Bulging at base of 9x19 cases

[G-ManBart]

Just out of curiosity, why does Schueman flute these chambers?

Their websit has a detailed info sheet on the AET if you want to read up. As I understand it the cartridge will always be slightly loose in the chamber of an auto pistol and that means it will be lying on the bottom of the chamber....so it's not centered. That means when the bullet leaves the case it's not going to be perfectly concentric with the bore and that's going to cause deformation. With the flutes, the gas will enter the flutes and center the case in the chamber so that the bullet is better aligned with the bore. They're very shallow (.003") and barely leave a mark on the case...more of a shadow line than anything. R,

[Jody Waring]

Isn't there a brand of pistol that uses fluted chambers like this- HK? A buddy of mine who is on the Police force mentioned something to me one time of a sidearm they evaluated and I think he mentioned something about a fluted chamber, but he was talking over my head and I didn't really get what he was trying to explain to me.

[SharonAnne9x23]

As I read and looked at the pictures I became quite alarmed. Those barrels are a mess.

Look at the bottom left picture on post #40. There is a huge gap between the case and the hood. I cannot get the finger nail of my pinky between the hood and case of my 9x23 .

On post #52 you can see further butchery of the barrels.

The top left barrel you can see that the face of the barrel chamber has been pushed forward, on an angle. Look where the chamber face meets the hood. This is barrel #071079.

The bottom right barrel, #090102 shows the same 'modification'. You can also see the difference between the two barrel hoods.

My Nowlin 9x23 barrel has 0.030" between the bevel of the extractor groove and the chamber face. The pictured barrels have much more clearance.

If as the OP has stated, the bulged brass fits in the chamber then there must be a donut shaped gouge in the chamber. Otherwise the brass could not have bulged as it did and fit in the chamber.

Go back to post #40 and look at the bottom left picture. You an see some primer flow around the firing pin dent.

Also look at the feed ramp. It looks like some bullets are making double strikes while feeding.

The brass really looks like the gun fired out of battery.

With the other 'modifications' that are evident from the pictures, I would not be surprised to find some home 'trigger tuning'.

I do believe, based on the pictures the OP has posted, that what we have is a severe case of kitchen table hack job.

Regarding 9mm Luger major I do believe USPSA erred in removing the ban. I checked every ammunition web page I could find and NONE made major (165pf). Even CorBon did not make it. Where are the manufacturers USPSA found that make 9mm Luger major power ammunition? Don't point at Atlanta Arms and Ammo. They label theirs as .355 Super, NOT 9mm Luger.

I would like to see some of the so called '9mm Luger major power factor' ammunition pressure tested in a certified pressure barrel. I doubt that any could make major within the SAAMI pressure standards.

After all, that was why USPSA removed the 9mm Luger/major ban; they asserted that there were readily available sources of 9mm Luger ammunition that make major power factor within SAAMI standards. Where are they?

[olp73]

Isn't there a brand of pistol that uses fluted chambers like this- HK? A buddy of mine who is on the Police force mentioned something to me one time of a sidearm they evaluated and I think he mentioned something about a fluted chamber, but he was talking over my head and I didn't really get what he was trying to explain to me.

that is correct. a lot of HK arms use fluted chambers. rifles, submachineguns alike.

Edited April 3, 2009 by olp73

[Shay1911]

As I read and looked at the pictures I became quite alarmed. Those barrels are a mess.

Look at the bottom left picture on post #40. There is a huge gap between the case and the hood. I cannot get the finger nail of my pinky between the hood and case of my 9x23 .

On post #52 you can see further butchery of the barrels.

The top left barrel you can see that the face of the barrel chamber has been pushed forward, on an angle. Look where the chamber face meets the hood. This is barrel #071079.

The bottom right barrel, #090102 shows the same 'modification'. You can also see the difference between the two barrel hoods.

My Nowlin 9x23 barrel has 0.030" between the bevel of the extractor groove and the chamber face. The pictured barrels have much more clearance.

