Won't head space

[joeyj]

I reload 9mm & one in a 100 won't head space. It will stick out about a 1/16 out of my Wilson spacer. Any ideas, I have a bunch of them & am afraid to use them. Any ideas.

[ianb1116]

Try the plunk test. i.e. see if they chamber

[West Chester]

can you post a picture of your reloaded rounds ?

[JenniferG]

Did you trim your cases to length and measure them before you loaded them? Cases do stretch, even straight wall cases stretch.

[PA-Joe]

Have you measured the ones that don't pass? Are they too wide or too long?

[frankski]

I reload 9mm & one in a 100 won't head space. It will stick out about a 1/16 out of my Wilson spacer. Any ideas, I have a bunch of them & am afraid to use them. Any ideas.

I assume you're talking about Cartridge Overall Length (with bullet), not cartridge length (without bullet).

If so, I see three possibilities: bullet contours are not uniform so that the seating die is seating bullets to different depths. This often causes a few thousandths variation but is unlikely to account for 1/16".

Another possibility is neck tension is loose, and the bullets are slipping out after seating.

Are you resizing all brass before loading? Are the bullets tight after seating?

The above is based on understanding that the bullet nose was protruding from the end of the case gauge. on the other hand, if the finished cartridge will not drop all the way into the case gauge, and the base is sticking out, you may be bulging the case when seating. Also, if you are using cast lead bullets, sometimes excess lube on the bullet keeps it from dropping freely into the gauge.

[stainless]

If you are referring to finished ammo BE SURE you are not getting a double powder dump.

[cephas]

All good suggestions. Since we're all kinda shooting in the dark here I'll add something. Is the brass all the same make? If not are the problem ones the same make? As Pa-Joe asked measurements would probably tell the tale. This is where a micrometer and caliper is essential eventually for reloaders. Stainless brings up a great point, pull them and check.

[awfroadan]

How or do you crimp your loads? If you don't use one already I'd suggest a Lee Factory crimp die.

[762xIan]

If you are using mixed brass it may be the cause. Some brass is thicker than others and my have a slightly different OAL.

When I am setting up my dies I am usually using a case gauge myself and checking the finished product.

I have had this issue myself and it was usually related to using the seating die to crimp and finding the happy medium on proper seating depth and crimp.