trodrig Posted February 2, 2008 Share Posted February 2, 2008 In the process of cranking out a couple hundred rounds this evening I noticed about 6 rounds out of 200 that had WILDLY shorter OAL compared to the rest of the bunch. Target was 1.240" and these six were in the 1.200" range!! After seeing the first one, I mic'ed all 200 rounds...which sucked I must say!! I'm glad I did though cause it wasn't just a single fluke! Here are the conditions: Starline 38 super comp brass once fired in my gun Dillon 650 press Dillon Sizer die Redding Comp. seater die Dillon crimp die 115gr JHP MG bullet Load is 8gr Longshot with WSR primers. Could it be that the Dillon sizer die is not compressing the once fired brass enough and when the loaded round tumbles down into the box that I'm getting a little bit of set back? Any other ideas on what might be causing this? I'm gonna load another batch soon and see if I have the same intermittent issue but I just wanted to see if anyone had any suggestions. Thanks a bunch! Trodrig Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gm iprod Posted February 2, 2008 Share Posted February 2, 2008 1. Check the case length of the short loaded rounds. 2. Check the amount of crimp. It may be related to the case length issue, if you have one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yoshidaex Posted February 2, 2008 Share Posted February 2, 2008 make sure all your dies are clean on the inside. I don't think a round will set back when it tumbles down the chute. As far as OAL is concerned, I try for a target of 1.165 OAL but end up with rounds from 1.160 to 1.170 oal. They all shoot fine for my needs and don't notice any difference. This is with 8.5 of longshot for a PF of 163. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrawandDuck Posted February 2, 2008 Share Posted February 2, 2008 When I first started shooting open I would pick up anyones .38 super that left it. During reloading I noticed that certain types of brass, after resizing, was still too large and when I would place the bullet on the case it would simply fall down into the case prior to even going into the seating die. That lead to me marking and picking up ONLY my brass. Randal Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trodrig Posted February 2, 2008 Author Share Posted February 2, 2008 Wow! Yoshidaex, are you loading 1.165" in 38SC? If that's the case, I guess at 1.24" I've got some margin with respect to safety but I still don't like the lack of uniformity. Checked the length of the cases and they don't deviate much from the rest of my batch of brass. I can't say I didn't pick up anyone else's brass from the range but I think most of what I have has only been fired in my gun. I visually inspected and they are all Starline. The dies all look pretty clean but before I load again I'll disassemble them and wipe'em down just to make 100% sure. Any other ideas? Should I go ahead and get the U-die just to add a little extra neck tension? Thanks, Trodrig Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Allgoodhits Posted February 2, 2008 Share Posted February 2, 2008 Wow! Yoshidaex, are you loading 1.165" in 38SC? If that's the case, I guess at 1.24" I've got some margin with respect to safety but I still don't like the lack of uniformity.Checked the length of the cases and they don't deviate much from the rest of my batch of brass. I can't say I didn't pick up anyone else's brass from the range but I think most of what I have has only been fired in my gun. I visually inspected and they are all Starline. The dies all look pretty clean but before I load again I'll disassemble them and wipe'em down just to make 100% sure. Any other ideas? Should I go ahead and get the U-die just to add a little extra neck tension? Thanks, Trodrig If you have checked what others have suggested, you may check the shell plate too. Perhaps there is too much "rock" in the shell plate. If so this "may" contribute to greater than normal OAL variation. Yous could also "shim" where the tool head slides into the loader. There is much slop there too which may contribute to variations in OAL. Next make sure no 9mm Super Comp or 9x23 brass has found it's way into your .38 Super Comp pile. At quick glance the case rim & head look very similar, yet a .38 Super sizing die will not (at least with mine) resize the neck area enough to stop the bullet from dropping in too far and there will be little if any crimp. MJ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yoshidaex Posted February 2, 2008 Share Posted February 2, 2008 Wow! Yoshidaex, are you loading 1.165" in 38SC? If that's the case, I guess at 1.24" I've got some margin with respect to safety but I still don't like the lack of uniformity. Sorry, I should have mentioned I'm loading for 9mm major. I used the OAL values just as an example of the possible spread in OAL I get. Should I go ahead and get the U-die just to add a little extra neck tension? An EGW "U" die would prevent possible bullet set back. I use them for every caliber I load up for. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trodrig Posted February 3, 2008 Author Share Posted February 3, 2008 Thanks folks! I think my problem is the powder funnel. Loaded rounds are pretty easy to push the bullet back by pressing against the bench. Shooting this batch of rounds yesterday produced a ton of malfunctions with the slide not fully into battery. Almost every one of the rounds that malfunctioned had some bullet setback. I did change to a different powder funnel so I'm pretty sure that's the issue. I'm gonna change it back today and see if I can make some improvements! Thanks, Trodrig Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yoshidaex Posted February 3, 2008 Share Posted February 3, 2008 you might want to verify if your dillon sizer die is contacting the shell plate slightly. Bullet set back in a properly sized case is fairly difficult to do (unless you got gorilla strength ). If your sizer die is setup correctly, i would suggest the EGW "U" die. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trodrig Posted February 4, 2008 Author Share Posted February 4, 2008 Yup, sizer is set up correctly. I backed off on how much I belled the case and I can still push the bullet in by hand. It's harder than it was before adjusting the bell, but still too easy. Chambering some dummies still results in a few thousands setback, especially with a full mag. I'm guessing I never ran into this before because up until now I've been shooting nothing but brand new brass. With my once fired brass, after sizing I can slide the powder funnel in and out of the case by hand which leads me to believe it's not being sized down nearly enough! Trodrig Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trodrig Posted March 3, 2008 Author Share Posted March 3, 2008 Finally got around to trying some loads that I made up with the Lee U-die. What a difference! No jams, no bullet set back! Much better performance than before! Xre suggested that the bullet setback was absorbing some of the spring energy and preventing the slide from going fully to battery. I think that was right on the money! Thanks again to everyone! Trodrig Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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