9mm not enough taper crimp

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Zendude

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Apparently my 9mm seating and crimp die got out of adjustment. I had a very hard time extracting unfired rounds. Afterward, I did a plunk test with the barrel and indeed the rounds were maybe a millimeter from fully dropping in. During firing, the slide apparently had enough force to drive the cartridge in all the way.
My first thought was OAL too long (1.145) and the bullets getting stuck on the lands, but didn’t see any indentations on the bullets (RMR 115 gr plated). The only other reason would be that I didn’t take enough of the flare out of the brass. so, I am going to reset the seating/crimp die and see if that fixes the issue.
Lesson learned: plunk test the first couple of rounds when starting a reloading session and maybe plunk after every 500 rounds.
 
yup - spot check everything as part of your QA process. I don't do high volume, so still drop every cartridge into a case gauge or plunk it.
 
Start spot checking COAL every third or fourth cartridge with a caliper. I'm slow since single stage press, and separate step for seating, and then Lee FCD. BTW, I enjoy reloading, and can't stand televised sports.

The ox is slow but the earth is patient.
 
As stated in Every topic where the Lee Carbide FCD gets mentioned someone always uses the phrase, "What did they do before this die!" which the same can be applied to a 4th die or fourth operation of crimping in a separate step. For decades pistol dies were all sold as 3 die sets and the set-up directions never instructed to crimp in a separate step. Why is that? Not even the first set of RCBS Carbide 38/357 with a roll crimp suggested a fourth step and that was back in 1980.
 
I had your problem once, I found two different things were causing my problem.
First problem was I didn't have my resizing die down low enough in my LNL-AP, it wasn't touching the plate. That stopped most of it.
The second problem was that I set my taper crimp die up on a long case instead of a short one.
Now I find the shortest case I can find and run my dial calipers up the side of the case to make sure I get the case mouth flair straightened all the way back out with the taper crimp die.
That's not to say my problem is like your problem. I finally after 48 years of reloading, bought a 9mm case gauge, it's the 8 hole Lyman gauge. I don't know why, but I did.
It's going to be hard after all these years and only a couple minor problems, but I need to make myself start using it.
 
Do your sized brass plunk just after sizing. I seat and taper crimp with lee seating die and never an issue.
 
As has been said, separate seating and crimping. Avoid the Lee Carbide Factory Crimp Die, especially if you're using plated or cast bullets.
Agree 100%/ I started reloading semi-auto in around '89 and with the properly adjusted dies and using a known good OAL, I have never had the need to size my rounds after crimping (Lee FCD). I reload for 4 different semi-auto cartridges to be used in 9 different guns and using the plunk test have never had a chambering problem (I did try an FCD once, just out of curiosity. It ruined my carefully sized cast bullets so I knocked out the carbide ring. Resulting crimp was just so-so, so I went back to my RCBS, and Redding crimp dies and the FCD now resides in a land fill somewhere in So. Oregon...).
 
As stated in Every topic where the Lee Carbide FCD gets mentioned someone always uses the phrase, "What did they do before this die!" which the same can be applied to a 4th die or fourth operation of crimping in a separate step. For decades pistol dies were all sold as 3 die sets and the set-up directions never instructed to crimp in a separate step. Why is that? Not even the first set of RCBS Carbide 38/357 with a roll crimp suggested a fourth step and that was back in 1980.

Just because something has always been done one way, doesn't mean there isn't a better way to do it.
 
The main reason I don’t use the Lee FCD is that I load 9mm on my Lee 1000 press which only has 3 stations.
No problem.

Pre-resize your brass and prime separately and you can use your 3 station Pro 1000 with FCD:
  • Station #1 - Flare case mouth and powder charge
  • Station #2 - Seat bullet
  • Station #3 - Taper crimp/FCD
Ta da! :D

And using pre-resized brass makes progressive reloading silky smooth with minimal effort and even produce more consistent OAL of .001" variance from less shellplate deflection - https://www.thehighroad.org/index.p...progressive-press.833604/page-2#post-10779806
 
No problem.

Pre-resize your brass and prime separately and you can use your 3 station Pro 1000 with FCD:
  • Station #1 - Flare case mouth and powder charge
  • Station #2 - Seat bullet
  • Station #3 - Taper crimp/FCD
Ta da! :D

And using pre-resized brass makes progressive reloading silky smooth with minimal effort and even produce more consistent OAL of .001" variance from less shellplate deflection - https://www.thehighroad.org/index.p...progressive-press.833604/page-2#post-10779806

Yep, way back before I got my Dillons, this is what I did. Decap and prime, then pop in another head for everything else.
 
Make sure your full length resizing. Try a sized unloaded case in the chamber. Simple but it caught me last summer 40S&W.
This won't prove very much for the simple reason that Sizing takes the case under-size, so the Expander can come back and open it up.

Additionally, some of the less expensive dies short-cut the sizing process by taking them WAY under-size, and this is how we end up with the "Coke bottle" effect. Think about it, the waist of the brass can't be shrunk in like that unless the Sizing Die did it.

So if a case that's been through the Sizing die won't fit, you'd better send the gun back to the manufacturer. :D
 
Lesson learned: plunk test the first couple of rounds when starting a reloading session and maybe plunk after every 500 rounds.
I run all my loaded rounds through a case gauge. Running 100 at a time through a Shockbottle gauge makes it pretty fast to get through 1k rounds...and ensures that I'm not going to encounter a stoppage while shooting

Try a sized unloaded case in the chamber.
Doing this tells you if your resizing die is set correctly. If you continue to encounter the same issue, it is likely that you aren't starting the bullet straight into the seating die.

These are the two major issues that the Lee FCD addresses in post-seating resizing
 
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