RCBS 9mm resizing/depriming die inconsistent with taking out bulge

[crg6300a]

I have the RCBS 9mm resizing/depriming die. Before I began resizing I cleaned the die and made sure everything was in working order. I then installed the RCBS resizing/depriming die into my Hornady Lock-N-Load Ammo Press.
I made sure the die was installed properly and barely touched the shell plate. When I say barely touching the plate I mean a paper thickness between the shell plate and the die. Again, I made sure everything was tighten down and secured. I ran a few test pass and no issues. I began resizing/depriming and loading. I loaded 200 rounds of 9mm. Once I was done I dropped them into my Hundo sizing gauge just about half of them did not seat. I went back and checked the die and it was still secured tightly and the same distance from the shell plate. This is very heart breaking especially when I was loading for USPSA competition. Now I have to pull every bullet. Is this a common issue with RCBS in over use? Again, I have to say I'm very disappointed with this die right now. Does anyone a solution or a better resizing method. This is becoming very frustrating.

 

[Rod47]

Doubt if you have a die problem. If this range pick up or once fired brasd you have no idea what kind of a chamber it was fired in. You may need a different brand size die or undersize die from Lee.

 

[243winxb]

Range brass ? Take measurements of the problem rounds diameters. Where are they different from the good ammo?


A must read- https://www.shockbottle.com/faqs-1

 

[9mmepiphany]

When I say barely touching the plate I mean a paper thickness between the shell plate and the die.

Are you a "paper thickness" from the top of the shell plate or the top of the depression for each case?

I'd recommend that you lower the die until it touches the depression. The Hornady LNL AP is designed to cam-over

Once I was done I dropped them into my Hundo sizing gauge just about half of them did not seat.

Try them in the Hundo after resizing...before you seat the bullet. That will let you know if your issue is with the sizing die or your bullet seating.

If it is the sizing die, the Lee undersized die is a good value.

I use the Hundo case gauge to check my cartridges also and have been very pleased. The M-profile expander and Competition Seating die has made a huge difference in consistency of the final product

 

[reddog81]

Did you try the rounds in your barrel? The gauge should be on the tight as far as tolerances go and many 9mm chambers will have a little slop in them.

 

[Muddydogs]

Your die isn't set low enough to start with, the die should touch to sightly push on the shell plate. Be aware that this will effect your bullet seating depth so re adjust your seating die with a full shell plate. I size 1000's of 9mm with an LnL and RCBS dies and never have this issuse.

 

[walterelm]

You should test your ammo on the gun range. Select 40 rounds that failed the gauge .. if your gun works just fine ... cool

I had the same problem reloading 147 grain bullets in 9mm. They were bulged, no way to deny it, failed the gauge but caused no problems in my CZ SP 01.

 

[243winxb]

Hundo sizing gauge

The gauge needs testing. Can 100 holes/chambers be exactly
the same?

When a round doesnt pass in 1 hole, will it pass in any other hole?

Does brass have a Glock bluge?

From your other thread

The crazy thing is it (bullet feeder) will work great with .355Dia Blue Bullets, but not with the .356Dia jacketed bullet.

Could it be the bullets diameter keeping the rounds from fitting the gauge?

 

[Blue68f100]

The sizing die needs to be set so it touches the shell plate when under load. With AP's have all stations full then check for contact. There is deflection that needs to be accounted for. This is common to all presses though some have less than others.

 

[Bill M.]

What is wrong with screwing the die in until it stops the ram? Why would I want to "cam over"? I load on a single stag and do not know how a progressive handles the different stations.

 

[243winxb]

RCBS Carbide instructions.

 

[9mmepiphany]

RCBS Carbide instructions

I don't commonly use their dies. Most of my handgun dies as either Hornady or Redding.

I spoke with a Redding tech when I had a question about setting my Competition Seating die. He asked which press I was using and when I told him it was a Hornady LNL AP, he told me to make sure that the press was set up to cam over for correct sizing and seating

 

[tightgroup tiger]

Bill M,
You don't cam over a single stage press with a carbide die. You may break the carbide insert. With a progressive press with a shell plate instead of a small shell holder,
you need to make sure the plate will fully insert the case in the resizing die with the shell plate full. The plates do flex some amount and that small amount of flex could allow some of the bulge to not be fully resized if the die isn't contacting the shell plate under full load.
Doing this will not hurt the carbide ring in the resizing die.

