t0066jh Posted February 23, 2009 Share Posted February 23, 2009 I spent last evening in front of the TV checking my latest run of 600 9mm reloads for practice. I use range brass except for S&B cases which I toss out. Not counting high primers which I consider operator error I'm finding a 3-5% failure rate. Lately I've seen more cases with a bulge above the rim of the case. I'm using an SDB that has had a recent tune up from Dillon. What's you're rate and any comment you'd like to add? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RePete Posted February 23, 2009 Share Posted February 23, 2009 Using your criteria - ignoring high primers, my rate is now 0%. I roll size all my 9mm, .40S&W and 45ACP brass using a CasePro100. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
High Lord Gomer Posted February 23, 2009 Share Posted February 23, 2009 I checked a couple hundred when I bought a case gauge and all passed. Now I don't bother checking. Out of 50,000 9mm rounds loaded (mostly shot through an M&P), I've only had two failures and they were both squibs, so no sizing related problems. BTW, I use Dillon dies on a 550. The only failures I've had case gauging .223 ammo have been rims that were too large, so no resizing problems there, either. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kaiserb Posted February 23, 2009 Share Posted February 23, 2009 I spent last evening in front of the TV checking my latest run of 600 9mm reloads for practice. I use range brass except for S&B cases which I toss out. Not counting high primers which I consider operator error I'm finding a 3-5% failure rate. Lately I've seen more cases with a bulge above the rim of the case.I'm using an SDB that has had a recent tune up from Dillon. What's you're rate and any comment you'd like to add? Sounds like your resize die is either out of spec, or adjusted incorrectly. The failure rate (gauge) I usually have is under 1% Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
speculatorking Posted February 23, 2009 Share Posted February 23, 2009 I seem to get a number of rounds that don't fit the case gauge too when I reload 9mm. Not sure what %. I just seperate them from the others and use them for practice. Funny thing is, they seem to shoot fine in my gun too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jman Posted February 23, 2009 Share Posted February 23, 2009 Not good. The "U" die I use from EGW eliminates the bulge issue. The SDB obviously can't be adapted. It's a great press by the way but the proprietary dies have limitations. I would seriously consider picking up a single stage press to size/de-prime your brass in a separate process. Your rejection rate is far to high. This will make a BIG difference. Make sure your taper crimp is correct too. Should be around ~ .378 FWIW Jim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
waxman Posted February 23, 2009 Share Posted February 23, 2009 I must be doing something wrong then. I still have 1.5 to 2 out of every 100 that dont fit 100% in my case gage. I have a 550 with a egw resize, and a seperate lee Crimp die. I also notice that all of these still work fine in the guns, I just wont trust them in a match, they go in the practice bin. Something else I have noticed, I dont think it is the evil Glocks that are damaging these cases. I am almost certain, it is the 9mm major open guns. I can see in every one of the cases that there are flattening of the head stamps, and even some marks left from the breach face on the 9mm cases. My failure rate is much lower on 40, and 45. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
matt2ace Posted February 23, 2009 Share Posted February 23, 2009 (edited) I must be doing something wrong then. I still have 1.5 to 2 out of every 100 that dont fit 100% in my case gage. I have a 550 with a egw resize, and a seperate lee Crimp die. I also notice that all of these still work fine in the guns, I just wont trust them in a match, they go in the practice bin. Something else I have noticed, I dont think it is the evil Glocks that are damaging these cases. I am almost certain, it is the 9mm major open guns. I can see in every one of the cases that there are flattening of the head stamps, and even some marks left from the breach face on the 9mm cases. My failure rate is much lower on 40, and 45. I had a similar experience in 40 where normally sized rounds would work in every gun except one that turned out to have a very tight chamber. I went to a U-die in 40 and it fixed the problem completely. You may have a more extreme version of the same problem in 9mm. One suggestion is the pull the barrel and use it for your chamber check on your match ammo. I do reuse brass in my 9mm major gun without any significant issues. I do find an occasional oversized case that won't even run through my U-die (shaves brass off the case). These have not always been cases shot in open guns, but I assumed they were shot through guns with a larger chamber diameter than most. I never see any headstamp flattening or breachface marks from my open gun cases, but that could be load dependent. Edited February 24, 2009 by matt2ace Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AWLAZS Posted February 23, 2009 Share Posted February 23, 2009 All of mine pass unless I catch a bullet on the side of the case when I pull the handle. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goneracin Posted February 23, 2009 Share Posted February 23, 2009 the only ones ive had fail to drop through, it was the rim of the case, not the actual case, causing the problem. I could see where the rim was eccentric when i looked at it with a little magnification. I wanted to know why this was happening, so i took the time to figure it out. When it was in the case gauge, I could see light around all of the rim except for 1 very small area, maybe .030 long. I dont know if it came from the manufacturer with the rim being a little bit out of round, or if it happened from being loaded pretty hot and smacking the breach face. I LIGHTLY filed the small offending spot on one, it dropped through the gauge. I shot it, and reloaded it, and there were no issues at all, so im guessing it was factory that way. Not saying this is your issue, just something to look at. BTW, Im also using an SDB. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
t0066jh Posted February 23, 2009 Author Share Posted February 23, 2009 I did get a comment from one of the guys I shoot with that said that there are some hot loaded 9mm, guys loading for major power factor with comp guns. Could this be part of the problem? Like I said, I use range brass, mine plus whatever else is laying there.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
