Need help with stuck bullet syndrome

kharlingca

kharlingca

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Montreal Region, QC
Ok so I started loading my own bullets and I started with the min loads. Incase any one wants to know 3.9grians of titegroup with 115CMJ bullet and 1/10th accuracy with a lee = a couple of stuck bullets in my 9mm M&P :runaway:. I was able to get them out, but I foresee this happening in the future again with trying new loads. What is the best tool to use on this problem?

1. Is it solid brass rods? And what size 9mm = 0.3543 inches so would ¼ rod work?
2. Is it mild steel rods?
3. Is it wood rods

My barrel is only 4 and a bit inches long so what is the best to use? I have a friend that can order from midway for me when it comes to tools, so any help would be great

Thanks
 
ok, a 1/4 inch rod is 25 caliber, so it's not even close- 3/8ths is .375, so you'd want something in between-as to what it is, some people use a brass rod, or a wrapped steel, or a hardwood dowel-9mm is a typical 355 - i went to ct and got a piece of 5/16 welding rod, wrapped it in electrical tape - made it about a foot long and that's my bullet dislodger-11/32 might be a little close at .343, bit i couldn't find one.- make it about twice as long as you think you need can't hit the barrel when you hammer- that's one sure way to damage the crown
 
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"...would ¼ rod work?..." Yep. No need to buy anything from Midway though. brass rod is easy to get. Mild steel or Al would do as well. Cut to about 6" and deburr. Use a plastic mallet.
"...couldn't find one..." Busted cedar arrow. Wood may be too soft though. Brass works every time.
 
you aren't by chance using the Lee Auto disk? That sound exactly the laod I had for 124 gr FMJs. I went to 115 MGB FMJ and went to 4.2 gr.

Foxhound
 
I don't believe one should be looking for ways to get stuck bullets out of your barrel.....If bullets are getting lodged in your barrel, enroll in reloading 101....one of the most basic rules of reloading light loads in handguns is " not to do it with jacketed bullets!!!"........Go back and start again!!
 
even the best of us gets the occasional squib- or worse yet, the no powder round- i've had one instance with a 45 hollow point where the 1/4 inch rod found the hollow and punched right through the base- hence, i match rod to bore diameter - since i shoot only 9mm , 44, and 45, 2 rods do me just fine
 
Still, there is no excuse for a round stuck in the barrel, the way some folks shoot you are looking for a serious accident by shooting another round behind the first one. Each case must be checked for a proper powder charge as a last step before seating the bullet, if you're using a progressive and you can't check, either visually or mechanically, use a single stage press. You should not be content with"an occasional squib, or no powder round", your health(eyesight) depends on your good loading practices.
 
kharlingca

Are you sure you didnt just get distracted by the dog, the better half, or t.v.?? One distraction is enough to get a squib...I've loaded titegroup for the 40 from min to max loads, and below without it causing a squib. Using 180 grn copper plated Excel bullets, all the way down to 3 grains.

I did have one squib after carefully weighing out charges(go figure!) and got distracted, so the powder didnt get back to the case(I'm assuming). I used a screwdriver tapped into the hollow point. It was only in a quarter inch. Hope your luck improves.:)
 
point is, you CAN'T foresee EVERY instance- i've had squibs and doubles(caught it before by checking the lot number) DIRECT FROM THE FACTORY- even if you shoot NOTHING BUT FACTORY AMMO, sonner or later, you might get a squib- they recall THE DOUBLES OR WRONG POWDERS quickly enough, but the no powders never seem to hit the q/c - i've even seen factory stuff with NO FLASH HOLE- in this instance, you get a pop, and the round remains intact-
 
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For the past 2 years have been working hard to get back into the shooting sport, and supporting the shooting sport, self-defense aspect as well. It has cost me a lot of money and rough nights with the wife due to money.

The point is I got 1 batch of bad loads why I don’t know / not sure. Maybe the dog, maybe that fact I tried using lee’s Adjustable Charge Bar for the first time with Titegroup. What ever the reason I am sorry to report there are no courses out there for reloading especial in English in Quebec (ben_hunchak). I have read 3 reloading books included the ABC’s of reload, do I think I am an expert NO DAMM WAY. Do I think that I am trying my @ss off to learn HELL YEAH.