 

[AJC1]

I use only carbide rcbs dies for pistol, an I make light contact with the shell holder. The press I use does not cam over. Impacts with carbide are bad. I dont slam the shell holder into the die when I size. I do take out all the space so I get a full sizing. I may have 1 in a 1000 that do not pass.

 

[Dudedog]

I don't have a 100 hole gauge, but I use a single hole gauge. I use range brass and there are always some that won't gauge.
I just mark the base of them with a black sharpie (easy one they are in a plastic ammo box) and set them aside for practice. (very few of these won't chamber and fire)
I use a Lee FCD for match ammo and it cuts down the number that won't fit the gauge quite a bit.
I happen to like the FCD for 9mm, but some people don't, Lee FCD tends to be a like/hate with not much middle ground.

 

[243winxb]

OP, last seen on sat 7:43 pm.

A ploy to sell more gauges?

 

[garandsrus]

as was mentioned, see if a case that is only sized will fit the gauge properly. My guess is that it will. There are a couple other things to look at:

o Check your bullet seating depth. If the bullet is not seated deeply enough, it won’t fit in the gauge. The back of the case will stick out. This is because the full diameter of the bullet is too far forward and hitting the end of the chamber, not allowing the case to completely enter.

o Make sure the belling of the case has been removed by the seating or crimping die. This will also prevent the round from passing the die test.

 

[lordpaxman]

Check your bullet seating depth. If the bullet is not seated deeply enough, it won’t fit in the gauge. The back of the case will stick out. This is because the full diameter of the bullet is too far forward and hitting the end of the chamber, not allowing the case to completely enter.

If your reloads have a COL and/or bullet profile that won’t fit within the Hundo gauge, just pick up the Hundo and see if they “drop” in. DO NOT shorten the COL just so they fit in the gauge sitting on a hard surface. Only shorten the COL as part of a safe load workup.
The OP’s setup is what I use, RCBS dies, but I screw them down so they touch the shell plate, but no further. All of my loads have COLs that are longer than the depth of the Hundo gauge, so I first load up the gauge on the bench and insure all are at the same COL. Then I pick up the gauge and see they all drop in. Hint, .380’s drop a lot farther so you can screen them out at this time in case any slip through.

Again, I made sure everything was tighten down and secured. I ran a few test pass and no issues. I began resizing/depriming and loading. I loaded 200 rounds of 9mm.

On my LNL, you can get a few thousandths difference on any station if you don’t run all stations at once. Any QC checks on lengths or crimps should be done as if you’re in a production run. It certainly could be a sizing problem but I’d wager you have a crimping issue and aren’t taking out all of the bell. Let us know what you find? Good luck!

 

[Walkalong]

Most carbide dies are now made whee the carbide insert is not flush anymore, but slightly above (up in) the steel body, so it doesn't touch the shell plate.

9MM cases are tapered and it is important the die is slightly touching the shell plate when actually sizing a case.

The sizing die needs to be set so it touches the shell plate when under load. With AP's have all stations full then check for contact. There is deflection that needs to be accounted for. This is common to all presses though some have less than others.

Yep.

 

[sparkyv]

Drive-by post? Says "bulge" in the post title, but still no answer if range brass is being used.

OP, last seen on sat 7:43 pm.

A ploy to sell more gauges?

 

[GotHim]

https://leeprecision.com/undersize-sizing-die-9mm.html

Not big on Lee Dies at all but this one has solved my issues so far similar to what you described.

Also i barely touch off on my shell plate then go 1/8-1/4 round on top of that...so you might try that?

I watched a video not long ago on this issue with 9mm and the guy had both the Redding carbide and Steel sizing dies that he would use on range pickup brass....dont remember much more than that but it was detailed it you are interested....I can try to locate it in my History folder and get you a link.

 

[Walkalong]

Hopefully the OP will come back and let us know he re-adjusted the die and all is well.