Reloading Help needed

whitbyman

whitbyman

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I made 200 rounds of 40 S&W, all looked good, dimensions are fine,

However, after trying to cycle them through my pistol I notised they were sticking & not fitting well. I think the expanding die might have expanded the cases just a bit too much hence making a tight fit in the chamber.

What do I do now? Should I get a crimp die?

Thanks in advance.
 
Could be several things- even the shape of the bullet you use-it can be within OAL toleances and still stick. A good idea i found is to get a chamber checker from Brownell's or somebody and check my loads as I make them- That's how I stopped getting batches of ammo that I thought should fit but didn't. semi-autos are a bit ammo picky.
Good luck- some folks remove the firearm barrel and use that to check tolerances-it's never safe to check them in the whole gun if you're not at a range.
Good luck
 
+1 on the chamber checker .
I don't believe it's your expander die , more likely your seating die - it may need to be a little deeper .
But hey , I'm guessing , a checker would tell you PDQ , or talk to someone at the range who reloads for that caliber and show him some of your ammo .
 
some folks remove the firearm barrel and use that to check tolerances-it's never safe to check them in the whole gun if you're not at a range.
Good luck
Click to expand...


If you do this do not put your guard down. PROVE that barrel 3 times before you assemble that gun again!
 
Just take the barrel out of the gun, make sure it is clean and check to make sure the ammo will drop into the barrel. It is cheaper than buying a checker. I drop my ammo in and then turn the barrel upside down and if it falls out it is good. If it the least bit tight it is used for practice. You have to remove the flare that the belling die put on the case. Do you mean that the crimping die that you have now is no good or do you mean that you do not have one at all. You need to crimp 40 S&W. DO NOT USE THE BARREL TO CHECK AMMO WHILE IT IS THE FIREARM. MAKE SURE THERE ARE NO ROUNDS IN THE BARREL WHEN YOU REASSEMBLE.
 
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Get yourself a factory size die (yes the dillon guy is recommending a lee product) and just run you completed rounds thru again... this will resize them to what you need...

When you get a set of pistol dies you get
  • a deprime/size
  • a seating die and
  • a crimp die...
what did you do with your crimp die?


PS why would you load more then 10 rounds with checking them against some kind of a standard including test firing to make sure your load is good for the gun????
 
bear.23 said:
Get yourself a factory size die (yes the dillon guy is recommending a lee product) and just run you completed rounds thru again... this will resize them to what you need...

When you get a set of pistol dies you get
  • a deprime/size
  • a seating die and
  • a crimp die...
what did you do with your crimp die?


PS why would you load more then 10 rounds with checking them against some kind of a standard including test firing to make sure your load is good for the gun????
Click to expand...

I have three dies (RCBS set)

1. sizer/deprimer die
2. expander die
3. bullet seating and crimping die

Thanks for all the advice, I think I see my mistake now, I have to screw down the bullet seating die so as to achive a small crimp, while of course keeping OAL the same.

Why would I load more than ten rounds without chambering? Well I guess this is a newb mistake. Things seem to be going so well, I got into a rythem, checked the powder charge a few times, checked OAL a few times, everything seemed good.

lesson learned, I guess it's back to the press for me

thanks again
 
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The only fly in all this ointment is if the bullet is to wide, it will expand the case while being seated and may not chamber.....the only fix is a smaller dia. bullet.
 
Lee carbide Factory Crimp Die. Fully resizes/crimps loaded round to spec ensuring problem free feeding. Nice to know your reloads will chamber every time.
dB
 
Thanks for all the help. The OAL is fine, the crimp was not adequate. I resete the crimp & bullet seating die, re-run all the cartridges and everything is fine now.

I have a Lee carbide Factory Crimp Die on order. Will install it in the 5th spot on my lock and load press, hopefully will not have this problem again.

Thanks
 
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