Beretta Barrels Unsupported ala Glock?

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wolf 1415

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While searching this topic I came across an article that states that Beretta 92/96 barrels suffer the same unsupported six o'clock area in the chamber as Glocks, making reloading ill-advised...especially in .40. I just got an E2 in .40 and have already loaded 100 rounds to shoot tomorrow, and have been reloading for my 92 for 8 months with no brass problems. Do 96 series Berettas have a Kaboom problem?
 
Outside of Golcks and some M1A rifles, I do not hear much about KB's. I'm sure they are out there but you only hear about the Glocks. Maybe it's the combo with the polygonal barrel. Don't know. Kinda odd..........
 
I've heard about KBs with Glocks, Sigs, Brownings, Rugers, Colts, S&Ws, M1As, etc. It's a phenomenon that's struck every manufacturer, not just those with less than normally supported barrels.
 
Bovine Feces - They shouldn't let crack smokers write gun articles. BTW, have run many, many thousands of reloads through my 92fs.
 
I've heard about KBs with Glocks, Sigs, Brownings, Rugers, Colts, S&Ws, M1As, etc. It's a phenomenon that's struck every manufacturer, not just those with less than normally supported barrels

The phenomenon you speak of is the 40 S&W caliber. They seem to blow up as a matter of course these days with factory ammo. There seem to be many people on the net telling of their experiences with this caliber blowing up.
It is a high pressure cartridge that will not tolerate any bullet set back when firing this round. If the bullet is pushed back even a little into the case the gun blows up. Couple this with an unsupported chamber and you have two real good reasons to be wary of this cartridge.

Many people often chamber and then rechamber the same round in their weapon. This weakens the grip the case has on the bullet making it extremely likely that the bullet will suffer some set back.

Also with reloads some brands of brass or some brass that has been reloaded too many times will just not have enough grip or tension to hold the bullet securely in the case. When the round is chambered the bullet is set back. This is a much more deadly combination with the 40 S&W than with other pistol cartidges save the 10 mm. Ever wonder why the new factory loadings for the 10mm are actually no faster than the 40 S&W. The ammo factories discovered the problem with this cartidged quite some time ago and scaled back on the power of it accordingly.

Last months issue of Combat Handguns told of a Ruger 40 S&W blowing up and putting the extractor through the head of a person that was standing next to the shooter killing him instantly. I personally will not fire this cartridge or stand next to anyone who is firing a pistol chambered for this cartridge or the 10mm. I like to throw grenades not have them explode in my hand.

As for the M1A. A lot of it comes from shooter error. Put a live round directly in the chamber of an M14 or M1 and slam the bolt closed and you are asking for trouble with these guns and also most other semi-auto military rifles. The firing pin will be released to hit the primer before the bolt quite closes. Try a primed case sometime without powder or bullet and you will see a small dent in the primer after you slam the bolt closed. The cure is to always feed the rounds from the magazine. Check overall lenth of cases before reloading them. Check headspace on the shoulder of the loaded round with a good gage when setting up your loading dies. Check for high primers. Check case necks for thickness.
Reloading for auto rifles is not a simple as some would think or have you believe. There is no mystery at all why they blow up. W..R.
 
WR-

Why do you continue to attempt to spread misinformation about the .40 S&W cartridge? Numerous people have pointed out to you in the past that the .40 and the 9mm work at the same max chamber pressure of 35000 PSI; yet, you continue to say that the cartridge is dangerously over-pressure. It is no more so than the 9mm is. If you recall, when the 9mm came into vogue in the early 80's, gun scribes were penning the same warnings about the 9mm, saying it was max pressure-due to small case volume minute bullet setback would destroy the gun, so on and so forth. Now the 9mm is considered standard pressure. Why do you consider the .40 to be high pressure when it operates at the same max as the 9mm? Please explain that.

Also, as far as the 10mm is concerned, the cartridge was throttled back (in some loadings) because it was difficult to shoot and hard on the gun, not because it had a propensity to blow up.

Finally, your cite of the CH article describing the fatal case of the Ruger exploding-I imagine that if research was done, examples could be found of guns in every caliber ever made of guns blowing up. A sentence in a gun magazine tells you very little. I want to know the circumstances under which these events occur. And, just because it is printed in a gun magazine doesn't make it gospel. Massaad Ayoob can be mistaken as easily as anyone else (ex: in magazine articles he continues to list a certain police agency as carrying the 9mm cartridge, when in fact they have been using the .40 for the last 8 years-with no blown up guns I might add).