If as the OP has stated, the bulged brass fits in the chamber then there must be a donut shaped gouge in the chamber. Otherwise the brass could not have bulged as it did and fit in the chamber.

Go back to post #40 and look at the bottom left picture. You an see some primer flow around the firing pin dent.

Also look at the feed ramp. It looks like some bullets are making double strikes while feeding.

The brass really looks like the gun fired out of battery.

With the other 'modifications' that are evident from the pictures, I would not be surprised to find some home 'trigger tuning'.

I do believe, based on the pictures the OP has posted, that what we have is a severe case of kitchen table hack job.

Regarding 9mm Luger major I do believe USPSA erred in removing the ban. I checked every ammunition web page I could find and NONE made major (165pf). Even CorBon did not make it. Where are the manufacturers USPSA found that make 9mm Luger major power ammunition? Don't point at Atlanta Arms and Ammo. They label theirs as .355 Super, NOT 9mm Luger.

I would like to see some of the so called '9mm Luger major power factor' ammunition pressure tested in a certified pressure barrel. I doubt that any could make major within the SAAMI pressure standards.

After all, that was why USPSA removed the 9mm Luger/major ban; they asserted that there were readily available sources of 9mm Luger ammunition that make major power factor within SAAMI standards. Where are they?

Great post!

What do you think of fully supported chambers in 9mm major? Where the case is totally covered and the chamber is tight all around the case? If the brass is held in tight, does the pressure matter as much? Doesn't the barrel take the pressure in that case vs. the brass?

Thanks.

[matt2ace]

As I read and looked at the pictures I became quite alarmed. Those barrels are a mess.

The brass really looks like the gun fired out of battery.

With the other 'modifications' that are evident from the pictures, I would not be surprised to find some home 'trigger tuning'.

I do believe, based on the pictures the OP has posted, that what we have is a severe case of kitchen table hack job.

You are incorrect........

I have done NOTHING to either gun with the exception of polishing the ramp on the KEAL gun. I stated several times in this thread that I do not hack or tune my guns. I use qualified and trusted gunsmiths to do all work. The GANs gun is brand new, just from the builder. The KEAL gun was built a year earlier and it a completely different configuration. Both of these builders have extremely good reputations for quality and integrity. To have exactly the same problem from 2 different guns, built by 2 builders is very hard to believe. I consider your comments unfair to say the least.

Perhaps the pictures I have taken are not at the best angle to see how a good case fits into these barrels. I will work on a few more pix, using a loaded case to help with this discussion. I am contacting Wil Shuemann to discuss the comments by many of the posters here. I believe that it is time to get Wil's input on these barrels. If nessasary, I will send the barrels to Wil for inspection.

One question I have related to firing out of battery.......if that were the case here, would I not expect to see any fired rounds show signs of bulging, no matter what PF?

I have clear and extensive evidence that, with my loads, anything less than 165PF NEVER shows signs of bulging. I have inspected alteast 200 cases from my own loads ranging from 155 - 165PF without and signs of bulging. I have also shot 100 rounds of 147gr loads using Power Pistol at ~140PF without bulging. Finally, I shot 50 rounds of 124gr factory 9mm without signs of bulging. It is only when I push my loads above 165PF, using magnum primers and OAL <1.75 that I see evidence of bulging.

My experience so far indicates that it is the ammunition that is the problem, not the guns. I have shot 3n37 loads using SRM primers through this gun (170+/- PF) without any signs of pressure. I will be testing ammo from others shooting a similar load to mine using Silhouette, but with SRM and SP primers to see how the cases look through these guns.

Edited April 3, 2009 by matt2ace

[chrisa006]

Matt,

I don't know if this would give you useful info but what happens if you fire a squib with the mag. primers. Does the bullet leave the barrel and does the slide start to cycle. I still think trying the ammo giving you the problem with a heavier recoil spring will tell you if it is going out of battery while still having to much powder/pressure still working on the case with the current gun configuration.

