bulge buster

[hiram]

Is the case length/headspace gauge the gauge used to check for bulges or is there a different gauge for checking?

Thanks

[w5pv]

Check manual or other information for the correct size of the casing and then using micrometers check the size at the buldge and deduct the correct size from the buldge size.There are dies that allow for the buldge to be reformed Lee makes some in different calibers that they are call buldge busters.I have neve used any and cannot say how they woek.

[gunoil]

http://www.okiegauges.com

Try this site.

[W.R.Buchanan]

Hiram: the only cases these "Bulges" matter on are the .40 S&W and possibly the 10MM.

9 mm's don't do it nearly as much, are much stronger, and don't need the treatment, and .45 ACPs don't have enough pressure to hurt them.

Believe me you can see the bulges on .40's fired in loose chambers. Unless the rounds were fired in a S&W610 revolver they probably are bulged to some extent.

As far as a method of checking them, we just run ALL of them all the way thru a Lee Carbide FCD with the crimp function removed. This returns the OD of the cases to a consistent .421-423 which is about where they started out anyway. A regular FL Sizing Die won't get all the way to the bottom of the case and the case head won't go thru the FL die either. It must be done with a FCD

The Full Length Sizing Die then preps the cases for loading as normal.

Other than that I don't know of any other way but to use a micrometer and check each one individually. This is pointless since in the time it takes you to measure one case, you could have stuffed 3 of them thru the die.

Randy

[CT-shooter777]

134055
Is the case length/headspace gauge the gauge used to check for bulges or is there a different gauge for checking?

Thanks


if it fits in one of these, it will work properly in your chamber, that's how I check mine.

http://www.dillonprecision.com/content/p/9/pid/25548/catid/3/Dillon_Handgun_Case_Gages

[Bayou52]

134055


if it fits in one of these, it will work properly in your chamber, that's how I check mine.

http://www.dillonprecision.com/content/p/9/pid/25548/catid/3/Dillon_Handgun_Case_Gages

I use these headspace gages in reloading for every auto loader - pistol and rifle - to assure smooth cycling and proper headspacing. Well worth the cost and effort.

Bayou52

[CT-shooter777]

Dillion used to sell a complete set of common auto gauges, 380, 9mm, 38 super, 40SW, 10mm, 45acp.
Did not see it listed, well worth it, quite frankly I won't trust die adjustments without checking it with the gauge.
Gives the correct amount of taper for head-spacing on the mouth and O.A.L .

of course there are more labor intensive ways to check that would work, but if you reload a lot of auto, it's the way to go.

I bought mine when I used to have money;)

[Tommyd98]

You can use your barrel for the gun to see if it will chamber

[jmorris]

Yes a casegauge is what you want to use. FWIW generally a ding in the rim is what will cause a case to not fall into a casegauge, not a bulge.

[hiram]

Thank you. These answers address what I was interested in very concisely.

[firebrick43]

Dillon also sells a evolution gun works chamber checker. In takes 7 Cases at a time.

40 s&w case checker is 19.95 in the current Blue Press

looking on egw website there is also a 50 holer available.

[John 242]

You can use your barrel for the gun to see if it will chamber


That's what I do, too. However, in this case, I think a case gauge would work better for finding bulges.
My reasoning is that the bulged .40 cases I've dealt with have bulges where the case head is unsupported. When fired, this bulges the brass forward of the web at the 6 o'clock position. If you chamber check this brass with the bulge at 6 o'clock, it'll drop in just fine. If you drop it in with the bulge at 12 o'clock, it won't chamber. A case gauge, unlike a barrel, completely encloses the case.

With the above being said, I chamber check my reloads, if possible, in the barrel they're going to be fired in. Case gauges are made to SAAMI minimum specs. I've had cast reloads fail to chamber in a gauge, yet drop right into a supposedly "match" pistol barrel.

I make dummy rounds of my rifle cartridge reloads and chamber check them. Sort of like using a dummy as a headspace gauge. You have to be gentle with dummies. Unlike a headspace gauge, which is hardened steel, you can force fit a dummy round if you put too much muscle on it.


(I deleted a previous post. Didn't really address the issue at hand, which is bulged brass.)

