Failed the case gauge, how many?

[Jeff686]

I just started using a case gauge on my 45 ammo. I've never had a problem, but I thought some added insurance might be appropriate.

How many do you typically have that don't fit the gauge? I'm getting 10%-15% fail. They go in most of the way, but don't drop all the way. I use a Square Deal B (obviously without a full length resizing die).

[D.Hayden]

45?

Should be maybe < 1%. Maybe your resizer isn't adjusted all the way?

I'm guessing for me it's about 1 or less per thousand.

[HoMiE]

The is no adjustment for the Square Deal B press. You just drop in the sizer, seater, and crimp die and attach the toolhead. I would get a lot of cases that didn't fit the gauge, but trying them in my barrel (disassembled) they all fit.

[BritinUSA]

The case gauge could have tighter tolerances than the barrel. If they pass the drop test with your barrel then you're good to go. I used to have this issue when I used a .38 super gauge. In the end I just threw it out. It's better to use the barrel for drop testing your ammo

[D.Hayden]

The is no adjustment for the Square Deal B press.

Ouch! Sorry.. my bad...

[kevin c]

One reason for a round to no go the gauge is scratching or nicking of the case rim caused by a sharp edged extractor. The hang up is between burred metal on the rim and the mouth of the gauge (the round almost fits except for the thickness of the burred rim). For me, these cases chamber in the barrel w/o problems.

If you shoot lead, the lube can get scraped up by the case in seating the bullet, getting built up right at the mouth. That can keep the round from "head spacing" right in the gauge, and can also cause problems chambering. A round like this may not "click" as the case rim hits the front lip of the chamber or gauge, because the lube cushions the impact.

As you know, cases fired in chambers with generous dimensions ("not fully supported") can have bulges near the base that only a full length resizing die will remove. For me, these cases bind in the gauge on the case wall where the bulge remains, and may or may not chamber in the barrel. Your barrel can miss this - if the round goes into a chamber that is not itself "fully supported" so that the case bulge is in the 6:00 or 12:00 position, that looser vertical chamber dimension may let the round go in, whereas if it went in with the bulge on the sides where the chamber is tighter across, it might jam.

Remember also that nearly all case gauges are for SAAMI spec ammo. If you load your round extra long, the bullet itself may bind in the gauge if it extends beyond the standard dimensions allowed for, and, more importantly, may bind in the leade of your barrel, which could lead to dangerously high peak pressures. Here checking in the barrel becomes extremely important, at least in the development phase of loading where you are determining OAL for your load.

One quick troubleshooting check you can do for a no go round in a truly straight walled case is to flip it around and check it by dropping it in base first into the gauge. In the first and third situations described above, the case itself will usually no go. In the second and fourth, it usually fits.

Check to make sure your gauge is clean, especially if you get several no go rounds in a row - some minimum spec gauges will choke on good rounds with only the least bit of grime. Watch especially for lube build up at the chamber lip.

There are other causes for no go's on gauged ammo, such as the wrong bullet (.357 38's vs .355 380's) that I don't have personal experience with, but mebbe somebody else can pitch in with his/her own reloading woes.

kevin c

edited for clarity

Edited September 9, 2007 by kevin c

[lcs]

I just started using a case gauge on my 45 ammo. I've never had a problem, but I thought some added insurance might be appropriate.

How many do you typically have that don't fit the gauge? I'm getting 10%-15% fail. They go in most of the way, but don't drop all the way. I use a Square Deal B (obviously without a full length resizing die).

I just got back into reloading 40s with a new 650 and new dies also. Well, I was having more the 10-15% fail. I can add a new twist, as I had a Dillon case gauge and a Lee case gauge. Some would pass one but not the other gauge. I was getting some real nasty jams. It took me a while to find the culprit, CRIMP was not enough.

I thought is was the infamous "battle of the buldge" and I tried something different (to me anyway). I inserted the loaded round case first in the gauges and the rounds slid right in. Hmmmm-could not be the buldge. I then just crimped a little more and all my rounds passed the gauge. I am using Precision Molys so I was leary of crimping to much. I get less than 1% out of thou now.

Hope it helps.

