DAA Mr. Bullet Feeder not playing nicely with concave base 9mm bullets

[regor]

I bought a Mr. Bullet feeder earlier this year and loaded several thousands of rounds of 9 Major with 115gr Montana Gold FMJs and it worked beautifully once I followed the setup guide. I recently switched my toolhead over to load stock up some 9 minor ammo with some 115gr concave base projectiles I got in bulk a while back and even after re-doing the MBF setup process I've had double bullet drops about 50% of the time that I can't seem to make go away. I think the issue is that the concave base bullets allow the next bullet to nest low enough that it can pass the ball bearings before there is enough pressure to hold it in the up position. I've tried tuning the die adjustment but if I back the die out any more it will stop dropping the bullets entirely. 

 

I am aware the MBF can have issues with double drops if the spring tube is pulling on the plexiglass tube that extends above the die and preventing the die from reliably dropping all the way each cycle; I have moved the main unit so that the die is not under any tension and can cycle up and all the way back down smoothly, but the issue still happens. Weight does seem to be a factor in the issue; when there are only 2-3 bullets left in the die the issue doesn't happen at all. When there are 4-5 it happens, but probably <25%. 

 

It was enough of a nuisance that removed the plexiglass extension and have been starting the die with two bullets and dropping a new one in with every press cycle, but that's much less efficient than the MBF is under normal conditions (still better than manually placing though). Has anybody encountered similar issues with concave base bullets and managed to fix it? 

[regor]

Example of the nesting I am talking about. Funny the first couple times, frustrating the 200th. 

 

[xrayfk05]

The 9mm  dropper has 2 options for the ball bearings, one for long (normal) bullets and 1 for shorter bullets.

Have you tried the shorter option?

[HOGRIDER]

Lot of good info here...........

 

https://www.doublealpha.biz/us/mrbulletfeeder-video-tutorials

 

[iflyskyhigh]

8 hours ago, xrayfk05 said:

The 9mm  dropper has 2 options for the ball bearings, one for long (normal) bullets and 1 for shorter bullets.

Have you tried the shorter option?

I’ve never had to change ball bearing settings in the umpteen thousands of rounds I’ve loaded on the 650 with case and bullet feeder.

 

Not saying don’t do it, but usually you can fine tune the adjustment on the bullet feeder itself to get it to run smoothly

 

I’ve loaded everything from tiny 95gr MG JHPs too the longest 147’s.

 

I do use the spring attachments that pull the feeding tube back down for light or odd shaped bullets on 9MM and 223. Makes a big difference. DAA and Armanov both sell the spring attachments. 

[regor]

17 minutes ago, iflyskyhigh said:

I do use the spring attachments that pull the feeding tube back down for light or odd shaped bullets on 9MM and 223. Makes a big difference. DAA and Armanov both sell the spring attachments. 

 

I'm not sure this will really solve the issue considering it happens even when the feeding tube is removed and it's just the base die. If there are more than 3 bullets in the die body it starts to happen. But it's worth trying so I'll see if I can hack together something that does the same thing as the DAA before buying the nice version. 

 

8 hours ago, xrayfk05 said:

The 9mm  dropper has 2 options for the ball bearings, one for long (normal) bullets and 1 for shorter bullets.

Have you tried the shorter option?

 

I can't find any documentation on that being the case and DAA only sells one style of replacement bearings for 9mm. https://www.doublealpha.biz/us/mr-bulletfeeder-dropper-ball-bearing. Mine came with two sets but as far as I am aware they were just spares because they are so easy to drop and lose if you take the die apart. Maybe one size of bearings up would work with what is essentially a very short bullet behavior issue. 

[HesedTech]

7 minutes ago, regor said:

I can't find any documentation on that being the case and DAA only sells one style of replacement bearings for 9mm.

It's not about the size of the bearings, rather it's about the upper or lower holes in the drop tube. I tend to find the upper holes work best and allows more up and down adjustment to the die preventing double drops.

[HOGRIDER]

29 minutes ago, HesedTech said:

It's not about the size of the bearings, rather it's about the upper or lower holes in the drop tube. I tend to find the upper holes work best and allows more up and down adjustment to the die preventing double drops.

@HesedTechis absolutely correct.  The upper and lower holes are designed for different weight bullets and may take some readjusting for the 115g your wanting to use.

 

This video gives some great instruction:

 

 

 

[regor]

9 hours ago, HesedTech said:

It's not about the size of the bearings, rather it's about the upper or lower holes in the drop tube. I tend to find the upper holes work best and allows more up and down adjustment to the die preventing double drops.

Ohhhhh, okay I know what you are talking about. Next time I am at the bench I will check which set of holes I am using and try swapping. 

[Service Desk]

On 10/28/2022 at 6:25 PM, xrayfk05 said:

The 9mm  dropper has 2 options for the ball bearings, one for long (normal) bullets and 1 for shorter bullets.

Have you tried the shorter option?

I read this in the  MBF instructions….then used the top set of holes for everything other than 85gr .355 Sierra HP’s