9mm bullets measuring 0.357 over and problems

L337

L337

CGN Ultra frequent flyer
EE Expired
Rating - 100%
32   0   0
Location
S. Ont
So

I recently loaded 9mm with AIM bullets with 4gr of titegroup.

The rounds fire just fine but the case gets stuck in the chamber and has to be knocked out.

After inspecting how the rounds sit in the chamber I found the rounds stick out too far so when the slide racks the case gets stuck as it gets shoved in there.

All the measurements are good except the bullets themselves are 0.357" and over and the guides/books I looked into say the bulets should be 0.355-0.356

Other than this i cant really find anything wrong, case length, OAL, everything is good, the cases are crimped well.

Bullets were AIM.

Any help for a newb? I believe I have figured out the problem but just want to be sure this is my problem? I am gonna load some more using different bullets and see how it goes without changing anything else
 
What gun is it?
Your chamber could be match sized which would be pickier on reloads.

I believe aim are plated which should be bigger in diamter then jacketed.

Are you using a factory crimp die?
 
Do you mean that loaded rounds get stuck in the chamber? If so, seat the bullets deeper so that the bullet isn't getting jammed into the rifling. Never mind what the manual gives for OAL.

Most 9mm pistols will work with .357" lead or plated projectiles. In fact, I would consider .357" to be the first choice for 9mm cast bullets, given that .356" cast bullets will keyhole out of some barrels.
 
tjhaile said:
Do you mean that loaded rounds get stuck in the chamber? If so, seat the bullets deeper so that the bullet isn't getting jammed into the rifling..
Click to expand...
Bingo! Sure sounds like the problem the OP has.

Take the barrel out of the gun and drop in a loaded round. Push it in with your thumb then turn it upside down. If it doesn't fall out you need to go shorter on OAL. Measure and that is you new OAL for those bullets and that barrel. Start low on the powder scale and work up the load.
 
L337 said:
So

I recently loaded 9mm with AIM bullets with 4gr of titegroup.

The rounds fire just fine but the case gets stuck in the chamber and has to be knocked out.

After inspecting how the rounds sit in the chamber I found the rounds stick out too far so when the slide racks the case gets stuck as it gets shoved in there.

All the measurements are good except the bullets themselves are 0.357" and over and the guides/books I looked into say the bulets should be 0.355-0.356

Other than this i cant really find anything wrong, case length, OAL, everything is good, the cases are crimped well.

Bullets were AIM.

Any help for a newb? I believe I have figured out the problem but just want to be sure this is my problem? I am gonna load some more using different bullets and see how it goes without changing anything else
Click to expand...

Been there done that with Aims Bullets and will never buy them again. The bullets are over sized and if you look at the case after you reload the round you will see the bullet as bulge the case so seading it eeper will not help
 
JB said:
Been there done that with Aims Bullets and will never buy them again. The bullets are over sized and if you look at the case after you reload the round you will see the bullet as bulge the case so seading it eeper will not help
Click to expand...

Funny because I have used AIM in several different handguns without issue.

Interestingly enough Lead Cast are also often oversized for a tighter fit in the bore, and have the same appearance with a slight bulge in the case, and yet again no issues come of it.

This is not what is causing the OP's problem.

A fired case cannot become enlarged any bigger than the chamber dimensions, it just isn't possible, and an unfired round will drop freely in and out of the chamber regardless of this evil bulge you are complaining of.
 
OP, you need to clarify if the fired round is not extracting, or is it unfired rounds?

If it is unfired rounds, and you are having issues with them extracting, or with the gun going fully into battery(slide closing all the way) then as has been mentioned it is likely the OAL being too long.

If you are using a CZ pistol this is a common issue and your rounds need to be loaded closer to 1.10, instead of the 1.169 that is the MAX OAL.
 
JB said:
Been there done that with Aims Bullets and will never buy them again. The bullets are over sized and if you look at the case after you reload the round you will see the bullet as bulge the case so seading it eeper will not help
Click to expand...
Yes I have seen that on a lot of the rounds and found it odd, OAL on every round is same about 1.12 but they seat 1mm to 3mm out compared to a factory round or ZERO bullet re-load.

After looking at other brands I really dont like these AIM, looks really poorly made and will never buy them again.

mlehtovaara said:
OP, you need to clarify if the fired round is not extracting, or is it unfired rounds?

If it is unfired rounds, and you are having issues with them extracting, or with the gun going fully into battery(slide closing all the way) then as has been mentioned it is likely the OAL being too long.

If you are using a CZ pistol this is a common issue and your rounds need to be loaded closer to 1.10, instead of the 1.169 that is the MAX OAL.
Click to expand...