[Jody Waring]

I usually don't comment on the serious subjects- and this is definitely one of them, and anyone is welcome to tell me to shut up if they want, I won't take any offence First off, I shoot Tanfoglio, which is a different animal, but I have been shooting the little 9x21 cartridge in them for over 15 years, which may as well be 9x19 as far as I am concerned. First I have to say thus far, I have had good luck with Geco brass, and still have a bunch in circulation. I resize all my brass on a single stage, with a standard LEE die and Dillon lube. I really find lubing the case takes alot of stress of of them, and I am getting MANY reloads out of my brass. In Canada, we are under IPSC rules with a 160 PF. I try to keep my PF between 165-168 in warm weather. I will admit, that I have had a few mishaps with cases, cracked/split and stuck ones in the chamber. I find Tanfoglio pattern barrels support the case well, and even when I had split cases there was NEVER any bulging of the case. When I had stuck brass, I was running a lighter than normal recoil spring and was told at the time (back in the 175PF days) my gun was still bleeding off alot of pressure as it was unlocking and caused me to get partially extracted stuck cases in the chamber, as where it was unlocking, the breech of the gun was giving the case room to expand. Call me a liar, but I put a heavier spring back in, and with same ammo, gun started working properly again. Brass at the time was CP+P+ which was VERY hard brass. I find since I added ports to my barrel, my gun recoils harder, so if the recoil impulse is harder, likely the unlocking process could be faster, along with faster slide speed? Pending on the specific load, I use between 10-12 lb springs in both open guns and will not go lighter with major PF ammo. I would really like to see you step up your spring weight to keep your gun locked up and see what happens, but I would stay away with your current ammo until I figured it out. Factory ammo, etc.. definitely wouldn't give you the pressure signs you are experience, obviously because you are talking way less case pressure. I might deserve to get slapped for talking about the spring weight and keeping the gun locked up, but I garantee you, my gun wouldn't cycle if I duplicated factory ammo loads, and you did this with the same spring you use for major loads? I think there is a timing issue, the gun is unlocking while you still have alot of pressure causing the bulges, there is no way any of your blown cases would even come close to fitting in any of my five or six barrels I have. I would try different ammo at the same PF and up the spring weight just for kicks, the heavier spring I can't see hurting anything. I must also mention that at the current PF I load at, I am loading to 1.145-1.150", small rifle primers, and my brass looks excellent. Good luck, I hope you get it figured out.

[matt2ace]

I took some better pictures of both barrels with and without a loaded round to clear up any question that about the condition of both. They are definitely fitted differently when it comes to the area where the extactor sits. The first 3 pix are from the Gans barrel, the last 3 from the KEAL.

The round appear fully supported in both bases. The AET barrels have larger chambers, they are not a tight fit for the rounds. If read the article on the Shuemann site, you will see that this is done by design as several others have posted.

We can debate the differences in barrel fitting work, but neither of these barrels are hack jobs.

I plan to try the heavier spring experiment when I get to the range next week.

[olp73]

