Why won't my 9mm case fit in the bullet checker?

J

jetblueshooter

Inactive
I have some once fired mixed brass all cleaned up and ready to go for 9mm Luger. I noticed that when I put it into my Lyman bullet checker, sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't. When it doesn't, just a little bit of the top is sticking up. I've tried it both as an empty case or after loading it with a bullet and it's same result.

I've tried to research this, and come across different answers. Some say that there is bulge and "just throw them away". Problem is, that it's not really that visible with the naked eye and I don't want to get a magnifying glass and sit there for days going through the brass. I'd rather just find a process that could repair this problem.

The only thing I have heard of so far are two things (1) Lee Bulge Buster, and (2) Roll sizing. Roll sizing machines are very costly and I don't want to go that route, some are a few grand. I purchases a bulge buster using a 9mm Mak die and the setup has no adaptation to a 5 stage hornady press.

At this point, I think I'm going back to the drawing board to figure out if anyone know of an easy way to stomp through thousands of cases in a manner that can reset them to where they will fit in the bullet case.

Thanks in advance for your ideas!
 
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I've never heard of a "bullet checker." There are case checkers, and there are cartridge checkers. Case checkers are for checking resized but UNloaded cases. Cartidge checkers are for checking loaded rounds to confirm that they will chamber properly in a SAAMI-spec chamber.

Which do you have? Are you checking unsized cases in a case checker? If so, it's not a surprise that they won't seat -- they shouldn't.

This Wilson case gauge only measures case length -- not diameter: https://lewilson.com/case-length-gage

This Wilson "Pistol" gauge, on the other hand, measures body diameter, case length, and cartridge over-all length: https://lewilson.com/pistol-max-gage

This Lyman "Cartridge" gauge is like the Wilson Pistol Gauge -- it checks case diameter, case length, and cartridge over-all length. Is this what you have?
https://www.lymanproducts.com/brands/lyman/case-prep-tools/case-gauges/pistol-max-cartridge-gauge
 
I am not as experienced as some others here but the most recent and valuable lesson I received regarding this problem came from Dardas. To him, the Lee Factory crimp die will size the cartridge to chamber but in the process, it's probably swagging your bullet and affecting accuracy. To order or make the right size bullets, you need to know your bore. So, you need t slug your barrel. The cheapest way is to find someone with a 9mm bullet mold and cut a cast bullet from it in half, or use the right size fishing split shot of pure lead, and drive it through your barrel with a wood dowel. Measure it with a micrometer. That measurement plus .001" for lead bullets and that measurement for jacketed bullets is what you want. If you reload and the cases bulge, try another brand brass with a thinner wall.
 
Precise language helps a lot. I think each of us responding has a different picture of what you are asking.

I am under the impression your matter of concern is brass with the "Glock bulge" caused by a portion of the chamber that does not support the brass.

Opinions differ. My opinion is this brass gets stretched sideways over a short distance. Its not quite shearing,but its close.
I don't think a piece of fired brass is worth much risk,myself.

Folks have come up with processes to "iron the brass back out" Well,maybe.

You might be able to visually conceal that the brass was bulged. You might be able to restore dimensions so the brass will chamber.

But I doubt you can restore the structural integrity of bulged brass.

It the brass looks like its in an early stage of pregnancy,I'd scrap it.
 
You need to resize properly. As I suggested in your other thread related to this topic, you can contact RCBS. They may ask you to send the die and some of the cases, and if they have to, I expect they will make you a die that works.

The GRx die is not available in 9 mm Luger and the Bulge Buster cannot be used for 9 mm Luger. The taper on the case is too great. From Lee's site:

Lee Precision said:
[The Bulge Buster] will only work with the following cases: 380 ACP, 10mm, 40 S&W, 41 AE (Use 40 S&W Factory Crimp Die), 45 ACP, 45 GAP, and 45 Win Mag.

If the caliber you are looking for is not listed above, it CAN NOT be used with the Bulge Buster.
Click to expand...
 
jetblueshooter said:
At this point, I think I'm going back to the drawing board to figure out if anyone know of an easy way to stomp through thousands of cases in a manner that can reset them to where they will fit in the bullet case.
Click to expand...
That's what the resizing function of the resizing/decapping die is for. From what I gather reading one of your other threads, you have loaded 100 dummy rounds without resizing.

That's your problem. Go back to basics, Grasshopper. They make resizing dies for a reason.

What is the gauge you have? Is it a case length gauge (which doesn't check diameter) or is it a cartridge gauge?
 
Be aware that a round that doesn't fit in somebody's "checker" could fit in your barrel just fine.

Ultimately its your gun barrel that is the final "check". If your rounds work in that, the rest doesn't matter, or matter much...
 
Guys... Familiar faces :)

So... when I get back I am going to try using the resizer and see what happens first. Generally speaking when I searched for answers this is what came back;

paraphrasing numerous 9mm luger reloaders....

the standard resizing die does not travel far enough down to the lower portion of the case where most of the glock bulges exist. Thus, in comes the Lee Bulge Buster. It is not available for the Lugers, so folks used the Mak die for years. What happens though, is that over time the Mak dies crack and Lee does not want keep replacing them so they stopped recommending it but it's apparently very common practice.

Let's hope the resizer does it anyway. Get back in to you shortly.
 
Are you shooting a Glock? Somewhere, in one of the three threads you currently have going, you said something about not wanting to examine each case with a magnifying glass to see if it's bulged. If you have a base that's bulged (typically on one side, due to inadequate case head support on the bottom/feed ramp side of the chamber) you won't need a magnifying glass to see it -- it will be plainly visible.

