My 9mm reloads aren't feeding well (noob)

[scatter]

I'm brand new to this and have just recently loaded about 50 rounds of 9mm, 4.2gr of Bullseye behind a Hornady 115gr FMJ RN, using the Hornady load data, which puts me at about the mid range for this powder. I'm getting a fail to feed on my G26 about 20% of the time. The round gets stuck on the feed ramp.

I loaded up a magazine full of new Blazer and it worked fine, so it's not the gun.

I have triple checked my COAL against the new stuff and it is nearly perfect.

I checked the total cartridge weight against the new stuff and I'm about 1.5gr lighter on average. But I have no idea what type of powder and charge are used in the factory ammo, so I can't say that I'm underpowered but it sure acts that way.

Any suggestions on what to try/check here?

 

[EddieCoyle]

Did you gage them? What OAL are you using? Post a pic of your crimp.

 

[scatter]

I don't have gauges. But I measured and weighed every round so far. I'm using 1.15 for OAL. Here is a pic of a completed round.

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[Finalygotabeltfed]

I don't have gauges. But I measured and weighed every round so far. I'm using 1.15 for OAL. Here is a pic of a completed round.

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Weighing them isn't going to help diagnose an ammo related feeding problem.

Take the barrel out of your gun and do the "plunk test". If your rounds don't drop freely into the chamber with a little plunk sound, then there is a problem with the sizing or "taper crimp".

A case guage is about $15 and it is a very useful tool if you want to produce quality functional ammo that will fit when and where its supposed to.

It looks like there's small burrs on the case mouth and very little taper crimp on the round pictured.

Other than that, your ammo looks very good.

 

[EddieCoyle]

Try increasing the crimp just a hair - and by that I mean turning the die clockwise 1/8 of a turn.

Also, try loading them to 1.125". I think you'll find they feed better.

 

[WanMan99]

At first glance the oal looks long but it might be the angle of view... I set mine to 1.125 which usually matches factory ammo. Also a slight taper crimp. The charge weight wouldn't affect feed ramp loading issues but the oal and crimp would.

 

[tysdad115]

1.135" is as long as I go on my glock reloads.

 

[thormx538]

I'd be surprised if COAL was his issue. I load my 124gr plinking loads to like 1.150" and they run fine in every Glock I have.

Crimp is very hard to diagnose via a picture. Do the plunk test to see how it fits in the barrel, and if it binds at all, add crimp until it is smooth.

When loading 45ACP last week I had to turn the taper crimp die in a full turn beyond where I started (per Dillon's instructions, insert a belled case into P4 and run the shell plate up, then screw the die in until it hits the case. Lower the shell plate, and screw the die 1/8 of turn further in) in order to get them to chamber reliably.

Alternatively, you could be under-charged which is causing the slide to not have enough energy to slam the next round into battery, but I doubt that is the case, given his load data.

 

[Gammon]

Short stroking can be the cause of all sorts of problems, including feeding. I would try one round in the mag to see if the slide is cycling properly and travelling far enough to the rear for the slide stop to engage and lock the slide to the rear.

 

[Mike 53]

Short stroking can be the cause of all sorts of problems, including feeding. I would try one round in the mag to see if the slide is cycling properly and travelling far enough to the rear for the slide stop to engage and lock the slide to the rear.

^^^THIS^^^

 

[Amputee Marksman]

1.135" is as long as I go on my glock reloads.

I run mine at 1.15 and they feed in my M&P fine. My friend has a Glock 17 and he put about 50 rounds of my reloads through it with no issues.

 

[CharlieFoxtrot]

Weighing them isn't going to help diagnose an ammo related feeding problem.

Take the barrel out of your gun and do the "plunk test". If your rounds don't drop freely into the chamber with a little plunk sound, then there is a problem with the sizing or "taper crimp".

A case guage is about $15 and it is a very useful tool if you want to produce quality functional ammo that will fit when and where its supposed to.

It looks like there's small burrs on the case mouth and very little taper crimp on the round pictured.

Other than that, your ammo looks very good.

That right there is what you need to do. The plunk test is better than any gauge because you are checking the reload to the particular barrel you will be shooting it from. If you can't plunk in the round, have it sit as low as a factory round, and then tip over the barrel and have the round fall out by force of gravity, then you need either to seat the bullet deeper or increase your crimp. Also confirm that you are running the round all the way up into the crimp die.