[LPatterson]

I just started using a case gauge on my 45 ammo. I've never had a problem, but I thought some added insurance might be appropriate.

How many do you typically have that don't fit the gauge? I'm getting 10%-15% fail. They go in most of the way, but don't drop all the way. I use a Square Deal B (obviously without a full length resizing die).

I just got back into reloading 40s with a new 650 and new dies also. Well, I was having more the 10-15% fail. I can add a new twist, as I had a Dillon case gauge and a Lee case gauge. Some would pass one but not the other gauge. I was getting some real nasty jams. It took me a while to find the culprit, CRIMP was not enough.

I thought is was the infamous "battle of the buldge" and I tried something different (to me anyway). I inserted the loaded round case first in the gauges and the rounds slid right in. Hmmmm-could not be the buldge. I then just crimped a little more and all my rounds passed the gauge. I am using Precision Molys so I was leary of crimping to much. I get less than 1% out of thou now.

Hope it helps.

The Precision 230RN has a long ogive and needs to be loaded shorter. They were a press fit into my Midway gauge until I discovered the shiny ring on the bullet.

[DougCarden]

I have progressed.....<maybe regressed>.... to using an old .45 barrel as a case gauge. I do this for two reasons, it is faster to drop in and out than a small gauge, and it does a damn good job of finding spilt case mouths that are hard to see. The round drops in, but doesnt drop out. There is a reason....and it will make the gun puke at a match. The above info is spot on, chances are the ammo has a battered rim or something that just keeps it out of the case gauge. A little emery cloth takes care of the burrs and rough edges. Try using your barrel and see if it changes.

Good for you checking your ammo, I have a big pile to go through now.......I will be glad when I am done though!

Good luck,

DougC

[lcs]

The Precision 230RN has a long ogive and needs to be loaded shorter. They were a press fit into my Midway gauge until I discovered the shiny ring on the bullet.

+1 on the 40 185FP also. I forgot to mention I too had to load a tad shorter(I rememeber seeing the ring on a couple of bullets). So I really had two problems, OAL and crimp.

[SingleStacker45]

I just loaded 100 rds on a dillon 550 with once fired WW brass(some white box and some silver tip hollow points) and got 5 rounds that would hang on the rim of the dillon guage. Be sure your Sizer dies are set up correctly. I think alot of 45 brass has a non concentric rim. I usually look for burs on the rim and even round out the rim with a file if needed. Be carful not to remove too much or damage the web area of the case. Just look nat where the rim is cathcing onthe guage and polish a bit with the file. I have only done this with 45acp so I cannot say whether this is common with other rounds.

Mule

[waxman]

I had this problem too, until i bought my Lee crimp die, now I am running maybe 1 or 2 per 100. I will not load pistol ammo without one again. Not sure if you have a extra hole on the sdb, but there is one in my 550 .

[Jeff686]

I had this problem too, until i bought my Lee crimp die, now I am running maybe 1 or 2 per 100. I will not load pistol ammo without one again. Not sure if you have a extra hole on the sdb, but there is one in my 550 .

Nope, the SDB does not use standard dies, and it only has 4 positions. You can't use Lee dies.

Upon further inspection, I've found frequently that the rims are not coincentric with the case body. Is my resizing die doing this (shell plate not in line with die), or is some brass just sloppy. I'm only loading .45 to 165pf, so I'm not worried about used brass. If it ain't split, I'll reload it. I don't pay much attention to where I get it; mixed head stamps, found at range, gunbroker.com....

The noteworthy part, is that I've been reloading like this for a couple of years (without a case gauge), and don't think I've had a FTF because of case size/shape. I think I'll toss the 'rim fails' in my practice ammo bag, and use the gauge for match ammo.

[Carlos]

On the bright side, even if you change nothing, that 10 to 15% could be used for practice ammo and I bet most of it will work OK (unless you have different practice & match loadings; ie lead for practice & expensive jackets for match).

Let us know what you decide. Regards,

C.

[SingleStacker45]

I had this problem too, until i bought my Lee crimp die, now I am running maybe 1 or 2 per 100. I will not load pistol ammo without one again. Not sure if you have a extra hole on the sdb, but there is one in my 550 .

