Reloading for Glock .40S&W

[EvilKidsMeal]

Okay, I searched here and didn't come up with anything, and there is a ton of back and forth info on the web, mostly from pretty old threads on other forums.

So I am set up for reloading and just thinking about the calibers I have guns in. I have a Gen 3 Glock 23, and may want to load for it in the future.

I understand that Glocks buldge the case, but I don't have any of my own fired brass to inspect how much mine does.

Who here reloads for a Glock in .40S&W? Is it worth reloading .40 from Glock brass? How many loads can you get out of the brass?

Also more specifically if Glock .40 brass is g2g, does anyone know if Hornady dies will get rid of the buldge? What dies will?



And yea, yea Glocks go kaboom....

 

[17 squirrel]

Sure its worth it, just start with running your brass through a bulge buster die.

 

[Six Shooter Steve]

If your running Hornady dies I would suggest a bulge buster as well. Unless there is anyone near you that offers a case master service then that would be your best bet. Most of the once fired 40 brass you will encounter will be Glock brass.

 

[bocefus78]

I load for a g23 Gen 3. The newer glocks, as in 20 years old or newer (estimate) don't bulge brass near as bad as the Gen 1s.

I started off running all my brass thru a bulge buster on my lct. In an effort to speed up the whole loading time from start to finish, I tried loading them with just a normal FL lee sizing die. Thousands and thousands of rounds later without a case failure, my bulge buster collects rust and dust.

The bulge buster dies are cheap insurance, but it adds unnecessary time to the process from my experience.


As to Hornaday dies, I can't help...I run lee.

Loads per case? Lots! I dont count, sort, trim etc. I load mid level velocity, and have split exactly 2 case necks on brass with an unknown history. Don't sweat loads per case....unless you try to get 10mm velocities, which in that case....buy a 10mm.

 

[trophyhunter]

The Gen 1 & 2's were the hand grenade models, huge difference in chamber support when they released the 3rd generation. I'm converting a 2nd gen to 9mm right now for that very reason as it's been a paperweight for about a decade now.

You shouldn't be seeing many .40 case bulges these days if fired from newer weapons, FWIW I'd toss any bulged 40 cases if you've ever looked at cross section cutouts of the case you're flirting with trouble using them again.

There will be plenty of guys saying they do it all the time without issue, I say what's your eyesight and all ten fingers worth to you?

 

[ckcollins2003]

You're reloading for a Glock and worried about "Glock bulge"... no offense, but that makes no sense.

From what I understand it is the early generation Glocks that caused the bulges in the first place. I have reloaded .40 for my Glock 22 for 5-6 years and have not experienced any problems, which is well over 3,000 cases.

Now, if you were reloading for a pistol with a tight chamber and using brass fired from your Glock, I could understand the concern and want to buy a bulge buster, but since you're reloading for a Glock you shouldn't have any problems.

 

[edwea]

I also load for a gen3 23. I have noticed a very slight bulge in my cases but the fl resizing die i use (lee) seems to bring the cases back into shape just fine. I wasn't sure at first, so i took the barrel out of my gun and dropped some of my first reloads into the chamber just to see how they compared to factory new ammo and couldn't see or feel any difference. And it is worth it to reload if you can get decent deals on components, which isn't too hard to do.

 

[EvilKidsMeal]

You're reloading for a Glock and worried about "Glock bulge"... no offense, but that makes no sense.

From what I understand it is the early generation Glocks that caused the bulges in the first place. I have reloaded .40 for my Glock 22 for 5-6 years and have not experienced any problems, which is well over 3,000 cases.

Now, if you were reloading for a pistol with a tight chamber and using brass fired from your Glock, I could understand the concern and want to buy a bulge buster, but since you're reloading for a Glock you shouldn't have any problems.

I was just looking for better firsthand experience from people who reload .40 in Glocks, rather than a lot of back and forth from other internet threads that are 5 years old.

The concern with the bulge is that it may weaken the case after proper resizing, and being placed back in the same chamber may cause problems quicker.

I just wasn't getting very clear info from others who reload.

