I reload for 9mm and 10mm and notice that there are black soot on the side of most brass i pick up. I dont see this as much with a factory loaded round. I use the Hornady dies that seat and crimp in one station and wondering if maybe the crimp is not right or tight enough??? There are no pressure signs at all on any of the brass such as flatten primers, leaking primers, case bulges or cracks, etc. All inputs appreciated.
Black soot on my handgun cases after shooting!
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RustyFN
Member
Nothing to worry about. Some powders are famous for that. I see that a lot when I use Titegrouup no matter what caliber I use it in.
Captcurt
Member
Sounds like a lite load. Check your load with a couple of loading manuals. You might have to step it up a notch or change powders.
Thanks for the input. Actually the loads are on the max side of things.
For example:
10mm 180gr XTP AA#9 14.0gr 1.260"
10mm 155gr XTP AA#9 15.9 gr 1.260"
9mm 147gr Gold Dots AA#7 7.2gr 1.13"
9mm 124gr XTP AA#7 8.2gr 1.12
9mm 124gr XTP Ramshot Silhouette 5.6gr 1.16"
All the above are at max or slightly over. My 10mm is shot thru my Glock 20 which has a LW barrel with much better chamber support than standard Glock barrel and no signs of over pressure seen.
For example:
10mm 180gr XTP AA#9 14.0gr 1.260"
10mm 155gr XTP AA#9 15.9 gr 1.260"
9mm 147gr Gold Dots AA#7 7.2gr 1.13"
9mm 124gr XTP AA#7 8.2gr 1.12
9mm 124gr XTP Ramshot Silhouette 5.6gr 1.16"
All the above are at max or slightly over. My 10mm is shot thru my Glock 20 which has a LW barrel with much better chamber support than standard Glock barrel and no signs of over pressure seen.
Captcurt
Member
You have me stumped, Alpha. I have shot a lot of AA#9 in 357 and never noticed soot any worse than other powders.
You have my full attention now. Inquiring minds want to know.
CSA 357
Member
are you loading cast or jacked bullets?
Maj Dad
Member
I get soot on hot/max loads of several powders in 9mm & 45acp, esp. 9mm. I address the issue by tumbling them clean; there are no problems with accuracy or anything other than soot... 
A taper crimp does not increase case tension/ bullet pull, so that's not it.
Expanding the case mouth less increases case tension. Using a new case increases case tension. Cleaning the inside of the case increases case tension. The more case tension, the more bullet pull, the better the combustion. That's one of the reasons factory ammo appears to burn cleaner.
Expanding the case mouth less increases case tension. Using a new case increases case tension. Cleaning the inside of the case increases case tension. The more case tension, the more bullet pull, the better the combustion. That's one of the reasons factory ammo appears to burn cleaner.
rfwobbly
Member
I'm also with Captcurt. While color is not an conclusive test, it can be a fairly good indicator of combustion conditions. I put it in the same class as primer condition.
However, incomplete combustion can have numerous causes all of which basically boil down to the bullet being pushed out the barrel too easily or gas escaping too easily to allow the powder to burn at pressure. Such things as over size barrels, loose bullets, soft lead or soft plated bullets failing to obdurate, poor crimps, torn brass, using 9mm bullets in a 38/357, etc, etc.
Typically you see this when someone follows a load that specifies an xxx bullet and they sub a different construction bullet. You might check your load data against your materials list, and/or slug your bore.
However, incomplete combustion can have numerous causes all of which basically boil down to the bullet being pushed out the barrel too easily or gas escaping too easily to allow the powder to burn at pressure. Such things as over size barrels, loose bullets, soft lead or soft plated bullets failing to obdurate, poor crimps, torn brass, using 9mm bullets in a 38/357, etc, etc.
Typically you see this when someone follows a load that specifies an xxx bullet and they sub a different construction bullet. You might check your load data against your materials list, and/or slug your bore.
I don't like sooty cases because most of the time it means I am getting incomplete/erratic combustion and my gun is getting dirty faster than necessary. Usually low pressure is the cause, but not always. That does not mean some dirty sooty loads don't shoot well, because some do.
A max load of 231 in the 9mm will soot the case pretty good while combusting completely. Some powders are more dirty than others, especially those that are covered in graphite.
1SOW
Member
rf wobbly +1
Given no problems with the gun: Some powders seem to need need a minimum load to reach their range of "efficient combustion" even though they will operate the gun with lighter loads.
For me, in my gun, Win231 is "sooty" (on gun and cases) at low power factors/light loads. As the load goes up it burns cleaner and shoots better.
At exactly the same chrono speed as the lightly loaded 231, Vit n320 will burn much cleaner. It's not necessarily a better powder, it just burns more efficiently with light loads than many other powders. It also creates much higher pressures when you try to up the speed.
Given no problems with the gun: Some powders seem to need need a minimum load to reach their range of "efficient combustion" even though they will operate the gun with lighter loads.
For me, in my gun, Win231 is "sooty" (on gun and cases) at low power factors/light loads. As the load goes up it burns cleaner and shoots better.
At exactly the same chrono speed as the lightly loaded 231, Vit n320 will burn much cleaner. It's not necessarily a better powder, it just burns more efficiently with light loads than many other powders. It also creates much higher pressures when you try to up the speed.
Right. Which is why I put these words in my post.
Perhaps I should have said "much" instead of "most". A sooted case is a sign to check other things out, because it can be a sign of incomplete combustion etc.
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