Everyone is entitled to an opinion, but it would be nice if you would classify your statements as such. If you think the .40 is an overpressure round, that is your opinion (misinformed, but your opinion nonetheless).

Some people reading this forum are new to the hobby of firearms. You are doing them a disservice by misinforming them.

Tom C
 
WR,

I will chime in and agree with tcurtis.

Given the same pressure limits and the same bullet set back coming out of the magazine, the smaller case for the 9mm must be more likely to blow because of smaller volume translating into a higher relative pressure then the same circumstances in the 40.

The KB case failure problem has many times on this web page been discussed that it is a physical volume problem. Since the 9mm historically is not a KB problem, the perceived problem with the 40 must be some where else. Your thoughts?

Your comment on the 10mm does not make intrinsic sense. If there is a problem with the 10mm due to bullet set back, it is a larger case then the 40. How could a larger case be more likely to KB? This is against all of the logic of bullet set back. If the KB problem is due to a reduction of volume in the case causing higher pressures. Then in the bigger 10mm, firing the same velocity bullet as the 40, the same setback must be more of a problem in the 40 then the 10mm.

I think the reason that the 10mm was backed down is the same reason the 357 & 44 mag was backed down. BUT, I was not a party to the decision to do so by the SAAMI, so I am speculating. Were you present at the meetings where it was decided, or do you have 1st hand evidence of what was discussed and the reason for the reduction, or is this a hypothesis of your own?

Also, you comment that you will not shoot by anyone with a 10mm or 40. Does this statement extend to the other high pressure cartraiges like the 357sig, 9mm, 38super (notorious KBer), 9x25 dillon, 400 Cor-Bon, 400 Super etc.???? If you must only stand around the 22ers, 380 clan and the 45acp crowd. Is this correct?

Finally on the M1A. Please field strip your M1A and carefully look at the firing pin and the bolt. On my M1A's (I have many), I find that there is nothing that constrains or holds the firing pin. It floats in the bolt the whole time. Therefore, in your statement that the firing pin be released prior to closing the bolt, I ask released from what??????


I am not trying to flame, I am trying to understand your point of view.
 
I'll be honest, Kb's scare the living daylights out of me, whenever and however they occur.

The only .40 I've fired was the Beretta Cougar, a gun that makes the .40 a pussycat, where perhaps other popular .40's such as the H&K USPc40 have more of a recoil issue, or so I'm told.

I read anything on Kb's that I can find, in print or here on the net, and the caliber that gets more mention than any other is the .40, and to a large degree as well. To simply use the old Glock excuse of saying that the number out there inevitably increases reports of Kb's doesn't hold much water with the .40 cartridge. It is still less popular than the 9x19 which as has been stated operates at similar pressure levels, add in the .380, .357 Sig, 9x18M and .32 and anecdotal evidence still points toward the .40 as being statistically more significant.

Until some kind of definitive study is done on this issue, as opposed to how many times you need to shoot someone before they fall over (an exercise in futility if ever there was one), we will continue to argue amongst ourselves about the safety of the .40 S&W.

Perhaps if they'd just thicken the web a little.............

Mike H
 
Mike H,

I'm not going to disagree with you on the statistical end of this discussion. I do however happen to believe that new cartridges get more scrutiny than old established cartridges. As someone else mentioned, there were Kbs with the 9mm when it was first developed as well, and had the internet been as prevalent as it is today, the BBs would be humming with 9mm Kb stories. I think that the .40 gets a lot of attention simply because it is new.

Shake
 
IIRC, it's not just the amount of pressure the .40 genernates, but the round is unique in that it reaches it's peak pressure more rapidly and sustains it longer, than other rounds such as the 9mm.

I don't believe the .40 is any great danger to the shooter, and certainly not with Glocks. I have been shooting with guys who shoot .40 Glocks using their own reloads (from a Dillon) for about 4 - 5 years. We shoot at least a 1000 rounds a month, so that is 48,000 - 60,000 .40 reloads thru the Glocks with no problems.

Just my experience... FWIW

BTW, part of the FBI's Glock testing included an abuse test with a bullet lodged in the barrel, one inch in front of the chamber. Then one round of service ammunition was fired with the obstruction in place. The pistol could not rupture or fragment the frame slide or barrel. As an added test five more rounds were fired after the first round cleared the barrel obstruction.
 
Finally on the M1A. Please field strip your M1A and carefully look at the firing pin and the bolt. On my M1A's (I have many), I find that there is nothing that constrains or holds the firing pin. It floats in the bolt the whole time. Therefore, in your statement that the firing pin be released prior to closing the bolt, I ask released from what??????