I usually don't comment on the serious subjects- and this is definitely one of them, and anyone is welcome to tell me to shut up if they want, I won't take any offence First off, I shoot Tanfoglio, which is a different animal, but I have been shooting the little 9x21 cartridge in them for over 15 years, which may as well be 9x19 as far as I am concerned. First I have to say thus far, I have had good luck with Geco brass, and still have a bunch in circulation. I resize all my brass on a single stage, with a standard LEE die and Dillon lube. I really find lubing the case takes alot of stress of of them, and I am getting MANY reloads out of my brass. In Canada, we are under IPSC rules with a 160 PF. I try to keep my PF between 165-168 in warm weather. I will admit, that I have had a few mishaps with cases, cracked/split and stuck ones in the chamber. I find Tanfoglio pattern barrels support the case well, and even when I had split cases there was NEVER any bulging of the case. When I had stuck brass, I was running a lighter than normal recoil spring and was told at the time (back in the 175PF days) my gun was still bleeding off alot of pressure as it was unlocking and caused me to get partially extracted stuck cases in the chamber, as where it was unlocking, the breech of the gun was giving the case room to expand. Call me a liar, but I put a heavier spring back in, and with same ammo, gun started working properly again. Brass at the time was CP+P+ which was VERY hard brass. I find since I added ports to my barrel, my gun recoils harder, so if the recoil impulse is harder, likely the unlocking process could be faster, along with faster slide speed? Pending on the specific load, I use between 10-12 lb springs in both open guns and will not go lighter with major PF ammo. I would really like to see you step up your spring weight to keep your gun locked up and see what happens, but I would stay away with your current ammo until I figured it out. Factory ammo, etc.. definitely wouldn't give you the pressure signs you are experience, obviously because you are talking way less case pressure. I might deserve to get slapped for talking about the spring weight and keeping the gun locked up, but I garantee you, my gun wouldn't cycle if I duplicated factory ammo loads, and you did this with the same spring you use for major loads? I think there is a timing issue, the gun is unlocking while you still have alot of pressure causing the bulges, there is no way any of your blown cases would even come close to fitting in any of my five or six barrels I have. I would try different ammo at the same PF and up the spring weight just for kicks, the heavier spring I can't see hurting anything. I must also mention that at the current PF I load at, I am loading to 1.145-1.150", small rifle primers, and my brass looks excellent. Good luck, I hope you get it figured out.

No reason to shut up. I too shoot Tanfoglio, and I can to a certain degree control the lock up time by changing spring weights. Heavy loads and light spring I get drag marks on the primers, if I change to a heavier spring I do not……

[9x21]

I usually don't comment on the serious subjects- and this is definitely one of them, and anyone is welcome to tell me to shut up if they want, I won't take any offence First off, I shoot Tanfoglio, which is a different animal, but I have been shooting the little 9x21 cartridge in them for over 15 years, which may as well be 9x19 as far as I am concerned. First I have to say thus far, I have had good luck with Geco brass, and still have a bunch in circulation. I resize all my brass on a single stage, with a standard LEE die and Dillon lube. I really find lubing the case takes alot of stress of of them, and I am getting MANY reloads out of my brass. In Canada, we are under IPSC rules with a 160 PF. I try to keep my PF between 165-168 in warm weather. I will admit, that I have had a few mishaps with cases, cracked/split and stuck ones in the chamber. I find Tanfoglio pattern barrels support the case well, and even when I had split cases there was NEVER any bulging of the case. When I had stuck brass, I was running a lighter than normal recoil spring and was told at the time (back in the 175PF days) my gun was still bleeding off alot of pressure as it was unlocking and caused me to get partially extracted stuck cases in the chamber, as where it was unlocking, the breech of the gun was giving the case room to expand. Call me a liar, but I put a heavier spring back in, and with same ammo, gun started working properly again. Brass at the time was CP+P+ which was VERY hard brass. I find since I added ports to my barrel, my gun recoils harder, so if the recoil impulse is harder, likely the unlocking process could be faster, along with faster slide speed? Pending on the specific load, I use between 10-12 lb springs in both open guns and will not go lighter with major PF ammo. I would really like to see you step up your spring weight to keep your gun locked up and see what happens, but I would stay away with your current ammo until I figured it out. Factory ammo, etc.. definitely wouldn't give you the pressure signs you are experience, obviously because you are talking way less case pressure. I might deserve to get slapped for talking about the spring weight and keeping the gun locked up, but I garantee you, my gun wouldn't cycle if I duplicated factory ammo loads, and you did this with the same spring you use for major loads? I think there is a timing issue, the gun is unlocking while you still have alot of pressure causing the bulges, there is no way any of your blown cases would even come close to fitting in any of my five or six barrels I have. I would try different ammo at the same PF and up the spring weight just for kicks, the heavier spring I can't see hurting anything. I must also mention that at the current PF I load at, I am loading to 1.145-1.150", small rifle primers, and my brass looks excellent. Good luck, I hope you get it figured out.

