So my 9mm needs work

[Danimal]

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[Danimal]

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[El Caballo Loco]

Interesting. Subscribing.

[SideShow Bob]

Flaring die set too low ? Or sizing die too tight ?

[SA Friday]

It looks like you're loading 115 grain FMJ bullets and I'm speculating that you are using a Lee factory crimp die. If you are using a FCD, throw it away. Its garbage. Use a dillon or rcbs seating die and adjust it to take the flare out of the case and just barely lay the brass flat against the side of the bullet. Any more is overkill. I regularly leave just barely enough space between the bullet and the side wall that you can see it. If it feeds this way, don't sweat it. Iots better than too much crimp.

Check your overall l,ength. If its book length, try lengthing the oal to 1.250 and see if accuracy improves. It should still feed at that length for the mass majority of common factory guns out there.

Other thing that might be happening is if u are using plated bullets, you don't have enough f,are. Seating into tight case mouths or overcrimping kills platted bullets. Personally, I dispise them for just this reason. They are uber fragile and take a lot of experience to reload without distain and frustration.

if I'm off with my assumptions, post and I can adjust fire. To get you on mark.

[Zombie Steve]

Is there a Lee Factory Crimp Die involved? If so, store it in the trash can. and just use a regular taper crimp die.

Just crimp until the round drops easily into your chamber (take the barrel out of your gun) and sits flush with the barrel hood. Turn it over - if it falls out freely, you're done - don't go any further.

Now - when you developed this load, was this load the most accurate, or were you going for speed? I think 95% of accuracy in pistol rounds can be attributed to finding the right charge. Some details of the load might help.

[Not_A_Llama]

For 9mm, "crimp" is kind of a misnomer. It's more of an "unflare" die.

The case bulge from the bullet is fine. That's just the bullet distending the part of the case sized down by your sizer die.

I measure the bullet diameter and the thickness of the casing at the mouth. When you measure the diameter of the loaded cartridge at the mouth, you should get (bullet diameter + 2*case thickness), with maybe a thousandth more.

Pull a bullet from a loaded round - how does it look? Striations are fine, but if the plating has come off or the bullet has been squished, you need to flare more, or crimp less (respectively).

As for accuracy, if your powder loads are good and consistent, I'd look at seating depth. What's your overall length? What kind of gun? CZs have very short chambers, Glocks go for days. For accuracy, closer to the lands is generally better.

What is your load? Some powders, like Solo1000, are actually much more accurate when loaded hotter than the bare minimum necessary to meet power factor. IDPA SSP requires a power factor of 125 - I shoot a load at 133 pf, because it's more accurate.

One last thing - what kind of accuracy are you calling bad? I shoot IDPA - the accuracy demands are pretty minimal. If you can get fist-sized groups at 7 yards, you're more than fine for the game. If you haven't shot action pistol before, tiny groups will be the least of your worries.

[SA Friday]

I'm not a fan of the 115s and Solo 1000 combo. Way too close to pressure ceiling for my taste. Titegroup is a better choice as long as you're shooting jacketed.

[Not_A_Llama]

I don't think he's using Solo - though I'd agree. I'm using the 147s, which is a sweet load.

[Danimal]

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[Not_A_Llama]

The Lee "FACTORY" crimp die is a completely different beast than the standard Lee seating/crimping die that comes in their 3-die sets. You would have paid extra to buy it ala carte, or as part of a 4-die set.

I've loaded almost 10k rounds with the regular Lee dies (including the seater/crimper), without issue. The "Factory" crimp die is the contentious one, and I've never used it.

A clay pigeon at 5 yards, though... That's really, really, bad accuracy. I don't mean offense, but how experienced of a pistol shooter are you? When switching from factory 9mm to mildly-loaded 9mm reloads, the recoil difference can be enough to throw off a newer pistol shooter.

[Hoser]

Yes those are 115 gr round nose.

Plated like Rainer/Berry or jacketed like Hornady/Zero?

[jerrymrc]

I guess I am different or just missed something? I have used the Factory crimp die (pistol) with never a problem. This is the one that is nothing more than a sizing ring. Most of the time it never touches the case. Is this the one we are talking about? Mine never has touched the case below the bullet as it looks like in the pic.

[Danimal]

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[jerrymrc]

I am still a little concerned about the bulging of the neck of the case, I will take some pictures after I get them made up just to make sure it is not abnormal.

I will say that the only time any of my rounds look like that is when I trim my X19 cases to 18 and use the larger Makarov bullets for the first time.

I do hope ya get it worked out. This is one of those issues that hopefully someone with more knowledge than I can help ya out with.

I have my Lee pistol seating die backed off so it adds no crimp at all. I do know that there is a fine line between just the right amount of bell to seat the bullet without shaving it. When set right my factory crimp die may touch one in twenty rounds.

I am not a good enough pistol shooter where it makes much difference at this time anyway. [Bang]

[Not_A_Llama]

For reference, these are my rounds, produced with Lee dies (sans factory crimp):

http://subpar.info/photos/coarf/9mmCartridges.jpg

Bayou, Precision Moly, and some kind of plated bullet (Berry's or X-treme). They all case gauge correctly, and will put shots on top of each other.

The bulge from the bullet is supposed to be there. This actually is a very positive feature - it prevents setback, and assures high case tension.

The crimp should only resolve the "trumpet" effect caused by flaring, not swage the bullet down to make the case side straight. If you swage the bullet, you'll be dramatically undersized, and I wouldn't be surprised by horrid accuracy.

I should find pics of my friend's 9mm, loaded with Dillon dies - they look like Coke bottles.

[Danimal]

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[Danimal]

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[SA Friday]

The far left bullet of the four in the first pic is no good. There is what appears to be a hole in the outer webbing area of the case.

Crimp looks better on these.