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Reloading runout, 9mm & 45ACP

9984

Private
Minuteman
Dec 20, 2020
6
0
California
I have a hornady "Lock-n-load" AP press, i've been loading 308 Winchester, 300 win mag without any problems, now i've moved onto pistol calibers (9mm and 45ACP) and im starting to get runout issues, on 9mm i'd say every 7-8th round will be slightly flared out and will only go half way down my Wilson max cartridge gauge. The 9mm and 45ACP are both once fired brass its been resized and fits fine in the guage but only when the bullet has been pressed do i have the issue. Im loading hollow point on both rounds, the dies are Hornady custom taper crimp. Any help on the issue would be appreciated
 
They fit. Just making sure, im new to reloading and figured i'd ask to be on the safe side then just go to the range and cross my fingers
 
Are you saying the case mount flare isn’t being closed by your crimp die or do you have a batch of bullets with bad qc that are oversized?

I’ve had coated lead and maybe a handful of plated bullets be oversize and not drop in a gauge but every 7-8 is a lot.
 
I got the image from google but it shows what im talking about. The bullets themselves are jacketed hollow points from hornady
 

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I didn't know if i was doing anything wrong and needed to tweak anything on the press. I appreciate the heads up guys. Thank you
 
You probably are using a small base die. Dillon is famous for having a 'coke bottle' shaped round. It's normal.
 
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I got the image from google but it shows what im talking about. The bullets themselves are jacketed hollow points from hornady
My mighty armory 9mm sizer does away with the bulge issue...
 
The trick with 9mm on a progressive is that you need enough flare in the case before you seat bullets, that way the "coke-bottle" effect doesn't get out of control (or even really show up if you get it really dialed). A little isn't a huge deal, but a lot is no bueno, and if the ammo is for multiple guns, you'll need to get the coke-bottle shit under control.

On Dillons, many guys who pump out lots of 9mm (including me) switch their powder drop funnel out for a Mr. Bullet-Feeder version and that goes a long way... but you need the other half of the solution too, which is to use your taper crimp die as just a "flare removal die". You simply adjust the taper crimp from doing nothing at all, a ~1/16th turn at a time, until rounds drop into your gauge and then you lock it down, that's it, no more.

Thing is, I'm not familiar with your press, so I looked it up quick... and seems you might need what's called a "powder through expander die" to get the right amount of flare happening:

 
I load several pistol and revolver calibers. I have found getting a uniform bulge around a seated bullet is usually a matter of selecting the optimal combination of sizer and expander for the bullet to be loaded. Over the years, I've collected a variety of sizers, expanders and seaters but even so, handgun brass is not really "precision" stuff and wall thickness is not really all that uniform so some degree of unevenness is often unavoidable.