First Reload Results and Couple Questions

[holmes168]

I got the brand new Dillon 650 this week and set it up. I loaded 100 9mm bullets with HS-6, Win primers, and Berry 115gr RN bullets and off to the range this morning.
I set up the Dillon on my own, loaded the rounds on my own, and basically did a trial and error process until I got my bullet length correct and used 5.9 grains of powder- the Hornady manual has 5.7, 5.9, 6.2 and 6.4 grains listed for their testing on the 115 FMJ RN.

Ok- honesty up front- my NUMBER 1 objective was keeping all my fingers which I met!

I shot 50 rounds each from my Glock 19 and Glock 26 both of which are Gen4. I did shoot pretty accurately which was a good point.

I did experience multiple failures to eject, load, and 5 failures to fire. Again- honesty up front- I am not terribly disappointed with my first time reloading.

Is this typical of a first time reloader and my current thought is that I may have loaded the rounds too light.

Any advice would be appreciated!

Also- I absolutely love the entire process around reloading and am so thankful that I went with the Dillon 650. The 650 purchase was a direct result of member feedback here.

[Luke]

You need to chrono your rounds. What type of stoppages are you getting? 5 failure to fires, do you know why?

[JCS]

I'm pretty new to reloading so take this for what it's worth. But if you're having failure to ejects it's quite possible your rounds are under powered.

How did you establish your oal and what is the oal used? When I develop a load I will start at the minimum and make 5 rounds in .1 increments to find the minimum load that functions in my gun then I will go from there and make larger batches. I don't have a chrono.

That seems like a lot of malfunctions in 100 rounds.

My experience has been that reloading takes patience. Then again I'm paranoid about having a double charge or squib. Load development takes patience.

[Jim Watson]

You are not even up to the Hodgdon starting load. Put in enough powder for full function.

I am more concerned over 5% misfires. Seat primers FIRMLY.

[Mitch]

You are not even up to the Hodgdon starting load. Put in enough powder for full function.

I am more concerned over 5% misfires. Seat primers FIRMLY.

Also note, being under starting loads can be quite dangerous. How many reloading manuals do you have?


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[holmes168]

Also note, being under starting loads can be quite dangerous. How many reloading manuals do you have?


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I have the Hornady and Lyman- both have 5.7 at the bottom of the chart.

[Hambo]

-Easiest first: 5 failures to fire sounds like you aren't seating primers deeply enough.
-What was the OAL?
-Are you using a taper crimp die?
-Did you pull any cases out of the machine during loading and weigh the charge?
-Is your brass new, once fired, who knows?

When you say fail to eject, what exactly happened? Slide didn't move much out of battery or did the cases stove pipe?
When you say failed to load what exactly happened? Did the slide not go fully to the rear and strip a round or did you have a malfunction on the feed ramp?

[holmes168]

-Easiest first: 5 failures to fire sounds like you aren't seating primers deeply enough.
-What was the OAL?
-Are you using a taper crimp die?
-Did you pull any cases out of the machine during loading and weigh the charge?
-Is your brass new, once fired, who knows?

When you say fail to eject, what exactly happened? Slide didn't move much out of battery or did the cases stove pipe?
When you say failed to load what exactly happened? Did the slide not go fully to the rear and strip a round or did you have a malfunction on the feed ramp?

The typical OAL was around 1.16- I tested each of them in a case gauge to make sure they were not too long.
I pulled out the cases multiple times to check how much powder was going in and I checked after completion to judge the weight.
Most of the brass had been fired once and I picked it up on the range. However- some could have been fired more than once.

The rounds stovepiped when they did not eject- this caused the failure to load (kind of a silly comment on the failure to load- if there is an empty case of course it won't load).

Thank you.

[JohnO]

As stated previously your FTF problem is very likely primers that are not fully seated. When the firing pin strikes the partially seated primer the primer moves and the inertia needed to detonate the primer is lost. Be more aggressive seating.

Berry's are typically copper coated/plated and behave more like a lead bullet than a FMJ. Typical powder charges for a lead bullet are slightly higher than FMJ. I would try making smaller runs with varying powder charges until you find the perfect recipe.

[jeep45238]

You need more oomph to get the slide going the full length of travel and to have enough slide velocity to get the casing out completely. Bump the powder up a bit. Keep in mind if the powder charge is low, it may still be in the manual for safe, but your recoil spring may be too strong for the charge to overcome. This sounds like most of your problem - so add powder, or reduce your recoil spring poundage.

The failures to fire are likely primers not being seated properly. Make sure you get the handle all the way forward, which also is a requirement for consistent powder dropping on the 650. The ones that give me the most issues on this is NATO casings and other ones with crimped primers. If you get the primer to knock out, getting a new one in will cause some resistance. Don't bother trying to force primers in - just throw that case out and move on with life. No need to set one off because you crushed it going into the primer pocket, and possibly get a chain reaction and set off every other primer in your press. No bueno.

As long as the round isn't getting hung up on the feed ramp, is within length requirements for the particular bullet weight/profile, and it's passing the case gauge you're good on the oal.

For the belling (powder dump, has the funnel inside it), you want it open just enough to easily get the bullets placed without shaving lead off of them (you'll see little crescent moon shaped things randomly appearing if this is happening). More belling isn't better - it usually just makes the press harder to run, and reduces the friction forces that keep the bullet in place.

For the crimp, use just enough to remove the belling from the case. I usually hand adjust the die until the inside wall of the brass is uniformly touching the bullet side without a gap, then turn the die 1/4-1/2 turn after that. Your crimp can play factors for reliable feeding, but your feed problems don't sound related to crimp at all.

To find your correct powder charge, make 10-20 rounds that cover the full range of powder requirements in the manuals from min to max in increments of 0.2 grains. Shoot each load at a new target, and mark each target for which load and firearm - you can measure groups later. Take a notebook with you and jot down anything you noticed while shooting; harsh recoil, failures to feed or extract, etc., by the load.

Anything in your notebook that you didn't like - such as failures of anything, don't use that load. Then go for your most accurate group - usually you'll find 2 powder charges that produce similar accuracy ratings in your test groups, one for a higher charge and one lower.

If you want to go even lower on your recoil/powder, make sure it's within the minimum powder charges the books call for and adjust your recoil spring for proper functioning around the load. If you're going to shoot full power defensive stuff too, swap back to stock when you load up with business ammo. Also note that plated bullets share lead bullet charges, as the jacket isn't very strong at all and just serves to reduce leading potential. IF there's no lead data, dropping the charge weights by 10% should get you to the ball park (both min and max). The reason for this is softer bullets (lead/plated) expand more when fired, and are oversized more than jacketed bullets, which creates a better seal and needs less powder.




Address one problem at a time, that's the key. It's longer to figure out, but means you won't be chasing too many things at once and don't go crazy. Safety, reliability, then accuracy - that's how I do my loads.