failure ro feed/eject

[TxPatriot]

I just got a Hornady L n L AP press and I am loading 9mm using lee dies. I am getting feed/eject problems and an occasional squib. Very frustrating. Some shoot fine, some fail to feed properly, some fail to eject properly.
I readjusted the seat/crimp die and measured the COL and still had issues.
Could the load be too light to reliably cycle my 9mm XDm? I am using 5.2 gr. of blue dot as recommended for 900fps in the Hornady book. Any thoughts?

[woolleyworm]

What bullet wt and type? What is your OAL? Can you chamber all of your ammo by hand ( try about 15-20 in the chamber by hand (not fed from the magazine) to make sure if you don't have a case guage ) I think you are experiencing loads that are a little too light to cycle the action properly, a few other things to check. I don't have my manuals in front of me for the data; so I'll have to check them in a couple of hours when I can. Will post back then.

BTW - Welcome to TFF and where in TX ? We're having a shoot this weekend; we'll be camping in West and shooting out twoards China Spring.

[LDBennett]

TxPatriot:

Here's some paths that you need to check out:

Are your primers seated below flush by a couple of thousandths? If not adjust the press to get to that end. Failures to Fire and squib loads are often from primers not being fully seated.

Have you measured ALL dimension on the finished cartridges called out in your reloading manual for this cartridge? That means the case diameter just above the rim, the case diameter at the crimp. The length of the case after sizing, the cartridge over all length. Dillon and others sell a case gage that you pass reloaded ammo through. If it fits the case gage the ammo should load correctly in any 9 mm gun. OR... you can disassemble the gun and use the chamber of the loose barrel as a case gage. But of course that means the ammo may only fit your gun and not others. The real case gage is a better deal. If any of these dimensions are wrong the ammo many not be fully seating in the chamber. Be careful to not over taper crimp the case and bullet as that may allow the case to seat too deeply into the guns chamber.

The biggest failure of most new press owners is failure to read and fully understand the directions that come with the press and the die set. It is quite easy to adjust them wrong, especially a progressive press. Review your manual for the press and verify EVERYTHING is setup correctly as well as the die instructions.

There is also an issue (as posted here by others and I can not verify it but it is worth mentioning) with the use of dies in the Hornady L n L AP press other than Hornady dies. It seems the threads on the die's body is not long enough on any dies but the Hornady's for use in this Hornady L n L AP press. In addition LEE dies are not nearly as well made as anyone else's. Hornady makes good dies... use them instead of the lesser and shorter threaded LEE die set.

Hope this helps.

LDBennett

[Waldog]

LD, my old sparing partner, is right on. Lee dies are a little short in the thread area. Hornady, RCBS, Redding, Bonanza, Dillon and Lyman dies should work fine.

However, SOME Lee dies can be used if the locking ring is put on the bottom of the die. Some, not all though.

[American Leader]

As a side note, for new reloaders who purchase LEE equipment, you can go to the LEE Precision website (www.leeprecision.com) and use their "Help Videos" to learn the setup and usage of the equipment along with some helpful hints.

[smlranger]

I'm also new at reloading and far from an expert but looking at the Alliant loading data for Blue Dot for 9mm:

for a 115 gr (they list only GDHP), they suggest a charge of 8.5gr

for a 124 gr bullet, they suggest a charge of 7.9 gr

They don't show a min/max charge on the web site so this must be considered an 'average' charge.

Is 5.2 gr too low to get the pistol to cycle properly? I do know that in some of my first 9mm loads, the minimum charge for the powder/bullet combo I was using (AA#2 with a 120 gr Rainier plated bullet) did not reliably cycle my Ruger SR9c. I had to use at least mid range charges to get consistent function of the pistol.

FYI, based on Wollyworm's comment, I just ordered some case gauges from Dillon. I'm all for good QC.

[woolleyworm]

Originally Posted by smlranger

I'm also new at reloading and far from an expert but looking at the Alliant loading data for Blue Dot for 9mm:

for a 115 gr (they list only GDHP), they suggest a charge of 8.5gr

for a 124 gr bullet, they suggest a charge of 7.9 gr

They don't show a min/max charge on the web site so this must be considered an 'average' charge.

Is 5.2 gr too low to get the pistol to cycle properly? I do know that in some of my first 9mm loads, the minimum charge for the powder/bullet combo I was using (AA#2 with a 120 gr Rainier plated bullet) did not reliably cycle my Ruger SR9c. I had to use at least mid range charges to get consistent function of the pistol.

FYI, based on Wollyworm's comment, I just ordered some case gauges from Dillon. I'm all for good QC.

The load data listed is "the load"; this is a do not exceed; for load work-up, drop 10% and work up from there. From the Alliant website:

"USE THIS DATA WITH ALLIANT BRAND POWDERS ONLY.

REDUCE RIFLE AND HANDGUN CHARGE WEIGHTS BY 10% TO ESTABLISH A STARTING LOAD.
The exceptions to this are the loads listed as "target" in the 38 Special and 45 ACP data tables.

DO NOT EXCEED THE LOADS DISPLAYED ON THE SITE OR ALLIANT'S RELOADERS GUIDE."

[todd51]

smlranger,
I have shot many 124gr. fmj rounds backed by 6grs. of Blue Dot as a range plinking round. They functioned just fine in a Ruger SR9 and a S&W 669.