XD Talk

nicholaschase29 · 04-19-2012, 10:24 AM

Hey everyone,

I just purchased a XD SC 9mm. I went out to the farm and shot the first 40 rounds using 115g remmington. It fired everyone and cycled everything fine. I've been dabbling with reloads and have made up some Berry's 115 grain with re-used cases, CCI primers, OAL of 1.125" using Bullseye powder.

I made three batches of bullets using 4.0 grains, 4.3 grains, and ~4.6-4.7 grains (getting both readings on the scale). I put the lowest rounds in a mag and loaded up the gun. using the 13 rd mag all but 5 seemed to fire in the weapon. The others did not fire so i manually cycled them out. I put in the 4.3 grain rounds i made up and began to fire again. I had the same issue on say 3 of the 13 bullets this time as well as a failure to eject (case got caught in slide as it came forward). So i put in the 4.6/7 rounds and shot those. I don't recall having any (might have had one) not fire, and i had one failure to feed again.

It cycled the factory ammo great. so i'm assuming the issue is linked to my reloads. I did boil the dirty cases in soapy water and then clean them in a towel and let them dry. i don't know if this would cause any problems? I reloaded the following day after this so i would assume they were completely dry.

It looked like, on the rounds that did not fire, that the primers were not hit as hard as they normally are on other spent cases. I never did put a failed round in again and try to shoot it again. i'm not sure if this was an issue or not.

If anyone has any ideas or things for me to check let me know!

Thanks!
Nick

cranbiz · 04-19-2012, 01:12 PM

How were the primers seated in the brass? A deeper primer setting may be your cause.

The primers should be seated flush with the base of the cartridge.

LagerHead · 04-19-2012, 02:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cranbiz

How were the primers seated in the brass? A deeper primer setting may be your cause.

The primers should be seated flush with the base of the cartridge.

That was the first thing I thought as well. It's a good and easy place to start looking for the culprit.

GT Jon · 04-19-2012, 02:24 PM

Primers should be seated approximately .003-.004" below flush with the base. If it isn't the firing pin/striker will expend most of its energy finishing the job of seating the primer. Also, most primers aren't sensitized until they're properly seated, so they won't ignite until seated properly and then struck properly by the FP or striker.

The crimp may have been incorrectly set which can screw up the round's ability to headspace on the mouth of the brass, and the round may slip too far forward jamming itself into the lands of the barrel. Nothing good can come of this situation.

My money's on the crimp being incorrectly applied. 9mm needs a taper crimp, not a roll crimp. Go back and research your loads, and check the setup of your dies. Also, this thread would be better served in the Ammo Can section, where all of the accomplished reloaders tend to congregate.

nicholaschase29 · 04-19-2012, 04:53 PM

moved thread there.

**agalindo** · 04-19-2012, 05:43 PM

First off you need to get a couple of reloading manuals and read them. Second a bit more detail would help.
Are the rounds chambering OK? Is the slide closed all the way? Do the primers have marks on them after not firing?

nicholaschase29 · 04-25-2012, 08:24 PM

The rounds chambered okay. i think a few times the slide didn't go 100% into battery. just a 1/4 inch or so from going all the way forward. Additionally the primers did have strike marks but they were weren't as deeply dimpled as spent brass. It's not like they were barely hit they just didn't seem to be quite as deep. I'm not sure if this is the root of the problem.

Again the factory rounds fired and cycled fine it was just my reloads. I didn't tumble the brass i just boiled it in soapy water and rinsed the brass. The next day i loaded the brass with CCI primers in my lee pro 1000 press. I firmly pushed the handle all the way up until it bottomed (seating the primer). i filled the brass with the amount of powder (verified with a scale). Also i seated the berry's 115 grain RN bullet to 1.125 OAL. The rounds i made up seem to slightly bulge where the bullet is inserted into them but it's very slight but more so than what i notice on factory remmington 115 grain. The primers seem to be seated nicely on other rounds from the same batch. I'll post some pictures of my rounds later tonight.

Thanks for the help!

nicholaschase29 · 04-25-2012, 10:21 PM

**agalindo** · 04-25-2012, 10:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by nicholaschase29

The rounds chambered okay. i think a few times the slide didn't go 100% into battery. just a 1/4 inch or so from going all the way forward. Additionally the primers did have strike marks but they were weren't as deeply dimpled as spent brass. It's not like they were barely hit they just didn't seem to be quite as deep. I'm not sure if this is the root of the problem.

Again the factory rounds fired and cycled fine it was just my reloads. I didn't tumble the brass i just boiled it in soapy water and rinsed the brass. The next day i loaded the brass with CCI primers in my lee pro 1000 press. I firmly pushed the handle all the way up until it bottomed (seating the primer). i filled the brass with the amount of powder (verified with a scale). Also i seated the berry's 115 grain RN bullet to 1.125 OAL. The rounds i made up seem to slightly bulge where the bullet is inserted into them but it's very slight but more so than what i notice on factory remmington 115 grain. The primers seem to be seated nicely on other rounds from the same batch. I'll post some pictures of my rounds later tonight.

Thanks for the help!

1. The case could have still contained moister which would have rendered the primers inert.
2. is the gun stock, no springs, trigger job, etc...?
3. Take the barrel out of the gun and drop a few rounds into the chamber. Do they chamber OK. All the way down into the chamber?

nicholaschase29 · 04-25-2012, 10:49 PM

Gun is stock. Brand new. I just put maybe 30 rounds of factory ammo through it (worked flawlessly) and then put my reloads in. So the gun isn't broken in yet. I put about 10 of my reloads in the chamber and they all seated well and had a little bit of wiggle room (10-15 thousandths maybe???)

Perhaps some water/moisture did foul the powder/primers.