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40 S&W reloading question.
sandwarrior
Member Posts: 5,453 ✭✭✭
This past week on my days off I reloaded 50 40 S&W cases. The intermittant problem I had was that some of the rounds didn't feed all the way in. They would stop about 1/8" out. A push with my thumb to seat the slide all the way in was all it took to put the round in where it fired and ejected normally.
I also had Remington UMC rounds fail to feed but those were right at the bottom of the feed ramp. A forward flip of the pistol and the rounds seated without a problem.
My question is what are your thoughts of where I should troubleshoot this. I noted the sizer came down to about the distance the slide was stuck back. but I can find no real 'lip' that would catch. Also, the crimp was set back to even with the case. I thought the flare was a bit big for this so I backed it off a little. Any thoughts would be appreciated.
I also had Remington UMC rounds fail to feed but those were right at the bottom of the feed ramp. A forward flip of the pistol and the rounds seated without a problem.
My question is what are your thoughts of where I should troubleshoot this. I noted the sizer came down to about the distance the slide was stuck back. but I can find no real 'lip' that would catch. Also, the crimp was set back to even with the case. I thought the flare was a bit big for this so I backed it off a little. Any thoughts would be appreciated.
Comments
Thanks for the reply's. I did wonder about the recoil spring not being actuated all the way because I definately don't feel the slide hitting the backstop. I suspect it was light loads even though I am using 180's right now. When the same round that holds up 1/8" out is put back into the magazine and I manually pull the slide back all the way they fed perfectly every time.
richbug,
I checked the c.o.a.l. right from the start and made sure I wasn't going into the rifling.
temblor,
Good point about the case support at the head too. My pistol is a CZ-40P. Kind of a predecessor to the P01. It has a compact CZ handle angle and grip shape unlike their other CZ-40's which look like compact 45's. I don't know how well the case head is support during the firing sequence.
dcso3009, bhavin
The dies I use for this pistol are Lee carbide dies. I'll check again next time I size them that it is all the way down. What kind of bulge do you normally encounter when you get them? say like sticking out 1/64th" or so and from top to bottom how big? If it's not just too light loads I think this is where I'll look next.
thanks again all.
PS. I too use Lee carbide dies, They are great.
That's a good idea...I'll try that.
Hope this helps
I highly recommend you use the Lee Carbide Factory Crimp Die. They add one step to the loading process, but it is worth it. If you have bullets which are slightly oversize (don't laugh...I once got some Sierras that were .403" diameter) or are loading a long bullet which goes far enough into the case to cause a bulge where the case walls get thicker, the Lee CFCD will actually resize the seated bullet to ensure the finished cartridge is within tolerances. It will also help if a bullet is seated a little off from straight. When using one, you simple use your seating die to seat the bullet to the proper depth and eliminate most of the flare from the case mouth. Then you use the CFCD to crimp the cartridge and ensure the final dimensions are good.
Hope this helps add to the previous posts.
[:D]
What charge were you using, Sandwarrior?
1. Ordering an undersize Lee resizing die from EGW (www.egw-*)
2. Using a Lee Factory Crimp die.
These two things will greatly reduce the problem. In addition, because the case usually ends up in a slight coke bottle shape, fewer problems with bullet setback are experienced.