[gunoil]

MIDWAYUSA sells a 4 hole cartridge gage, l have one.



http://i1113.photobucket.com/albums/k511/putt2012/5FA91F54-4F3C-4AE1-A414-DFEBFFF9553A-12889-00000D2CF9ABA766_zpsf24c37eb.jpg (http://s1113.photobucket.com/user/putt2012/media/5FA91F54-4F3C-4AE1-A414-DFEBFFF9553A-12889-00000D2CF9ABA766_zpsf24c37eb.jpg.html)

arbor press for case base swaging pistol brass: This is 1 ton from Harborfreight , 53$ out the door. Seat GC's too.

http://i1113.photobucket.com/albums/k511/putt2012/3570FE7D-14E9-4ED4-B55D-EB92ED930F2A_zpsghqpejkv.jpg (http://s1113.photobucket.com/user/putt2012/media/3570FE7D-14E9-4ED4-B55D-EB92ED930F2A_zpsghqpejkv.jpg.html)

Make its easy!


----------------------------------------
brevity&misspelling rampant

[jmorris]

My reasoning is that the bulged .40 cases I've dealt with have bulges where the case head is unsupported. When fired, this bulges the brass forward of the web at the 6 o'clock position. If you chamber check this brass with the bulge at 6 o'clock, it'll drop in just fine. If you drop it in with the bulge at 12 o'clock, it won't chamber. A case gauge, unlike a barrel, completely encloses the case.


You are correct in your assumption, a barrel tests little to nothing at the base of the case but it entering the breech face can find issues that a "plunk" test won't find. Why competitive shooters almost always casegauge their ammunition.

http://i121.photobucket.com/albums/o213/jmorrismetal/reloading/DSC02128.jpg

A "plunk" works until a "mystery" malfunction happens and causes a loss clearing it. Then you just check them all.

Not for everyone but helps make better ammunition.

[gloob]

The 6 o clock bulge can throw a monkey wrench in the works. But you don't need to find them all. If you find ONE bad case, you generally need to debulge all your cases. (Debulging a good case takes about the same effort as checking it with a case gauge, and debulging a bulged case is less effort than gauging it AND debulging it). I debulge all my new OF'd 40SW brass/pickups.

I would use a case gauge to check ammo before loading into the mags, for a match or SD use. But I wouldn't use it to check every case while reloading ammo. I would use it just for spot checks, and your gun barrel works almost as well for that, if you're cheap.

[jmorris]

Debulging a good case takes about the same effort as checking it with a case gauge

I automated a casepro roll sizing machine to make it effortless.

http://i121.photobucket.com/albums/o213/jmorrismetal/reloading/casepro/DSC02028-1.jpg

Automation could also be done with push through sizers and a single stage press. This is one I use for sizing bullets.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=01zbImsdkbg

[ioon44]

With .40 S&W if I find cases with bulges that won't chamber after FL sizing they just go in the scrap bucket.
Too much .40 S&W brass around to risk using a weakened case, if you look in side a bulged case you will see cracks around the base.

[W.R.Buchanan]

Like I said ,,, best to just stuff all of them thru a Lee FCD and be done with it. I can pretty much guarantee they will all go in a gage afterwards simply because the hole in the gage is bigger than the hole in the FCD. :holysheep

Now YMMV on loaded rounds.

Randy

[jmorris]

Like I said ,,, best to just stuff all of them thru a Lee FCD and be done with it. I can pretty much guarantee they will all go in a gage afterwards simply because the hole in the gage is bigger than the hole in the FCD. :holysheep

Now YMMV on loaded rounds.

Randy

Only problem with that is an imperfection at the base or, more often than not, on the rim itself.

That part is in the shell plate and no die can touch it there as you have to be able to pull it back out.

Worth pointing out, a "plunk" test in the barrel will also not catch a defect in this area and one reason a case gauge exists.

http://i121.photobucket.com/albums/o213/jmorrismetal/reloading/DSC02128.jpg

However, if a defect exists it can cause a problem as it tries to enter the breech face. The "mystery" malfunction is born. Every round passed a plunk test but the gun still didn't run.

http://i121.photobucket.com/albums/o213/jmorrismetal/reloading/DSC02130.jpg

Why competitive shooters, in timed events, often case gauge every round.

[W.R.Buchanan]

JMorris: we are pushing the case all the way thru a Lee FCD,,, not in and out of a FL die. The Lee FCD's size a case down to .421-423 all the way from top to bottom including the rim if it is too big.

It is nearly the same result as your Case Pro. Magma has the Case Master which is simply an arbor press pushing the cases all the way thru a ring die and out the bottom. Using a Lee FCD on a regular single stage press is the same thing with out the auto loading device.

Randy

[jmorris]

JMorris: we are pushing the case all the way thru a Lee FCD,,, not in and out of a FL die.

I just realized that from re reading #4 before I made it to the last post. Sorry, about that, first mistake I made after 6:00 yesterday and 6 min won't set any records.

[W.R.Buchanan]

You are excused. I knew that you knew better.

Randy