Bulged 9mm cases

Ganderite

Ganderite

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I reload a lot of range pick-up brass. Recently I have found some cases that are thicker and tend to bulge a bit in the middle.

I think there is a die that can uniform a loaded round, after the bullet has been seated. What is called? Who makes one?

I use a Dillon and have an unused position I could use for a final size.
 
Are you thinking of the Lee Factory Crimp die? It's basically a last-station sizer... I use it on my .223 reloads for the AR15, and it works like a charm.

-M
 
The Lee Bulge buster will repair

380 ACP
40 S&W
45 ACP
45 Win Mag
10 mm
41 AE
45 GAP

I don't believe it works on 9mm Luger since it is a tapered case, not straight. Redding also makes a similar die.

I think what you need is a roll sizer, http://www.casepro100.com/
 
I run all my range brass thru the Lee factory crimp die, it "should" shrink the buldge in 9mm cases... I have ran a couple hundred questionable (by my standards anyway) 9mm cases thru the FCD and they chamber just fine...

I wouldent buy a case pro for 9mm exclusivly unless they stopped makeing brass, when in doubt toss it out... 1f 9mm brass is cheap to buy!
 
If the the slightly bulged rounds fit into your pistol barrel don't worry about it. Just take the barrel out of your pistol and drop the questionable one's in, if they fully seat in the barrel you are good to go. If you have to resize loaded ammo you are doing something wrong.
 
The problem has only recently started because of one or two new types of brass I find on the range. One is S&B. not sure about the other. When my expander die goes into these cases I feel a lot mre resistance and sure enough, there is a bulge around the middle of the case. If I load these (I try to cull them before seating the bullet) the loaded round will not chamber.

Yes, I know I can check loaded rounds in a barrel chamber, but that defeats the pont of cranking out seevrl thousand rounds per session on the Dillon. I want to use an open die position to iron out the bulges.

You wrote "if you dont size check your loaded pistol rounds then your doing something wrong... easiest way is with a post size die."

Yes. I have heard of "post size dies" but never seen one. This is what I am asking about.

I am about to go check some loaded ammo and find a couple bulged rounds and then I am going to see if a 38/357 die will iron out the bulge, or maybe the 9mm makorov die will hit it.

I tried a 9mm sizing die, but by the time it hit the bulge, it was also sizing down the mouth and the lead bullet. Not good.

The 9mm case is tapered, so it I can use a straight sided sizer, like the marerov, 38 Spl or 38 S&W, maybe one of them will hit the bulge but not the rest of the 9mm case.
 
Eureka!

Found the cause of the probelm and two solutions.

I changed from a Lee mouth expander to a RCBS expander. The RCBS has a longer shaft. This shaft was expanding the thicker walls of some brands of cases, making a bulge. The Lee shaft is only a tenth of an inch long, so it only works on the case mouth.

Long term solution it so go back the the Lee.

To size the bulged loaded rounds I have on hand, the S&W sizer die, works just fine. I adjust it so it just touches the sized 9mm case - which occurs about half way down the case. The S&W dies not toch the mouth or bullet area, so will not make them undersize. if there is a bulge, it gets ironed out.
 
Here are the two expander plugs. RCBS is quite long, and this is what bulges the thicker cases.

Another solution is to cut the RCBS plug shorter, so just a short piece enters the case and flares the mouth.

EXPNDERPLUGS.jpg
 
Yes. I have heard of "post size dies" but never seen one. This is what I am asking about.
Click to expand...

It's called a Lee Factory Crimp Die, if it shaves lead back the crimp plug off or remove it... The die body on the FCD works as a sizing die to fix any imperfections, i am running 124gr plated bullets rite now with the FCD in station 5 and the crimp backed off compleatly with assorted rang brass and i test about 100rnds per thousand thru my Taurus at the range... All reloads function 100%.
 
Hotwheels81 said:
if you dont size check your loaded pistol rounds then your doing something wrong... easiest way is with a post size die.
Click to expand...

In over 25 years of auto pistol reloading on Dillon presses with RCBS dies I never had to post size anything and I load 380, 9mm, 40S&W(including badly Glocked brass) and 45acp. I still say that if you need a post size die something is wrong and in this case it is the brass, ditch it, 9mm is free at ranges as the OP said.
 
I have now shortened the RCBS plug and tested it. No more bulges.

Inspecting brass before loading to weed out the bad brands was a non option. I would go blind.

I might add the FCD as a check sizer, just to make sure all rounds would chamber.
 
Try the Lyman 'M' die for case expansion. Does not 'bell' or flare the case but instead puts a concentric 'step' around the mouth of the case. Especially important for reloading on a progressive machine since it does not allow bullets to be tipped in the case. Also prevents shaving of lead bullets. I tossed all of my other brands of case expansion dies years ago.
 
Good that it wasn't the range brass. I have a bucket of range pick up 9mm brass that is giving me fits because its full of cases someone clearly loaded too hot in a 9mm AR. The bases expanded starting just above the web. They jam every time in the Glock and the sizing die doesn't touch that area of the case.
 
hk33ka1 said:
The Lee Bulge buster will repair

380 ACP
40 S&W
45 ACP
45 Win Mag
10 mm
41 AE
45 GAP

I don't believe it works on 9mm Luger since it is a tapered case, not straight. Redding also makes a similar die.
Click to expand...

I made a push-through sizing die for my swaging press to get rid of the bulges (Like the Redding 40 S&W one). It re-sized the cases to 0.388", which was the rim and base diameter of most of my good cases.

You don't get a case that you can reload right after, due to the lack of taper. However, it does take enough of the bulge out that there is no longer an issue after the case has been run through a regular sizing die, which is in the progressive press anyway.
 
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