Not done any 9mm reloading but I have loaded a ton of 12 gauge. First thing I learned when I ran into a problem was to just change one variable at a time - you probably already know this but it's worth mentioning. Good luck solving your problem.
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First real problem in my year and a half of reloading 9mm
- Thread starter insulinboy
- Start date
I think primer seating was definitely the issue, I knocked the primer out of the shell and the lip on it had folded, maybe it obstructed the flash hole some.
Ran 100 through the press today and fired them all without 1 hiccup, the extra sizing die is back on the press and it didn't even try to improperly seat a primer like it did a couple times without it. Used same powder and primer lots the "duds" were made with.
Primers and powder are stored in a dry box with some decadence packs after I did have some powder that took up some moisture.. went to pour it in my measure and a small clump came out with the rest of the normally flowing powder. Powder was immediately removed and set aside for fire starting aid for my burn barrel. I've been much more careful with storage since
As for my recipe, 124gn CPRN Xtreeme or Bulletworks, they seem to be the same bullet but they are generally cheaper at bullet works as they do free shipping and discounts of more than 1k rounds at a time. Bullets are the one thing I don't mind stock pileing. I buy powder in 1 lb cans as I need them and primers in 1k incriments as I need them. I generally load 1k at a time when I sit down to do it. CCI #500 small pistol primers and 5.0gn of CFE pistol.
I get good groups out of it. I can ring a 2" spinner @ 20 yards out of my range officer 9mm every time I pull the trigger just about. I have shaky hands from nerve damage from poorly controlled diabetes so to me thats an accomplishment. I have good days and bad with my shooting because of it. I couldn't do that with the 5" spinner at that distance a year and a half ago
Ran 100 through the press today and fired them all without 1 hiccup, the extra sizing die is back on the press and it didn't even try to improperly seat a primer like it did a couple times without it. Used same powder and primer lots the "duds" were made with.
Primers and powder are stored in a dry box with some decadence packs after I did have some powder that took up some moisture.. went to pour it in my measure and a small clump came out with the rest of the normally flowing powder. Powder was immediately removed and set aside for fire starting aid for my burn barrel. I've been much more careful with storage since
As for my recipe, 124gn CPRN Xtreeme or Bulletworks, they seem to be the same bullet but they are generally cheaper at bullet works as they do free shipping and discounts of more than 1k rounds at a time. Bullets are the one thing I don't mind stock pileing. I buy powder in 1 lb cans as I need them and primers in 1k incriments as I need them. I generally load 1k at a time when I sit down to do it. CCI #500 small pistol primers and 5.0gn of CFE pistol.
I get good groups out of it. I can ring a 2" spinner @ 20 yards out of my range officer 9mm every time I pull the trigger just about. I have shaky hands from nerve damage from poorly controlled diabetes so to me thats an accomplishment. I have good days and bad with my shooting because of it. I couldn't do that with the 5" spinner at that distance a year and a half ago
Crimp is SO not the issue. 9x19 doesn't need any more crimp than enough to remove the case mouth flare. It is no more than a tertiary variable for ignition and then only for high precision shooting where it might make a 0.1" or smaller difference in group size and not ignition vs. fizzle.
1) It isn't high primers, since you say you check. If you don't, do so.
2) I have no idea what the second sizing die was about--did you have a "universal decapping" die in the first station, so you sized in the second? Did the sizing die in that station improve primer seating in any way?
3) Are you sure you have CFE Pistol powder and not CFE 223 powder? That would definitely be hard to ignite with the small case and low pressure of a 9x19. Many folks make mistakes between Clays, International Clays, and Universal Clays.
4) Are you using CCI/Fed/Rem/Win primers, or Russian? Can you try other primers?
5) Go back to your previous set-up and see what happens.
1) It isn't high primers, since you say you check. If you don't, do so.
2) I have no idea what the second sizing die was about--did you have a "universal decapping" die in the first station, so you sized in the second? Did the sizing die in that station improve primer seating in any way?
3) Are you sure you have CFE Pistol powder and not CFE 223 powder? That would definitely be hard to ignite with the small case and low pressure of a 9x19. Many folks make mistakes between Clays, International Clays, and Universal Clays.
4) Are you using CCI/Fed/Rem/Win primers, or Russian? Can you try other primers?
5) Go back to your previous set-up and see what happens.
I think you are either getting light powder charges or you are blowing the primers out. Regarding the primers, check your breech face and fired duds for signs or burning.
If the primer lights off at all, the bang will either be normal, or REALY BIG, or you may have a "hang fire" if using a slow burning powder.
If the primer lights off at all, the bang will either be normal, or REALY BIG, or you may have a "hang fire" if using a slow burning powder.
Gotta disagree with you there. I've seen 9mm handloads from an improperly set sizing die where the bullet could be pushed back into the case with finger pressure. Remember...taper crimp, which means the case gets wider toward the bottom and provides increasingly less resistance. Don't need much crimp, but there must be enough crimp.
>Gotta disagree with you there. I've seen 9mm handloads from an improperly set sizing die where the bullet could be pushed back into the case with finger pressure. Remember...taper crimp, which means the case gets wider toward the bottom and provides increasingly less resistance. Don't need much crimp, but there must be enough crimp.
Faillure to communicate? I think the issue I was giving an opinion on was crimp as a significant feature of pressure and accuracy, and not of bullet holding power.
If the bullet is easily set-back, that is not a crimp issue but a sizer/expander issue. You even implied improperly set sizing die. Do you mean they were trying to partially size the case and you suspect the case mouth area wasn't sized enough? Doesn't that fall under improper reloading technique rather than crimp issue?
There are some 9x19 cases with walls so thin that you need an extra small sizer to get the case ID small enough to hold the bullet. Yes, the case is tapered, but you won't find the case over the length the bullet seating depth to have much taper. The case ID needs to be 0.001-0.002" smaller than bullet diameter to hold the case. If you don't have that, taper crimp is NOT going to be of a lot of use. Crimping should not be considered a fix for improper technique or die set-up.
I try to always push down on the bullet after seating, and I really try with 9x19 due to wide variation in cases, and reject any rounds where the bullet moves at all. This is BEFORE crimping.
Faillure to communicate? I think the issue I was giving an opinion on was crimp as a significant feature of pressure and accuracy, and not of bullet holding power.
If the bullet is easily set-back, that is not a crimp issue but a sizer/expander issue. You even implied improperly set sizing die. Do you mean they were trying to partially size the case and you suspect the case mouth area wasn't sized enough? Doesn't that fall under improper reloading technique rather than crimp issue?
There are some 9x19 cases with walls so thin that you need an extra small sizer to get the case ID small enough to hold the bullet. Yes, the case is tapered, but you won't find the case over the length the bullet seating depth to have much taper. The case ID needs to be 0.001-0.002" smaller than bullet diameter to hold the case. If you don't have that, taper crimp is NOT going to be of a lot of use. Crimping should not be considered a fix for improper technique or die set-up.
I try to always push down on the bullet after seating, and I really try with 9x19 due to wide variation in cases, and reject any rounds where the bullet moves at all. This is BEFORE crimping.
Setback problems, due to whatever issues are in play, was my point, and that includes, potentially, crimp. The bullet needs to be held in place properly by the case. Actual bullet diameter, bullet length, lubricity, case thickness (as you pointed out). SAAMI spec sizing of a 9mm case might be good for one bullet, while prone to failure for another, potentially by bullet batch or even by individual bullet. Some ammo makers do an extra, external crimp operation for expressly this reason, for certain types of bullets and loads.