Do I know the dangers YES that is why I was testing the load shooting slowly and one shot at a time and checking and listening for the BANG. I did weight my bullets with both the Frankford digital scale and the lee balance scale, in fact every 3 or 4 rounds because I am learning. On top of that I weight them after they are completed to make sure they are within the normal range of a loaded bullet.

The simple fact is I am not happy with the results, I plan on learning from this experience and improving, but the fact remains that since I am not a master reloaded and just a beginner so there is a chance this may happen again. So if anyone what’s to give reloading course in English in Quebec please due so I will be happy to learn (ben_hunchak). Otherwise I just wanted to know the best and safest way to remove a stuck bullet.

P.S this is my first and hopefully my last rant on CGN but I fell better now.
 
Hi Kharlingca
Go to Walmart buy a 5/16x48" Dowel/Goujon for a couple $$ cut it to12"x4 With the money you will save buy a little ballpeen hammer at CT for a couple of $$ .you are good to go.You can use the dowel for adjusting sights also
Just double check your powder weight before seating the bullet...Which means dump the powder on a scale and check it.Do this till you feel comfortable that your powder charge is ok. If this doesn't help check your powder bar and adjust.It is very important that you use complete strokes of the handle all the time.Hope this helps.
 
which is what i said way back when this thing started- trouble is, our walmarts out here don't handle dowel or anything like that- one other note is to either stick to one brand of cases and bullets or know what the weights are going in, establish a high and a low, and then re-do anything that doesn't fall within the range- if it still comes out the same as previous, either you've got a wierd bullet or the case is light/heavy- this takes only seconds with the electronic - the reason i say the same cases is that there's as many as 10 grains difference between case manufacturers- winchester being one of the lightest, and federal being one of the heaviest- couple that with an unknown bullet weight(i use cast and have had 4-5 grains high/low in the SAME bucket) , and you don't know where you're at- with established parameters, all your"suspects" show up easily- i don't know how many i've redone b/c the bullet weight was out, not the powder charge-and i've been doing this for about 30 plus years, nearing 40, and i still get the odd squib( very odd)
 
My first question was did you check the volumes coming out from the adjustable charge bar?
Secondly, use a scale and get a sample mass of the bullets you are using.
Thirdly, would be to mic the bullets and slug your barrel to find the corresponding diameters. Determine the interference.

3.9gr of titegroup behind a jacketed 115gr 9mm seems like the low end of the powder to me (IMHO).
 
Never trust the numbers on the Adj. Charge Bar. Use them as a guide to get the aprox. charge and weight. Turn to fine adjust until the proper load.

It is rare to get stuck bullets with the 3.9gr of Titegroup. My 357 target load is only 3.5 grains.

Best advice is trash the adj and use the disks. They give repeatable loads with fairly accurate to what they say will drop.

If you can't get the bullet out with a wooden dowel, load up a couple empty cases with primers only and see if those will push your bullet out. A primer is just like a small firecracker so won't give enough pressure to go KABOOM.
 
kharlingca, Firstly, do not make this your last rant. You are doing fine. And Ben, I have had a bullet stick in the barrel! It came about with me seeing what the lowest amount of a fast powder would give reasonable short range accuracy in my 30-06. I think it was from that, but, heaven forbid, Ben, it may have been that I failed to put ANY powder in. In any case, there was no noise, whatsoever. I thought it was a dud, so I went to remove the cartridge, but just the empty case came out. Of course, I checked the barrel and it was plugged. I poured Hoppes #9 down the barrel and the next morning the cast bullet almost fell out.
My early procedure used to be, powder in case, seat bullet. With this method I think there is far more chance of a lapse in concentration, allowing for no powder in a case, or far worse, a double charge.
Therefore, I went to the system of drilling about fifty holes in a plank, of a size to take the case being loaded. I now charge the case and put it in a hole in the block. When the holes are full, or all I want to load, it is easy to pick up the plank and look in every cartridge case, before seating the bullets begin.
With progressive machines this is impossible. But, maybe one should consider saftey, as coming before convenience, when deciding to get a reloading outfit.
 
That's exactly what i like to do, judicious use of reloading blocks, every step of the process, and before seating any bullets, hold block to the light to make sure each case is charged equally. If my progressive machine won't do this mechanically(powder checking die).....out goes the Dillon....in with the Rockchucker!!
 
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