SIZING THE 9MM lUGER CASE

[GOPHER SLAYER]

I have a beautiful set of loading dies from Redding. The sizing die has a carbide insert. Since the 9mm case is not straight but tapered. I have never reloaded the 9MM before so I never dealt with the question. There must be many on this site who reload this round. What die do you use to resize the case?

[gpidaho]

I use the RCBS carbide size die with the carbide insert. I know a purest wants to keep the small taper of the 9X19 case but all my 9 reloads are more accurate than the man shooting them even if they are straight walled so I don't worry about it. They feed fine in four different nines that I shoot. Gp

[Old School Big Bore]

I have used the Dillon and Lee steel and the RCBS and Lee carbide. All of them have done a great job. Aside: I do spray the brass I'm gonna size in the carbide ones, just to ease the effort. A little tumble in a damp towel takes the One Shot right off. Just loaded 1250 125s and 400 158 subsonics, in a very old RCBS carbide, with One Shot. The sizer was the least of my problems.

[GOPHER SLAYER]

The reason I posted the question was what I read in the Sierra loading manual. I stated that a carbide die should not be used. While I have been reloading for a very long time, I never load for the 9mm. The same problem applies to the 45 Colt since it too is a tapered case. Thanks guys for your response. I will use the Redding dies. The only problem I have with the Redding is opening the the case. I have to use a screw driver. Thanks again

[gwpercle]

A set of steel CH4D dies ... I bought them back in the early 70's ... I didn't have a 9mm then but my Dad had a Walther P-38 , and a set of Lee carbide dies I bought for my son ... but he wasn't interested in reloading so I kept them .
I use the steel CH4D sizer die because the Lee carbide sizes them down too much for my likes .
Gary

[Winger Ed.]

The carbide ring does make a slightly tapered case into a straight wall.

But they got it figured out.
The rear of the case fits where its supposed to, and the front end fits after you're done flaring & seating--- its all good.

[rancher1913]

just wait till you get some with a "glock" bulge, then you have to do a full length die or a roll sizer.

[cupajoe]

The carbide inserts in my RCBS and Lee dies are tapered. They are .391 at the base and .370 farther up in the die. They both work equally well and produce a tapered case.

RCBS Die Set Part # 20515, "89" year stamp on top of the dies.

[Hick]

I use the Lee carbide insert dies and they also work fine. I think you will find that all the normal die manufacturers have it figured out. Not something to worry about.

[JimB..]

The carbide inserts in my RCBS and Lee dies are tapered. They are .391 at the base and .370 farther up in the die. They both work equally well and produce a tapered case.

Do you have the part # for the RSBS dies? I have a 9mm RCBS set and it doesn’t do this so I’m curious. I’m away from the shop but will look at the numbers tonight.

[Petrol & Powder]

I have loaded thousands of 9mm Luger cartridges using a Redding Carbide sizing die in a Dillon 550. It works perfectly.

Don't over think this stuff. It works just fine.

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

Here's a thought...when I'm converting 9x19 into 9x18, the first firing (where the brass isn't near the shape of the gun's chamber) seems just as accurate for typical handgun shooting as a properly sized piece of brass.

[centertube]

The reason I posted the question was what I read in the Sierra loading manual. I stated that a carbide die should not be used. While I have been reloading for a very long time, I never load for the 9mm. The same problem applies to the 45 Colt since it too is a tapered case. Thanks guys for your response. I will use the Redding dies. The only problem I have with the Redding is opening the the case. I have to use a screw driver. Thanks again

Read your post and checked with the SAMMI case drawings for the 45 Colt. They indicate that the 45 Colt has a straight (not tapered) case. Thought you would want to know. Good Luck,
Centertube

[Burnt Fingers]

The carbide ring does make a slightly tapered case into a straight wall.

But they got it figured out.
The rear of the case fits where its supposed to, and the front end fits after you're done flaring & seating--- its all good.

Nope.

I have yet to see a 9mm carbide die that turns that tapered case into a straight wall case.


I use my Dillon Carbide sizing die to size 9mm. Thousands of rounds per year with no problem.

[1006]

Just use what you have and see how well it works.

[Finster101]

Seems if there was a problem with any particular brand we would see a bunch of bashing threads. Heck, we see plenty of those on products that work well!

[hoodat]

All I've got is my old non-carbide, RCBS set. I do most of my sizing in front of the TV with my Lee Hand Press, so if it were tough I'd know. So far I've only done about seven bazillion of them. I use Hornady One Shot, and if I had a carbide die, I wouldn't bother with that. jd

[JimB..]

Nope.

I have yet to see a 9mm carbide die that turns that tapered case into a straight wall case.

I use my Dillon Carbide sizing die to size 9mm. Thousands of rounds per year with no problem.

