Rough day for the reloading business.
After church I went down to my workshop to test and load some 9mm 115 Gr LRN for a friend's Sig Pro 2009. I started with a light load of 3.9 Gr of Hodgdon Titegroup over a Federal Small Magnum primer. Five cartridges loaded, I stepped outside to test the load. The results were as expected. All loads chambered properly but not a single shot cycled the pistol. Before anyone starts to complain about limp wristing the firearm, let me say I am a seasoned marksman and regularly practice with full size and compact semi auto pistols and revolvers. I even through in a derringer on occasion.
Returning to the bench, I loaded a mid-load 4.1 Gr Hodgdon Titegroup lot. Of the five cartridges only two cycled the slide. Shots 3 and 4 managed to cycle, but shot 5 failed to lock the slide back. Back to the bench. This time I loaded my 5-cartridge lot with the maximum recommended load of 4.3 Gr of Titegroup. I was sorely disappointed. Not a single cartridge cycled. The test was not a total waste, as there were many tell-tale signs of the root cause.
1) Each of the cases showed a distinct discoloration of powder burn/residue traveling 3/4 of the case length down to the rim and approx. 1/4 of the exterior circumference.
2) The cartridges were failing to feed when the slide did not travel back far enough to properly engage the extractor, falling under the slide and jamming in the feed ramp.
Before loading each cartridge I measured my exterior dimensions. The OAL was am avg 1.140" with an avg neck dia of 0.3785." The book maximum OAL for a 9mm is 1.169" and the neck dia of 0.0381." I think the crimp may be a contributing factor in my cycle issue, resulting in a gas pressure leak. However, the powder mark on the cases indicate a seal is being made, just 3/4 the length of the case down.
To rule out the possibility of my using a powder that burned too fast, I switched to a slower burning IMR Hi-Skor 700X. I loaded five cartridges at the maximum load of 3.7 Gr. All other factors remained unchained. The results were dismal. Not a single case ejected. I decided it was time to expand my trouble shooting. I picked up a box of factory ammo (the Wal-Mart in Russellville, KY has 9mm, 380 ACP, and 40 S&W on the shelf!). I loaded five rounds of Federal 115 Gr FMJ. All five rounds functioned flawlessly. I then loaded five rounds of 124 Gr TMJ over 3.1 Gr of Clays. Just like the 700X, not one round cycled. I did notice a similar burn pattern on both the factory loads and the TMJ reloads.
My question is this: Is this a reloading error? Probable causes may include poor quality control in the lead cast bullet production, undersized projectiles, over crimped cases, or low power charges. If this is not a load error, is the problem an oversized chamber? I wonder if anyone out there has had similar problems with sigs or reloads and would be willing to share?
After church I went down to my workshop to test and load some 9mm 115 Gr LRN for a friend's Sig Pro 2009. I started with a light load of 3.9 Gr of Hodgdon Titegroup over a Federal Small Magnum primer. Five cartridges loaded, I stepped outside to test the load. The results were as expected. All loads chambered properly but not a single shot cycled the pistol. Before anyone starts to complain about limp wristing the firearm, let me say I am a seasoned marksman and regularly practice with full size and compact semi auto pistols and revolvers. I even through in a derringer on occasion.
Returning to the bench, I loaded a mid-load 4.1 Gr Hodgdon Titegroup lot. Of the five cartridges only two cycled the slide. Shots 3 and 4 managed to cycle, but shot 5 failed to lock the slide back. Back to the bench. This time I loaded my 5-cartridge lot with the maximum recommended load of 4.3 Gr of Titegroup. I was sorely disappointed. Not a single cartridge cycled. The test was not a total waste, as there were many tell-tale signs of the root cause.
1) Each of the cases showed a distinct discoloration of powder burn/residue traveling 3/4 of the case length down to the rim and approx. 1/4 of the exterior circumference.
2) The cartridges were failing to feed when the slide did not travel back far enough to properly engage the extractor, falling under the slide and jamming in the feed ramp.
Before loading each cartridge I measured my exterior dimensions. The OAL was am avg 1.140" with an avg neck dia of 0.3785." The book maximum OAL for a 9mm is 1.169" and the neck dia of 0.0381." I think the crimp may be a contributing factor in my cycle issue, resulting in a gas pressure leak. However, the powder mark on the cases indicate a seal is being made, just 3/4 the length of the case down.
To rule out the possibility of my using a powder that burned too fast, I switched to a slower burning IMR Hi-Skor 700X. I loaded five cartridges at the maximum load of 3.7 Gr. All other factors remained unchained. The results were dismal. Not a single case ejected. I decided it was time to expand my trouble shooting. I picked up a box of factory ammo (the Wal-Mart in Russellville, KY has 9mm, 380 ACP, and 40 S&W on the shelf!). I loaded five rounds of Federal 115 Gr FMJ. All five rounds functioned flawlessly. I then loaded five rounds of 124 Gr TMJ over 3.1 Gr of Clays. Just like the 700X, not one round cycled. I did notice a similar burn pattern on both the factory loads and the TMJ reloads.
My question is this: Is this a reloading error? Probable causes may include poor quality control in the lead cast bullet production, undersized projectiles, over crimped cases, or low power charges. If this is not a load error, is the problem an oversized chamber? I wonder if anyone out there has had similar problems with sigs or reloads and would be willing to share?
