Sizing 9mm bullets

[mnewcomb59]

Make sure you don't use super clean brass on the large expander plug or it might stick and rip the rim off! The cases need wax or neck lube or you have to have some method from getting clean metal on metal.

I bought some stainless pin cleaned brass once and ooooh it was so shiny inside and out. I had to wash them in some heavy wash and wax and only rinse like 98% of the soap off so it left some visible residue. Others I used some far diluted alox and a q tip and lubed all the interiors of the case necks. Now I just leave my 9mm cases relatively grimy but still segregate by headstamp.

[remy3424]

Reach out to lathesmith, he is a vender here, just tell him what Dillon press you have and that you are loading, he has made many custom powder funnels (expanders) for Dillon presses...the one he made for me is perfect for loading cast. That should solve the problem. The Lee 38 S&W insert will make the Lee expander die work like a champion.

[243winxb]

With barrel out of gun- Take an oversize bullet & tap it into the throat. Measure the sized area. Choose a sizer thats a tiny bit smaller then the throat. My .3568" chamber throat, needed a .356 H & I Die. Working great.

Your 147 grain bullet will go deep into the case. An oversize diameter may bulge the case, causing chambering problems.



(Just in case the OP is still alive.) HIS LAST ACTIVITY- 01-03-2022 02:47 AM

[Half Dog]

It seems you have plenty of good advice. I use a M-Die, size to 0.358”, and then adjust loads for accuracy. For me, the leading didn’t stop until I got the right size bullet into the barrel.

[Pbaker]

Thanks all for the advice. I am using Dillon dies, so it tends to undersize the brass, causing case bulge in just about any scenario. I’ve loaded other 147gr cast, but these were significantly harder and the case bulge was noticeable. I think I’m going to try the over sized powder funnel for my Dillon. Took some research and help from other posts, but I may have found a possible solution.

https://www.uniquetek.com/product/T1736

[pacomdiver]

I’ve checked my dies, they are clean. I think it’s an issue of soft-ish lead mixed with hard brass. I have mixed brass, and it’s just used for blasting ammo, so I’m definitely not interested in going through the sorting process. I size all my bullets to .357 as that seems to be the best average for all my 9mm guns. I think getting a modified powder funnel is the best solution at the moment, just need to do more research as there are a couple to choose from. The one I have found so far only expands the neck to .353, which I would think is still going to cause problems. Might have one made as it is a simple part made from bar stock.

thats all i use. range pickups, and softer lead that you are using and dont have that problem.

[pacomdiver]

so i guess my dillon expander is a qc fail, it measures .3555

before loading

loaded round after running thru dillon crimp die

[pacomdiver]

round pulled

pulled bullet next to unloaded bullet

pulled bullet measurement, so my bullets are actually getting swaged slightly (.005 from .356 to.3555)

[Pbaker]

Yeah my powder funnel measures .352”, which is why my bullets are being swagged to .353-.354. Definitely not big enough to build pressure and seal most chambers. I have a few Sigs and an AR9 that measure a .356 barrel, so I settled on sizing to .357. I may even bump it up to .358 and get and oversized powder funnel.

[6622729]

As suggested by others, you should slug the barrel then go about .002” over. I’m shooting .357 sized in 3 different 9mm Glocks with KKM stainless barrels. The all slugged .355 and they all shoot great. My alloy is approximated Lyman #2 (90/5/5). I have shot a lot of Lee “as cast” but the consistency created by sizing all of them is worth the few minutes it takes.

[Pbaker]

I have slugged my barrels, and they all measured at .356. Last year I reloaded some Winchester white box brass using a harder alloy sized to .357, they shot great. But the bullets were not being swagged during the reloading process either. Since I have this bucket of mixed brass now, and with my softer alloy, it’s an issue. That’s why I made the comment of getting the oversized powder funnel and sizing to .358 for good measure.

Honestly, the undersized bullets shoot fine in my Sig’s, it just leaves me with dirty brass. But I really notice this issue in my AR9 as it completely fouls the action after 60 rounds or so because of blow by from not sealing properly.

[mnewcomb59]

You might just find that 9mm blowbacks run filthy and there is not much to be done about it except making the bolt heavier. The case has a pronounced taper. It is not a parallell straight wall. As soon as the bolt begins moving backwards the gas seal is lost.

[gwpercle]

I load for 4 different 9mm Luger pistols , one being a Springfield , and size all boolits .357" .
I get best results with a steel CH resizing die that sizes with the tapered case ... carbide sizer only sizes in a cylinder form and you loose some of the seal that the tapered case gives ... ditch the carbide sizer and use a tapered steel sizer !
Flare the case mouth . NOE M-Die case expander plug in the Lee Universal Neck Expander keeps the case from squeezing down the boolit ... get the M-die insert that fits your sized boolit ... this is a huge help !
A boolit with a gas check also helps seating w/o sizing down and you can load them +1,000 fps with no leading . I ordered mine from NOE along with the correct case expanding plug .
I load on a single stage press ...if you a Dillon user with Dillon Dies ... I don't Know !
Gary

[243winxb]

RCBS 9MM dies- Taper size & have M expander.

[lotech]

I've had five size dies from .356" to .360" on hand for many years for use with 9mm and .38 bullets. There are exceptions, but generally, the largest bullet that will chamber without difficulty will not only be the most accurate, it likely won't lead the bore. In 9mm, the best diameter I've found for use in several pistols (Walther, Beretta, and a Sig) has been .358". Again, there are exceptions. You can slug the bore, but seldom is this really necessary if you'll try different bullet diameters. For 9mm, a hardness anywhere between 12-15 BHN is fine for most loads.

[Pbaker]

Iotech, I agree 100%. With my avg barrel size measuring.356, I think I’m going to go with a .358 powder funnel and start sizing my bullets to .358 as well. With softer lead, I don’t think that .002” of squeeze is going to be detrimental.

[Soundguy]

round pulled

pulled bullet next to unloaded bullet

pulled bullet measurement, so my bullets are actually getting swaged slightly (.005 from .356 to.3555)

Try a uni expander.. that one is simply not belling enough...

[pacomdiver]

Try a uni expander.. that one is simply not belling enough...

its not shaving and shoots good thru all the 9s i load for from pistols to carbines, so why mess with success

[Soundguy]

If the bullet is bigger than the case neck..its swaging or shaving when going in.

[Pbaker]

That isn’t necessarily a true statement. I had some hard lead (18BHN) that loaded great in 9mm. There was visible case bulge though as well. But yes, I’m starting to think that more often than not, people are experiencing bullet swagging to some extent. For me, the undersized bullets weren’t noticeable in my handguns. It wasn’t until I shot them in my AR9 that this became an issue to me, they were not building pressure and sealing the chamber. I think because I had successfully loaded a previous batch with harder lead (18BHN), I didn’t even consider that I had issues with bullet size on my new batch (COWW @12BHN).

Just some adventures in reloading I guess!