Bait O' Eggs
11-15-2018, 05:47 PM
Hope this is the correct forum, there are so many forums on this page sometimes it is hard to tell where to ask the question.
Having some failure to battery issues with cast bullets. Not sure if the issue is the cast bullet or how I am loading them.
Fairly new to casting bullets (1 year or so) and reloading them. I am using a Lee 9mm 124 grain round nose mold, casting 6 bullets at a time. Powder coating with Harbor Freight red and then sizing them at 0.357. Loading the rounds with 4.6 grains of Winchester 231.
I have 3 each Sig 365's that eat these all day long with no issues. A buddies Glock 43 has no issues. I have a FNS 9C that doesnt like them. About every second or third shell failures to battery. And it isnt a simple work the slide to clear. The slide is jammed hard, and I have to push the front of the slide on something like edge of a stump to get the slide to clear the jammed casing. I am a pretty strong guy and I cant work the slide loose by hand. I have tried to lube the slide and didnt help the issue. I even had it dripping Remlube when trying to get it to cycle.
The FNS 9C has around 400 rounds thru it (fairly new), and it eats factory ammo with no issues. I start comparing the ammo it eats to what it gags on, and I see the factory ammo is 1.110 OAL. My reloads are 1.142 OAL which is still shorter than OAL in the books at 1.16.
I have not tried to shorten the OAL of my reloads yet to see if it feeds better. It seems to me it is one of a few possible issues.
1. Not enough spring to seat the follow up round after firing, maybe adding powder will work the slide more fully giving the spring additional ability to cycle the gun. I assume the slide is fully cycling, the gun always locks back after last round fired. So this probably isnt my problem is a guess???
2. Maybe I need to size bullets to a smaller diameter, though I would think the painted lead diameter isnt keeping the gun from going full battery, it is about 1/8 of an inch from fully engaging the next casing when it failures to battery. I see no markings on the powder coating bullet when it doesnt battery. I know it is 0.001 over book, but can the FNS be that tight to tolerances?? I cannot hit the back of the slide with the heal of my hand and get it to battery.
3. Maybe seating the bullet deeper (increasing my pressure), will allow it to go into battery. I have noticed no marks on the powder coating when a casing failures to battery and I have to essentially pound it out. My OAL is a bit more than the factory ammo that does cycle with no issues so maybe this is it.
4. It is the wifes gun, and she could be limp wristing it, but it does the same thing when I shoot it and I am fairly confident I am not limp wristed ;)
Have I pretty much identified the potential issues? Is there something I may be missing?
What confuses me is when it failures to battery, it is locked up tight and doesnt clear easily, yet I dont see any sign of why on the casings or bullets. I would expect to see powder coat scraping or something???
Open to suggestions to try before I begin the problem solving.
Having some failure to battery issues with cast bullets. Not sure if the issue is the cast bullet or how I am loading them.
Fairly new to casting bullets (1 year or so) and reloading them. I am using a Lee 9mm 124 grain round nose mold, casting 6 bullets at a time. Powder coating with Harbor Freight red and then sizing them at 0.357. Loading the rounds with 4.6 grains of Winchester 231.
I have 3 each Sig 365's that eat these all day long with no issues. A buddies Glock 43 has no issues. I have a FNS 9C that doesnt like them. About every second or third shell failures to battery. And it isnt a simple work the slide to clear. The slide is jammed hard, and I have to push the front of the slide on something like edge of a stump to get the slide to clear the jammed casing. I am a pretty strong guy and I cant work the slide loose by hand. I have tried to lube the slide and didnt help the issue. I even had it dripping Remlube when trying to get it to cycle.
The FNS 9C has around 400 rounds thru it (fairly new), and it eats factory ammo with no issues. I start comparing the ammo it eats to what it gags on, and I see the factory ammo is 1.110 OAL. My reloads are 1.142 OAL which is still shorter than OAL in the books at 1.16.
I have not tried to shorten the OAL of my reloads yet to see if it feeds better. It seems to me it is one of a few possible issues.
1. Not enough spring to seat the follow up round after firing, maybe adding powder will work the slide more fully giving the spring additional ability to cycle the gun. I assume the slide is fully cycling, the gun always locks back after last round fired. So this probably isnt my problem is a guess???
2. Maybe I need to size bullets to a smaller diameter, though I would think the painted lead diameter isnt keeping the gun from going full battery, it is about 1/8 of an inch from fully engaging the next casing when it failures to battery. I see no markings on the powder coating bullet when it doesnt battery. I know it is 0.001 over book, but can the FNS be that tight to tolerances?? I cannot hit the back of the slide with the heal of my hand and get it to battery.
3. Maybe seating the bullet deeper (increasing my pressure), will allow it to go into battery. I have noticed no marks on the powder coating when a casing failures to battery and I have to essentially pound it out. My OAL is a bit more than the factory ammo that does cycle with no issues so maybe this is it.
4. It is the wifes gun, and she could be limp wristing it, but it does the same thing when I shoot it and I am fairly confident I am not limp wristed ;)
Have I pretty much identified the potential issues? Is there something I may be missing?
What confuses me is when it failures to battery, it is locked up tight and doesnt clear easily, yet I dont see any sign of why on the casings or bullets. I would expect to see powder coat scraping or something???
Open to suggestions to try before I begin the problem solving.