Marks on my Brass

J

Jeryray

New member
I am using a sig P226 9MM. My Brass is starline nickel coating.
I am seeing a slight bulge on the case just above the rim. It is enough to cause some finished bullets not to fit in the case Gauge (Uniqtek).

My question is, is it possible the Starline Brass is too soft?

I checked my extractor and it seems smooth.
Also am using a different case sizer in my Dillon 650 as of today. Perhaps I will have more clearance by sizing all the way down?

TIA
 

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From what little i can see from that angle, i'd say your extractor is not right.
It shouldn't be indenting the case in the extractor groove.
While it may seem "smooth" it is protruding too far forward.
Does it hold a casing tight to the face?
 
Run them through a Lee "Bulge Buster". Had some "issues" with range brass. Same problem. Would not pass the case gauge test. Also had a few "nicks"on the case rims. Used a file to dress them up. Can't speak to the issue of extractor fit.
 
As to the bulge, if you are using carbide type die I would still use a little spray lube. The aim is to make the case slide into the die with minimum friction. You may be reaching the point where the friction is to high so the case is bulging. Not sure if nickel makes a difference or not but its worth a try.
No opinion on the extractor, I don't think the two are related.
 
I am using lube, The redding die is much better, no bulging, just the extractor mark is enough that it won't fit the Uniqtek case gauge.
 
I've run a few thousand rounds thru my P226 with pressure from low to high, and have never seen anything like that before. It surely isn't what should be happening.
 
PolarFBear said:
Run them through a Lee "Bulge Buster". Had some "issues" with range brass. Same problem. Would not pass the case gauge test. Also had a few "nicks"on the case rims. Used a file to dress them up. Can't speak to the issue of extractor fit.
Click to expand...

No die is going to correct the problem I see in the picture. Sizing dies, especially carbide dies will never go that far down on the case to remove that. You can plainly see where the OP's sizing dies is stopping on the brass. The suggestion of the file is where I would go, after finding the cause. Could be the brass is hitting the ejection port on the way out? Does this happen with factory ammo or just your reloads? Could be the powder charge affecting the angle of ejection.
 
From my "old mechanic's" point of view, something is hitting the case just above the extractor groove hard enough to "ding" it and raise a burr/boss and keep the cases from gauging. The raised portion is from an impact from the rear of the case, not a sizing die issue. Rather than cover up/remove the ding with a die, I would look for the reason, find what's hitting the case. I am not familiar with our gun, so I cannot be of any help there...
 
That bulge, that I can't see in the picture, isn't caused by your die. I do see a wee burr that is most likely cased by the extractor, but not necessarily. Anybody know if the Sig P226 fully supports the case head?
It's entirely possible that it's just a wee tiny bit of the nickle plating coming off too.
"...the case Gauge..." Really doesn't matter. Absolutely not if the case feeds into the chamber with no fuss. The chamber being the best case gauge there is.
"...by sizing all the way down?..." You have the sizer die set up so the shell holder just kisses the bottom of the die? If so, you're sizing as far down as you need to.
 
Went to the range yesterday, use brand-new Starline nickel plated 9 mm brass. Shot 75 rounds through A P229 brand-new, noticed very slight marking, may not be enough to cause it not to case size.

Then shot 50 rounds through my P226 Legion, that was just slightly worse may have to use a little file on those on to clean them up and see what happens.

Seems my old P226 non-Legion may cause more than some of the others all loads are the same for grains of bull's-eye into 124 grain berriys HP.

JC
 
Not proper.
I would orient ammo in the magazine so I knew which way was up and be sure it was the extractor.
Then I would consult Sig warranty or a good gunsmith like Bruce Gray or Robert Burke.
 
Jeyray,

Make up a dummy round (no primer or powder) and use a Magic Marker to darken the tapered side of the extractor groove on its case. Cycle it through the gun manually, and then look at the Magic marker to see if you can find a mark from the nose of the extractor scuffing the ink off of it. If so, that isn't normal. It means that when you fire the gun and the case is forced back against the breech face in the slide, it is pushing hard against the extractor before it gets there. When you fire, the case is pushed really hard against the extractor, creating the indentation. This will not only wear or break the extractor prematurely, it will prevent the case head from being squarely in contact with the breech face when you fire a round, which can cause an accuracy problem.

To correct that, the extractor tip may need to be reduced with diamond hones, the extractor may need to be replaced, or it may be the slide recess for it is not correctly located. I would recommend factory service to correct it. You should need only to send them the slide and barrel assembly and not the frame, which requires expensive shipping.

But if you get no mark on the round, remove the slide with the dummy in the chamber and look at it from the bottom. If you see the dummy making square contact with the breech face, then the mark is likely due to the case striking the corner of a cut in the slide during ejection. In that case, you need to locate where the strike is occurring. Brass cases that are not plated are better for that as the color of brass on the slide is easier to spot. You can reduce and smooth the contact point and refinish it or you can look at changing recoil springs or modifying the ejector to change the direction of ejection a little. Lots of possibilities there and many gunsmiths are able to do them.
 
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