What Am I Doing Wrong?

[joel1316]

I'm not reloading right now, but am thinking of starting up again... Last time I loaded though, I had a problem when I loaded 9mm. Everything seems fine, but the bullet would not seat in the chamber? It was a tight fit..... What was I doing wrong?

[randy]

Not sizing your brass all the way down leaving a belly on the bottom.

Not getting enough crimp.

Are a couple that come to mind.

The thrid is why reload 9?

Good luck

[ocabj]

I've found I can reload 9mm, 40S&W, and 45ACP all to within 10cents a round. Even when 9mm was $10 per box of 100, I'd still reload 9mm anyway because I load 147gr bullets.

Anyway, back to the original dilemma.

Take your barrel out of the firearm. Put a round into the chamber. Where does it hang up? When it hangs up, can you push it in with mild force or not? If you can push it in when a little force, the it's probably a slight seating issue and or resizing issue.

Things to verify:

1. Make sure you screw the die all the way down until it hits the ram, then come up about have a turn. Unlike rifle dies, you don't want the carbide pistol die hitting the ram because it will crack the carbide.

2. Make sure your brass isn't over max length. Lots of people don't trim pistol. Even then, too long a case can cause problems.

3. Check your seating depth. Is it to within data specs? Sometimes it's hard to cross reference this with a book since many of us use bullets not found in reloading manuals. Find the closest match in your manual (weight and style) and go from there. Verify seating depth with dummy rounds.

4. Make sure the neck diameter after the bullet is seated is within spec. You don't want it to wide and crimp will fix this, but don't go overboard with crimp. The least amount of crimp necessary to get that neck diameter down to spec is what you want.

Hope this helps.

[joel1316]

Thanks for the information guys.
I started to reload 9mm because in my thoughts, if I screwed up, there wouldn't be as much powder as a 45ACP, LOL. I'm reloading with a Dillon 650 and think its time to dust it off since ammo price is increasing and I want to get into high power varmint shooting, yes I'll be using a progressive press for precicion rifle ammo
OK, back to my dilema. When used in a pistol barrel, the bullet would not seat in the last 3/4 of the case? No matter how much I crimped, it would still not seat. Note: none of these test ammo were ever fired.... With a little force, the bullet would eventually seat in. I'll dust off the the ol' gal and try some of the suggestions given. Thanks!

[bu-bye]

Thanks for the information guys.
I started to reload 9mm because in my thoughts, if I screwed up, there wouldn't be as much powder as a 45ACP, LOL.

Hate to tell you but there is just as much powder in a 9mm as a 45. The 9mm has a lot more pressure then the 45 and in theory is more dangerous if it KABOOMS. That being said I see no problem of loading any round you want. I find reloading fun and worth doing no mater how little I save. Sure you may only save a buck or two but there is something satisfying about shooting your own bullets. So, keep up the reload

[ocabj]

OK, back to my dilema. When used in a pistol barrel, the bullet would not seat in the last 3/4 of the case? No matter how much I crimped, it would still not seat. Note: none of these test ammo were ever fired.... With a little force, the bullet would eventually seat in. I'll dust off the the ol' gal and try some of the suggestions given. Thanks!

Bullet seating in the last 3/4 of the case? Are you referring to the bullet seating process or seating the cartridge into the chamber? Bullet and cartridge are not interchangable terms.

I'm going to take a wild guess to say you are referring to putting the round into the chamber but it stops about 3/4s of the way in. If that is the case, I would check the overall length of the cartridge. I'm betting it's running long.

[joel1316]

I'm going to take a wild guess to say you are referring to putting the round into the chamber but it stops about 3/4s of the way in. If that is the case, I would check the overall length of the cartridge. I'm betting it's running long.

Sorry about the confusion, but your assumption above is correct. I was using some old "Billy Bullets(a local buy)" at the time and you are right as I did not find that specific bullet spec in the books. I was matching overall length with factory loaded ammo... Hopefully its an easy fix once I'm up and going. I'll buy some "popular" bullets so that I can find specs in the books I have. I only started reloading for a short period of time before I moved and never got it up and going again...

[Gunsrruss]

Bullet size ?????

sorry nothing to add

[Tzvia]

I too would bet on OAL. Always have more than one reloading manual and try to match the bullet profile when you are choosing OAL.

You could always drop a sized case into the chamber to verify it is not an issue with case width. Then seat a bullet deeper and deeper as you check it each time, then go a little further after it finally chambers (keep bullet off rifling). I am referring to a 'dummy round'. I always make one for each bullet/caliber, before spending my limited time making something that does not fit. I keep a log for each rifle/handgun and bullet combo working OAL. Cases are always trimmed to minimum when new as part of initial prep so they are consistant.

When I first started reloading 7.5 Swiss for my K31s, I did not setup the press to 'cam over' on the 284 win brass I was reforming. They would not chamber at the range and I was pissed. I went home, broke them all down and carefully resized (without the decapping pin) and made one as a test. Only after it chambered without incident in all 3 of my K31s, did I note that in my reloading logs. Lesson learned. K31s have no throat, and I will test everything first.

And yea, I reload 9mm too.