9mm and case gauge

Are you using a Wilson case gage?
Where do your cases sit in the gage before you reload them? are they still 10 thousands high?
What resizing die are you using?
Are your cases ( after resizing) shorter than .754" ?

Does it change the results if you seat the bullet just a touch deeper/shorter?

Does it change the result if you add a bit more crimp?

delete. misread post.

I would pull the bullets from failed rounds and resize the cases then recheck in the case gauge.

If the resized cases (no bullet) don't pass the gauge, they are not being full-length resized. If they pass the gauge but not after you load the bullet, then you may have issues with your bullet (out of round) and/or with your reloading steps (amount of taper crimp, too long of OAL, etc.).

I usually have some that don't seat flush in the Wilson gage. They drop in the barrel of my Glock no problem. Still, those I put in a box for practice. To date I have not had any failures from those rounds.
I load on a Dillon 650 and recently readjusted stage 1 that resizes. It made a lot of difference and now I just get a few out of every 100. But they do all function.

Seems to chamber OK but removing them seems to take a bit of effort.

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This tells you something is not right. It should fall freely out. It could be that the bullet is getting into the lands. Mark up the bullet and brass. Then insert and see where it's rubbing. With the 9mm being a taper casing it could be contacting on the case mouth if the flaring was not completely removed, not enough TC.

I use a gauge for my .45s, because I have a couple of finicky chambers. The only 9 I have eats everything. I find most modern polymer-frame autos are designed to have a sloppy fit to be able to eat everything you feed it. Drop it in the chamber of the detached barrel of the gun you are loading for, it will probably wiggle significantly.

bob4 said:

Missouri parrabellum 115G

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Since the resized cases passed the gauge, I think I am with Walkalong. If you look at the comparison picture below, Missouri uses "non-stepped" RN profile for their 9mm 115/124 gr bullets that results in shorter/rounder nose bullets with longer bullet base/bearing surface.

With the "stepped" RN bullets with longer more pointed nose, I can use 1.125" OAL but with Missouri "non stepped" RN bullets, I need to load them shorter at 1.080" - 1.100" or the longer bullet base will hit the start of rifling.

bds said:

Since the resized cases passed the gauge, I think I am with Walkalong. If you look at the comparison picture below, Missouri uses "non-stepped" RN profile for their 9mm 115/124 gr bullets that results in shorter/rounder nose bullets with longer bullet base/bearing surface.

With the "stepped" RN bullets with longer more pointed nose, I can use 1.125" OAL but with Missouri "non stepped" RN bullets, I need to load them shorter at 1.080" - 1.100" or the longer bullet base will hit the start of rifling.

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This is what happened to me, also, the first time I loaded MBC lead RN bullets. I had to seat to a COAL of around 1.05" for the rounds to pass the plunk test in my Lone Wolf Glock barrel.

When you seat the bullet it is a forced fit so the case is expanded. Then you do the TC to remove any flaring. If you think the bullet is too long, paint it with a marker. It will scratch off where it's contacting.

Running a TC on a case with out a bullet does not tell you anything. Remember that the bullet is 0.001" larger being lead than a jacketed. If you measure your sized case and bullet you will see a min of 0.002" difference.

A way to check to see if your actually putting a TC on is to pull the bullet after wards. It should have a line where the end of the mouth marked the bullet.

ARJJ said:

This is what happened to me, also, the first time I loaded MBC lead RN bullets. I had to seat to a COAL of around 1.05" for the rounds to pass the plunk test in my Lone Wolf Glock barrel.

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As indicated on Walkalong's thread, max/working OAL is dependent on the barrel. My older Lone Wolf and KKM barrels will accommodate 1.080" - 1.100" OAL with MBC 9mm RN bullets but my newest Lone Wolf barrel has very quick start of rifling with almost no leade (like my Sig 1911 barrel) and I have to seat the bullets deeper to pass the barrel drop test.

Since my plinking load uses fluffy Red Dot/Promo, powder compression became an issue and I ended up using the stepped RN bullets that don't seat as deep in the case neck.

Jacketed bullets are sized .355" and typical lead bullets are sized .356".

I found over the decades, case wall thickness has increased for some headstamp and instead of averaging .012", some headstamp case walls are thicker and/or quality varies that result in cases with inconsistent thickness (part of case wall is less than .012" and part of case wall is thicker).

Add to these issues the out-of-round bullet factor (yes, many commercial bulk bullets will be out of round by the time you receive them) and you will end up with out of spec rounds that won't pass the case gauge. As many posted, if your factory barrel chamber is on the generous side, these out of spec rounds will feed/chamber without issues but if your barrel has tighter chamber to SAAMI specs, you may experience feeding/chambering issues.

With jacketed/plated .355" diameter bullets, many reloaders opt to use the Lee Factory Crimp Die with carbide sizer ring to bring loaded rounds within SAAMI specs for reliable feeding/chambering but I (and many other reloaders) don't recommend the use of FCD with larger .356"+ sized lead bullets as post-sizing of the loaded rounds may decrease the bullet diameter and brass spring back may decrease neck tension and increase bullet setback.

Ultimately, the barrel chambers you are going to shoot your reloads out of will be the final "gauge" and if all of your reloads reliably feed/chamber from the magazine, then you are good to go regardless whether your reloads pass the case gauge.

Another factor to consider is the bullet base length and the case wall thickness.

Case wall thickness will increase as you go down towards the case base. As the bullet is seated deeper, especially with bullets with longer base, case will bulge more in the middle of the case, increasing the outer diameter. Even if you increase the taper crimp at the case mouth area, the bulged diameter in the middle of the case may fail the round in the case gauge (see comparison picture below of SWC bullet seated deep showing the bulge).

I am not sure if this is the case but rcmodel usually suggest you smoke or paint the round with a marker. After inserting in the case gauge, you should see where it is rubbing and if the rubbing is at the bulge, then you may have found your issue as long as the OAL is not too long for the bullet base to hit the start of rifling.

bob4 said:

Kinda sorry I am waiting on more lead Missouri bullets. Glad I only grabbed 500 to start.

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Actually Missouri's non-stepped RN bullets address issues that were presented in the stepped RN bullets where longer bullet base/bearing surface provided better engagement with rifling, more consistent chamber pressure build up and more reliable feeding for certain pistols.

Good thing about reloading is that there are different components available for reloader to use that work better depending on the pistols we use. While Missouri carries non-stepped 9mm RN and Z-Cast carries stepped RN bullets, some vendors like Dardas carries both.

Unlike other lead bullet manufacturers who only offer single lead alloy hardness for all of their calibers/bullets, Missouri sells lead bullets in 10/12/15/18 BHN to match the bullet hardness to particular application to enhance performance and reduce leading. Many reloaders use mid-to-high range load data for their loads and softer than 22-24 BHN MBC bullets are more flexible in accommodating these loads without leading. You'll find many satisfied customers of MBC on THR.

About to start on loading for a .40 Cal soon.

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I am a happy user of Missouri 40 caliber lead bullets.

Clean the case gauge with some cleaner and a brush. Sometimes a granule of power gets stuck in mine and impedes the round from seating flush. A good cleaning makes a lot of difference.

I have never once used a case gauge, and have never once had a reload for any firearm fail to function in a normal fashion, 30+ yrs. of loading. This includes everything, bottle necks, rimmed brass, and rimless brass.

GS