First 9mm reloads. Do I have a problem?

[DS94901]

Finally got around to reloading a few 9mm rounds last night in the short amount of time I had to sneak away into the garage. I only loaded a few because I didn't want to continue and find that I was making a mistake. I used:

124 gr 9mm FP bullets
4.7 gr Win 231 powder
Once fired Win brass
Tula SPP

OAL 1.050

My concern is that the cases appear to be stressed around the bullet. At some angles you can see where there is almost a bulge where the bullet is seated. I was having issues with not being able to flare the case mouth regardless of how deep/shallow I set the expander. Could that be the cause or are my cases being re-sized too small? They were coming out a bit smaller than I believe they should be.

It just doesn't seem right and I don't want to go blowing anything up trying to fire these if they aren't safe. Any advice?

(photobucket seems to be down so I can't insert photos)

[rsrocket1]

Take the barrel out of your gun and do a plunk test.


as for the photos, copy the "direct link" text on the Photobucket page showing the photo. When you click on it, the link is copied.
Then on this site, click on the little yellow square with the mountain and sun

and when it opens the dialog box, right click and click on "paste".

[troysland]

Case gauge, I don't reload without them. Barrel works too, but a very small investment for excellent peace of mind.

[troysland]

Here ya go.

[bohoki]

9mm is a tapered case carbide dies resize straight so what you are seeing is called "maye westing" its most noticable in 30 carbine

[DS94901]

The whole photobucket page is inaccessible to me for some reason but thank ou guys. I did the barrel test and all is well there. Is the bulge something to be concerned about?

[the led farmer]

... Is the bulge something to be concerned about?

Nope totally normal in 9mm.

[diveRN]

I see it in a lot of .40 reloading I do, more often with certain cases than others. I rarely see it in the .45acp reloads I work up.

This is a .40 reload I did awhile back, 180gr FMJ. Not a big deal as long as it fits into a case gauge.

[canopis]

Case gauge, I don't reload without them. Barrel works too, but a very small investment for excellent peace of mind.

+1.

I also had what appeared to be slight bulging with 124 grain 9mm bullets. I read here that such bulging was pretty normal; nevertheless, I bought a Lyman case gauge from Amazon and tested them. The rounds fit perfectly in the gauge. And no problems shooting them.

[Blitzburgh]

I do have to hand it to the OP for asking instead of shooting first.

Better safe than sorry - Good work

[Germz]

as long as the outside diameter isn't greater than .380" and the OAL is <1.169 you'll be fine.

[milw50717]

Go for the case gauge and plunk test. If it passes both of these then you are gtg wrt sizing. I just reloaded my first 45 acp and did both of these tests. All looked good, so the range test is next.

Case gauges are reasonably cheap ($15 or so) and take away a lot of worry around measurements and specs. The plunk test confirms that it will chamber correctly in your gun. Belt and braces approach.

[Calplinker]

Bought a used Dillon 550B late last year. Spent the intervening time reading up and buying supplies.

I'm set up for 5 calibers and case gauges for each (particularly necked cases) were my first buy.

Just loaded my first rounds this past weekend. 9mm with 4.1 of Bullseye behind a 115 gr., copper plated bullet. Shoots nice and smooth.

Point is to take your time, start low and if in doubt, ask questions, exactly like you did.

Good for you OP. Too many people just go for it and don't seek out advice from more experienced people.

[bzzz]

Looks cool, I've also seen this also described as a "Coke Bottle," I usually drop the 9mm rounds in the Glock barrel that I removed from the gun to test.

Happy reloading!

[noplay6978]

My 9mm reloads show the same bulge and I have now reloaded over 2k without an issue. I checked my cases and primers and they worked fine after I reloaded them a second time. Your oal seems a little short for a 124 gr boolit.