I'm loading a few 9mm and the case size should be between 0.754 and 0.744 inches, with the median being 0.749. So that range should suffice to meet the requirement for headspace.
A few of my cases were less than 0.744, discovered when I began to flare a bunch of resized cases, and loading these often resulted in bulges, which would not allow the cartridge to go into battery.
So that, of course, should answer my question. But- if I take care in making certain that the bullet is as perpendicular to the case as possible as I seat it, that cartridge has no bulge and will go into battery.
I researched this and I found the warning that a case that is short of headspace poses a problem where gases can escape, tearing or rupturing the case, allowing gas flow backward rather than forward, damaging the gun to the possible point of rupture. The only thing missing in this recommendation was how critical the size of the case might be. How short is too short?
A few of my cases were less than 0.744, discovered when I began to flare a bunch of resized cases, and loading these often resulted in bulges, which would not allow the cartridge to go into battery.
So that, of course, should answer my question. But- if I take care in making certain that the bullet is as perpendicular to the case as possible as I seat it, that cartridge has no bulge and will go into battery.
I researched this and I found the warning that a case that is short of headspace poses a problem where gases can escape, tearing or rupturing the case, allowing gas flow backward rather than forward, damaging the gun to the possible point of rupture. The only thing missing in this recommendation was how critical the size of the case might be. How short is too short?