Take a look at the firing pin of an M1a or M1 Garand and you will see a 90 degree tail on the end of it. This is what holds the firing pin back as the bolt rotates to the closed position. It is released just before the bolt completelty closes. The tale of the firing pin rests in a mortise in the reciever. Of course you would not be able to see the firing pin in its locked position when holding the bolt in your hand because it is the mortise in the reciever that holds the firing pin back. W.R.
 
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Why do you continue to attempt to spread misinformation about the .40 S&W cartridge? Numerous people have pointed out to you in the past that the .40 and the 9mm work at the same max chamber pressure of 35000 PSI; yet, you continue to say that the cartridge is dangerously over-pressure. It is no more so than the 9mm is.

When the .40 S&W first came out the first thing that was stated about the cartridge is that unlike the .45 acp which operates at about 20,000psi and the 9mm that operateds at about 30,000psi ,the 40 S&w depending on the loading can operate as high as 50,000psi and operates with most loadings in the 40,000 psi range.

When Browning first chambered their high power for this cartridge the tremendous recoil and pressure of this cartridge literally destroyed the frames and slides on this excellent pistol.
Now common sense would tell anyone that if both calibers operated under the same pressure the 40 would be unable to destroy the high power in such short order. FN had to completely redesign the high power to take the pounding of this high pressure cartridge. It is well known that 40 S&W pistols depending on the make and brand generally do not last as long as the milder but higher velocity 9mm caliber.

Both the 1911 .45 acp and the various 9mm handguns have been known to have long service lives with these two cartidges that have reasonable pressure limits. Not so with the S&W 40 caliber.

The 40 S&W is the worst of many worlds. It does not have the velocity or the high capacity or the easy recoil of the 9mm and it does not have the massive frontal area or low pressure of the .45 acp. It is a caliber that fell out of favor way back at the turn of the last century and it should have stayed dead in my opinion. It offers nothing over the 9mm or .45 acp and has a host of draw backs to it which include heavy recoil, short service life and a blow up problem far in excess of the other older and even more modern calibers that some of you just mentioned.

Where there is smoke there is fire and the 40 S&W just has had too many blow ups compared to both older and newer cartridges. Until someone discoveres and publishes a cure for this problematic and dangerous cartidge I will play it safe and stay the hell away from it. W.R.
 
Wild Romanian,

FACT: 9mm and .40S&W have EXACTLY THE SAME SAAMI maximum pressure spec: 35,000 PSI. The numbers you have quoted for .40S&W are higher than the load data for 10mm Auto.

FACT: Virtually ALL .40S&W kB! were with cast lead handloads that turned out to be grossly overpressure (i.e. double-charged).

FACT: You have no actual evidence that .40S&W guns go kaboom (in a bad way) any more often than anything else (to include .45 ACP). You have been spooked by internet anecdotes which, contrary to popular opinion, do not equal evidence.

FACT: 10mm Auto kabooms are virtually non-existent.

FACT: Lots of 10mm Auto factory ammo is substantially more powerful than .40S&W. (e.g. Cor-Bon, Federal Hi-Shok, Georgia Arms, Hornady, Pro Load, Remington/UMC, Triton, Winchester... )

Hell, some of that Cor-Bon hunting ammo really does crank out nearly 700 ft-lbs from a Glock 20... :o

FACT: You have no clue.
 
FACT: Virtually ALL .40S&W kB! were with cast lead handloads that turned out to be grossly overpressure (i.e. double-charged).

100 per cent wrong again. A recent post stated that one of our readers personally saw not one but 3 handguns of different makes blow up with factory , I repeat factory ammo not realods , and not lead bullets. W.R.
 
FACT: You have no actual evidence that .40S&W guns go kaboom (in a bad way) any more often than anything else (to include .45 ACP). You have been spooked by internet anecdotes which, contrary to popular opinion, do not equal evidence

Wrong again. The predominate number of posts on blow ups center around the 40 S&W cartridge over and over again. I repeat where there is smoke there is fire. W.R.
 
FACT: 9mm and .40S&W have EXACTLY THE SAME SAAMI maximum pressure spec: 35,000 PSI. The numbers you have quoted for .40S&W are higher than the load data for 10mm Auto.

You seem to be in disagreement with what has been published in most of the major gun magazines when this high pressure cartridge first came out.
 
I've just started a thread to ask if anyone knows of studies into Kb occurences and any corresponding statistics, not surprisingly noone has responded almost certainly because such figures do not exist.

There's no need to fall out over this for crying out loud,

CastleBravo - FACT, you are hereby demoted to PFC ;)

If we're going to explore this issue, let's try and be objective.

