Need wisdom on 40 S&W loads...

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bjm42

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Following data in 4 reliable manuals, my 1st batch of .40 handloads actually measure out better than factory rounds. Passing plunk test in Glock barrel.
Starline virgin brass, CCI 500 primers, CFE Pistol (6.9 gr), per Hodgdon data for 165 gr Berry's FP.
Pressure @ 28,000 psi. COL 1.130.
Forster CO-AX press, Hornady dies (3), Lee FCD to just close the bell.

I really can't see why these carefully assembled rounds are any less safe than factory ammo.
I just can't get my head past the warnings (in manuals) against firing in Glock 27 pistol.
Maybe I'm just TOO cautious, because these loads are for my Daughter-in-Law's gun?
Maybe I should just buy a Wolf barrel & not worry about it?

Appreciate thoughts/advice.
 
The warnings are for lead out of the Glock polygonal barrel.

Otherwise there are lots of people that don't trust handloads for carry.
Personally i don't buy ammo.
 
Manufactures do not like reloads due liability issues and their guns getting blown up due to reloading errors
 
Pretty much every manual that comes with a new gun will say not to use reloads in it for liability reasons, check some others if you have more than 1 gun.
 
Need wisdom on 40 S&W loads...

I’ve fired many reloads using Starline nickel 40S&W brass through HK USP and XD guns, that lot of 1k started as virgin brass. The brass does have slight swell at the base now, I have a Wilson pistol case gauge and the reloads do not plunk because of that swell but cause no malfunctions in the guns whatsoever. We have essentially fire formed the brass in the base area. Full length resize stops short of the base and once loaded you case see the brass has some side banana hourglass shape to it (wider at base and wider where the bullet presses the resized brass back out at the mouth.

Some of the starline brass we bought has been through 5-6 reload cycles, maybe more. I’ve seen over 5k rounds of reload get shot, still fairly new to it compared to others.

We ran some through a glock as well but ultimately decided the glock smile on the case was a little too severe with that glock and load, other configurations may be ok but that setup was damaging the brass.

The Glock 17 was making a smile shape on it at the less supported area and cannot be resized there so it was now oblong.

There was no danger in shooting it but the damage to the cases was such I didn’t want to keep doing that through multiple reloads as it will eventually swell to where that brass should only be used in a glock and would cause malfunctions in our other pistols. It may even swell to where it should not be used in the glock and will cause FT Feed.

If you’re going to have a low reload count on that brass it may be ok, depends on how much your daughter in law is going to shoot.

And I would always use virgin brass if you’re reloading defensive ammo for the glock to be certain of feeding.


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Andrew - Lancaster, CA
 
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What gen is the glock? Gen 1-3 had documented issues with glock smile and kabooms, If you have an older glock I recommend a 3rd party replacement barrel. The factory machining of the chamber was off failing to support the end of the shell.

I have a gen 4 and have put thousands of rounds of reloads through it without any problems.
 
The Glock barrel is partially unsupported. This is done on purpose by glock to aid in reliable feeding. The tighter the chamber, the more likely it is that you may experience a feeding issue. For instance, my Alpha Wolf barrel for my Glock 10mm has had a few feed issues where I have to rack the slide. But my OEM 10mm barrel has never malfunctioned. (approx 5k rounds).

Back to your question, I reload 40 and 10mm, the two biggest kaboomer rounds (supposedly). Those two are most notorious because they have a weak web relative to the pressures they operate under. I run near or at full power in both, and have no issues. BUT! I use the Redding GRx die to remove the bulge, and I only run HOT in New brass, and use reloaded brass for plinkers.....Especially if it has been fired in the OEM barrel. The alpha wolf in my 10mm is such a tight chamber that a spent brass case will nearly plunk in my chamber checker. But the brass from the OEM glock barrel won't even start in the chamber checker.

At 28 or 27k psi though, in a 40 designed for 35k, I wouldn't hesitate at all to shoot reloads in it....27/28k is target load pressures. But if you are going to load near Max, use new brass, and get a GRx die to remove the bulge if you want to always pass the plunk test.
 
I've shot thousands of reloads through my Gen3 G23, Gen2 G22, and Gen4 G27. Most have been Berry's 165 gr over 6.8 gr Power Pistol which is under max. Zero problems, not even the Glock bulge. I taper crimp just .002" more than need to remove case mouth bell.

You should be perfectly fine with your load. All of my pistols have also digested a couple thousand rounds if factory ammo with zero issues and no case bulge.
 
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