Reloads?

[ceh383]

Ok, I sat down tonight to load up some shells, I loaded 100.
For 98 of them I get this...



For the other 2, I get this...



I'm using a MEC9000. What would cause this?
Based on the 98, I'd say the machine is fairly well adjusted. What could have happened on these 2?

[Trapdude86]

Sometimes my precrimper won’t fold the pleats correctly and if I don’t catch it before the crimper it will turn out ugly and I’ll unload that reload because I fear a wrongly folded crimp will increase psi. Some of them look like yours or worse.

[JagerDog]

Uneven and/or split case mouths to start.

The one on the left has seen a lot more abuse than the 98 and the one on the right looks to have had a split. Garbage in = garbage out.

I try to pull those out and make sure they don't make it back into my bag after firing (if they made it to the loader in the first place). They'll shoot fine.

I like to roll the petals between my fingers before putting the hull in my machine. You'll often find splits this way as it "clicks".

[Thefeeder]

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Keep an eye on the Wad Finger, some time it will pinch and the wad coming down will deform the hull. Easy to spot when it reaches the pre crimp station.

Or the pre crimp is binding and not rotating to fit the groves on the hull.

In all they will shoot just fine.

[beetle]

it happens -- case mouth was deformed enough that the precrimp didn't align right.

I'll mark it with a sharpie so that it doesn't go back into my empties the next time I shoot it.

[Tom-ADC]

But those two will shoot every bit as the other 98 I personally would not worry about it.

[trapperjohn]

[Tom-ADC]

I used to reload until the hulls utterly failed. I got some pretty ugly crimps and shot them anyway. Never had any problems. The guys that reloaded .410 in my club did the same thing only worse. No issues. Its like ugly fruit and veg - not pretty but tastes the same.

We did the same thing with 28 ga. I shot those out of a O/U lasted a lot longer I think instead of a semi-auto or pump.
Did pay attention to the hulls that had the fiber base & not a molded base I'm guessing the newer hulls may not have this problem. Old Federal 20 come to mind.

[W.R.Buchanan]

That problem is caused by the Precrimper not rotating into proper index as the hull is pushed into it. The Precrimper floats so that it can rotate a small amount to properly index into the hulls established crimp.

When this happens it is because the Precrimpe'rs little fingers are exactly 30 Degrees out of kilter. IN other words they are exactly aligned with the high points of the crimp instead of the areas between the high points.

This happened to me with .410's alot (1/10) until I figured it out. There isn't enough mass in a .410's crimp to self rotate the Precrimper if it is near 30 degrees out of position. Now I align the hull with the Precrimper when it changes stations using the ribs on the outside of the Precrimper for reference. A 12 ga. hull should have enough mass to rotate the Precrimper into index and I seldom see this problem on my 12 ga. hulls.

Your Precrimper may be a little sticky in it's rotation. May need to be cleaned or maybe a small amount of lube on the pivot point.

That should fix the problem.

Hope this helps.

Randy

[trapperjohn]

If you lube, use graphite only.

[ceh383]

The one on the left has seen a lot more abuse than the 98 and the one on the right looks to have had a split. Garbage in = garbage out.

Enlarged the original photo, did not see any sign of a split.

Or the pre crimp is binding and not rotating to fit the groves on the hull.

In all they will shoot just fine.

it happens -- case mouth was deformed enough that the precrimp didn't align right.

That problem is caused by the Precrimper not rotating into proper index as the hull is pushed into it. The Precrimper floats so that it can rotate a small amount to properly index into the hulls established crimp.

Consensus seems to be the precrimper not rotating properly on the hull.
This was my initial thought, but wanted to see if I missed something.

[BOBGBA]

Enlarged the original photo, did not see any sign of a split.

You might have to shoot it, so that the crimp unfolds to see if there is a split.

I'm curious to see the outcome. I've never tried to really figure out the cause. I usually use a sharpie and right BAD or CRIMP on the side of the hull (and shoot it). The next time I reload, I'll see the marking and check to see if the hull should be trashed.

[ceh383]

I'm curious to see the outcome. I've never tried to really figure out the cause. I usually use a sharpie and right BAD or CRIMP on the side of the hull (and shoot it). The next time I reload, I'll see the marking and check to see if the hull should be trashed.

I marked the bases with a Dykem pen, I'll see what they look like they're fired and let you know.

[Tom-ADC]

[ceh383]

I bought 1000 once fired hulls and have since picked up a couple hundred of what looks like once fired as well. All hulls looked clean and to be in good shape.
When I got the machine setup it looked to be setup for a different hull/load. The precrimp was lite and the final crimp was not quite deep enough. I've been slowly tweaking it to where it is now. For the most part the finished shells look real good. The two pictured are the only ones so far with an ugly crimp. I'm not worried about firing them, was just wondering what the possible causes may be.
Not sure yet if I'll be able to get out this weekend to shoot them, but the following weekend for sure. I'll let you know how it goes, and I'll take a picture of these hulls after firing.