While I understand this is a 9x19 issue,

I also have been shooting 9x21 since 1991.

I think Jody is on the money here as far a recoil springs & P9 types.

George Huening marketed recoil springs for TZ/P9 type pistols that were very heavy indeed, but they made the pistols work.

I'm no engineer, but I do stay at Holiday Inns.

In this case, given the facts described, the load/ barrel combination is the likely issue.

All those holes combined with the attempt to stay at major, can not be good.

While re-springing & assuring the load is correct spec (velocity chrimp, etc) maybe a short term fix, either try a different load or rebarrel.

I have loaded thousands of 9x21 long & short (9MM OVAL) heavy bullets, 147 to light bullets 115 to 180PF and have never seen cases look like the ones here.

It looks like an accident waiting to happen again!

No need to repeat history, the 38 super guys went through "super face" many years ago.................

No need to try to make a child safe hand grenade

[matt2ace]

Just got back from shooting my first match with the Gans gun using my latest load (7.5gr Silhouette, 1.185 OAL, Wolf SPM primers). I inspected as many cases as I could pick up and found NONE showed any signs of bulging or over-pressure. The cases were all Remington headstamp, once-fired. I had marked may cases so it was easy to id the empties. I checked 15-20 cases from every stage.....they looked perfect!

Another proof that this problem is all about the ammo and not about the gun or barrel. This ammo made 168-169PF last week using a PACT chrono.

[SharonAnne9x23]

Matt, I did NOT say you hacked the barrels. The use of the "kitchen table" was describing the level 'skill' used on the barrels. The pictures of each barrel with chambered rounds illustrates exactly what I said. The chamber mouth of each barrel has been 'relieved'. Each barrel shows a gap between the brass and the hood. On each side of the case the barrel is not tight against the brass. The 'shoulder' is rounded. It should be sharp.

I went back to my Nowlin barrel. It is a 9mm that was short chambered and my smith cut the 9x23 chamber to finished depth. The face of the barrel where it meets the chamber has a sharp shoulder. There is no rounding as seen in your pictures. There is no clearance between the brass and the hood.

If as some have suggested that you are running too light a recoil spring, your pistol may be acting more like a blow back pistol rather than a locked breach one.

Shay, I am still opposed to 9mmMajor. There are no manufacturers making 9mmMajor ammo. If they could, they would. This tells me that within the parameters of a 9mmLuger it cannot be loaded to Major power within SAAMI spec which is what USPSA claimed it could be done. I will believe it when I see published pressure barrel data.

Regarding the fully supported barrel; of course the chamber takes the pressure as it is intended to. The only exposed brass is the thickest and strongest.

[AWLAZS]

Sharon how about a photo of yours?

[G-ManBart]

Matt, I did NOT say you hacked the barrels. The use of the "kitchen table" was describing the level 'skill' used on the barrels. The pictures of each barrel with chambered rounds illustrates exactly what I said. The chamber mouth of each barrel has been 'relieved'. Each barrel shows a gap between the brass and the hood. On each side of the case the barrel is not tight against the brass. The 'shoulder' is rounded. It should be sharp.

I went back to my Nowlin barrel. It is a 9mm that was short chambered and my smith cut the 9x23 chamber to finished depth. The face of the barrel where it meets the chamber has a sharp shoulder. There is no rounding as seen in your pictures. There is no clearance between the brass and the hood.

If as some have suggested that you are running too light a recoil spring, your pistol may be acting more like a blow back pistol rather than a locked breach one.

Shay, I am still opposed to 9mmMajor. There are no manufacturers making 9mmMajor ammo. If they could, they would. This tells me that within the parameters of a 9mmLuger it cannot be loaded to Major power within SAAMI spec which is what USPSA claimed it could be done. I will believe it when I see published pressure barrel data.

Regarding the fully supported barrel; of course the chamber takes the pressure as it is intended to. The only exposed brass is the thickest and strongest.