Dillon sizing die has a carbide ring. That ring is a single size, so whatever part of the case gets sized, it gets sized to that size. It isn’t straight walled or tapered, it’s kinda stepped.

Disagree?

[Bigslug]

Ended up with the sizing die from a set of Lees - cautiously set - for the .38S&W to gain a little more expansion for my .357" diameter cast bullets. After that, it's all Dillon dies for the rest of the trip around the carousel. Final TC die set to put the case mouth at the "per spec" .380" - thus far, the rounds seem to behave themselves.

But from my experience with their excellent rifle dies, the folks at Redding are not idiots. Roll with it unless it gives you a reason not to.

[S. Galbraith]

All I've got is my old non-carbide, RCBS set. I do most of my sizing in front of the TV with my Lee Hand Press, so if it were tough I'd know. So far I've only done about seven bazillion of them. I use Hornady One Shot, and if I had a carbide die, I wouldn't bother with that. jd

I actually do the same thing with my Lee hand press. I put the brass I'm going to size in a gallon sized ziplock bag, give the inside a few squirts of Dillion case lube, then close it up and kneed it around so that all the exterior surfaces of the cases get a coating of lube. After that I'll do a case mouth belling run, and then throw all the brass back into my wet tumbler to clean off the lube and the primer pockets. I've found it to be a very thorough method of getting the brass as clean as possible so that the seal between the brass-to-primer and brass-to-bullet is more water tight. For defensive loads I'll use X Products' X-Sealant which is by far the fast product I have found for sealing the primer and case mouths to make them water proof.

[Liberty1776]

Getting 9mm brass sized back to factory spec is, in my view, almost impossible. I've reloaded and successfully fired thousands of rounds, however. To my knowledge, none has ever failed.

I check each round by dropping it into a Lyman case gauge. If it falls out, I consider it "good." If it sticks or stands proud, it's usually either 1) dirt in the gauge or on the round (brushing out the gauge usually fixes it); 2) damaged cartridge rim or 3) split case.

289972

That said, it still bothers me that when I employ a really accurate case checker gauge, like the Shooters Box, most of my reloads don't "plunk" into the gauge's "chamber" while factory 9mm fits perfectly.

In the above picture, you can see the Lyman lets the round in just fine, while the Shooters Box says "no go."

289971

Not exactly sure why I can't get the brass back to factory spec. I'm using Dillon dies. Perhaps it's that the slight taper the 9mm Luger calls for is not exactly the factory taper. Who knows?

Does a roll sizer restore the factory spec taper to 9mm? Anybody out there even have a roll sizer?

All I know is that if my reloads fit the Lyman block, they'll cycle in all my 9mm's reliably.

If the reloads don't fit the Lyman block, I pull the bullet, powder and primer, and toss the brass.

[JimB..]

Getting 9mm brass sized back to factory spec is, in my view, almost impossible. I've reloaded and successfully fired thousands of rounds, however. To my knowledge, none has ever failed.

I check each round by dropping it into a Lyman case gauge. If it falls out, I consider it "good." If it sticks or stands proud, it's usually either 1) dirt in the gauge or on the round (brushing out the gauge usually fixes it); 2) damaged cartridge rim or 3) split case.

289972

That said, it still bothers me that when I employ a really accurate case checker gauge, like the Shooters Box, most of my reloads don't "plunk" into the gauge's "chamber" while factory 9mm fits perfectly.

In the above picture, you can see the Lyman lets the round in just fine, while the Shooters Box says "no go."

289971

Not exactly sure why I can't get the brass back to factory spec. I'm using Dillon dies. Perhaps it's that the slight taper the 9mm Luger calls for is not exactly the factory taper. Who knows?

Does a roll sizer restore the factory spec taper to 9mm? Anybody out there even have a roll sizer?

All I know is that if my reloads fit the Lyman block, they'll cycle in all my 9mm's reliably.

If the reloads don't fit the Lyman block, I pull the bullet, powder and primer, and toss the brass.

Good questions, just know that none of it matters. I’ve stopped even gauging my reloads. When I first started reloading cast I wasn’t expanding enough and would get some lead on the brass, but once I fixed that and started roll sizing all my brass everything plunks in my barrels and shoots fine. BTW, since you f/l size after roll sizing the cases still come out pretty much straight rather than with the factory taper. I’ve tried steel dies and the brass does look slightly closer to factory, but it doesn’t shoot better.

[Liberty1776]

once I fixed that and started roll sizing all my brass everything plunks in my barrels and shoots fine. BTW, since you f/l size after roll sizing the cases still come out pretty much straight rather than with the factory taper.

So, which roll sizer do you use?

CasePro100.com, Rollsizer.com, or something else?