The bulge is an asymmetrical expansion of the case just forward of the extractor groove, on only a small portion of the circumference. "Bulge" does not refer to the overall expansion that occurs when a cartridge is fired. They all expand, but normally the expansion is uniform. For example, I have a single action revolver in .22 LR. The chambers are so tight that brass fired in my .22 LR semi-auto conversions cannot be put into the six shooter for use as an ad hoc snap cap because the semi-auto chambers are looser and the cases expand too much to fit the six gun. No bulge involved, just uniform expansion.
 
Okay here is the final result. I believe it could be success, hopefully I did it right.

In the process of setting up the RCBS resizer die, I realized I had it too high up. On further examination of the instructions, I was supposed to bring the die all the way down to the shell plate. It's very strange, because in the Hornady press, the die has to go down so far that I almost ran out of threads to properly put the lock nut on. So, I went down as far as I could go, almost touching the shell plate and locked it down.

After doing this, I noticed right away that some of the brass cases were MUCH harder to push through than before. In fact it tilted the whole table that the press was mounted on. But, indeed, it did make everything look true.

So, I tested 7 rounds. Remember, in the past I was getting a failure almost every round. So out of all 7, they all came through with flying colors. Very tight, very strong.

And so I'm going to have to start paying attention to the brass and see if I get anything odd to happen. Out of the seven, here are the ones I used;

1. Winchester
2. Blazer
3. F C
4. CBC

I'll have to try some of the others. Maybe in the future I should try and order one brand, but I'm not really sure which brand is good.

And the BEST PART --> They all fit in the bullet checker!!!

@Aguila -> Reading your post on the Bulge... yes looks like that's been mentioned and now I agree, it's overall expansion... maybe just some expand more than others or it's random I suppose. But this resizer took it all out!

Okay based on what you read here, did I do anything wrong as I explained?

Thanks Guys
 
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When you adjust the resizing die, the bottom of the die should just kiss tge shell holder. There should be no daylight between the shell holder and the bottom of the due.
 
To add to the above, you usually first run the shell holder all the way up to the top of the ram stroke and turn the sizing die down into contact with it. Then you bring the ram down, put a case into the shell holder, then run it up again. The presence of the case adds enough friction to stretch the press slightly, so you look sideways for a crack of light appearing between the mouth of the die and the shell holder deck and, assuming there is one, turn the die in another eighth of a turn and put a fresh case in and repeat until the crack of light is eliminated. Some folks do this with a fixed addition, like getting the die turned in, lowering the ram, then adding a quarter turn to the die (three quarters for the lighter aluminum press frames like the Lee Challenger). But I think if you just make the crack disappear then add about a tenth of a turn, you will still resize the thicker and tougher brass completely and not over-stress your press for no reason.

You may need a flashlight to look for the crack of light.
 
IIRC.the instructons for a carbide sizing die suggest a slight gap between the shellholder and the die. "Some" is enough. Contact can crack the carbide.
 
The early ones did. I cracked a circa 1980 Lyman carbide ring that way. But the ceramics have gotten tougher to break and you can see in this Lee Video they install a carbide pistol die as I described.
 
jetblueshooter said:
In the process of setting up the RCBS resizer die, I realized I had it too high up. On further examination of the instructions, I was supposed to bring the die all the way down to the shell plate. It's very strange, because in the Hornady press, the die has to go down so far that I almost ran out of threads to properly put the lock nut on. So, I went down as far as I could go, almost touching the shell plate and locked it down.
Click to expand...
I don't recall if I saw it here, or if it was something a friend across town told me. Someone, somewhere, encountered that issue and simply removed the lock ring, screwed the die into the press, and then installed the lock ring on the underside.
 
Let me amend my last post. Since different die makers use slightly different materials, I checked RCBS's instructions and they want you to run their carbide die in and touch the shell holder, but not go on to remove any crack of light that may appear. They advise against using a cam-over action with the die for fear of cracking it. I never know, when they use that term if they mean actual camming over, which most modern presses will not do as they have stops to prevent it, or if they mean having the ram reach the die before reaching the end of its vertical travel so that pushing the handle to its stop stretches the press frame by pushing up against the die. I would assume in this instance that it could be either one, as both apply a lot of force to the die mouth.
 
Jetblue, does the loaded round plunk in the bbls you're gonna shoot them in? If they plunk, don't worry about it. All of my 9MM ammo doesn't pass the gage but they plunk and shoot just fine. If they don't "plunk" you have to correct the problem.
 
Recently had the same issue with "loaded" rounds. Was checking some 9mm I had made back in 2012; before my "skills" were so finely honed. Some would pass a Dillon case gage some would stand slightly proud. Well; I'm STILL learning. Figured my Lee Bulge Buster with the 9mm Factory Crimp Die (FCD) would be just THE thing to fix the problem. WRONG! Boy did I get a stuck case in the FCD BIG TIME. Broke the FCD but Lee is kindly sending a replacement, gratis. What DID work was the Lee Makarov sizing die; NOT the FCD. I removed the decapping pin/rod, set the Makarov die in a RCBS press, set per Lee instructions. Placed the completed round in the die and PRESTO the 9X19 round chambers just dandy in the Dillon case gage, Lyman cartridge checker and every one of my 9mm's that I have tried so far. A review of the LYMAN PISTOL AND REVOLVER HANDBOOK, Third Edition, page 163, shows the Makarov case as 0.001 LARGER than the 9X19. Just enough to eliminate the non-visible bulge. I DID NOT use a Makarov FCD. I also find, page 140, the 9X19 case is .002 LARGER at the case head than the Makarov.
 
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