 

[bigblue]

That right there is what you need to do. The plunk test is better than any gauge because you are checking the reload to the particular barrel you will be shooting it from. If you can't plunk in the round, have it sit as low as a factory round, and then tip over the barrel and have the round fall out by force of gravity, then you need either to seat the bullet deeper or increase your crimp. Also confirm that you are running the round all the way up into the crimp die.

This won't tell him if his powder charge is to light and causing a short stroke (or if he is limp wristing) but it will eliminate at least one factor.

 

[scatter]

Plunk test sat; problem remains. I think my rounds are too long. I looked at the Hornady manual again and it gives OAL at 1.100". I don't know where I got 1.15. Maybe the bullet weight 115 stuck in my head between the time I read the specs and sat down to set the dies. Thanks for all the help so far.

 

[peterthefish]

You might want to take some time and read through the reloading part of a reloading manual at some point.

 

[drgrant]

You might want to take some time and read through the reloading part of a reloading manual at some point.

He'd be better off taking a class or learning it from someone that already does it. Honestly most of the manuals are good for reference but "learning how to reload" from a manual is usually in the same vein of sawing logs in an ashtray- you're making it 50 times harder than it actually is. And there's a ton of stuff that the manuel can't really come out and tell you.

-Mike

 

[peterthefish]

He'd be better off taking a class or learning it from someone that already does it. Honestly most of the manuals are good for reference but "learning how to reload" from a manual is usually in the same vein of sawing logs in an ashtray- you're making it 50 times harder than it actually is. And there's a ton of stuff that the manuel can't really come out and tell you.

-Mike

I think a combination of a book and a friend / class would be better, but either beats skipping to the recipes without any context.

The guy who taught me to reload told me that the OAL in the book should be treated as a maximum and go as short as you want, and you can always go over book max charge weight it's just a recommendation. He's been reloading longer than I've been alive, but I'm glad I relied on more than just his advice!

 

[scatter]

You might want to take some time and read through the reloading part of a reloading manual at some point.

Thanks for the advice. I've taken two of EC's reloading classes, have read my manual, and have collected several sources to compare loads. I'm new at this and made a mistake. Forgive me.

 

[drgrant]

At first glance the oal looks long but it might be the angle of view... I set mine to 1.125 which usually matches factory ammo. Also a slight taper crimp. The charge weight wouldn't affect feed ramp loading issues but the oal and crimp would.

Depends on the factory ammo we're talking, I've used some factory ammo loaded at 1.155. (I think it was Fed AE). I then proceeded to set my seating die for that and never changed it. Never had a problem with that OAL for thousands of rounds, although admittedly 95% of what I loaded was 115gr and 124 gr full jacketed bullets from the same vendor.

-Mike

 

[peterthefish]

Nothing to forgive, but that's not the impression your OP gives.

Measuring or weighing a reload against a factory Blazer would be meaningless unless you're using the same brass, primers, bullets, and components. But it's something folks who haven't done any research typically do and something I would imagine most classes would cover.

I'd also imagine they'd mention use of a chrono. Quickload shows under 1,000 FPS for that load, so you are underpowered for sure. If they feed fine you can leave OAL longer to give more headspace on pressures.

 

[bigblue]

Thanks for the advice. I've taken two of EC's reloading classes, have read my manual, and have collected several sources to compare loads. I'm new at this and made a mistake. Forgive me.

NES does not forgive and the interweeb does not forget... lol but you can learn and we won't make fun of you for awhile.

On the topic of OAL, I originally loaded my 9mm at 1.15 as well but recently ran into setback problems with my AR9's where the bullet would lodge into the throat when chambered. This became an issue when clearing the PCC for USPSA: The bullet stayed behind when the shell was forcefully ejected. I have since seated my bullets deeper, closer to the book length at 1.111 OAL with no further problems. Glocks & SIG's never gave me problems with teh previous OAL.

 

[scatter]

It was the OAL. I made a new batch at 1.110", same load, and they all ran fine. I appreciate all of the useful feedback.

- - - Updated - - -

Depends on the factory ammo we're talking, I've used some factory ammo loaded at 1.155. (I think it was Fed AE). I then proceeded to set my seating die for that and never changed it. Never had a problem with that OAL for thousands of rounds, although admittedly 95% of what I loaded was 115gr and 124 gr full jacketed bullets from the same vendor.

