What is causing this ridge on bullet seating?

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HighValleyRanch

New member
I'm not new to reloading. Have done tons of .45 acp, 9mm and .38 specials.

But this is my first go with .380 acp.
I am loading 90 grain LeHigh Extreme Defense, .355 9mm
Using the LeHigh loading data for .380.

I'm loading dummy rounds to get the dies set up correctly.
But no matter what I do, I keep getting this ridge line from the bottom of the bullet pressing into the case after sizing and flaring.
I tried adjusting the flaring wider, but it doesn't seem to help.
The stats on the LeHigh states that the bullet is .504" long, but my mike says that the bullets are .540" long?
If I back out the seating depth a little, there is less of a ridge.

Any advice on how to prevent this ridge would be appreciated.
Does the ridge even matter? I loaded the dummies into my Sig P230 and they chamber fine and hand cycle fine.
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ligonierbill

New member
That's a pretty long bullet. Presuming that your ridge is symmetrical (bullet is perfectly vertical), I wouldn't worry about it. Since longer COL minimizes it, I would load to specified max length so long as it fits the mag and cycles. I have seen a ridge like that before, but I can't remember what round. Also, check the bullet diameter to confirm 0.355 and weigh a few to be sure they didn't send you the wrong bullet!
 
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HighValleyRanch

New member
Yes, bullets measure .355
The load data is for the extreme penetrator, not the extreme defender, but the bullets are the same, weight, length.
LeHigh only provides data for the 90 grain extreme penetrator, so I am using the same data for the extreme defense.
recommended COL is .95 and this one is .96
 
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reddog81

New member
I'd do some measurements to try and find out what the problem is. What is the diameter near the mouth, at the bulge, under the bulge. Also what is diameter of fired brass you are using and a piece that has been sized in your sizing die.

Cases generally get thicker towards the bottom. The bullet is seating too deep into the case. Could be the case is bulging because it was not designed to have a bullet seated that deep. Use brass that's not as thick. Maybe call bullet manufacturer and see if they can recommend specific brass for these longer than normal bullets. Or it could just be that your sizing die is sizing the case too much and the bullet is just pushing the brass back into spec and not really an issue at all.
 
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Metal god

New member
Are you using mixed head stamps ? How many dummy rounds have you made ? Do they all do the same thing ?

There are some cases that have a step inside the case around that area . If your bullets are long you might be seating past that step which would cause a bulge . I'll add that bulge looks very pronounced in the pick but when you look at the side of the case it doesn't look real bad . Is the bulge not as bad as it looks in the photo ?
 
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lugerstew

New member
Not sure what the problem is, but I do not like loading 380 rounds.
I see this so often that I am starting to ignore it, I think that brass for 380 is very thin and often shows the fit of the bullet. I load a bunch, and all the ones that look like that or fail the cartridge gauge, I get my guns barrel and do a plunk test, they almost always pass.
380 is not my favorite round to load!!!
 
4

44 AMP

Staff
Like a number of other rounds the case is thin at the mouth and gets thicker, quicker.

One possible explanation is your sizing die. Its entirely possible that your sizing die is sizing to below min spec size. This is not a totally uncommon thing, sizing dies are sometimes made "extra tight" so they will adequately resize min spec cases.

If the round feeds and chambers properly in your gun, then its basically a cosmetic issue. If it interferes with function then you need to do something about it, if not, I wouldn't worry about it, unless the looks are more important to you than the function.

Does this ever happen with any other bullet? or a different sizer die? (if you have them to test with)
If the ring is all the way around then its the case size/bullet size fit. If its only partial (on one side not the other) that's an indication of the bullet not being straight when seating.
 
