Pistol Loading issue I cant figure out

[Luked]

So I had a bunch of 9mm loaded not too long ago. Just range ammo using some 115gr XTP that I got free from Hornaday on their free bullet promo.
Loaded up a bunch and never did anything any different than I ever have.
Had bought a new carry gun in 9mm so wanted to get to the range and shoot it.
Get there and the first mag I made about 7 rounds and the gun locks up, and I mean locks up solid.
Finally got it free and notice the round in the chamber the bullet had pushed back in the case...Kind of weird, never had it happen before.
So loaded up and shot again. Made it about 5 or so rounds and it did the same thing.
Got my other 9mm out and it happened again.
So stopped shooting and went home.
Got to looking and there were a bunch of rounds in the 100 count box that would just push back in the case.
So checked all I had done and out of about 500 rounds, about half would push back.
So checked my dies and reset them and loaded a few dummy rounds and did a push test and again the bullet would push back into the case.
Had the taper set just like the instructions said. Nothing worked right.
Probably reset the dies 5-6 different times, took them apart and cleaned them. Nothing worked.
I cant figure it out at all. I don't know if its a die issue or what.
I had some loaded from a few years ago still that were done with a RCBS die and they are all fine.

The only difference in the two is the ones I had issues with were the Hornady bullet and loaded with Hornady dies. And the others were just round nose bullets loaded with RCBS dies.


Contacted Hornady and they said I could send the dies, bullets, brass in and they would check them. But I don't understand what might be the issue.

Not new to reloading pistols as I load for 45acp, 40S&W and 357 also and have zero problems with them.

Anyone by chance have any ideas?

 

[shtrbc]

Have run into this exact problem a couple times over the years. First scenario was shooting plated practice bullets in both a 9mm and .40. Long story short, I was taper crimping TOO hard/too much. Was actually compressing the bullet a bit, the brass would spring back a bit, and some of the loaded rounds I could push the bullet back into the case with my fingers. I decreased the amount of crimp and was able to come up with a measurement at the case mouth of a loaded round that 100% worked every time. There is a lot of variables that come into play here. Case wall thickness, the amount the sizing die sizes the case initially, the hardness of the bullet you are loading, how much the brass "springs back". Have loaded handgun ammunition for close to 40 years and had never run into the issue but admittingly was mainly loading revolver ammo that was roll crimped, not taper crimped. With roll crimping, you are normally crimping into a cannelure and in my case was using slow burning powder in a .44 magnum. More crimp the better in that case. The semi autos with taper crimping is a different animal. Second scenario was 9mm based. Buckets of range brass collected over many years. Finally decided to start loading during one of the ammo shortages. First thing I noticed was many of the cases had a bulge that formed during the resizing process. From what I understand this is mainly a biproduct of a chamber that is not supported all the way around ie...Glock (maybe others too) At the time, I concluded that my sizing dies were trying to reduce the outside diameter too much, causing some of the bulging, case deformation issue I was having. The end result of the bulge is the loaded round not seating all the way in the chamber or a chamber checking tool. One solution was a Lee Factory crimp die. It sizes the case and crimps in one operation. This probably worked about 95% of the time. Another operation too.

Went down a very expensive rabbit hole purchasing a couple different custom sizing dies. Those dies would size the od of the case a very minimal amount and therefore make the bulge less pronounced. The byproduct of that was less tension on the bullet, depending on what the case wall thickness was. So in reality, I had both ends of the spectrum regarding case sizing. One set of dies reduced the size almost .007", the other set of dies reduced the size about .002" A case that was slightly thinner, sized in the custom die, would almost always end up with a loose bullet. Didn't seem like you could compensate with more crimping to correct this either.

Super long story but in the end I ditched all the casings that had a pronounced bulge after sizing. I went back to a minimal amount of taper crimping. Just enough that the loaded round would go in a chamber checker. If it will go in the chamber checker, it will load in every weapon I tried them in. (10-15 different handguns and carbines)

I would take a look at both your sizing operation and your crimping operation. Verify how much crimp or press fit the bullet will have in a sized case. Measure the ID of the case after sizing and the OD of the bullet. Personally I want no less than .002" interference fit. Then taper crimp only enough to straighten up any case flaring that was done to get the bullet into the case. When you push the bullet into the flare, you should be able to pick the case up easily and it shouldn't fall off.

You can PM me if you want specifics on die brands. I didn't list any of that above because for the most part, it wasn't a die issue. I was not adjusting them "properly". I didn't want this to come off as a bashing of any one type or brand of dies.

I honestly believe the biggest variable is the brass itself, especially range brass from a variety of manufactures and shot out of god knows how many different guns.

Good luck.

 

[Vern400]

If you flare enough to make bullets super easy to start straight in the case it can be an issue. The flare should be minimal. Your crimp also should be minimal because you're head spacing on the case mouth. Don't deform the bullets because the brass will springback but the lead won't! I run a Lee factory crimp die, and a chamber check gave to find problems before they FTF, etc. I had problems with my short fat boolits starting crooked and expanding the case mouth in 45 acp. That was my first noncrimp pistola cartridge.

Be wary of the ones with too - short OAL. They make chamber pressures jump up rapidly. Enough to hurt you.

 

[peterk123]

I'm going with crimp/crimp die as well. I ran into this with 10mm and Lee dies. The crimp was resizing my bullet. No matter what I did with the crimp setting, I'd still have an issue like every ten rounds. But in my situation, the bullet was getting extracted by the die. I did have some like yours though as well. Traded emails with Lee trying all sorts of useless things. Finally told the guy I'm done. I'm buying a different set of dies. Went with RCBS and have not had an issue since. Btw, was a bit disappointed with Lee.