rounds visably not square

1
So ok, I was loading up a bunch 0f 9mm Luger rounds today.

Cases were full length sized, neck sized and primed. Today was about charging and seating the bullet. It was range brass.

I noticed that about 10% of the seated bullets were visibly not square with the case mouth. Really canted. Never ran into this before, at least not at this scale. Pulled them and saved all components.

So, chime in:

You suck at neck sizing...though I would expect the neck to be round no matter if I got the size a little tight.

You come from an alternate universe where range brass always has square necks. Get on your trimmer and deal with it.

Your seating die is F'd (not likely).

Or your thoughts?
Heller and McDonald are precedents to be followed, not obstacles
to be overcome

Re: rounds visably not square

2
I've done that when I had a small amount of dirt and grime in the shell holder. The brass sat cockeyed but the die comes down the same as it should. Bullet straight but the brass is not. Maybe they'll shoot around corners. I'll try that.
Image
Image
Image

Puffing up is no substitute for smarts but it's a common home remedy

Re: rounds visably not square

3
Wow! There was a small amount of crud in the shell holder, it would not take much to cant things. Droplet of CLP and a bent paper clip removed it, put a case into it several times to remove residue and it was very smooth. I'll have to wait till my next reloading session to see.
Heller and McDonald are precedents to be followed, not obstacles
to be overcome

Re: rounds visably not square

4
A seater die with gunk up in the area of the crimper ring and seater plug might cause a problem.

Most brass is not cut squarely, and with a set of calipers, it becomes distressingly obvious. Even more distressing is when the cattywampus brass is already at, or below the minimum SAAMI spec, AND it's expensive shit like 44 mag or 45 Colt.
Hell is where:
The British are the chefs
The Swiss are the lovers
The French are the mechanics
The Italians make everything run on time
And the Germans are the police

Re: rounds visably not square

5
beaurrr wrote:A seater die with gunk up in the area of the crimper ring and seater plug might cause a problem.

Most brass is not cut squarely, and with a set of calipers, it becomes distressingly obvious. Even more distressing is when the cattywampus brass is already at, or below the minimum SAAMI spec, AND it's expensive shit like 44 mag or 45 Colt.
I have not had that problem with my starline brass. Its never been too short. All of my 44mag brass is FC and I bought it back in the 80s. I've only had a few case mouth splits with them.

Re: rounds visably not square

6
If the seater cup is not a good match, the mouth is not chamfered well and the bullet is tipped a little while going into the die, it can do that as well as seat it non-concentrically. That will show up as a bullet bulge on one side of the case. Best cure for it all is to use a Lyman 'M' die to start the seating. Will involve another separate step though.
Bud.

"If we don't succeed, we run the risk of failure"---- Dan Quayle, 1990.

Re: rounds visably not square

7
My Starline brass is not too short in the sense that it's below the minimum, but it's too close for me. I like my brass to be at or, preferably, above the trim-to length, not just shades above the SAAMI min. If I could, I'd buy Winchester brass or Sellier and Bellot. The Win brass I've encountered has been remarkably consistent in length and squareness. None of that matters anymore, though, since I had to find a length to trim all the brass so that I didn't have such dramatic differences between the longer and shorter pieces. I like consistency when seating and crimping.
The worst is this stuff marked 'GCF'or GCI. I don't think a single piece meets the SAAMI min. Probably came from some cheap-ass factory ammo.

I've seen a lot of pistol brass that's not cut squarely, from all brands. Maybe except Sellier & Bellot. That stuff just plain rocks. Too bad they don't sell brass in bulk, if at all.
Hell is where:
The British are the chefs
The Swiss are the lovers
The French are the mechanics
The Italians make everything run on time
And the Germans are the police

Re: rounds visably not square

8
popgunn wrote:If the seater cup is not a good match, the mouth is not chamfered well and the bullet is tipped a little while going into the die, it can do that as well as seat it non-concentrically. That will show up as a bullet bulge on one side of the case. Best cure for it all is to use a Lyman 'M' die to start the seating. Will involve another separate step though.
I love my M dies but I only use them for my rifles. My handguns are all loaded on my square deal. My experience with winchester brass has not been good in the last 8 years. Plus for 45colt FC and Starline are the only brass capable of loading for 5 shot cylinder loads.

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 2 guests