Reloading tonight for the first time

[MXD]

I just got done making about a dozen dummy rounds with no primer and no powder just to run through the set up and make sure everything looks good. The finished rounds were all between 1.144 and 1.151 OAL (9mm Luger). I have no idea what +/- spec is acceptable but I assume that is pretty good since I checked about 6 or 8 rounds of factory loaded stuff and the tolerance was not that tight.

One thing that has me a bit nervous is the crimp. There is no measurable way to check it. They say its all by eye and by feel but I have no experience so that does me no good. Are there any tricks out there?

Also, I wanted to be just under the max OAL of 1.169 and I plan on starting at the smallest charge listed in my manuals for 115g FMJ bullets. Some of the manuals call for an OAL much shorter than that but for my first time I want to stay close to the max OAL until I get some experience. Is this a bad plan?

 

[richc]

I'm a relatively new reloader. I started with 9mm too, and made a TON of mistakes.

Did you try cycling your dummy rounds by hand through your handgun? Might be a good test to see if they work OK. How about using a sizing gauge to see if the fit ok?

In regards to the crimp. Here's is what I did. FYI I am using a Dillong 550B. After seating the bullet I would run my fingers over the flared mouth of the case. I could feel the flare. Then I took that round and put it in the crimping station. I would start turning the die down until it started to touch the round, then a bit more. I would try it and feel how much of the flare was left. I would keep turning the die down a bit at a time until the flare was gone. The rounds I've created work really well in my 9mm handguns.

Good luck!

Rich

 

[Fixxah]

DukeinMaine posted about checking for correct amount of crimp in this forum. If you check his profile you can find any posts and have the answer, I thought I had it written down somewhere but will only find it when I don't need it.

 

[jar]

Check and make sure your dummies cycle through your gun. Depending on your bullet shape and chamber, you may not be able to get very close to max length. I load to 1.120-1.125 with the moly bullets I use in my M&P because if I go any longer, the bullets hit the rifling.

 

[highlander]

You should use your barrel as a case gauge,just remove it from your pistol first. I set my crimp die like this,take a sized unflared case and run it up to the top of your stroke on your press. Take your crimp die and screw it down til it make contact with the case lower the case and turn the die 1/16-1/8 of a turn and tighten the lock ring. You'll have to play some to get the right OAL and crimp,once you get that set you'll be golden.

 

[MXD]

Great tips, thank you. As far as OAL is concerned, I see it listed in a lot of recipes but if your gun's barrel is part of the equation then what's in the recipe can't be set in stone, right?

I am going to use my M&P 9 as the test gun so I will use my barrel as the case gauge for now. I get nervous about OAL because I know it can effect the pressure.

 

[jar]

Great tips, thank you. As far as OAL is concerned, I see it listed in a lot of recipes but if your gun's barrel is part of the equation then what's in the recipe can't be set in stone, right?

I am going to use my M&P 9 as the test gun so I will use my barrel as the case gauge for now. I get nervous about OAL because I know it can effect the pressure.

The OAL in the recipe is what's tested as safe. If the recipe OAL is too long to run in your gun, the safest thing to do is to find a different recipe. That said, as long as you're not running max loads, a little bit shorter isn't a huge deal. Also, note that the OAL in the recipe is based on a specific bullet (weight, style, manufacturer).

 

[Mr.T]

Good luck, have fun, be safe (which it sounds like you are) and keep letting us know how it goes.

My last die just arrived, next week's vacation, so I'll be spending the week redoing the cellar, including building and setting up my first loading bench. Hopefully I'll do well enough to be willing to post about it when it's my turn.

 

[Patriot]

Measure around the case (with a caliper) at the area where it meets the bullet. It should measure .381" or close to it. If you go over that amount it may not chamber in your gun.
you should get a case gauge for that caliber. I find I use my .45acp case gauge more than any other.

I just got done making about a dozen dummy rounds with no primer and no powder just to run through the set up and make sure everything looks good. The finished rounds were all between 1.144 and 1.151 OAL (9mm Luger). I have no idea what +/- spec is acceptable but I assume that is pretty good since I checked about 6 or 8 rounds of factory loaded stuff and the tolerance was not that tight.

One thing that has me a bit nervous is the crimp. There is no measurable way to check it. They say its all by eye and by feel but I have no experience so that does me no good. Are there any tricks out there?

Also, I wanted to be just under the max OAL of 1.169 and I plan on starting at the smallest charge listed in my manuals for 115g FMJ bullets. Some of the manuals call for an OAL much shorter than that but for my first time I want to stay close to the max OAL until I get some experience. Is this a bad plan?

 

[MXD]

Thanks for all the tips. My first 50 are done and I'm off to the range to try them out. I used my barrel as a case gauge and all but one slid right in and I knew the one that wouldn't fit. The bullet went in cocked and put a small crease in the case but I tried it anyway just to see what it felt like. The way I set the crimp was to go through all the stages, set the OAL then back the OAL adjustment all the way out and run the crimp down till it touched the case. Then I went in 1/8 turn and rechecked it. I repeated that until the case dropped in the barrel smoothly all on its own. Once that was locked in, I ran the seating die down till it touched the tip and locked it down. All of my OAL's are between 1.135 and 1.141 and I spot checked about 10-12 cases and they were all within .002 of the .381 mouth diameter that Patriot mentioned. All I am looking for out of this range trip is to come home with my cases showing no signs of stress and to have them all fire and feel consistent. I'm not too concerned with accuracy and things like that at this point.

The recipe I used was the following:
115g Rem RN
4.3g of W231
Winchester small pistol primers
OAL of 1.135 (this was a tad longer than the recommended but I figured I would give myself some margin)

Thanks again for all of the advice not only in this thread but for all the knowledge I have gained on this forum.