Dillion 550B and a bulge

[Big J]

I have a Dillion 550B and just reload about 300 rounds. I went to the range Loaded my Gock 19 fired 4 rounds no problem the 5th jammed up tight. Two other guys tried to work the jam loose. I finally got it out and found the round that was jammed had a bulge. Ok that happens from time to time but it happened again about 20 rounds later. I took the barrel out of the gun and started setting rounds in place several were tight or would not seat all the way.

Has anyone else had this problem? If what can be done to corredt it?

I have called Dillion they suggested to try to bell the brass a little more before seating the bullet it self. I am going to do this. Just was wondering if anyone else has encountered this. (I am sure I am not the only one) Just wondering what was done.

 

[Vince49]

I myself check oal randomly with each batch but I run EVERY round through a case gauge. On average I find that two or three in every 100 rounds of range brass I load have a bulge or a burr even after resizing.

 

[Classic]

Cases may need to be trimmed if all are not same length. Also you may want to taper crimp as a seperate step as opposed to combining with bullet seating. Slower but better quality.

 

[straight-shooter]

I had this problem earlier this year shooting .45 rounds loaded on my Dillon 550B. It had nothing to do with the press and the problem was my crimp wasn't quite tight enough and causing the brass to hang up. Recrimped the rounds slightly tighter and problem solved.

 

[mssmith44]

I have had the same issue with 40 and 45. There were two different problems.
The 45 bullet was not seated deep enough to avoid clearing the rifling.
The 40 was the case not being sized down enough.
Both of these barrels were very tight match chambers.
You need to isolate the cause of the jam. It may be more than a visual bulge. But the chamber check or case gauge after the loading process will find these errant rounds.

 

[teddy12b]

Been there and done that. Your dies are setup wrong. The Dillon 550B is like a computer, garbage in garbage out. It's all about the dies and getting them setup. One thing I do with my 550B is that I put a Lee Factory Crimp die in the forth position of the press to ensure that the rounds will chamber and function in every chamber.

When you start a batch of pistol rounds complete 2 or 3 rounds and measure them every way possible while setting up the dies. Once they have passed all your tests, take your barrel out of the gun and use it as a chamber gauge to make sure the rounds go into and out of it freely. Once you've done that you're good to go.

 

[rvb]

where is the bulge? what dies are you using (I'll assume dillon)? details matter. photos help even more.

bottom near the case head? Then your sizing die is not set up right.

Up top below the case mouth, either a belling problem (I like 0.015-0.020 bell from a sized case) as dillon mentioned or your seater is not set up right (the insert in the seat die can be reversed, a curved side for ball, a flat side for HP/WC/etc. If you use the flat side down w/ ball, it wont be set straight and will bulge the case).

Bulge Up top below the case mouth can also be from OVER crimping. If you over crimp, thinking you are holding the bullet tighter, you may actually be doing the opposite. As you taper crimp in the mouth, it could cause the case to bulge out below the mouth and reduce tension on the bullet. Bullet tension is all accomplished in the sizing.

If bulged right at the case mouth, then it is not enough crimp. For 9mm and other straight-walled pistol that headspaces off the case mouth, I do not actually crimp, rather just remove the belling. you want the side of the case near the mouth flat against a straight edge.

see my post here:
https://www.indianagunowners.com/fo...ugh_crimp_or_learning_to_reload_part_1_a.html

-rvb

 

[billybob44]

Could be several different problems..

I myself check oal randomly with each batch but I run EVERY round through a case gauge. On average I find that two or three in every 100 rounds of range brass I load have a bulge or a burr even after resizing.

+1 on the case gauge.

Cases may need to be trimmed if all are not same length. Also you may want to taper crimp as a separate step as opposed to combining with bullet seating. Slower but better quality.

I have NEVER trimmed a 9MM case.
RL550 system seats bullet in station #3, and crimps in station #4. YES you do need a separate die to crimp. Some reloaders will use a Lee Factory Crimp Die for this.

I have had the same issue with 40 and 45. There were two different problems.
The 45 bullet was not seated deep enough to avoid clearing the rifling.
The 40 was the case not being sized down enough.
Both of these barrels were very tight match chambers.
You need to isolate the cause of the jam. It may be more than a visual bulge. But the chamber check or case gauge after the loading process will find these errant rounds.

^^^THIS is the winning post!!!
Some bullets have a larger ogive and need to be seated deeper.
Some cases have the "Glock Bulge" and need to be ran through a "Pass Through" die to remove this "Swell". I use a Redding GR-X pass through die on all of my .40 S&W cases.

Bottom line is, get a good case gauge (Dillon Stainless), and check all of your ammo, after loading, before you get to the range...Bill.

 

[rvb]

I have NEVER trimmed a 9MM case.

ditto. I've loaded ~120,000 and never trimmed a single one.

Some bullets have a larger ogive and need to be seated deeper.

OP was horribly thin on details ("my gun stopped going bang, what's wrong"). But we know it's 9mm from the gun (G19). If we assume it's 115, then the odds of it being too long and hitting the throat are pretty slim, unless that's part of the problem, is he is loading WAY too long. I load 147s about as long as I can and still get them in the glock mag (1.150-") and have not had that problem.

Some cases have the "Glock Bulge" and need to be ran through a "Pass Through" die to remove this "Swell". I use a Redding GR-X pass through die on all of my .40 S&W cases.

More an issue for .40 than 9mm. I would be surprised if he needs to do this. I never have and my glocks eat the 9s just fine w/ just the dillon sizer.

-rvb

ps: Big J: Please, if you ever post a question like this again, include details about your load (caliber, bullet, oal), and what dies are you using. It's not too late to tell us if you want more than guesses...

