Lee 356-95-RF for 9mm plunk test help

[Mleon]

Hi I am using the Lee 356-95-RF for 9mm and the cast reloaded bullet goes all the way in the case gague except the last little bit needs a slight push. Once pushed in the bullets gets stuck but comes out if pushed lightly from the other side. Using dillion 550 dies. Lead bullet was sized before using lee 45/45/10 alox mix.

Questions

1. Is this safe to shoot?
2. Should I crimp more? More crimp made the situation better but am starting to make a bigger indent on the lead bullet.
3. If I just use a jhp no problem at all.
4. Wondering if the lube is making it stick.

Any advise is appreciated

[Dusty Bannister]

When you have coated the surface of the bullet and the case with magic marker and chambered it, where is the color removed? That will tell you to seat deeper or crimp more.

[Bzcraig]

Have you tried the 'plunk' test? Your title mentions it but it sounds like the boolit is getting stuck in the case guage not the pistol chamber.

[Mleon]

I just tried a few times and didnt notice any marker removed.

[Mleon]

Yes same resistance to case gague as actual barrel.

[sigep1764]

Some brass is a little thicker than others. Load a mag and manually cycle the pistol. Let the pistol tell you what it needs. My guess is it will work with no issue if it is just light pressure. I had a Kahr with a slightly tight chamber and short leade. There was light resistance but it fired just fine. If it bothers you, try sizing a thousandth smaller. In regards to crimping, you just want to take the bell off the case. Overcrimping with swage the boolit.

[leadhead]

What dia. is the bullet coming out of the mold?
What dia. are you sizing to?
Denny

[scattershot]

Could be that your cases were previously fired in a Glock or something with a large chamber. If the cases aren’t sized completely, they can stick as you mentioned. Can you insert an empty case into your chamber without friction?

[JBinMN]

Tapered case for 9mm Luger(9x19), and if you are sizing .356 or larger (.357/.358) it may be that you are bulging the case slightly when seating, so that when you get the base of the bullet in the case to get to OAL you are making the round just slightly more than what the tolerance of the gauge/chamber is designed for. That could create the situation you describe. The "bulge" is slight so that the round enters the gauge/chamber until it almost get to fit right , but the "slight bulge gets tight against the side of the gauge/chamber & makes it a bit harder to seat fully into the gauge/chamber but not overly so, letting you extract without much force. Like was mentioned before, some cases are a bit thicker than others so that can make the situation happen when in other cases it does not.

I have found that CBC cases tend to cause the same thing for me when I try to load them with .357 to .358 boolits. Not every time, but often enough to make me use those cases for other bullets/boolits. GFI, Blazer, R-P, etc. do not seem to have as much issue.

I have used both Hornady & RCBS expander dies as well as a Lee Univ. Exp. die with an NOE 306 x 356 exp. insert( Largest I could find at NOE), and have had the same thing happen on occasion.

What I have done to correct the situation is to try to catch the "bulge" before I taper crimp( I do separately) and pull the boolit, then resize & repeat the process but go slower to seat the boolit. This usually works, but if not, I just set the case aside for later use with another boolit/bullet.
Note- I also check the boolit for being "swaged" down from their intended size(358/358) and have not yet had any getting swaged down smaller doing this, even when I check them for it by pulling the second time. I did this a few times just to see if that was happening to make the round fit the gauge/chamber, but that was not the case. I reckon it was that the brass accepted the somewhat larger boolit better when going somewhat slower & easier rather than the lead giving way to the brass. I really cannot explain why it works but it does for me... "Most" of the time...
Of course YMMV, on your results...

I am sure others here will likely have a better solution than I do, but I will wait & see if anyone posts a better idea of what is going on in your case & their solution(s). I just took a "stab at it" since I have had a somewhat similar situation once in a while. ( Just did happen last week loading up about 200 9mm Luger rounds and have 5 CBC cases do it. 3 were corrected the second time & 2 went into a baggie for use with other bullets.)

G'Luck! & I hope you find a solution that is easy to correct.


ETA: I forgot to mention that if you are occasionally placing the boolit at a slight angle from center when seating, that that can also cause this sort of thing since the boolit is entering slightly off center & may cause a bit of a case bulge.
BTW... These "bulges" may not be real apparent to a visual inspection, even though they are there. Just because they are not real visible does not mean they don't exist. That is what the gauge is all about anyway. so that you don't put the rounds in the chamber and have difficulties, but find out beforehand so you can fix the issue, right?