SharonAnne,

Do you have a new, unaltered Schuemann AET on hand to compare to the pictures Matt posted? I do and the only thing I can see in any of the pictures that's different from a brand new barrel is the one has more relief added to the extractor cutout. The gap around the base of the case on the sides and the hood is the flare that Schuemann machines into the mouth of the chamber for feeding purposes. Measured with a feeler gauge, it's only a couple of thousandths of an inch and doesn't extend into the chamber much at all (hard to measure depth like that without some specific tools). So no, the chamber mouth has not been relieved. Nowlin's are cut differently, as are Bar-Sto and KKM (what I had on hand to compare). If that was the problem, the case would have a gradual taper starting just barely ahead of the extractor groove but that's not what the pictures show.

Further, the chance that two different gunsmiths with good reputations would modify barrels that produced the identical problems with brass is extremely remote. It's pretty clear this was an ammo issue rather than a barrel issue.

Yes, 9mm Major is pushing the limits with some powders and it's certainly not my choice, but we're not seeing guns blow up left and right are we? Sure, a case blowout here and there, but no structural failures that I've ever heard of. In the early days people got Super face from case blowouts too...but we didn't see catastrophic barrel/slide failures and injuries....this isn't much different.

Keep in mind that SAAMI specs have to be safe for any firearm in that chambering that someone might have. That means the limits are considered to be safe in a Luger built in 1900 (first year of production although most folks think of 1908 when the German Army accepted it) which is a far cry from a modern competition gun designed specifically for hard use, high pressures and high round counts. In fact, the proof load, even back then was over 45,000psi....darned near modern .223 levels! R,

[BoyGlock]

Found this and still looking for answers.

I myself is experiencing these eversince I went into open 9maj. so Im very interested on the issues here.

Here are pics of my ammo. Reloaded 4-5x and more, resulted into what looked like a belted magnum but they still chamber easily. I reload them until they are bulged enough they wont chamber anymore or they split in the mouth, whichever comes first. Barrel is kkm w/ comp, load is IPSC maj 165-166 PF, Glock 17.

My question is similar to what was discussed here but seemed left unfinished since, and I havent got the answer yet in my searches here.

How can this happen in a fully supported barrel? If pressure is too high, should it result to this? With my repeated use of these shells, none (yet) had failed due to this.

eta: rec spring is 13# ISMI

Edited September 29, 2012 by BoyGlock

[Jody Waring]

I would suggest you get a full length sizing die, not sure what you are using; but what this looks like to me is the case keeps growing in this area as it is not getting resized in that area. Even a standard LEE die should bring you much further down than that. I remember years ago picking up 9x21 brass that looked like that. What are you using for dies, and is the sizer touching the shell plate?

[BoyGlock]

I use Dillon dies and the resizer touches the shell plate in its lowest position. Lee dies are almost the same, just a bit lower but still wont resize shell full length. OTH, Cant use full lenght or push thru resizer because 9mm shells are rimmed unlike .40 .45 .38.

Besides I thought at max pressure when the shells are to expand they are still fully seated in the chamber so theres no space for them to expand larger than the chamber. This is my observation in all other pistol cals.

This could mean the lock-up is openning a bit earlier than normal and some attribute this to very light recoil springs. But isnt it the timing of the breach to open in recoil is purely mechanical (timed to open after the pressure has dropped) and should not be dependent on spring tension unlike in blowback pistols?

[Lebayer]

I load standard 9mm recipes for use in an AR and keep expended brass separate from what I use with 9Major loads for an Open STI. The AR brass will easily go 5-6 reloads without splitting and I never get belts or brass shaving off the sizer die (EGW Lee die). The brass used for Major loads lasts about 3 loads before the bulging and consequent belt creation causes it to fail in the gauge. For many rounds that don't fit - since I'm cheap - I'll sandpaper the bottom of the case, use the round and leave the brass. Every few weeks, I go through a bunch of brass I've been using and discard pieces with belts/ridges. Doubt there is an effective way to avoid this problem, so long as you're running major loads. I've ground down the bottoms of Lee dies, to bring the squeeze as low as possible on the case but eventually, the belt will form. It just forms a fraction of an inch lower. As mentioned, no way to push the case through anything. For all that, I still prefer shooting 9Major, for the usual reason of cheap brass, although if I get 7 or 8 loads from Starline .38 Super brass, there's really no cost difference!