My OP actually states it fires but wont extract most of the time, on the odd time it does extract AND it doesnt go into battery its the round with the bulge in it.

My OAL is 1.12 so its on the shorter side. I could re-seat them even shorter and see what it does...hopefully they still fire.

However you called it, its a CZ pistol but another friend of mine with the same model CZ has longer OAL 1.15 and uses ZERO, and they fit so much better almost like factory while my AIM loads fit 1-3mm out on 3 different barrels.

Seagull said:
Bingo! Sure sounds like the problem the OP has.

Take the barrel out of the gun and drop in a loaded round. Push it in with your thumb then turn it upside down. If it doesn't fall out you need to go shorter on OAL. Measure and that is you new OAL for those bullets and that barrel. Start low on the powder scale and work up the load.
Click to expand...

I'll try that with a bulged out round, most of them will NOT go into chamber properly when dropped in. The rounds that are sticking out 1mm or so more than factory and ZERO bullet re-loads can be pushed in but they wont drop out

The ones with a bulge in it are sticking out 2-3mm and cant be pushed in far enough.
 
L337 said:
Yes I have seen that on a lot of the rounds and found it odd, OAL on every round is same about 1.12 but they seat 1mm to 3mm out compared to a factory round or ZERO bullet re-load.

After looking at other brands I really dont like these AIM, looks really poorly made and will never buy them again.



My OP actually states it fires but wont extract most of the time, on the odd time it does extract AND it doesnt go into battery its the round with the bulge in it.

My OAL is 1.12 so its on the shorter side. I could re-seat them even shorter and see what it does...hopefully they still fire.

However you called it, its a CZ pistol but another friend of mine with the same model CZ has longer OAL 1.15 and uses ZERO, and they fit so much better almost like factory while my AIM loads fit 1-3mm out on 3 different barrels.



I'll try that with a bulged out round, most of them will NOT go into chamber properly when dropped in. The rounds that are sticking out 1mm or so more than factory and ZERO bullet re-loads can be pushed in but they wont drop out

The ones with a bulge in it are sticking out 2-3mm and cant be pushed in far enough.
Click to expand...

Change your OAL to 1.10.

This is a known issue with CZ pistols, and many bullet designs not just AIM. It has to do with the shape of the bullet, and the ogive being further forward, but doesn't necessarily have to do with the plating or slightly oversized bullets.

You want your loaded rounds to be able to drop completely into the barrel, and drop out without any force, or just a little shake at most.

Whats happening in your loads is the bullet is being pushed into the rifling, and not seating fully, then not dropping free because the bullet is wedged into the rifling.

Now why empty, fired casings aren't extracting, that may not be an issue with the bullet at all, as the bullet is fired, and yet you are still having issues. This may be a case of too light a load.

Are the cases coming out really blackened? This would indicate too low pressure in your rounds.
 
mlehtovaara nailed it.

I use a barrel from either my Shadow or CZ 75B Stainless as a case gauge when I try out a new bullet in order to figure out my OAL. That way I know it will also work in every other 9mm I own. Depending on bullet profile, when I used another gun's barrel or just followed the loading manual, Id get occasional stuck cartridges in the CZs that I'd need a squib rod to remove at the safety area. :redface:

Now I use home cast lead bullets in my CZs with a diameter close to .3575. They create a HUGE visible bulge inside the case. But I've never had feeding problems because of it and I use mixed range brass consisting of nearly every brand known to mankind.

I'd worry about possible bullet setback if there wasn't a measurable bulge in the case from the seated bullet. The only time you wouldn't get a bulge is if the inside diameter of your resized case was the same or larger than the diameter of your bullet. That means no tension would be holding the bullet after seating, and the bullet would just fall right out of the case if you held the round upside-down. That would be a bad thing.
 
I'll re-size a few rounds and see if the shorter OAL @ 1.10 works fine, i'll even make some of them shorter and go by how they fit in my barrel.

I dont think the loads are light, different bullet and it works fine. the load is 4gr of titegroup and I know quite a few guys running the same. When I talk a bulge I dont mean all around a mild bulge from seating a bullet I mean there is a pregnant woman tummy bump on one side and its only on some of the rounds, the others look a little fat around the rim of the case while the factory ammo doesnt at all.

I am a newb so i obviously didnt want to re-engineer my ammo and go by the manuals and guides, technically I dont see anything going horribly wrong, if the OAL is too short compared to the guides but the round chambers properly then the firing pin will light em up and the bullet will go out the business end or the primer strike will be too light. Can there be a dangerous outcome to this?

