Why is resizing 9mm so hard?

[z7]

I also load 40s&w, 223 rem and 308 win for reference.

On my lock n load AP with hornady "custom grade Dies (taper crimp) 3 die set #546516 with titanium nitride on the resizing die I find resizing 9mm brass to require more effort than resizing 308 win brass.

running 40sw through the press is like butter, 223 rem resizes really easy and even 308 brass requires very little effort. my 40sw and 223 dies are lee (carbine pistol dies) and my 308 is RCBS small base dies.

is the tapered case of a 9mm just a pain in the. . . .?

 

[thomas15]

Try this and see if it helps:

Spray case lube. I spray the insides of a zip lock bag with Hornady one-shot. Then put the cases in the bag, zip close and shake around. Then let the lube dry for a few minutes and then resize.

There are other ways to lube your cases. 9mm is not exactly a straight wall case, it has a slight taper.

 

[ericuda]

Nice comment, not a fan of hornady one shot but good for pistol round sizing using carbide dies. I use a little like described in a ziploc bag. Just makes life easier.

 

[CZ9shooter]

I have noticed significant differences in the force required to size varying brands of 9mm case. Some almost feel sticky, while others glide right through.

 

[z7]

I have noticed significant differences in the force required to size varying brands of 9mm case. Some almost feel sticky, while others glide right through.

I agree, some are not a problem, a lot of others seem to stick at the top of the stroke.

I know I can lube them and it helps. I just don't want to add the work in removing the lube (take away from the progressive press)/I don't want to have loaded ammo with lube on it. I work through/around the resizing problem, does anyone else get annoyed by the force required? I can resize 308 win with less pressure

 

[Sunray]

Titanium nitride is a ceramic coating. If it's on the inside of the sizer die, you need to lube. Despite what Hornady says. Plain old carbide is your friend though.

 

[drband]

I use a Lee classic turret with an inline fabrication ergo press handle. Lee carbide dies. It resizes any 9mm you throw at it w/o lube. If I had the standard Lee press handle, I would lube a bit.

 

[WestKentucky]

There is measurable difference in case wall thickness. I bet you are feeling the force of the thicker cases. Add to that that the tapered case basically resizes all at once rather than a smaller portion of the case sliding through and gradually resizing.

Another thing to look at and question would be if all the brass is fired from the same gun or not because an oversized chamber would allow the brass to grow larger thus requiring more resizing which translates to a little more effort.

 

[ReloaderFred]

You only have to lube about every fifth or sixth round to make it easier. Lube a batch and put those in periodically and it will significantly ease the sizing operation. You can tumble the loaded rounds for about 15 minutes in untreated corn cob and the lube will be removed.

Hope this helps.

Fred

 

[9mmepiphany]

I just don't want to add the work in removing the lube (take away from the progressive press)/I don't want to have loaded ammo with lube on it. I work through/around the resizing problem, does anyone else get annoyed by the force required?

It annoyed me enough to start lubing my 9mm cases.

I'm also loading on a LNL AP and using One-Shot doesn't interfere with the progressive loading process at all...I just let the lube dry before running it into the resizing die.

When I use a homemade lube (lanolin/alcohol), I just throw the completed rounds into my dry tumbler and run it for 15mins with corncob media. Nice and shinny for storage

 

[Damon555]

Nice comment, not a fan of hornady one shot but good for pistol round sizing using carbide dies. I use a little like described in a ziploc bag. Just makes life easier.

^^^^^^
This..............One shot is very well suited for sizing pistol brass.....it's not needed but is sure makes things go much smoother. Especially when sizing mixed headstamped brass. Lots of variations in there not to mention busting through the "Glock bulge" in range pickup brass.

 

[Wreck-n-Crew]

9mm brass generally last for many loadings and the more its loaded and the more the brass is worked the harder it becomes yet I've never had an issue with clean brass and carbide dies no matter how hard the brass.

Dirty dies from dirty tumble media with polish will jam a 9mm case easy. I went back to wet wash with ss pins and never looked back.

If you need to lube 9mm brass then i would change your die, cleaning technique, or both.

 

[mjsdwash]

someone probably said already, but 9mm is a tapered case, and reloading dies treat it as a straight wall, so an unusual amount of force is needed. I find it comprable to 44mag in force requirement. I lube a few cases, and as I go, when gets hard, put one through.

 

[9mmepiphany]

If you need to lube 9mm brass then i would change your die, cleaning technique, or both.

I don't "need" to lube it, but over a 1200 round batch of 9mm, it makes a noticeable difference in overall effort when you get pass the first 400

 

[FROGO207]

HA you should try sizing 30 Carbine or 500 S&W brass. Then you will not even notice anything wrong with 9MM. They are tapered as mentioned above so that seems to be the culprit I believe. The Idea of lightly lubing the brass with something like One Shot is a great help. You really only need to wipe the ones down that you lubed and inserted every so often if you pay attention and separate them when coming off the press, the others will not be that bad as to need cleaning IMHO. Or just tumble them all for a short time.