Edited October 2, 2012 by Lebayer

[FightFireJay]

I use Dillon dies and the resizer touches the shell plate in its lowest position. Lee dies are almost the same, just a bit lower but still wont resize shell full length. OTH, Cant use full lenght or push thru resizer because 9mm shells are rimmed unlike .40 .45 .38....

I thought it had to do with the slight taper the case has, not the rim. I'm pretty sure you can use the 9x18 FCD with the bulge buster kit for 9mm.

[BoyGlock]

In their website it was clearly stated that the bulgebuster wont work on 9x19 because of its rim and tapered case

[Alaskapopo]

As I read and looked at the pictures I became quite alarmed. Those barrels are a mess.

Look at the bottom left picture on post #40. There is a huge gap between the case and the hood. I cannot get the finger nail of my pinky between the hood and case of my 9x23 .

On post #52 you can see further butchery of the barrels.

The top left barrel you can see that the face of the barrel chamber has been pushed forward, on an angle. Look where the chamber face meets the hood. This is barrel #071079.

The bottom right barrel, #090102 shows the same 'modification'. You can also see the difference between the two barrel hoods.

My Nowlin 9x23 barrel has 0.030" between the bevel of the extractor groove and the chamber face. The pictured barrels have much more clearance.

If as the OP has stated, the bulged brass fits in the chamber then there must be a donut shaped gouge in the chamber. Otherwise the brass could not have bulged as it did and fit in the chamber.

Go back to post #40 and look at the bottom left picture. You an see some primer flow around the firing pin dent.

Also look at the feed ramp. It looks like some bullets are making double strikes while feeding.

The brass really looks like the gun fired out of battery.

With the other 'modifications' that are evident from the pictures, I would not be surprised to find some home 'trigger tuning'.

I do believe, based on the pictures the OP has posted, that what we have is a severe case of kitchen table hack job.

Regarding 9mm Luger major I do believe USPSA erred in removing the ban. I checked every ammunition web page I could find and NONE made major (165pf). Even CorBon did not make it. Where are the manufacturers USPSA found that make 9mm Luger major power ammunition? Don't point at Atlanta Arms and Ammo. They label theirs as .355 Super, NOT 9mm Luger.

I would like to see some of the so called '9mm Luger major power factor' ammunition pressure tested in a certified pressure barrel. I doubt that any could make major within the SAAMI pressure standards.

After all, that was why USPSA removed the 9mm Luger/major ban; they asserted that there were readily available sources of 9mm Luger ammunition that make major power factor within SAAMI standards. Where are they?

38 super does not make it with factory ammo either. I think major 9 is just as fine as major 38 super comp. Its a handloader only position and its on the shooter/reload to do it safely.

Pat

Edited October 4, 2012 by Alaskapopo

[DougCarden]

Reference Boy Glock's post above.

Please discard the belted brass, it is only a matter of time. In looking at that brass if you wish to use it over and over you will need to roll size it before resizing, but that brass is damaged and needs to be recycled.

Your chamber is allowing the brass to swell, and the resizing die cannot go down enough to squeeze it back to factory specs. By roll sizing the brass it gets the last bit of the case back where it needs to be, then you can resize it. Standard Lee dies do a great job getting almost all the case sized, but my favorite is the Redding Titanium sizing die. I cannot find any dimensional difference between the die and roll sized brass that I sized in a Dillon die.

Just something to consider

[BoyGlock]

Thanks DougC, for a more definite answer. Ill keep it in mind.

[BoyGlock]

Btw, is the Redding Titanium die has threads cmpatible w/ Dillon 550 toolheads? tia