-Mike

Mike, was this in a Glock?

 

[drgrant]

NES does not forgive and the interweeb does not forget... lol but you can learn and we won't make fun of you for awhile.

On the topic of OAL, I originally loaded my 9mm at 1.15 as well but recently ran into setback problems with my AR9's where the bullet would lodge into the throat when chambered. This became an issue when clearing the PCC for USPSA: The bullet stayed behind when the shell was forcefully ejected. I have since seated my bullets deeper, closer to the book length at 1.111 OAL with no further problems. Glocks & SIG's never gave me problems with teh previous OAL.

I had a similar problem years ago when I started loading .45s, although never left a bullet behind like that. I used to load 230 FMJs out to 1.260 OAL and in most guns they worked great.... but in any HK with polygonal rifling, the bullets would engage the rifling upon being chambered. I never noticed this problem, till a bowling pin shoot, where one of my guns got stuck closed.... After that I just backed off to 1.255 and all was well, and that became my universal setting, with the exception of these bizarre dome shaped lead bullets which I had to set to 1.230, otherwise the gun would jam, but those were weird as hell.

-Mike

- - - Updated - - -

Mike, was this in a Glock?

I used those loads mostly in Glocks, but also Sigs and a CZ Shadow at one point. I used a Sig P228 as my chrono gun, too.

-Mike

 

[*chris*]

Thanks for the advice. I've taken two of EC's reloading classes, have read my manual, and have collected several sources to compare loads. I'm new at this and made a mistake. Forgive me.

I can see it from here, you need more crimp. I can see a gap on the left side of the round. Dropping in a barrel isn't a bad test, but chambers are usually pretty loose. This will find your problem in my opinion:

http://www.amazon.com/Lyman-Reloadi...qid=1464377080&sr=8-1&keywords=9mm+case+gauge

Another option is a factory crimp die.

http://www.amazon.com/Lee-Precision...4377190&sr=8-1&keywords=factory+crimp+die+9mm

One of these helped me when I was having issues with 45 ACP rounds no loading well.

Chris

 

[scatter]

I can see it from here, you need more crimp. I can see a gap on the left side of the round. Dropping in a barrel isn't a bad test, but chambers are usually pretty loose. This will find your problem in my opinion:

http://www.amazon.com/Lyman-Reloadi...qid=1464377080&sr=8-1&keywords=9mm+case+gauge

Another option is a factory crimp die.

http://www.amazon.com/Lee-Precision...4377190&sr=8-1&keywords=factory+crimp+die+9mm

One of these helped me when I was having issues with 45 ACP rounds no loading well.

Chris

Thank you. I decreased the OAL to 1.110 and increased the crimp a bit per EC's suggestion. Last 40 rounds have fed and fired fine. Headed up to Sportsman's Warehouse today looking for a gauge but nothing in stock. For now I will continue to measure every round with the calipers and weigh them individually until I reach a higher confidence level. I'm doing it all on a Rock Chucker so the process is very slow anyway, but as a retiree I've got plenty of time and am enjoying the learning experience.

 

[drgrant]

For what it is or isn't worth on .45 and 9mm type pistol cases I always used this trick for crimping with FMJ or plated bullets... Crank the crimp die up until you start denting the bullet plating. Then slowly back off till the dent goes away. Always seemed to work well for me. You could usually do like 4 or 5 test rounds and then lock it in place when you have it where you think it's good.

-Mike

 

[scatter]

For what it is or isn't worth on .45 and 9mm type pistol cases I always used this trick for crimping with FMJ or plated bullets... Crank the crimp die up until you start denting the bullet plating. Then slowly back off till the dent goes away. Always seemed to work well for me. You could usually do like 4 or 5 test rounds and then lock it in place when you have it where you think it's good.

-Mike

Thanks Mike. I've looked at a lot of my rounds under a magnifying glass and have never seen any noticeable dent in the plating. So at least I know I'm not over-crimping. Maybe I need to crank it down a little. I try it out.

 

[nstassel]

seeing JW Pepper and Bufford T Justice going head to head in this thread cracks me up

 

[Amputee Marksman]

seeing JW Pepper and Bufford T Justice going head to head in this thread cracks me up

+1