Chris Keen Posted June 7, 2006 Share Posted June 7, 2006 (edited) Been having some troubles with 9mm brass lately. I load on a 550B with a new case-feeder (LOVE it!) and I'm using standard Dillon 9mm dies. Lately I have had allot of cases go up into the sizing die, and come back back down NOT de-primed. It dosent stop me cold, but it is a PITA. It seems to happen with any kind of brass (Win, Speer, etc.) and it seems to be happening more and more. I tightened up the de-priming pin once before, and just did it again last night. No problems yet, but I have slowed down today, as I am now loading "match only" ammo. Also once in a great while I will get a case that seems to be "loose". When I set the bullet on top, it falls right in the mouth. This only happens on 1 out of 100 cases, but its annoying too. I usually notice it right away, but what scares me is last night I caught one that slipped past me. I was putting all my loaded rounds into trays for inspection, mostly looking at primers, and I saw one shorter than the rest. Sure enough when I looked closer the bullet was set-back. When I pulled on it .... it came right out with finger pulling only. ~ Scary From that point on I started pushing down on all the bullets as I set them in the mouth of the case. Putting more downward pressure on all bullets makes me feel better, but takes alot longer too. ETA I am using once-fired brass Everything seems to be tight. Any ideas ??? Edited June 7, 2006 by CHRIS KEEN Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shawn Knight Posted June 8, 2006 Share Posted June 8, 2006 How far does the primer get pushed out? If at all? Does the Primer get dented back out? Is there a crimp on the brass? Is your die loose? I had a decapping pin assy come loose but the pin it self was still fine the entire part was loose. I have see pins get scored and slide in and out of the pin holder even though they were very tight. I was reloading some 45 and the pin got the tip caught in a bad piece of brass and it broke the tip off. It looked OK but it was about 3mm short and just could not hit the primers. Just some suggestions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kevin c Posted June 8, 2006 Share Posted June 8, 2006 Short or loose decapping pins are possiblities. Another is that the edges of the pin, if new, are not broken. If too sharp, the primer can stick to the pin and can get pulled back into the primer pocket. Stone or file the edges of the pin and see if that helps. If a case is so loose that the bullet slides right in, check to make sure it isn't cracked. Check the bullets too. 9mm should have a diameter of .355", and if some are smaller, they might not get the tight fit in the case mouth needed. If not, I'd guess that there's something wrong with your die. Check to see if the carbide ring is broken. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Keen Posted June 8, 2006 Author Share Posted June 8, 2006 Well I've loaded 400 rds so far tonight, and no troubles. I've been going alot slower tonight, and I also sorted out all the Speer, RP, Geco, Indipendance, etc brass, and I am loading only Winchester brass. So far no worries. In regards to the "loose-ness" issue I was talking about, after finding a loose case, and throwing it out, the same bullet in the very next case never replicated the same results. I did mic the bullet and saw nothing to be worried about. .355 all the way! Could be a cracked carbide ring, I'll look tonight. But why would it cease when going slow and smooth? And i've yet to have a primer NOT pop out. Before they were not even beginning to push out. I had to re-attempt the de-priming process. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TBF Posted June 8, 2006 Share Posted June 8, 2006 Short or loose decapping pins are possiblities. Another is that the edges of the pin, if new, are not broken. If too sharp, the primer can stick to the pin and can get pulled back into the primer pocket. Stone or file the edges of the pin and see if that helps.If a case is so loose that the bullet slides right in, check to make sure it isn't cracked. Check the bullets too. 9mm should have a diameter of .355", and if some are smaller, they might not get the tight fit in the case mouth needed. If not, I'd guess that there's something wrong with your die. Check to see if the carbide ring is broken. I had a a couple of dies that pulled the primers back in once in a while. A few strokes of a file fixed them. I would be measuring some stuff too... Travis F. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Keen Posted June 8, 2006 Author Share Posted June 8, 2006 Love to, but how do I know what the factory specs on a decapping pin should be ? I know call Dillon. Hmmm .... too late tonight. OK ..... tomorrow ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DJPoLo Posted June 8, 2006 Share Posted June 8, 2006 ...I'm using standard Dillon 9mm dies. Lately I have had allot of cases go up into the sizing die, and come back back down NOT de-primed. Interesting... I've just begun having the same problem with .40 brass and my SDB. I just figured I was short-stroking the handle on the way down. -Chet Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChuckS Posted June 8, 2006 Share Posted June 8, 2006 Hi guys, I am pretty sure I have seen primer "pull-back" discussed in a few of the other reloading threads here on the forums. I seem to recall that the consensus was to make the decap pin end more pointy. That's what I did on my 550 and 650. Later, Chuck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XRe Posted June 8, 2006 Share Posted June 8, 2006 My understanding of why it happens is that the decap pin has a rough or sharp edge that digs into the primer material, allowing the primer to sort of grip the pin. The primer never drops of the pin and is instead pulled back up into the primer pocket. I've experienced this myself w/ .45 and CCI primers using Dillon dies. Round off the tip of the decap pin and polish - ie, so there's not sharp edges. Making it "more pointy" as ChuckS describes may have the same effect - nothing to grab onto like a nice square-ish edge... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChuckS Posted June 8, 2006 Share Posted June 8, 2006 I was having pull-back maybe every 20-30 rounds on my 550. I was loading used .40 S&W. It was really begining to piss me off. I finally read the forums and tried to put a radius on the edge of the pin and polishing it. That helped, but not completely. I still got one in less than 100 rounds. More reading let me to the post where someone had converged on the solution of "more pointy" as a fix. So now I do a pretty radical bevel on the edge of the pin and I don't recall getting any pull backs since. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikeAZ Posted June 8, 2006 Share Posted June 8, 2006 FYI, While this may not be the answer you are seeking????, The EGW "U" (LEE) die has eliminated any 9mm re-loading problems I've had. I can also get a minimum of 3 loadings(172 PF) from once fired ANY headstamp brass before I toss it. I can load 9mm MGold 124 FMJ out to 1.200 with NO loose bullets. I've loaded 000's & 000's of rounds, no problems EXCEPT 1 Berdan primed case which broke the "pin". I use the "U" die for 9mm,38SC, 40 S&W and 45 cal. (I do slightly lube all cases in all calibers). I have had the primer not completly be removed ONLY on S & B brass w/the "red" stuff on the primer. They work for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Dunn Posted June 8, 2006 Share Posted June 8, 2006 +1 on the "U" die as cheap insurance against bullet setback. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rishii Posted June 9, 2006 Share Posted June 9, 2006 I had the same issue with loose case necks in 9mm a long time ago. I finally narrowed it down to winchester brass. they would be fine for a couple of loadings, maybe, then they would lose tension. never had a similar problem with any other brand of 9mm brass. I currently use federal and speer brass for my production gun, and still tend to toss the winchester. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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