Mike H
 
WR-

Refer to Speer reloading manual#13:

Page 500 (for the 9mm)-"...industry maximum pressure of 35,000 PSI."

Page 543 (for the .40 S&W)-"...industry pressure maximum of 35,000 PSI."

What most of the major gun magazines are you referring to that dispute this? I submit that perhaps you are believing what you are reading in the gun magazines too much. Much of the information contained in those magazines is anecdotal (I'm not critisizing the gun mags-I read most of them myself). Also, just because the information appeared on the internet doesn't make it so. I would wager that many of these stories are one in the same that have been repeated to the point that they multiply.

You seem to have a tendency to quote incidents and information from when the .40 first came out (Novak not working on the cast framed Hi-Power, the initial reported pressures for the .40). Talk about today! Not years ago-today!

As far as the original Hi-Power not being able to handle the pressures of the .40-did you ever hear of the .41 Action Express?

Accurate Reloading manual#2-Page 116 (reloading info for the .40 S&W)-"The data should also prove suitable for loading the .41 Action Express." "...It's performance is nearly identical to that of the .40 S&W."

Your vaunted Hi-Power (which I also love) was able to handle the .41! The Hi-Power was beefed up because the recoil was wearing the gun out in a shorter period of time. Some people seem to think that pressure equals recoil. That is not so. The .45 recoils more than the .40 or 9mm but operates at a lower pressure. The .40 does recoil more which translates into more wear. I submit to you that identical pistols chambered in 9mm, .40, and .45, the 9mm will last the longest, the .40 second, and the .45 last. That's not to say that they all won't last a LONG time, but I believe that they will last in that order. Yes, I'm sure you can quote someone who has a Government Model that has 150,000 rounds through it and is still tight as a tank. I'm sure it wouldn't take much to find a .40 with a comperable number of rounds through it in just as good-or better shape.

Your statement that one can find .40 loads operating at 50,000 PSI is probably true-if the loader, factory or individual, exceeded SAAMI max pressures for it. Guess what-I'm sure you could find examples of the .45 that are loaded to 50,000 PSI-by a factory or loader exceeding SAAMI max specs. Overloading or double charging is not a problem unique to the .40. It can happen to them all.

As far as deep seating goes-I again refer you to the stories in your gun magazines of the early eighties about the 9mm regarding deep seating bullets. The 9mm has a lot less room for error in this department than the .40 does, let alone the 10mm.

I will refer you to the aforementioned Speer manual#13, page 500 (9mm loading data)- "UNDER NO CONDITIONS SHOULD THE BULLETS BE LOADED SHORTER THAN THE LISTED LENGTHS. 9mm case capacity is relatively small and seating a bullet deeper than indicated can cause excessive pressures and the potential for damage or injury." The caps in the beginning are as it appears in the book.

If the .40 and 10mm are such hand grenades, why is there no such similar warning.

If you have definitive, authoritative, factual, verifiable, and documented information about these calibers, cite it! You are free to check out my sources. I'm not really interested in "I heard from WIZZBANG1 on the internet that such and such happened" or :my uncle Joe told me that aunt Bessie heard from Mabel the phone operator that this and that happened. FACTS.

I like all of the cartridges that have been discussed but am perplexed as to why the .40 is so hated. I happen to think it is a fine cartridge and bet my life on it every day!

I look forward to your response!

Tom C

P.S. While your explanation of how the M1A firing pin rests in the receiver is pretty good your explanation of why they sometimes KB is not. The mortise you refer to controls the timing of the mechanism. If all involved parts are within tolerences, the firing pin can not leap forward with sufficient force to fire the gun out of battery (the cause of KBs). If the tail on the firing pin is worn or the receiver is worn, this can result in the gun being out of time and increase the possibility of an out of battery discharge.

Look at the primer of a .223 round chambered in an AR-15 by direct chamber loading-you will see a tiny mark from the firing pin. Same with the Makarov pistol (most-nothing is absolute of course).
 
Don't know if I want to enter in here but here goes IMHO.

I think that the so called (very few) rash of KB's occurred with lead or leaded up barrels in glock pistols. Second factor I have heard here and or else where is that glocks can and will fire out of battery. (I'm sure other pistols will but I don't know of any off hand) And finally is early factory and reloads producing very hot rounds.

I think all guns can kb reguardless of cal. Glocks are popular so there is a lot of them out there. It would be interesting to know the ratio. I bet with the police contracts in 40 cal that glocks out number all other brands3-4 to 1.

If the guns are not safe in 40 in this day and age of law suits I don't think they would make one that was not safe. plunker.
 
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