Nope, the SDB does not use standard dies, and it only has 4 positions. You can't use Lee dies.

Upon further inspection, I've found frequently that the rims are not coincentric with the case body. Is my resizing die doing this (shell plate not in line with die), or is some brass just sloppy. I'm only loading .45 to 165pf, so I'm not worried about used brass. If it ain't split, I'll reload it. I don't pay much attention to where I get it; mixed head stamps, found at range, gunbroker.com....

The noteworthy part, is that I've been reloading like this for a couple of years (without a case gauge), and don't think I've had a FTF because of case size/shape. I think I'll toss the 'rim fails' in my practice ammo bag, and use the gauge for match ammo.

I don't think its your setup. You should make sure by going through the process again. If its like the 550 you need to tighten the lockring wile a case is in the resize station with the ram in the up position. I've tried resetting mine numerous times and even new dies but I think it's just the brass. The good thing is I've not had any problems with the rounds that don't guage flush. At least clean up the extractor burs on the cases and you should be fine.

Mule

[mpeltier]

I have had the same experiance with my SDB and have found a slightly deformed case head to be ths culprit in many cases, I look them over and hit the spot with a small file and thay drop in the guage. Also I run them thru the press at stages 3 and 4 a second time and that seems to work on about half of the rejects I get.

[LPatterson]

The first thing I do to rounds that won't fall in & out of the case gauge is to reverse them & wiggle them into the gauge rim first. If they are still snug then they go to the practice box.

[mpeltier]

Upon further inspection, I've found frequently that the rims are not coincentric with the case body. Is my resizing die doing this (shell plate not in line with die), or is some brass just sloppy.

Are you finding this with the final loaded cartridge or inspection prior to loading? I did some investigating to see if this was occuring as a result of the reloading process or the brass was bad to start with. In my case it is something that occurs during reloading. I found this out by using all once fired brass thru my pistol and case guaging the brass prior to reloading. I only used brass that guaged perfectly (most did) and still I have a 15-20 percent failure of the reloaded components. I believe the failure is due to the thickness of the brass and bullet combined and slightly offset to the rest of the case ( the bulge if you will is not uniform all the way around the case) which gives the appearance the rim is not concentric to the case when inserted into the case gage. I am using Montana gold 9mm 147gr and Winchester brass. But it is this way with all other brass and bullet weights I have tried.

[SingleStacker45]

Upon further inspection, I've found frequently that the rims are not coincentric with the case body. Is my resizing die doing this (shell plate not in line with die), or is some brass just sloppy.

Are you finding this with the final loaded cartridge or inspection prior to loading? I did some investigating to see if this was occuring as a result of the reloading process or the brass was bad to start with. In my case it is something that occurs during reloading. I found this out by using all once fired brass thru my pistol and case guaging the brass prior to reloading. I only used brass that guaged perfectly (most did) and still I have a 15-20 percent failure of the reloaded components. I believe the failure is due to the thickness of the brass and bullet combined and slightly offset to the rest of the case ( the bulge if you will is not uniform all the way around the case) which gives the appearance the rim is not concentric to the case when inserted into the case gage. I am using Montana gold 9mm 147gr and Winchester brass. But it is this way with all other brass and bullet weights I have tried.

Are the bullets you use cast or jacketed. I'm wondering if the slightly larger cast bulets I'm using are impacting this. I don't think I had as many of these with my old LSWC but with the bullet lube all and sharp shoulder of the bullet I always had a tight fit in the guage. Maybe I need to bell more but I always try to keep this at a minimum as I have heard it improves case life not to work the brass as much.

Mule

Edited September 23, 2007 by SingleStacker45

[JFlowers]

I was having a 50% reject rate with the standard sizer using a case gauge. Everything was dropping into the chamber though. I went to a Lee undersized die from EGW and since I have not had a single reject.

[prreed10]

I had this problem too, until i bought my Lee crimp die, now I am running maybe 1 or 2 per 100. I will not load pistol ammo without one again. Not sure if you have a extra hole on the sdb, but there is one in my 550 .

Same problem and solution here. I was getting about 75-100 per 500 in .40 S&W before I got a Lee crimp die. Now I have one for each caliber I load on my 550B.