Reloading help

[lbcmillard33]

This is my first time ever reloading. I have read a lot about reloading and have watched plenty of videos using my press. I bought a Lee precision breech challenger. I am reloading 9 mm with the Lee four die set. After using calipers to make sure my berry's round nose bullets are seated where I need them. I use my factory crimp. The problem I am having is that one in four of the bullets I can start to spin. I have kept adjusting my factory die and am still having it come out with the same result. Any ideas? On my die that flares the shell to accept the bullet, I did it just enough so I can sit a bullet on the very top as I seat the bullet.

[lbcmillard33]

I set my bullet length as my factory ones. I don't know if I would need to shorten them up a little.

[D-FIN]

Being new to reloading myself I don't completely understand what you mean by they start to spin? I use a Lee 3 die set without a factory crimp and have never had any issues. For now I am using a Lee hand press. I admit I am inexperienced but I am unsure how the factory crimp is supposed to make much a difference or the regular seems gimmicky to me. I use a Berrys RN FMJ 124 gr and OAL is about 1.50

[lbcmillard33]

While you are holding the case you can grab the bullet and spin it just a little. My die set is carbide so I didn't use any lube. I did not resize my 9 mm casings either.

[D-FIN]

By resize you mean trim because case resizing is usually done by your depriming die? I would think spinning as you describe would be odd. Do they move in and out of the case at all or only spin? You might try removing the factory die and trying with just the 3 and test some.

[Car Knocker]

While you are holding the case you can grab the bullet and spin it just a little. My die set is carbide so I didn't use any lube. I did not resize my 9 mm casings either.

Properly sizing the cases is essential to bullet retention. Failing to do so will likely allow the bullets to be loose enough that they may be moved with just finger pressure. Insufficient retention may also cause the bullet to be set back into the case when chambering a round and the bullet nose hits the feed ramp; this will cause internal pressure to rise, sometimes to the point that the pistol, shooter or both are damaged. I strongly recommend that you screw down the sizing/decapping die to the point that the cases are definitely sized. The primary purpose of the factory crimp die is to remove the flare at the case mouth that is created by the expander and not be the sole source of bullet retention; indeed, excessive crimping can cause the bullet to become loose as the brass of the case and the materials of the bullet have different coefficients of expansion.

[Beretta96]

While you are holding the case you can grab the bullet and spin it just a little. My die set is carbide so I didn't use any lube. I did not resize my 9 mm casings either.

Properly sizing the cases is essential to bullet retention. Failing to do so will likely allow the bullets to be loose enough that they may be moved with just finger pressure. Insufficient retention may also cause the bullet to be set back into the case when chambering a round and the bullet nose hits the feed ramp; this will cause internal pressure to rise, sometimes to the point that the pistol, shooter or both are damaged. I strongly recommend that you screw down the sizing/decapping die to the point that the cases are definitely sized. The primary purpose of the factory crimp die is to remove the flare at the case mouth that is created by the expander and not be the sole source of bullet retention; indeed, excessive crimping can cause the bullet to become loose as the brass of the case and the materials of the bullet have different coefficients of expansion.

Well said. I don't use the factory crimp die for 9 and 40. I don't find it necessary. Try loading one without the crimp die and just the seating die (which also crimps). Are you loading up dummy rounds first? I'll load one without powder and primer just to setup the dies for OAL and check the fit.

[bill 123]

yes a dummy round is a nesacery thing for each type of round you do
if you didn't resize your case it may not chamber and 9 mm having so maney manufactures the chamber could be aney where from .355 to .366 so it is qritacl to resize especaly range brass

[muddy]

You don't resize your brass? If so there is your problem, you have to resize your brass to return it to the correct size as firing the brass will make it expand and no amount of crimp will hold the bullet. I suspect that you have problems with loose bullets in all your reloads some are just looser then others and spin. Crimping has very little to do with hold the bullet and more to do with returning the flared case mouth back to non flared size. Sizing the case sets the case back to where it needs to be for bullet retention and hence the need to flair the case mouth slightly so a bullet will seat. Were did you ever come up with not needing to resize pistol brass?

[muddy]

If by resizing you mean trimming and you did resize your cases then I would look at case length. You sometimes get longer cases which when flaired get flaired to much and you lose bullet tension. I had a batch of long 38 cases that were mixed in with normal 38 cases which caused me this problem. I had to sort by case length and I actually trimmed these cases down a little.

[lbcmillard33]

Thanks for all the help. I did load more last night without the factory die and it worked. I pulled the other bullets out and the factory die had left an impression on the bullet where the case was. I feel a lot better. Also, sorry for the confusion on trimming the case vs resizing. Rookie mistake.

[James]

Take a look at this: http://donce.lofthouse.com/jamaica/crimping.htm

New reloader? Might want to look at this one too: http://donce.lofthouse.com/jamaica/avoid_kaboom.pdf

[morcey2]

The Lee Factory Crimp die in straight-wall cartridges can cause some issues with lead and, to a smaller extent, plated bullets. It actually swages down the diameter of the bullet, as you noticed. I use the 3 die set from Lee for 9x18 and set the seating die to also crimp on seating. The crimp doesn't have to be much, just enough to remove the bell in the case caused by the expander die.

(The Lee FCD for bottleneck cartridges is a completely different beast so this doesn't apply to those.)

Matt