SF  in my 929.  Blue Bullet 147g RN, 3.1g VV H320, 1.135 OAL, 880fps.  After the first shot it locks up the cylinder, won't rotate, won't open without a serious palm wack. Moon clip won't eject without a wack from my rubber hammer on the ejector rod . It shoots my Fenix reloads fine and box ammo as well.

What am I missing?

Edited by TheGoatMumbler
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I could run 1000 rnds through my gun before even scrubbing the cyl with a cotton brush!

 

130 gr Montana Gold .356 RN with 4.6 gr of Universal Clay's at 1.100" oal and a Federal Small Primer.

 

This is my exact same load since 1997 with my 627s that both shoot well with a ton of miles on them.

Edited by Bill Sahlberg
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It's the brass issue - if it expands too easily, it will stick. 

 

I have a very similar load, except I use .356 BB which are listed at 147 (they are actually 150), 3.2 grains of N320 (it was 3.1, I bumped it to 3.2 to be safe at chrono) and a bit shorter OAL at 1.120 (to fit some CZs). Range mix brass that I sometimes shoot in practice will occasionally stick and make the cylinder hard to rotate, hard to extract or both. Not to mention that the range mix will have all sorts of issues with the thicker TKC moonclips (0.040), but it's good enough for messing around. 

 

Get uniform brass that won't stick, get matching moonclips and call it good. 

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Running coated 147 9mms (SNS & Bayou, .356) in my 929 gave me major leading issues at about the same power factor you are at.

 

To keep that thing happy I ended up with .358 160 grain (either SNS or Bayou work fine), all winchester brass and using a Lee U die. 

 

Perhaps you will have better luck finding a 9 load that all of your guns like. 

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Lee U Die and rollsizing = never, ever had a problem.  I also use only Blazer brass (but didn't always).  I did always bulge bust until that got tiresome so I upgraded.

 

I also load long, not sure if it makes a difference, 1.185"  and like others .358" lead.

Edited by MikeyScuba
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I'm using range brass that I wet tumble for 2 hrs then dry tumble to finish for another 1 1/2 hrs with a tad of polish to make them slick & shiny. I am getting a bit of a coke bottle shape after I reload this brass and bullet combo though. TK moon clips is all I use. I'm a newbie on my Dillon XL750 but all the ammo I've produced has worked fine in the semi auto so far and I case check every round. Anything that is remotely questionable goes in the practice ammo bin.

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32 minutes ago, TheGoatMumbler said:

I'm using range brass that I wet tumble for 2 hrs then dry tumble to finish for another 1 1/2 hrs with a tad of polish to make them slick & shiny. I am getting a bit of a coke bottle shape after I reload this brass and bullet combo though. TK moon clips is all I use. I'm a newbie on my Dillon XL750 but all the ammo I've produced has worked fine in the semi auto so far and I case check every round. Anything that is remotely questionable goes in the practice ammo bin.

 

As stated it is probably some of your brass. I had the same issues for awhile. Went with lighter bullets - 96gr coated for SC, (back to 147gr coated now for steel and they are fine) and sorted through my brass. Now I use Federal pretty much exclusively. That's what works for me. Winchester seems good too, but I buy enough Federals once fired / once a year to see me through. Then they go into the auto/mixed/range brass bucket.

I use .040 moonclips mostly for matches. I use .035 for practice and local matches because they load easily by hand. I also use RIMZ for practice because there is just no moonclip easier to use! RIMZ begin to wear a bit around 45K rounds BTW. Not magnetic so not great for run and gun though.

The 929 was designed for the .035 clips. I think if the trigger is done correctly the .035 are fine and don't need that extra .005 insurance.

Of course, YMMV.

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You run exact load I did with no issues at all,  Winchester brass only.  Are these .355 Blue's or .358??  Any chance your Bullets are pulling out of the case at all after the first shot?  If you load into cylinder and the try to eject without firing a round do they eject OK?

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They measure .353-.354. I can load a moon clip full in the cylinder without any problem and they eject fine. Same for my Fenix 147's. Not sure if any are pulling out but I'll check at the range  Thursday. The problem after the first shot seems to send the remaining 7 rounds and the moon clip back a few thousands against the back of the frame wedging it in. I'll take a feeler gauge with me to check the before and after shot clearance btw the cases and the frame.

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21 minutes ago, ysrracer said:

When my gunsmith slugged my 929 barrel, it measured .357. Is that what you guys are seeing too?

I had been running .355".  Slugged my barrel @ .3575 as well as my cylinders measuring same.  Just ordered .358" 160gr Bayou's to give a try as many others have suggested.

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1 hour ago, TheGoatMumbler said:

They measure .353-.354. I can load a moon clip full in the cylinder without any problem and they eject fine. Same for my Fenix 147's. Not sure if any are pulling out but I'll check at the range  Thursday. The problem after the first shot seems to send the remaining 7 rounds and the moon clip back a few thousands against the back of the frame wedging it in. I'll take a feeler gauge with me to check the before and after shot clearance btw the cases and the frame.

Sounds to me you have bullet backing out..  Did you notice when you finally got the cylinder open one of the bullets nose having a ding mark where it contacted breech?

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Can you even get the cylinder open?  I had to use a squid rod to hammer a round back in when I was figuring things out.

 

....in my wife’s gun.  Every reloading f...kup I’ve had happens in her gun, never mine.  Like a really new really shiny STI DVC.  Couldn’t get it to fire damm it,  Turns out it was a squib.  I really tried to get it to go into battery.....  a round was stuck in there just enough to save my #ss. 
 

I would try some rollsized/bulge busted brass first.  I never ever get a stuck moon, even with one with 4 cracked cases.

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On 2/25/2020 at 7:15 PM, NoSteel said:

I had been running .355".  Slugged my barrel @ .3575 as well as my cylinders measuring same.  Just ordered .358" 160gr Bayou's to give a try as many others have suggested.

 

If your barrel is .357 shouldn't you be using .358?

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I’ve have the same issue sometimes.  I read that nickel plates brass also work best, but haven’t tried them exclusively.  I’m using 145gr 0.356” Acme bullets with 3.1 of TG.  
 

What’s baffling that the revolver works fine with factory ammo.   Personally I thing that the brass needs an undersized die.   

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1 hour ago, ysrracer said:

 

If your barrel is .357 shouldn't you be using .358?

Mine was an early manufacture date and while I used it in a few matches it had to go back to S&W for 6 months to correct issues.  Pretty much went in the safe after that.  Ran .355 before it became common knowledge S&W fooled us!!!  Actually,  it runs the .355's fine and with Blue's I never saw leading issues.

 

 

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After some extensive testing today and lots of caliper measurements, we've determined that I may have a problem with my resizing die. It ran my buddies reloads fine. We clean our brass the same, both use 3.1g of VV H320, 147g RN Blue Bullets and Fed Gold Medal primers. It also ran Blazer brass FMJRN box ammo , Fenix RN target 147g ammo and some reloads with Frontier 147g  RN bullets. In short, the problem looks like the new guy at the reloading bench. :( I'll work on it this weekend.

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