Question on reloading the 9mm

[DMZ]

I am new to the 9mm and bought a Lee 4 die set to reload it.

Here is the process I am using:

- Full resize
- Flare the case just enough to accept a bullet
- Seat the bullet

I do not use the crimp die. The bullets are tightly gripped by the case so crimping seems redundant.

Am I wrong in assuming that?

I have never experienced any feeding problems and my loads seem very accurate through either of my two 9mm's.

 

[skipjack]

You may only need to crimp enough to straighten out the flare you put in the case before seating.

If your rounds chamber without crimping, even that little bit, you don't even need to do that.

If you don't have a chamber gage, field strip your firearm and use the barrel as a gage.

 

[zxcvbob]

The 4th die is just insurance.

I bought a couple of LFC dies, used them once or twice, and figured out I wasted my money. Other people swear by them, so they probably do help with some problems.

 

[DMZ]

SJ,

I did drop a few rounds in each barrel to make sure there was no resistance. They dropped right in.

My fear was that if I ever over crimped the case, the rim would not catch the lip of the chamber.

 

[armoredman]

I use the FCD every time, it's one last sizing die as well, to make absolutely sure each round will chamber perfectly. It works. I don't crimp on the seating die, but I did set for crimp on the FCD.
I have been loading 9mm for about 4 years now. Fun stuff!

 

[Noxx]

I use a very slight crimp on my 9mm loads, to ensure that the bullet cannot walk back into the case during handling and loading. I know several people who use none at all and have no problems with their loads, it's an as-you-like-it decision.

If you do decide to crimp, an excellent method to make sure you are not overcrimping is to crimp to a level that does not allow the bullet to move back in the case at all when pressed against a hard surface, then pull your test bullet and examine it, if the case mouth has bitten into the bullet significantly, you need to back off the crimp die.

Since you aren't experiencing any problems with your current method, I'd advising not fixing what ain't broke

 

[Jim Watson]

You need to bring the seating flare back down to at least a straight case. Leaving the case mouth flared will catch up with you one of these days.
I prefer to apply a little taper crimp to aid feeding and be sure the flare is gone. There is little risk of eliminating the headspace control if you are reasonably careful setting the dies.

 

[DMZ]

Thanks to all for the good info and advice in regards to this.

I am thinking I will use the FCD in the future to insure quality loads.

 

[The Bushmaster]

Your 9mmX19 ammunition is just fine. I don't crimp my 9mm rounds either.

 

[Steve in PA]

9mm loads are supposed to be taper crimped. Using the taper crimp prevents the case mouth from being rolled over and letting the round get seated deeper into the chamber, thereby causing a problem.

 

[evan price]

If you are just loading plinking ammo for a basic pistol a Lee 3-die set will be all you need. The seating/taper crimp die should be adjusted so that the case mouth is brought back in enough that you can just see that it is no longer flared. There's not enough recoil energy in a 9x19 typically to need an aggressive crimp here.

 

[JDGray]

Seperating the seating from the crimping is what I like best. I just remove any belling, if any, and like the insurance of post sizing. LFC dies are awesome

 

[Wildfire]

Crimp

There is one issue concerning 9 MMs that I'm sure you are aware of . but I'll say it anyway. Seating depth is critcal. The 9 mm has a nasty little quirk of PSI spikes when seating depth is too deep. This can and would include any round that may get the bullet pushed in deeper by dropping or a jam, or any thing on that order. A slight crimp wont hurt any thing and may make it safer. Most manuals warn against deep seating with 9 mms.

 

[Jim Watson]

I ran THAT experiment this week.
I started seating my 147 gr subsonics .013" deeper, 1.152" instead of 1.165" so they would feed the same as generic hardball. I figured I would have to reduce the load but when I chronographed some, there was NO difference in velocity. If there was any increase in pressure, it was not pushing the bullets out any faster. A ligher load was slower, too slow to make Minor Power Factor. But then I was not at a maximum load.

 

[RustyFN]

I use the FCD but don't crimp much. I mostly just take out the bell that the powder/expander die puts in. I prefer to do that with seperate dies rather that seat and crimp in the same die. I also shoot a lot of plated bullets which require a very light crimp at most.
Rusty

 

[Walkalong]

I do not use the crimp die. The bullets are tightly gripped by the case so crimping seems redundant.

Am I wrong in assuming that?

Yes. Lightly crimp your 9MM reloads, lightly.

 

[zxcvbob]

I just want to point out the obvious: you can crimp with the seating die. Just tighten it a little.

 

[sublimaze41]

I load the 9mm with Dillon 550b. If I don't crimp the round will not fit in the chamber gage 25% of the time. I use a light crimp and it seems to work out just fine.

The nice thing about loading the 9mm is component prices. I can get brass for nearly the scrap price. Bullets are much cheaper, especially if you load the 115Gr. Heck, with pound of Unique @ 5Gr you can get 1400 rounds loaded!