 

[King31]

I was hesitant about reloading for my 23 when I first started, but so far I have not had any issues what so ever. Granted it is a round count under 1k, but I have never seen signs of case rupture. I suggest buying the cheapest Lee single stage and a Redding G-Rx push thru die. This step alone made me quickly realize that buying a progressive was a great idea! The two together were less than $100 if I remember correctly which is a lot less than buying new brass. There is a good chance that this step would not be needed, but it is a sense of safety and in the end reloading is all about the actions you can take to make a safe round.

 

[17 squirrel]

I own a few Glocks that my son shoots 5 times more than I do, the ones he shoots are a 19c and a 23c. Both have many thousands of reloaded rounds through them. Probably 2/3 rd's of the reloads in 9mm had cast lead bullets and the rest were pulled GI fmj's.
The 40's were also cast lead or jacketed Star 160 grainers.
I've never had a case fail ( new or my reloads ) in one of my unsupported Glocks.

 

[Leo]

Gen 1 case bulge;

 

[Leo]

Gen 1 case failure;






A Police officer friend was shooting games with a Gen 1 duty weapon and had a reload fail like that. It spit the magazine out, cracked the frame and broke off the slide release. He had some little cuts on his hand and reported feeling crap hit him in the face.

I am not privy to any lab data, but it is guessed that the brass was bulged and ironed back too many times.

 

[EvilKidsMeal]

Got any pictures of a piece from a gen 3?

Wow actually I've definitely never seen that before. Can't say I've inspected my brass, but that's pretty noticeable.

 

[Leo]

Got any pictures of a piece from a gen 3?

Wow actually I've definitely never seen that before. Can't say I've inspected my brass, but that's pretty noticeable.

The later glocks do not seem to have the problem. I have used a good amount of late model glock brass, verified by the distinctive firing pin mark. I do not own any glocks, but the properly sized used glock brass fits and functions over and over in my Para, Springfield and Beretta Handguns with no premature failures.

 

[vvet762]

I had the same worries about unsupported cases in my Glock 23 Gen 3. I bought a $99.00 Lone Wolf barrel and now shoot without worry.

 

[edwea]

Gen 1 case failure;




Can't help but notice these are 45 acp. I've never heard this concern with anything other than 40. What gives?

A Police officer friend was shooting games with a Gen 1 duty weapon and had a reload fail like that. It spit the magazine out, cracked the frame and broke off the slide release. He had some little cuts on his hand and reported feeling crap hit him in the face.

I am not privy to any lab data, but it is guessed that the brass was bulged and ironed back too many times.

I can't help but notice these are 45's. I've never heard this concern over anything other than 40. What gives?

 

[EvilKidsMeal]

I am not privy to any lab data, but it is guessed that the brass was bulged and ironed back too many times.

Are there any signs before a failure, since the bulge is not from over pressure?

 

[JStang314]

I reload for a gen 3 g23. Rcbs full length dies. No issues. I run a mid range load and Berrys or xtreme plated bullets. i have recently switched to a kkm drop in barrel for range time. Mainly just to keep the round count down on the stock barrel which I use for edc. Probably no reason to but it made sense to me. It gave me an excuse to buy gun parts.

 

[88E30M50]

I reload for my G23 and G27 and only recently added a CZ 40P to my .40 cal collection. I reload on a Dillon 550 with Lee full length sizing dies and have never had a case failure. Over the years, I've reloaded thousands of .40 rounds and it's one of my favorite rounds to reload for. There is no SPP/LPP to run into like you have with .45 now days and the straight walled cases take less effort to reload than it does with 9mm. One thing to add to the toolbox for reloading .40 (or any other caliber) is a case gauge. That will let you know pretty quickly if you are not getting the entire bulge out of the brass.

 

[EvilKidsMeal]

I reload for my G23 and G27 and only recently added a CZ 40P to my .40 cal collection. I reload on a Dillon 550 with Lee full length sizing dies and have never had a case failure. Over the years, I've reloaded thousands of .40 rounds and it's one of my favorite rounds to reload for. There is no SPP/LPP to run into like you have with .45 now days and the straight walled cases take less effort to reload than it does with 9mm. One thing to add to the toolbox for reloading .40 (or any other caliber) is a case gauge. That will let you know pretty quickly if you are not getting the entire bulge out of the brass.

Ahh good idea on the case gauge. Simple insurance. Thanks for the info so far. Better to hear numerous people say they load it rather than one person say it and the next saying don't.