Skyhawk whats your OAL if you have some plated ones laying around...could you measure please?

Can others reading my post also tell me what OAL you are using with CZ 9mm?
 
L337 said:
Skyhawk whats your OAL if you have some plated ones laying around...could you measure please?
Click to expand...

The only 9mm plated I use is the Frontier 147gr for indoor IPSC use. I size those to about 1.10" or so which do fine in the CZs. But every bullet has a different ogive shape (profile). You can't just use my OAL just because mine are also plated.

Remove the barrel from your gun and wipe any oil off of it for easier handling. Now push a round into the chamber with your thumb, hard. You should be able to remove it easily with your fingers if it doesn't drop out. If not, crank down your seating die a bit. Make another round. Then try it again. If not, crank down your seating die a bit more ... etc.

The sweet spot is where they consistently just come out of the barrel chamber easily after being pushed in, plus a bit shorter to give you a margin of error and to account for variation in case length, etc.
 
If you have a "pregnant" bulge on only one side of your case, then that sounds like a problem indeed. What kind of seating die are you using? I use a Redding Competition Seating Die for 9mm, and it will perfectly straighten out a bullet position as it seats even if put my bullet on there practically sideways!

Make sure you're also flaring the case just enough (and no more) to properly hold the bullet you place on top before seating it.
 
Not so sure this is a seating issue. Sounds to me like the OP, being a newb may be applying too much crimp to the round. Plated bullets, like lead, are soft enough that if you apply to much crimp the lead will actually flow forward of the case mouth and create a barely noticable bulge ring above the case mouth. This bulge will prevent the round from seating fully in the chamber and often causes the gun to jam up snug, requiring considerable force to rerack the slide. Remember to apply only enough of a crimp to pass the "thumb test" . Be sure to have sufficient flare to allow the base of the bullet to enter cleanly or it will peel off the plating and that may also be causing your pregnant bulge. If u have a Lee FCD remember to use it as it will also solve the issue in most cases.
dB
 
Thanks for all the help so far guys:

The preggos r not from over crimping and deforming the bullets. The bullets themselves are like that and become more apparent when loaded into the round as I can tell better from looking at the case once loaded. The bulge is in the base of the bullet but this isnt for all the bullets just one in say 25.

Case is flared just a hair to allow putting the bullet on there fairly straight and no more than that, its a Lee die on Dillon 650 and no bullet feeder.

I will load them to a shorter OAL of 1.10 and see how they fit, and if they dont fit much better I will change the OAL to even less and try to fire them at the range, see how I fair and report back.
 
L337, you mean the bases of many of the bullets are not round and have bulge at one side? Even if they chamber and fire ok, their ballistic performance would likely be adversely affected if they aren't round.

You should grab your calipers or micrometer and measure the diameter near the base while turning the bullet in small increments to check the variance. Then call the manufacturer and inform them of the problem. Maybe you just got a bad box or something and they'll fix you up. The variance on my bullets (if there is one) is definitely under 1/1,000ths - within the error range of my and the device's measuring capability.

Just remember that pressure will increase as you seat the bullet deeper, so I'd go back to the published starting load if you lower it much. .010" deeper doesn't make that much difference, but keep in mind that the influence of case volume on pressure isn't linear with 9mm. Some guys here are expert at this more technical stuff and can offer better advice, but always safety first when considering significant changes to AOL compared to published figures.
 
Last edited:
Skyhawk said:
L337, you mean the bases of many of the bullets are not round and have bulge at one side? Even if they chamber and fire ok, their ballistic performance would likely be adversely affected if they aren't round.

You should grab your calipers or micrometer and measure the diameter near the base while turning the bullet in small increments to check the variance. Then call the manufacturer and inform them of the problem. Maybe you just got a bad box or something and they'll fix you up. The variance on my bullets (if there is one) is definitely under 1/1,000ths - within the error range of my and the device's measuring capability.

Just remember that pressure will increase as you seat the bullet deeper, so I'd go back to the published starting load if you lower it much. .010" deeper doesn't make that much difference, but keep in mind that the influence of case volume on pressure isn't linear with 9mm. Some guys here are expert at this more technical stuff and can offer better advice, but always safety first when considering significant changes to AOL compared to published figures.
Click to expand...

Had not thought about the pressure increase with less volume. I will lighten the charge a bit too and yes on the bullet base, gotta use a digital caliper (dont got that) to do this.


Thanks again guys :)
 
I use an OAL of 1.087 in my Shadow. Yup, it's short.
4.3gr W231, Berry's 124gr plated. CCI small pistol primers.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom