"coke bottle" shape when reloading 9mm: good, bad, ugly?

[9mmepiphany]

I don’t trust a case that’s been blown out not to rupture in my guns.

There is a lot to be said for this philosophy.

The only .40 brass I deliberately collect is once fire factory that I've seen fired (I know it's only once fired)...I process it for a friend who shoots it in his 1911. Any budges in these cases aren't due to overloading. I wouldn't even call them "guppy bellied"...I just think of them as Glocked

 

[LiveLife]

There is a lot to be said for this philosophy ... Any [bulges] in these cases aren't due to overloading. I wouldn't even call them "guppy bellied"...I just think of them as Glocked

Since Glock addressed the generous 40S&W chamber/case base issue by Gen3 and most "bulged/guppy belly" 40S&W cases I now see do not have characteristic rectangle Glock striker mark on primer (rather round indentations), I think using "overly expanded" may be a more accurate term than "Glocked".

I have 40S&W Lone Wolf barrels for my Gen3 Glock 22/23/27 and they have the tightest 40S&W chamber I have seen. Yet brass fired in my factory Glock barrels resized with Lee carbide sizer die will fully chamber in all the Lone Wolf "tight" barrels.

When I switched to 40S&W as my match caliber for USPSA with two Gen3 G22s, other match shooters were curious why I didn't have resizing issue with my brass when their Dillon dies wouldn't resize brass to fully chamber in their match barrels (And they had to "push through" resize their brass). I showed them Gen3 G22 barrels had tighter chambers with more case base support than many of their 40S&W non-Glock barrels and my Lee carbide sizer would reduce case neck to smaller OD and further down towards case base to not require "push through" resizing.

Any resized case that failed to fully chamber (Yeah, call me OCD but that's what I did for my "match grade" brass as I pre-resized/deprimed and inspected/cleaned primer pockets) was resized again and if it failed the second time, it got tossed for recycling, which was rare. And all of my match ammo readily fully chambered in their barrels and fell freely with a "plonk" (I used Montana Gold 155/165/180 gr FMJ/JHP bullets exclusively for major/minor loads).

 

[9mmepiphany]

I have 40S&W Lone Wolf barrels for my Gen3 Glock 22/23/27 and they have the tightest 40S&W chamber I have seen. Yet brass fired in my factory Glock barrels resized with Lee carbide sizer die will fully chamber in all the Lone Wolf "tight" barrels.

When I switched to 40S&W as my match caliber for USPSA with two Gen3 G22s, other match shooters were curious why I didn't have resizing issue with my brass when their Dillon dies wouldn't resize brass to fully chamber in their match barrels (And they had to "push through" resize their brass). I showed them Gen3 G22 barrels had tighter chambers with more case base support than many of their 40S&W non-Glock barrels and my Lee carbide sizer would reduce case neck to smaller OD and further down towards case base to not require "push through" resizing.

Thank you for sharing your experience with this.

You've addressed a bunch of issues I suspected but was never sure about

 

[CQB45ACP]

I don't budge bust 9mm cases. Any cases which won't gauge, I just throw away.

The only cases I budge bust is .40. I use a Redding G-Rx (I love how they throw shade on the issue) and I do resize afterwards to insure I have sufficient neck tension.

However, I run all my .40 range pickup through the G-Rx after cleaning. I don't resize or deprime first. Most of it is once-fired by a local probation department shooting Glocks and about 70% are budged (based on pressure required to press the case through)

Gotta like probation officers firing guns!

I don't budge bust 9mm cases. Any cases which won't gauge, I just throw away.

The only cases I budge bust is .40. I use a Redding G-Rx (I love how they throw shade on the issue) and I do resize afterwards to insure I have sufficient neck tension.

However, I run all my .40 range pickup through the G-Rx after cleaning. I don't resize or deprime first. Most of it is once-fired by a local probation department shooting Glocks and about 70% are budged (based on pressure required to press the case through)

Since I have to buy all my brass, I cannot afford to throw anything away if it is or can be made serviceable.

 

[Walkalong]

I have buckets of .40 range brass, none of which had bulges I thought were "excessive" when I picked them up.

So....because I have so much and shoot so little .40, I scrap any that won't respond to the sizer. I don't have to scrap a lot, so I'm happy with my procedure.

 

[CQB45ACP]

I have buckets of .40 range brass, none of which had bulges I thought were "excessive" when I picked them up.

So....because I have so much and shoot so little .40, I scrap any that won't respond to the sizer. I don't have to scrap a lot, so I'm happy with my procedure.

I don’t even shoot .40 and this still pains me.

 

[gwpercle]

Most of the time it's just the bullet's straight sides bulging out the 9mm's tapered case ... or should I say what should be a tapered case now undersized by "Carbide" sizing dies... and if they are Lee Carbide Dies they size the base down way too much ... when the bullet is seated ...
Wah-Lah ...you get the coke bottle shape !!!

What I have done is ditch the Lee Carbide die and went back to an older CH Steel Die that resizes the case to a tapered shape like it should be ... this really helps getting bullets seated and the finished rounds look normal and not all Wonky and wasp waisted like a Coke Bottle !
Gary

 

[LiveLife]

bullet's straight sides bulging out the 9mm's tapered case ... and if they are Lee Carbide Dies they size the base down way too much ... when the bullet is seated ... Wah-Lah ...you get the coke bottle shape !!!

Like these?

.355" sized Winchester FMJ on the left and .356" sized MBC lead bullets

ditch the Lee Carbide die and went back to an older CH Steel Die that resizes the case to a tapered shape like it should be

Like these?

resizes the case to a tapered shape like it should be ... this really helps getting bullets seated and the finished rounds look normal and not all Wonky and wasp waisted like a Coke Bottle !