larry cazes Posted February 23, 2009 Share Posted February 23, 2009 Do the failed cases correspond to only 1 or 2 different brands that you can sort out ahead? Why don't you use the S&B? I have found their brass to be of high quality and very consistent dimensionally. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PINMAN44 Posted February 23, 2009 Share Posted February 23, 2009 my range brass I collect sometimes fails the gauge because of burs around the case head of body of the shell. so I take a light sand paper to them and then they fit the gauge. Not necessarily is it always a bulge issue in the case. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RePete Posted February 23, 2009 Share Posted February 23, 2009 FWIW. I don't pick up brass at IPSC matches. That avoids the 9mm Major brass problems. When you're load 9mm to major PF (160) you are getting a minimum of 1334 fps and most guys I know are getting 1400fps for a PF of 168. Normal PF's for 9mm are around 138ish. You don't think that the extra PF of 30 isn't stressing the case? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tzygä Posted February 23, 2009 Share Posted February 23, 2009 FWIW.I don't pick up brass at IPSC matches. That avoids the 9mm Major brass problems. When you're load 9mm to major PF (160) you are getting a minimum of 1334 fps and most guys I know are getting 1400fps for a PF of 168. Normal PF's for 9mm are around 138ish. You don't think that the extra PF of 30 isn't stressing the case? +1 If I take my own once fired brass I don't have any problems. If I collected brass at the range I do have problems with realoading them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mlmiller1 Posted February 23, 2009 Share Posted February 23, 2009 I sometimes have that level of reject but not often. It seems to come in batches. I don't reset my dies or anything so nothing is different except the brass. Once in a while, I'll just have some guppied brass with a big belly. It needs to be tossed anyway, so I just use it for practice. If it won't chamber in practice, then I get a chance to do a failure drill. It is all good! MLM Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob Boudrie Posted February 23, 2009 Share Posted February 23, 2009 Using your criteria - ignoring high primers, my rate is now 0%. I roll size all my 9mm, .40S&W and 45ACP brass using a CasePro100. Ditto. I visually check all rounds, but the Case Pro has eliminated the need to check each round. I used to think it was overpriced until they sent me one I had to give away (match sponsorship donation) and I just knew I had to have one. I've been delighted with the purchase. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RePete Posted February 23, 2009 Share Posted February 23, 2009 Using your criteria - ignoring high primers, my rate is now 0%. I roll size all my 9mm, .40S&W and 45ACP brass using a CasePro100. Ditto. I visually check all rounds, but the Case Pro has eliminated the need to check each round. I used to think it was overpriced until they sent me one I had to give away (match sponsorship donation) and I just knew I had to have one. I've been delighted with the purchase. Nice tool isn't it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gfmun Posted February 23, 2009 Share Posted February 23, 2009 I use range brass and pick up after the USPSA matches ( not a lot of local guys shooting 9 major, but no problems with those cases either ) with the only problems being nicks or indentations in the rim. Maybe one out of 2-3000 with a bulge. I use the Lee Sizing die on a Dillon XL650. thanks, George Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boz1911 Posted February 23, 2009 Share Posted February 23, 2009 Using a U-die I might have one of every 4-500 fail, and have yet to have one of the failed rounds not run during practice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MemphisMechanic Posted February 24, 2009 Share Posted February 24, 2009 I load on a 650. Setup with a Dillon size-die in station one, EGW U-die in station 2. Dillon flare/powder, seat, and crimp in the remaining three. I've only loaded about a thousand rounds since switching to this setup. But I had exactly one round fail to gauge. The brass was so bulged halfway up, that I went "DAAAAAaaammmn" before it even made it into the case gauge. Sure enough, it didn't fit. I'm going to stop gauging my ammo for local matches and practice, and only gauge ammo for big matches. I will continue to do this until it bites me in the ass at a local match. Which I don't think it will anytime soon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flatland Shooter Posted February 24, 2009 Share Posted February 24, 2009 I reload 9 Major on a 550 with all Dillon dies. Just finished gauging around 600 rds with 3 rejects. The gauge is also Dillon. All rejects were the extractor rim too large to fit into the gauge. Rounds like these seem to function just fine in my gun but to be on the safe side, they are relegated to the "practice ammo" bin. Bill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris iliff Posted February 24, 2009 Share Posted February 24, 2009 If I could afford the Casepro for rolling I'd get it, but instead I have a Lee U die and a separate single stage press that I run all my 9mm through. I pick up range brass and with the exception of a few headstamps (A-Merc is one), I load it all. I would have to say I can't remember a failure in 5 years or so of competition shooting. I can't remember the last failure I had that wasn't due to something being wrong with the gun, like a broken extractor. After the single stage U-die press everything goes right through the Dillon 650. Once that brass is undersized by the U-die, you just can't believe how easy it runs on the Dillon. Good luck!!! Just as an aside: I wish RePete's Casepro would break, I need all the help I can get to beat that guy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RePete Posted February 24, 2009 Share Posted February 24, 2009 Just as an aside: I wish RePete's Casepro would break, I need all the help I can get to beat that guy. Does BITE ME mean anything to you? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duane Thomas Posted February 25, 2009 Share Posted February 25, 2009 If we look at "won't go into the case gage" as a "failure", my failure rate is probably one every several hundred rounds. I just set those rounds aside and, later, load them into a magazine and then cycle the rounds through the action to make sure they feed, chamber and extract easily. If so, great, they go into the ammo box with everything else. If not, it's time to give the kinetic bullet puller a workout, then toss that casing in the trash to take it out of the equation permanently. (BTW, very rarely does even a "failed" round not pass the "gun" test just fine.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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