I gauge each round because I've caught too many suspect reloads for whatever reason -- worn-out range brass or dinged-up rim.

My .38 SPL we shoot over and over for SASS. Cases split and don't show up until after the bullet is pushed into the expanded shell.

Another reason to gauge each round is to check primers.

Want an almost-horror story?

I seated a primer in a factory-crimped 9mm primer pocket. It sort of "crushed" into position and visually wasn't right. I set the primed shell aside without reloading.

Later, I dropped the unreloaded but primed shell into a 9mm Sig and dropped the slide. The primer went off simply due to the slide closing. Wow.

Moral of the story: I check each round if only to do a visual check on the primers.

[243winxb]

New 2021 RCBS dies, has a M type expander. Some brass has a small flash hole (Norma) . Some brass case wall thickness may cause issues. https://www.thehighroad.org/index.php?media/9mm-luger-maximum-diameters-of-loaded-rounds-saami-standard.4098/full

[downzero]

I use a Dillon sizing die followed by the Lee U die for every cartridge (probably at least 3k per year).

[hoodat]

I was thinking of a .391" push-through sizer to solve the problem. jd

[JimB..]

So, which roll sizer do you use?

CasePro100.com, Rollsizer.com, or something else?

I gauge each round because I've caught too many suspect reloads for whatever reason -- worn-out range brass or dinged-up rim.

My .38 SPL we shoot over and over for SASS. Cases split and don't show up until after the bullet is pushed into the expanded shell.

Another reason to gauge each round is to check primers.

Want an almost-horror story?

I seated a primer in a factory-crimped 9mm primer pocket. It sort of "crushed" into position and visually wasn't right. I set the primed shell aside without reloading.

Later, I dropped the unreloaded but primed shell into a 9mm Sig and dropped the slide. The primer went off simply due to the slide closing. Wow.

Moral of the story: I check each round if only to do a visual check on the primers.

I use a case pro, it reshapes the rim a bit.
Loading on a dillon 650 I almost never have primer problems. Have had a few over the years that were a touch high.

For split 38/357 I almost always find it by sound, when it drops into the bin from depriming (either with the FA deprimer or the Lee APP) it tinkles. Then I go nuts trying to find it. The bin is about 1’x2’ and 10” tall, it can be frustrating.

I do gauge defensive ammo, just not range ammo.

[Meatpuppet]

DOWNZERO nailed it. The Lee "U" die is awesome if you are reloading 9mm from multiple manufacturer's brass. The Lee U Die (or the one made by EGW) undersizes brass between .002" and .003" smaller than other Lee Carbide Sizing dies. When used with a properly matched expander die, the neck tension is perfect when taper crimped to 0.379 against a .357dia polycoated projectile.

I reload polycoated IbejiHead 9mm 165gr by the thousands on a Dillon 1050 with an Ammobot electric drive. Specific to the progressive press, the combination of a Lee U-Die, Uniquetek's .357 HTC Powder funnel/expander and Lee FCD (que the howls of rage), creates ammo that always passes the case gauge, will shoot 2" groups at 25 yards all day long and feed in every 9mm handgun and carbine I own.

This has been my experience making ammo by-the-gross. It is probably not necessary if you are reloading for the same manufacturer's chamber (like all Glocks or CZ's) or using the same manufacturer's brass.

[Burnt Fingers]

Getting 9mm brass sized back to factory spec is, in my view, almost impossible. I've reloaded and successfully fired thousands of rounds, however. To my knowledge, none has ever failed.

I check each round by dropping it into a Lyman case gauge. If it falls out, I consider it "good." If it sticks or stands proud, it's usually either 1) dirt in the gauge or on the round (brushing out the gauge usually fixes it); 2) damaged cartridge rim or 3) split case.

289972

That said, it still bothers me that when I employ a really accurate case checker gauge, like the Shooters Box, most of my reloads don't "plunk" into the gauge's "chamber" while factory 9mm fits perfectly.

In the above picture, you can see the Lyman lets the round in just fine, while the Shooters Box says "no go."

289971

Not exactly sure why I can't get the brass back to factory spec. I'm using Dillon dies. Perhaps it's that the slight taper the 9mm Luger calls for is not exactly the factory taper. Who knows?

Does a roll sizer restore the factory spec taper to 9mm? Anybody out there even have a roll sizer?

All I know is that if my reloads fit the Lyman block, they'll cycle in all my 9mm's reliably.

If the reloads don't fit the Lyman block, I pull the bullet, powder and primer, and toss the brass.

I'm betting it's the ogive of your boolit. Try dropping sized brass in the case gauge.

I have went with a EGW 100 round "fat ogive" case gauge for 9mm. If my rounds drop in and out of that they will function in every firearm I shoot them in. However they won't "gauge" in any other gauge.