pulling through case heads

bushwhacker

bushwhacker

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Reloading 9mm in a Rockchucker press with a 3-die carbide set. Started having problems pulling through case heads on the downstroke with the sizing die. Only way I could prevent it was going up part way, giving the cartridge case a partial turn in the shell holder and going up the rest of the way.

I have had similar problems before with 30-06 but that seemed due to insufficeint lubrication. I tried lubing the 9mm cases, which should not be needed with carbide die, but that didn't help.
Bill
 
Make sure the dies actually are carbide.
Make sure the shell holder is correct.
Make sure cases are brass.
 
If you look at the dimensions of some of the hand gun cases (mouth versus rim) the
9mm is the worst and for that reason I would use case lube in a single stage press to lube / de-prime/ clean lube off then load in a progressive

9mm =0.011"
38 super = 0
40 S&w =0.001"
10 mm = 0.002"
45 ACP = 0.003"

that is why you will pull the heads off 9mm more than any other rimless case
and the 9mm case is the shortist in length so that makes it even worse.

a tight /sloppy chamber can make it better or worse
 
sounds like a problem with the shell holder.the rim should slide into the shellholder without difficulty,but should also be held securely with not a lot of "wiggle".you may have a defective or incorrect shellholder.I think Lodi called this one.
 
The shell holder call is a good one, but I have also seen a lot of brass where the rim is under sized. Measure it and make sure it matches spec, as this will cause pull throughs as well. If the rims are under sized I would toss that brass as it will likely cause feed or extraction issues as well.

If both shell holder and rim size are in spec, your comment about giving the brass a half turn solving the problem also tells me you may have really over size brass being sized. I would make sure the die was spotless insidie, no scratches ettc and then keep doing the half turn thing till I got through all that brass. If it is your gun causing it to be that oversized I would get it looked at, might be time for a new barrel with a tighter chamber.
 
Most of the cases were Remington-Peters. There was one Sellier&Belot. I was loading mostly Remington cases, used a few odd ones to finish the boxes. I have found that with the Federal cases, every once in a while one doesn't size down enough to grip the bullet. With 30-06 it was the inside expander plug that would cause the trouble, as when I lubricated the inside of the case with a q-tip the problem was solved, but the deprimer-sizing die on the 3-die set only sizes the outside. The gun is almost new, so I don't think an oversize chamber is the problem. I am also using once-fired cases from other shooters. The turning the case solution almost makes me wonder if my press is out of alighment.
Bill
 
you should never have a problem with the case head expanding,this is the strongest part of the case and is partially unsupported in the chamber.most pistol cases are classified as straight wall(they do have a slight taper or they wouldn't chamber or extract)if some of the brass isn't resized it kinda sounds like your carbide resizing die may be the source of your problem.just for kicks lube some cases and see if there is a difference in how your brass gets processed.I may have erred in calling the shellholder as the problem.once the brass is resized it should not be difficult to downstroke it back thru the die to the start position,unless there is a problem with the die.it may be out of spec,out of round,or have an imperfection which prevents the case from being processed properly.kind of baffling,how are you able to turn the case when it is still halfway in the die,and yet it gets pulled out of the shellholder?
 
You feel the case getting tight in the die, taking too much pressure on the up stroke, so when you are part way up, you back down a little and give the case a partial turn and then continue up to the top. I have noticed some cases that are re-sized seemed to be squeezed in more on one side than the other. Guess I will take the die out and give it a good cleaning, then see what happens. I have tried lubing the cases, and that makes no difference.
Bill
 
is it possible that the shaft(the vertically moving part of the press which holds the shellholder)is somehow out of line with the upper part which holds the die(s)?or that the shaft has a slight bend to it?somehow things are out of line,when you release pressure on the case on the downstroke and turn the case tells me things are not quite right.do you have any friends nearby with an RCBS loading press?take your shellholder and die and see if they work any differently.eliminate the dies/shellholder from your problems.
 
one other thing to look at,sorry,should have thought of it before,take a strong high intensity flashlight and look into the recess where your shellholder slides into the ram/shaft.make sure there is nothing stuck in the back of the groove to prevent the shellholder from fully seating.make sure the shellholder is perfectly centered in the middle of the shaft.it won't take much to ruin your day.a bit of brass,a few grains of powder,a spent anvil from a primer will totally misalign your shellholder and die.has the press/dies/shellholder been a problem since day 1?
 
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