Pearls of loading 9mm (9x19):
Loading the 9mm has some nuances that after years of reloading I didn’t figure out until lately. First off the cartridge is not exactly a simple straight wall case design. It has a slight taper from the base to the case mouth. The neck diameter is 9.65 mm (0.380 in), base diameter 9.93 mm (0.391 in) and rim diameter is 9.96 mm (0.392 in).
If your fired brass comes from one 9mm pistol barrel and not two or more guns then you can probably ignore the rest of this. However, if you have more than one pistol or you have more than one barrel issues can arise that if you are aware prior can reduce frustration and foul language.
I’ll use Glock 9mm pistol as example but it does not apply only to Glock. First off Glocks are an incredibly reliable sidearm that with little to no maintenance will continue to run. Other makes do as well so don’t get offended.
How do they do it? They as well as others who make “combat pistols” increase the tolerances where needed and reduce tolerances where needed then keep a tight shot pattern on those specifications. A combat chamber will have a calculated measure of slop in order to feed a wide variety of types and makes of ammunition. Failure to feed has been the bane of the semi-auto pistol of past and current.
Switching guns or more accurately swapping barrels can give a reloader fits when reloading for 9mm (9x19). Not an uncommon problem is the reloader who fires ammo in a larger chamber or obtains it elsewhere and during the resizing process notices that at the range or when dropping completed rounds down the tube a few stop short of fully chambering. This at least for me seems to be a problem when using “Match Grade” barrels as in infers the tolerances are tighter thus increasing potential accuracy but at some cost to reliability however small.
The issue might be the brass at the case base has expanded slightly and when de-capping/resizing the die falls short of truly resizing the full length of the case despite any claims of such. There are several methods of correcting this. A roll resizer will yield outstanding results but a hand operated one will run over $700 and an automated one several thousands.
Lee (I love these guys) modifies a .380 Makarov die that the finished round is then pushed through and it gets the slightly oversized base back down to spec. It runs around $30-40 and is a special order item directly through Lee. I can’t say enough good things about the die and the “bulge buster” rod that pushes the completed round through the die. It worked so good I bought .40 S&W and .45 ACP (they are factory crimp dies-FCD) to use and truly full length size the case in order to tighten my tolerances and reduce risk of failures. I now make better ammo that can be fired in a variety of barrels. I have yet to experience failure in my 9mm pistols using this step (yet).
http://www.theoutdoorstrader.com/threads/233048-The-Dreaded-9mm-Bulge!?highlight=bulge+buster
A special note, since more folks are shooting cast bullets. The bullet lube can be pushed slightly on to the case rim and when chamber checking the rounds they can and will fall short of fully chambering them. All rounds after running them through the “bulge buster” get chamber checked (my tightest barrel). Those that fail get tossed in a QC pile. Then I take a small pocket knife and gently scrape the case neck of the QC pile and often find a dab of bullet lube interfering and preventing the round from fully seating. Out of 100 completed (cast) rounds a SWAG is 5-10 or so fail to chamber. Of the 10 most just have a dab of lube on the neck and a few require a run through the bulge buster a time or two more. If they then fail, it appears that the bullet canted and the bulge buster won’t fix that as it’s high up on the case and the 9mm die only works the base of the cartridge case. Warning visibly bulged cases should be discarded as scrap and not used as they could fail and might result in injury or death.
I see more and more folks reloading and reloading 9mm. With cast bullets it allows most to shoot nearly twice as much for about the same cost during times like these. Reloading at least allows some shooting as the far too many hoarders are snapping up the available supply of ammo on the shelf.
One last pearl for the silent types, cast bullets really cak up the suppressor and make cleaning a bit more of a chore. A dental pick will get the bulk of the lead cak off then use a wire brush with solvent to get the rest. Don’t shoot lead cast in a suppressor that can’t be broken down and cleaned.
Loading the 9mm has some nuances that after years of reloading I didn’t figure out until lately. First off the cartridge is not exactly a simple straight wall case design. It has a slight taper from the base to the case mouth. The neck diameter is 9.65 mm (0.380 in), base diameter 9.93 mm (0.391 in) and rim diameter is 9.96 mm (0.392 in).
If your fired brass comes from one 9mm pistol barrel and not two or more guns then you can probably ignore the rest of this. However, if you have more than one pistol or you have more than one barrel issues can arise that if you are aware prior can reduce frustration and foul language.
I’ll use Glock 9mm pistol as example but it does not apply only to Glock. First off Glocks are an incredibly reliable sidearm that with little to no maintenance will continue to run. Other makes do as well so don’t get offended.
How do they do it? They as well as others who make “combat pistols” increase the tolerances where needed and reduce tolerances where needed then keep a tight shot pattern on those specifications. A combat chamber will have a calculated measure of slop in order to feed a wide variety of types and makes of ammunition. Failure to feed has been the bane of the semi-auto pistol of past and current.
Switching guns or more accurately swapping barrels can give a reloader fits when reloading for 9mm (9x19). Not an uncommon problem is the reloader who fires ammo in a larger chamber or obtains it elsewhere and during the resizing process notices that at the range or when dropping completed rounds down the tube a few stop short of fully chambering. This at least for me seems to be a problem when using “Match Grade” barrels as in infers the tolerances are tighter thus increasing potential accuracy but at some cost to reliability however small.
The issue might be the brass at the case base has expanded slightly and when de-capping/resizing the die falls short of truly resizing the full length of the case despite any claims of such. There are several methods of correcting this. A roll resizer will yield outstanding results but a hand operated one will run over $700 and an automated one several thousands.
Lee (I love these guys) modifies a .380 Makarov die that the finished round is then pushed through and it gets the slightly oversized base back down to spec. It runs around $30-40 and is a special order item directly through Lee. I can’t say enough good things about the die and the “bulge buster” rod that pushes the completed round through the die. It worked so good I bought .40 S&W and .45 ACP (they are factory crimp dies-FCD) to use and truly full length size the case in order to tighten my tolerances and reduce risk of failures. I now make better ammo that can be fired in a variety of barrels. I have yet to experience failure in my 9mm pistols using this step (yet).
http://www.theoutdoorstrader.com/threads/233048-The-Dreaded-9mm-Bulge!?highlight=bulge+buster
A special note, since more folks are shooting cast bullets. The bullet lube can be pushed slightly on to the case rim and when chamber checking the rounds they can and will fall short of fully chambering them. All rounds after running them through the “bulge buster” get chamber checked (my tightest barrel). Those that fail get tossed in a QC pile. Then I take a small pocket knife and gently scrape the case neck of the QC pile and often find a dab of bullet lube interfering and preventing the round from fully seating. Out of 100 completed (cast) rounds a SWAG is 5-10 or so fail to chamber. Of the 10 most just have a dab of lube on the neck and a few require a run through the bulge buster a time or two more. If they then fail, it appears that the bullet canted and the bulge buster won’t fix that as it’s high up on the case and the 9mm die only works the base of the cartridge case. Warning visibly bulged cases should be discarded as scrap and not used as they could fail and might result in injury or death.
I see more and more folks reloading and reloading 9mm. With cast bullets it allows most to shoot nearly twice as much for about the same cost during times like these. Reloading at least allows some shooting as the far too many hoarders are snapping up the available supply of ammo on the shelf.
One last pearl for the silent types, cast bullets really cak up the suppressor and make cleaning a bit more of a chore. A dental pick will get the bulk of the lead cak off then use a wire brush with solvent to get the rest. Don’t shoot lead cast in a suppressor that can’t be broken down and cleaned.
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