Like these?

BTW, all of these were resized and loaded with Lee resizing die with carbide ring that is "tapered".

 

[Walkalong]

Most of the time it's just the bullet's straight sides bulging out the 9mm's tapered case ... or should I say what should be a tapered case now undersized by "Carbide" sizing dies... and if they are Lee Carbide Dies they size the base down way too much ... when the bullet is seated ...
Wah-Lah ...you get the coke bottle shape !!!

What I have done is ditch the Lee Carbide die and went back to an older CH Steel Die that resizes the case to a tapered shape like it should be ... this really helps getting bullets seated and the finished rounds look normal and not all Wonky and wasp waisted like a Coke Bottle !
Gary

It needs a bulge on both ends to be the "coke bottle" affect.

 

[LiveLife]

It needs a bulge on both ends to be the "coke bottle" affect.

Yes, as one sided bulge means bullet got tilted during seating.

 

[9mmepiphany]

Since I have to buy all my brass, I cannot afford to throw anything away if it is or can be made serviceable.

Aren't you able to pick up brass at the range where you shoot?

I realize I'm lucky in that some local LE agencies use our range, they only shoot factory ammo, and they don't recycle their brass...I just have to have a box handy to collect it.

Other than the brass from my purchase of factory ammo that I've recovered, I don't think I've ever paid for brass. I lose about 1200-1800 cases a year just attending Lost Brass matches

 

[Walkalong]

It needs a bulge on both ends to be the "coke bottle" affect.

Yes, as one sided bulge means bullet got tilted during seating.

What I meant was right below the bullet and just above the base where the sizer stopped.

 

[CQB45ACP]

Aren't you able to pick up brass at the range where you shoot?

I realize I'm lucky in that some local LE agencies use our range, they only shoot factory ammo, and they don't recycle their brass...I just have to have a box handy to collect it.

Other than the brass from my purchase of factory ammo that I've recovered, I don't think I've ever paid for brass. I lose about 1200-1800 cases a year just attending Lost Brass matches

Not much of it. The rules at both ranges I use permit collecting you own, only. You can cop a few others of course and fellow shooters may give you theirs but going outside your own lane or reaching in front of the firing line are strictly verboten.

I lose about 10% per visit. Not bad but it adds up (or down).

 

[9mmepiphany]

I lose about 10% per visit. Not bad but it adds up (or down).

If there are any near you, you should shoot local matches. I've never attended a local match and not come back with more case than I started with.

A couple of buddies I got into reloading went to a nearby match and picked up 1k+ 9mm cases each, during one match, to get them started

 

[GeoDudeFlorida]

Not much of it. The rules at both ranges I use permit collecting you own, only. You can cop a few others of course and fellow shooters may give you theirs but going outside your own lane or reaching in front of the firing line are strictly verboten.

I lose about 10% per visit. Not bad but it adds up (or down).

I suspect this has more to do with regionality than legality? The Beltway just isn’t very tolerant of law-abiding gun owners, perhaps? Or did someone get injured crossing a line and now all of the businesses are paranoid of a lawsuit?

Send me a list of what you’re short on.

 

[CQB45ACP]

I suspect this has more to do with regionality than legality? The Beltway just isn’t very tolerant of law-abiding gun owners, perhaps? Or did someone get injured crossing a line and now all of the businesses are paranoid of a lawsuit?

Send me a list of what you’re short on.

Well I don’t know why these are the rules, but I shoot at just two ranges regularly (one is the NRAHQ) and their rules have been this way as long as I’ve been going there.

A while back I looked at other area range websites and if they had published rules, they’re all essentially the same, “you may collect your own brass that is within your lane.”

At NRA, the RSOs don’t say anything if you reach the pusher/squeegee past the firing line but I suspect they would if you went overboard.

Im in good shape on brass for now, but thanks for the offer.

 

[CQB45ACP]

If there are any near you, you should shoot local matches. I've never attended a local match and not come back with more case than I started with.

A couple of buddies I got into reloading went to a nearby match and picked up 1k+ 9mm cases each, during one match, to get them started

Now THAT would be worth the embarrassment I’d suffer from the match.

 

[JEBruns]

I didn't use to produce coke bottle rounds. But my CZ Shadow 2 forced me into it. It is pretty picky. First I got a Hundo gauge, which helped. If they failed there, they would not function in the S2. They would fire out of our other guns though. Got tired of that and bought one of the Lee undersized dies. Cleaned up 99+% of the issues, but gave me the coke bottle look, which I could not care less about personally. I'd rather have them work than worry about a slim waist.

 

[LiveLife]

I didn't use to produce coke bottle rounds ... CZ Shadow 2 forced me into it

Got tired of that and bought one of the Lee undersized dies. Cleaned up 99+% of the issues, but gave me the coke bottle look, which I could not care less about personally. I'd rather have them work than worry about a slim waist.

Are we "beauty" conscious now? Rounds just gotta go "bang", reliably cycle the slide, reliably extract/eject spent cases and produce holes on target.

Besides, after the "bang", the "Coke bottle look" will be gone when the brass is blown out to chamber wall dimensions.

 

[CQB45ACP]

I took a second look at a number of 9mm rounds which looked as though they just might be coke bottles. I put a straight edge against them and laid them down on a flat metal plate my machinist grandfather used (there’s a name for it, but I don’t recall). Anyway, I was dealing with optical illusions more than anything perhaps due to shiny cases.