 

[Wreck-n-Crew]

I don't "need" to lube it, but over a 1200 round batch of 9mm, it makes a noticeable difference in overall effort when you get pass the first 400

Yes in that case it makes sense. Anyhow I was referring to the op and 9mm brass being harder to size than 308. There is evidently a bigger problem there and even though lube could be a treatment for the issue it doesn't cure the illness. Also it could make it worse if the die is gummed up.

Maybe some dirty brass mixed in with the clean? Maybe the brass isn't clean as it should be? If so the die could be gummed up. Something isn't right either way and I would start with the dies and clean them if need be.

OP what cleaning process? If your using tumble media it may be dirty and your die is likely gummed up. DO you use polish or media that came with polish in it?

Edit to add: do you clean before you deprime? Or do you deprime then clean? IF you deprime before cleaning then that can dirty up the die. Not to mention the dirt and sand if the brass hits the ground.

 

[Gadawg88]

If you use One Shot, you don't have to worry about cleaning it off afterwords. After it dries you can't really notice it imo. I only use it when loading pistol on a progressive. Give it a try. I think you will notice a difference in the overall smoothness of operation. Still, even with lube 9mm is noticeably tougher than say 45acp.

 

[Slamfire]

I got tired of powder being bumped out of the powder horn on my Dillion 550B, because 9mm cases were so hard to size. I finally tumbled 9mm cases with a flannel patch saturated in case lube. The difference in sizing difficult was amazing, the cases just glide in and out. I think the wax based one shot an even better idea because the lubricant dries hard. Incidentally, aluminum cases are covered in a wax coating to break the friction between the case and chamber. I fire the cases with the lube on as lubricated cases extract easier and the guns run smoother. I just have to remember not to drop the wet lubed cases in the dirt.

 

[dh1633pm]

The answer is simple, cause its so freaking small. Their is a world of difference in 9 MM brass, but for me, helping my dad load for his luger is that its small which in itself creates and issue.

 

[z7]

OP what cleaning process? If your using tumble media it may be dirty and your die is likely gummed up. DO you use polish or media that came with polish in it?

I clean with stainless pins/water and wash n wax. once dry i store them in a large tupperware container, not air tight. they are mostly shiny, but all clean. a little lube does help for sure though.

my other complaint, I have seen it discussed before, is my seating die sticks after applying a light taper crimp. I have to force the ram down and there is an audible pop as the loaded round breaks free of the seating die. It does not do this with no crimp, but I do not have a separate crimp die for 9mm so I must deal with the occasional round sticking in the seating die. add this to the sizing die not wanting to let go of cases and the loading operation that requires the most effort is 9mm. it seems dumb to me that I could load 223 or 308 win progressively with less effort then loading 9mm.

are there any 9mm sizing dies you all like? I do not anticipate buying any more hornady dies.

 

[mstreddy]

OP, I'm using the Hornady 9MM dies as well. I have to size the 9MM down as much as I can so they fit my very tight chamber on my Lone Wolf Glock 17 barrel. I started lubing them up with the One Shot spray. I stick a bunch in a gallon zip lock bag, spray, shake around, then let them dry. I found that this really helps me.
I've also separated my 9MM loading to two batches on the LNL AP. First batch size/decap, flare the mouth, and sometimes prime. Then after I've done a fair amount I switch dies and do the next process. Prime if I didn't earlier, Powder drop, bullet seat and light crimp in one step.

 

[Wreck-n-Crew]

I clean with stainless pins/water and wash n wax. once dry i store them in a large tupperware container, not air tight. they are mostly shiny, but all clean. a little lube does help for sure though.

my other complaint, I have seen it discussed before, is my seating die sticks after applying a light taper crimp. I have to force the ram down and there is an audible pop as the loaded round breaks free of the seating die. It does not do this with no crimp, but I do not have a separate crimp die for 9mm so I must deal with the occasional round sticking in the seating die. add this to the sizing die not wanting to let go of cases and the loading operation that requires the most effort is 9mm. it seems dumb to me that I could load 223 or 308 win progressively with less effort then loading 9mm.

are there any 9mm sizing dies you all like? I do not anticipate buying any more hornady dies.

Sounds like your cleaning the brass fine. Have you pulled them apart and inspected the dies? May be a tad of rust if they got moisture in there from somewhere. Some rumor to have that issue with Hornady dies but I have never used them so from a personal experience I couldn't say for sure. Just RCBS and Lee dies here.

But Carbide dies is what I suggest. Nothing wrong with Lee Dies for 9mm and their dies are fairly priced. I've ran tons of rounds through mine with no issues as far as the dies are concerned. The operator on the other hand might cause problems from time to time (me) . I run them on a progressive and once they are set your good. Like any die or press though you need to check before you start running again. Seems they have these little mischief elves that sometimes sneak in and change things you know!

 

[z7]

I have suspected dirty dies and have cleaned the die before, no rust/gunk it just requires more force then the rest of what i load

 

[9mmepiphany]

are there any 9mm sizing dies you all like?

I've upgraded to the Redding Competition Pro Series Carbide 3-die set and added a Lyman M-die Expander

 

[Walkalong]

I used to consider sing 1000 9MM cases good for my throwing shoulder, but don't play ball anymore and as I get older I find that if I finger lube about every 15th case it makes it super easy and no problem to do 1K.