 

[Big J]

Alot of good info here guys thanks. I will go thru and recheck all of my dies. Sounds like that is probalby just the problem.

The bulge was at the bottom of the case.

Thanks to all who helped.

 

[85t5mcss]

Big J, I would like to see more details and pics if possible. Not that I can help, but being a Glock shooter and setting up to reload 9 and 45 I would like to see what you ran into and how it was solved so that it may help myself and others.

 

[XtremeVel]

Alot of good info here guys thanks. I will go thru and recheck all of my dies. Sounds like that is probalby just the problem.

The bulge was at the bottom of the case.

Thanks to all who helped.

If I understood your initial post correct, you are having sporadic trouble with the rounds fully chambering ??? Something like (1) in (20) ? You also see a visual bulge toward the web end in these troublesome rounds ?

By chance, was the brass you used brass fired from various guns ? I just find it hard to believe you have a die set up wrong if 90% of your loads chamber fine... It just seems the variable would be something else and the brass would be my first guess... The 9mm wasn't known to have the bad reputation as the .40 for the " Glock bulge" when fired out of a Glock... Saying that though, could some of your brass been fired out of something else with a oversized and/or unsupported chamber ?

 

[Big J]

Yes I will get to the range early before an match and pick up some brass if see any from time to time. I know not all of the brass I have picked up was mine to begin with.

I tried looking at the brass with the bulge, it was a mixture of brands not just one in particular brand.

When I called Dillion they said if some of the brass was shorter that others then it may not have belled enough. If it dows not bell enough then when I seat the bullet it may just shove the brass down causing a bulge at the bottom. I should try to make bell a little bigger and see if that solves the problem.
I am going to try to take pictures and post them tonight if I can figure out how to do it like I want.

 

[Classic]

Some folks never trim 9mm cases tho.

 

[lovemywoods]

When I started loading 9mm, I had 2-4% of the finished rounds that would not seat and fall clear of a case gauge. Additionally, when used in a G19, the rounds would occasionally jam before going fully into battery. They were very hard to get back out.

I made sure my sizing die was set as low on the case as possible. This helped, but did not eliminate the problem.

I started doing a separate crimp step using a Lee Factory Crimp Die. That die has a sizing ring at the mouth that takes out any bulges or other inconsistencies from reloading. I get the benefit of a separate crimp, but the real value for me is the final sizing of the cartridge.

After incorporating the Lee LCD, all cartridges go into and fall freely from a standard case gauge.

 

[teddy12b]

I've never used any 9mm brass long enough to have to trim them. I used mytrimmer so rarely that I ended up giving to a rookie reloader on loan so thathe could learn the finer points of proper case trimming. Personally, I thinkit's over rated to trim brass and it's done at the point where you might aswell just be tossing out the old brass and starting with some new pile of it.Straight walled brass is supposed to stretch the least compared to bottlenecked brass and I don't know if I've ever seen or heard of anyone trimming 9mmbrass.

As far as reloading for 9mm goes, I've basically quit it all together. Whenthe prices of brass cased factory 9mm are below $10 per 50 rounds I considerthe savings generated to not be enough to make it worth my time. I've stockedup on it for now, relatively speaking even though I always have my eyes openfor good deals. In fairness though I don't shoot that much pistol ammo and Istick to high power rifle ammo for match accuracy where I can save a lot ofmoney over buying factory new. The price of factory 9mm is so low though thatI've basically arranged all my handguns to 9mm so I could quit having to worryabout having to reload other calibers.

As a side note, look at the prices of once fired used 9mm brass on gunbrokerbefore you go spending relentless hours trimming all the 9mm brass you have. Ithink you'd find that you're better off just buying the used brass.

Decent example of what I'm talking about:

http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewItem.aspx?Item=310578884

 

[Big J]

]

When I started loading 9mm, I had 2-4% of the finished rounds that would not seat and fall clear of a case gauge. Additionally, when used in a G19, the rounds would occasionally jam before going fully into battery. They were very hard to get back out.

I made sure my sizing die was set as low on the case as possible. This helped, but did not eliminate the problem.

I started doing a separate crimp step using a Lee Factory Crimp Die. That die has a sizing ring at the mouth that takes out any bulges or other inconsistencies from reloading. I get the benefit of a separate crimp, but the real value for me is the final sizing of the cartridge.

After incorporating the Lee LCD, all cartridges go into and fall freely from a standard case gauge.

This is the same problem I am have.

Did you start with a Lee press? I have just got the Dillon and really can't see replaceing it yet. Will the Lee dies work with the Dillon press?

 

[indygunguy]

]Will the Lee dies work with the Dillon press?

Yep! And in my opinion, the $10 you spend on the FCD is cheap insurance that you wont have this problem again in the future.

 

[XtremeVel]

]



This is the same problem I am have.

Did you start with a Lee press? I have just got the Dillon and really can't see replaceing it yet. Will the Lee dies work with the Dillon press?

No, you don't want to replace your new press either...

A pic showing exactly the location and how severe the bulge is would be helpful...

Also, it would go a long way to know if this bulge was already in the case you possibly picked up at the range that was fired through someone else's gun or rather the bulge is from a step in your procedure...

Easiest way to trouble shoot is to check the case after each step. Go though and resize a few cases and at that point drop them into your chamber and make sure they fully drop in at that point.

 

[rvb]

If you can't get 9mm to run in your stock glock with dillon dies and dillon press, then you flat out either are using crap components or have your dies set up poorly.

Changing to an FCD would be a bandaid solution, not a cure.

-rvb