Help seating plated 9mm bullets

SustainingGopher

SustainingGopher

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Hi, I half recently got some Berry's plated 124 gr 9mm bullets, but I'm having a time trying to seat them. I've belled the case mouths out almost to funnel like as an experiment but the bullets will not seat. They either just get stuck in the die or it crushes the base of the bullet and I think I'm using too much pressure. Do I need a special die set for this? For the record I am using a Lee die set. Any help would be appreciated.
 
How much powder are you putting in there? With max loads and just enough case flare to get the base of the bullet in, 9mm should be one of the easiest rounds to load. The Lee dies have worked about 10K times for me so far without issue.
 
It's not trying to crimp the case mouth before the bullet even gets started into it, is it?

A picture of the collapsed case and bullet would help.
 
This sounds weird. I've loaded a few thousand rounds of 9mm using lee dies with no issues. How could you crush the base of the bullet? The case should fold first if anything is to be crushed. Is the die clean? I don't know why the bullet would get stuck in there?
I'm puzzled.
 
I'm thinking you're doing something not quite by the book. Review your procedures. I've loaded thousands of 9mm plated bullets with Lee dies in single stage, Dillon 650XL and Lee turret press no issues.
 
Maybe your bullets are out of spec? To big?
Or your die is out of spec? Or set up wrong?
I bell my cases just enough to be able to sit the bullet , in them.

Are you resizing your cases correctly, before belling them?
 
Outback2970 said:
Sounds like your seater die itself is set to far down in the press and the crimp is taking place as you raise the ram.
Click to expand...

I agree that this is likely the cause.

The way I set mine up is to take a "belled" case then gently bring down the outer shell of the die until it just contacts the case mouth. I then screw in the part that pushes the bullet just far enough to gently start the bullet; then I measure, slight adjustment, meausure again until it is within .015 or so of the target coal; then I adjust the shell down until I get to my target COAL. Note: the correct COAL may or may not be the one listed in the manual as bullet profile, your gun, your chamber may dictate a bit of an adjustment either longer or shorter.

Keep detailed notes, because you will want to repeat accurate, good running loads, and not repeat those that did not shoot as well.

You may someday find yourself where I'm at: The manufacturer for my go-to bullest for one of my pistols has ceased production. I have been trying a number of different bullets from different manufactures, and have yet to come up with a combination that feeds as well as the ones I was able to get previously. The gun, a Norinco NP58 just loved Caliber 180 gr CPTCFP bullets, but chokes frequently on Campro CPRNFP, and the worst of all are XMETAL Polymer coated target. Second experience with Campro, and this is the last. I had no end of feeding issues with their .45 230gr RN. These for me are about the worst one can buy, and compared to copper plated campro or cast lead, are more expensive.

By keeping records, even though years have passed, we can read back and not repeat past bad loads.
 
When u say "crushing the bullet" I expect you really mean crushing the case while loading. This in not uncommon and is usually caused by starting the crimp before the bullet is fully seated. Back both the crimp die and seater off and start over. If u have a factory round, use that as a guide for your loads. Just screw the die down until it stops on the loaded round and lock in place, and then the same with the seater. You will need to tweek for final adjustments for crimp tension and depth but it should solve the issues.
 
I always seat the bullet and crimp in two separate operations to prevent problems.

The 9mm headspaces on the case mouth and only needs a taper crimp to remove the case mouth flare.

Check the bullet diameter and expander diameter and make sure they are only a few thousandths difference.

Check the bullet fit in the seater plug, the bullet should be straight and centered. If the bullet wobbles in the seater plug it can push the bullet into the case at a angle and crush the case. Many seating dies have two seater plugs for round nose and flat tip bullets.

Below a seated bullet before the taper crimp and the case is slightly wasp waisted for proper bullet grip. Please notice the straight edge is resting on the raised case mouth flair.

pRVen2j.jpg


Below after a "slight" taper crimp to only remove the case mouth flair and streamline the case mouth for feeding. A taper crimp has nothing to do with gripping the bullet and the grip on the bullet is controlled by the die and expander diameters. And if the case is wasp waisted you have plenty of bullet grip.

MfcwIQB.jpg



Below I prefer the Lyman type M expanders, they do not over expand the case mouth and the bullet is seated straight and does not tilt during seating. Normally the case only needs to be bumped on to section B that is .002 to .003 larger than bullet diameter. This allows the bullet to be seated "straight" by hand without any tilting during seating.

udv9J6k.jpg


Below on the far left the standard bell shaped case mouth flair that allows the bullet to tilt, the center case using the M type expander has the bullet straight and centered in the case.

vwgkeH3.jpg


Below a example of the Lyman type M expander for the .223, many reloaders use this expander to ensure straight inline seating and reduce bullet runout. After bumping the case mouth onto the .226 section of the expander the brass springs back to slightly over bullet diameter and helps ensure straight inline seating.

ohIUcpd.png
 
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It appears that you were correct the bullet seating die was in much to far.. the die would start the crimp while trying to seat the bullet. I used the suggestions here and I was able to get them all to seat correctly. And yes I do keep a log for all my reloads
 
Glad your problem is solved. You're not the first to experience that and wont be the last. We all have had learning experiences over the years :)
dB
 
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