Help me understand, .40 copper I ordered is too long.

[GlockBlocker]

I ordered some copper .40 S&W bullets for hunting, and what I got is too long and makes the case bulge.

I don't have a lot of loading experience, so where did I go wrong?

You can see the bulge in the case on the left. The middle bullet is the new copper one, measuring about 3/4" in length. And on the right is a 155gr Hornady measuring at about 1/2" in length.

I haven't had this problem with other brands of bullets, so is there something I need to know when ordering? What are these used for?

[XDRoX]

Sorry, I don't really know the problem. I have seen cases bulgle like that when the dies are set incorrectly. Mostly on 3 die sets where you have to crimp and seat in the same step.

Is the bulge being created in the seating stage?

[GlockBlocker]

My crimp is on stage 4, and yes, it's happening on the seating stage 3. The case is straight before that after going through the resizing die.

I have tried multiple to make sure it just wasn't some weird fluke. Same thing every time. My only guess is just some bad bullets, but I'm too new at this to have any confidence in that assumption.

[GlockBlocker]

Here's them on Midway: http://www.midwayusa.com/viewProduct...tNumber=518751

[bruceflinch]

Use calipers to measure the bullets. Are they out of round? Are they the same diameter from base to ogive (shoulder)?

[GlockBlocker]

yes, they are round and right at .400.

There's little or no bulge until it's seated deeply. I can tell if they were 1/2 inch in length, it would not be a problem.

I backed the die off to max OAL and it is a tad better, but they still won't fit in the case gage because of the bulge. Actually one did with a little tap, others will not.

You think it's so long because it takes more copper to make up 155gr? Maybe the lesson here is to go with even lower grain copper.

[bruce381]

need a larger exspander belling die in that the case is to tight for the bullet and when thebullet in pushed in the area below the bullet is bulging due to a too tight bullet to case fit.

[bruce381]

"There's little or no bulge until it's seated deeply" well beacuse copper is lighter maybe they are longer can you go longer? or try a lighter weight
boolit.

[Flyin Brian]

I'm not familiar with these bullets and I'm no expert reloader so please excuse me if this is a stupid question. It would seem to me that if you loaded these 155gr bullets with a standard load for a 155gr bullet, you would end up with a compressed load since this longer bullet is taking up almost twice as much of the case when seating them to the same length as a normal bullet. Is there some reduced load data that is used with these?

I looked on the General website and they have no load data listed, which seems odd to me. I hope it's not the powder that is causing the bulge!!

[bruce381]

yeah this bullet maybe be better suited to 10mm whigh is a longer case than a 40 S+W

[GlockBlocker]

thanks all for helping that make sense. i had these 2 day shipped so i'd have them ready for a trip on friday, oh well. time to hunt down some factory ammo.

[Brd_Hntr]

I have distorted cases like this before with jacketed bullets which were not aligned well or the case mouth wasn't sufficently expanded prior to bullet seating. Copper is not as dense as lead and doesn't compress as well. The bullets are long for weight. You might have to play with adjusting your dies to get great results. Use data specific to all copper bullets to avoid excessive pressure created by the heal of the bullet reducing case volume - just like bullet set back.

[Munk]

I have distorted cases like this before with jacketed bullets which were not aligned well or the case mouth wasn't sufficently expanded prior to bullet seating. Copper is not as dense as lead and doesn't compress as well. The bullets are long for weight. You might have to play with adjusting your dies to get great results. Use data specific to all copper bullets to avoid excessive pressure created by the heal of the bullet reducing case volume - just like bullet set back.

Yep. Copper is much less dense and is made longer to reach desired weight.

Steps to take:

Check to see if the mouth is "bell"-ed out sufficiently by your exander (Just enough to set the bullet usually)

Try a dry lube like mica or something similar, just the lightest touch. there could be excessive friction.

Check your powder levels, you may be over compressing and the powder is doing it. You may need to switch powders to one that uses less powder for the same speed.

Try separating your seating and crimping steps. Use your existing seat/crimp, but back it way off, then set the seat far lower to make the crimp never come into play, and buy a new crimp die (I hear good things about the lee factory crimps, no experience with them myself).

Also, you may be able to use them as they are. Case guages are usually very tight on the spec... tighter than your gun's own chamber. if they go into the guage with a little "tap" as you say, then i'm sure it'll fit nicely into MOST semi-autos.

[halifax]

I've had PMC brass that did that because the case walls are thicker than "normal" brass. Worked fine in the firearm.

[Fjold]

The case walls are tapered and thicker closer to the base, the long bullet's bases are getting into this thicker case wall area. Use lighter (shorter) bullet when you load all copper.