The pitfalls of relying on reloaded ammo.

[PapaG]

Years ago a buddy was going to Alaska for bear and moose. He asked me to load his ammo. I politely refused. "If you are spending thousands on a hunting trip, dont cut costs and increase risk of failure by using someone else's reloads"
He bought premium ammo and got two good head of game.

 

[vaalpens]

Just to reemphasize - the dented case mouth was caused by the misfeed. The cartridges looked fine when loaded into the magazine. The misfeed was caused by a slightly flared case mouth, causing the lip to hang up on the feed ramp. I plan to confirm via further testing using only factory load ammo.

- MR

I'm not sure this is correct based on your measurements.

Your measurements shows a diameter at the top to the rim of .361", I assume mouth of case. There can't be a flare. The 9mm bullet is .355", with a case wall thickness of .01" or more. This gives you a diameter of .355" + .01" + .01" = .375". If there was a flare it would be more than .375".

To get to .361" you will need a case wall of .003" (.355" + .003" + .003"= .361"). The case wall is either very thin or your measurements are off.

 

[film495]

I can't picture a feed ramp that would catch the case like that. maybe the magazine lip, but I can't picture how the edge of the mouth would catch on the ramp.

 

[jmorris]

At least relying on SOMEONE ELSE's reloads.

I'll shoot others reloads, sometimes, out of their firearms.

 

[jmorris]

One of my previous threads documented feeding issues I was having with my accurized 1911 Colt .45 auto, i.e. its fussy eating habits. I seem to have solved that by sticking with factory FMJ hardball.

Thats not a reload problem. First thing I do with a 1911 is get a few different mags, some fired brass and see what it likes. They eat just about anything when they will feed an empty case.

Looks like this.

1911 mags

www.youtube.com

 

[FROGO207]

There seem to be a lot of individuals that either fail to remove the flair completly or do the opposite and taper crimp the bejesus out of the rim and turn it into a roll crimp. Either way if you do the plunk test with the finished ammo in the firearm you intend to use you will find the problem before your range trip. And another vote for not using anothers reloads. I have even had problems with commercially reloaded ammo from the likes of Ultramax, etc. I usually set my taper crimp to work with my titest chamber and the ammo will work in all.

 

[R44 flyer]

I have a friend who loads commercially, and a while back he started powder coating, knowing I have purchased some blue bullets to load for my granddaughter, (her favorite color), he gave me some. At out next shoot he gave her a box of his reloads, and everything worked well until the third stage, and her gun, (Glock 17) locked up. I had to get my brother in law to smack the frame/grip with his hand while I held the slide against the table. She reshot the stage, and I told my friend he had missed sizing that case, he put it in his 1911 style 9mm, (Rock Island Armory), and it chambered, asked what's the problem. I took the barrell out of my G34, and said try that, couldn't even force it in, (I did have to drive it out). He has expensive case blocks to check fitment, and we stuck it in there, had to drive it out. He loads thousands a week, and has no problems, but I'm convinced "that" case somehow missed the rollsizer, as well as the check block. I ran it through my Lee FCD, and chambered, and shot it at the next match!

The Lee factory crimp die is controversial but it does insure that every round run through it chambers properly. If you want ammo that is reliable and don't want to drop every round into a case gauge use the Lee factory crimp die. It adds an extra step but it eliminates the checking step. If you have enough stations on your press you can use the die with no extra time. You don't know if your friends load has a double or no charge but it will chamber.

 

[AJC1]

I completely trust my hand loads and would take them on any adventure. If you don't load them yourself, buy them if it's important.

 

[mountainroads]

I'm not sure this is correct based on your measurements.

Your measurements shows a diameter at the top to the rim of .361", I assume mouth of case. There can't be a flare. The 9mm bullet is .355", with a case wall thickness of .01" or more. This gives you a diameter of .355" + .01" + .01" = .375". If there was a flare it would be more than .375".

To get to .361" you will need a case wall of .003" (.355" + .003" + .003"= .361"). The case wall is either very thin or your measurements are off.

@vaalpens: Not sure what to tell you on that one. I agree - the measurements didn't seem all that different. I am not a machinist by profession and the caliper I used is not professional quality, but it is digital and did give consistent readings. I may / may not take the time to recheck, based on yesterday's findings (posted below).

 

[mountainroads]

There seem to be a lot of individuals that either fail to remove the flair completly or do the opposite and taper crimp the bejesus out of the rim and turn it into a roll crimp. Either way if you do the plunk test with the finished ammo in the firearm you intend to use you will find the problem before your range trip. And another vote for not using anothers reloads. I have even had problems with commercially reloaded ammo from the likes of Ultramax, etc. I usually set my taper crimp to work with my titest chamber and the ammo will work in all.

@FROGO207 : >> plunk test << That's a great idea. I need to clean the gun after latest range trip anyway, so that will be a good time to do that.

 

[mountainroads]

Sorry it's taken so long to get back to this forum. Finally had an opportunity to do some time at the range, yesterday. Bought 3 boxes of Federal American Eagle FMJ 124 gr. and fully loaded both mags (25 rnd and 32 rnd). Shot 60+ rnds without a single misfeed. I'll probably do a little more checking to see if I can better determine what the exact problem was because I'm persistent like that, but at this point I'm mostly just happy to have found a reliable solution. FWIW, there is a noticeable "feel" difference where the case rim meets the bullet on some of the reloads and one batch is shorter (COAL), but I agree there doesn't seem to be a direct correlation with observed case diameter measurements.

Thanks for all the responses and suggestions, guys. Truly appreciated, Now on to the next long dormant autoloader for functional testing. There's a reason I'm partial to wheel guns for PD.

BTW, I'm a complete proponent of skill development and maintaining proficiency with a single platform vs. the smorgasbord approach. Unfortunately, my IMI platform doesn't lend itself well to concealed carry even with the short barrel, although it's my favorite shooter .

- MR

 

[mountainroads]

I'm happy to report that my misfeed issues seem to have been resolved by the following:
1) Sticking to factory FMJ loads. Although only one of the reloads failed the "plunk test", I'll save all reloads for my 9mm Walther that I only use for target practice at the range. It's also much easier to clear any jams that do occur.
2) Disassembled both mags put a little oil on the follower sides.
3) Not filling mags to maximum capacity: 20 rounds in the 25 round mag, and 25 rounds in the 32 round mag. I realize this last step is a compromise, but I far prefer reliability over maximum capacity.

Thoughts/comments/advise gratefully accepted.

- MR