Once again, G'Luck! & please tell everyone what ends up working for ya if ya solve the issue.

[Mleon]

Yeah I think it's a bulge in the case. Maybe I have to seat more. Not sure. JbinMN Sounds like the situation you mentioned. I dont have these problems using the same bullet in 380. After sizing die, case goes right in. I do know alot of the cases were fired from a glock, maybe I need a bulge buster or something. Maybe I have too much bell?

[mdi]

Personally, I wouldn't shoot a round that wouldn't pass he plunk test, in my pistol's barrel. Any time there is a fit problem measure. Measure the diameter at a few places along the cartridge (bullet, neck, midway, just before the case head and the rim.). Measure the OAL and check against the OAL listing for your particular bullet in your manual(s).
Another method is the "Magic Marker test" as mentioned above; color the bullet and the first 1/2" or so of the case and drop the cartridge into the barrel. If it stops give it a bit of pressure and then remove it. The color will be rubbed off where the cartridge is hitting. Once you know where the cartridge is too big and what part hits first you can address the problem, mostly by seating the bullet a bit deeper or applying a bit more crimp...

I would rather see you find out where the problem is and learn to fix it rather than using a Lee FCD to cover up the problem

[Mleon]

Thanks for the help guys

[JBinMN]

I agree with not "covering up" the issue. You will just have to figure out what might be causing the fit issue. It may ( & IMO likely) be a seating/bulge issue with the boolits you are using.

I think it was leadhead who asked about the size of the boolit, both after cast & after sizing. You did not mention that, but I agree that is one place to start looking & then go from there.

I would like to add that a "Bulge Buster" die will not work on 9mm Luger because it is a "tapered" case. while 380ACP, 40 cal, 45ACP & other "straight walled" cases like that is where that would work. A Lee FCD would likely straighten out the trouble but as said, you would not be really solving the problem & possibly be swaging your boolit down as well. ( ETA: I did a bit of research & I understand that a 9mm Makarov( 9x18) FCD may be able to be used as a type of bulge buster on 9mmLuger. But I do not know enough about it to comment any more than I have. I do know that Lee does not include 9MM on their Bulge Buster page: https://leeprecision.com/case-condit...ge-buster-kit/)

It may be that you will have to also investigate if it is the case manufacturer & try other cases to see if the issue remains.

As well as mdi suggestion about measuring things to locate just where the issue is. (I'd still bet it is a minor "bulge" by the base of the boolit inside the case deforming the outside to make a unacceptable tight fit in the gauge/chamber.) Just remember that the case is tapered. Looking at the side view in the reloading manual might help with your measuring. Compare what you are seeing to that & I know I keep repeating it, but it is a "tapered" case to start with so your measurements will reflect that. Just look for an anomaly in the measurements as ya go from case mouth to primer end(rim/web area).

Just take it easy & eliminate what ya can. You should eventually ID the issue(s) ( hopefully just one & an easy fix) and find a easy solution to it.

Like was said, G'Luck! & please let us know what ya end up doing.


P.S. - I dunno about the "Glock" thing. If that is the issue then I can't help at all.. No experience with them. I would check what scattershot was saying about the fit after sizing the case to see if it fits then. Just keep checking things as each step goes & you will eventually find ut where it is happening & then figure out the solution.

[Grmps]

that boolit has a fat nose, you may need to seat it deeper

[Mleon]

I seated deeper to 1.015 and it's much better but still not perfect. Just to see what's going on I tried 1.000 and that worked but dont know how much lower than 1.015 should I go. That's the problem with lee molds no specific data and a lot of conflicting info. Also some fmj data says min oal of 1.020 or 1.015.

[mdi]

I seated deeper to 1.015 and it's much better but still not perfect. Just to see what's going on I tried 1.000 and that worked but dont know how much lower than 1.015 should I go. That's the problem with lee molds no specific data and a lot of conflicting info. Also some fmj data says min oal of 1.020 or 1.015.

Did you check anything or just shorten the cartridge?

[jcren]

With that little short, fat, flat nose, length will be shorter than advertised RN or hp data. Compare where the base of the bullet stops in the brass to one you have data for and if it isn't encroaching on powder space too much, run with it. For instance, when I started loading 45 acp, the Lee 230 tc wants to be way under any published spec to feed reliably, but comparing where the base of the bullet ends up is almost identical to 230 factory ball ammo.