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higgite

New member
HighValleyRanch said:
Yes, bullets measure .355
The load data is for the extreme penetrator, not the extreme defender, but the bullets are the same, weight, length.
Click to expand...
The Lehigh website that I visited disagrees with you. Unless I'm reading it wrong, it gives a length of .58” for the 90gr Defender vs .51” for the 90gr Penetrator. That’s a pretty big difference to be considered equivalent.
It also doesn't list the 90gr Defender under .380 Auto, although it does list the 90gr Penetrator.
https://www.lehighdefense.com/355-c...efense-handgun-bullets-09355090spfc-1000.html
https://www.lehighdefense.com/355-c...free-hunting-and-defense-handgun-bullets.html
https://www.lehighdefense.com/bullets/380_auto.html
 
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HighValleyRanch

New member
Yes, its probaly that the bullet is being deeper and hitting the thicker part causing the buldge. Even though both the Extreme penetrator and the Extreme defender are the same weight, they must be different lengths.

I know that if I don't seat these bullets deep then there is no budge, but then the COL is too long. These are marked 9mm.

So I will order some 65 grain Extreme defenders made for .380 and see how they go.
Can't find the 90 grain extreme penetrators anywhere.
 
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Shadow9mm

New member
So you are using a bullet intended for 9mm in 380. Nothing necessarily wrong with that, but you should to check lengths, especially when dealing with small cases and copper bullets.

Lehigh lists 3 bullets for 380
68g extreme defenders with a length of .509
90g extreme penetrators with length of .51
75g controlled fracturing at .51

The 90g extreme defender is listed in the 9mm section and is .58 long giving it 0.07 more over all length.

I suspect there is reason ALL of the 380 bullets are no longer than 0.510.

Can you measure the spot with your calipers? how wide is the ring?

I would get in touch with Lehigh. I had to a while back about some 9mm bullet I ordered, they were very helpful.
 
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stagpanther

New member
Belling the mouth can help the start, but then you might need to taper crimp it down, but not too far. In general a solid bullet has more friction seating than a jacketed in my experience since it's more resistant to compression. I've never found a slight bulging in the case to be an issue in my handguns. My simple test is to pull the barrel and drop-test the cartridge--if it freely kerplunks into the chamber and has the necessary head support--I'm good to go iMO. Commonly, some chambers are tighter than others.
 
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jetinteriorguy

New member
If it plunks in your barrel, and feeds through your action, don’t sweat it. Pretty much all my 9mm ammo is like this and I’ve never had an issue after many thousands of rounds in several different guns. I know a lot of people have no love for the Lee factory crimp die, but I use mine all the time and it is fine. But then I shoot pretty much either copper or Hitec coated bullets.
 
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Unclenick

Staff
I think Higgite's research has nailed it. The bullet is too long for 380 Auto. The same will happen to 45 Auto if you try to seat a bullet much more than 0.35" into the case. I measured a number of cases with a pin gauge that barely slid in, and that's where it stopped, .350 - .360". The illustration below shows how the taper begins, in principle.

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For this discussion, I took a 380 case and did the same thing and got 0.25" from the mouth to the start of the taper. But that case is 0.670" long, the SAAMI minimum, so it would be 0.26" in a maximum 0.680" long case. So we now have a maximum seating depth established. Using bullet length, we can now determine the minimum COL, below which you will bulge the case.

COL = case length + bullet length - seating depth

So, for bullet's with length of 0.51", 0.54", and. 0.580"

0.680" + 0.510" - 0.26" = 0.930" min COL

0.680" + 0.540" - 0.260" = 0.960" min COL

0.680" + 0.580" - 0.260" = 1.000" min COL

The bullet's heel will have a slight radius that will let you seat that much deeper, but those are the limits without allowing for that.

Since your current bulged cases fit your chamber, they can be fired. Feed may be less reliable, and the scuff on the case indicates some added wear is going to occur. But that's up to you to decide to accept or not.
 

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Shadow9mm

New member
9MMand223only said:
This is not a problem, shoot all day
Click to expand...
I sure would not shoot them. The material has to go somewhere. You are either sizing the bullet or thinning the brass, based on the looks, thinning the brass. Neither are good or acceptable options IMHO.
 
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