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Originally Posted by Ole man 52
I have a Smith& Wesson 40 M&P pistol. Is it ok to shoot reloads thru this gun?
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I have both M&P40/M&P45 and been shooting reloads out of them for a few years without issues (jacketed, plated and lead reloads). Just observe published load data max charges and conduct powder workup from the start charges. I usually run my reloads at mid-to-high range load data.
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I have been told not to shoot reloads thru a glock but really don't know the reason why.
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Some reloaders may have cautioned against shooting reloads out of Glocks more due to different levels of chamber support at the ramp area that exists in various generation Glock barrels. M&P has conventional square cut land/groove rifling whereas Glock has rounded hexagonal rifling with longer than typical start of rifing (leade).
Glock barrel showing rounded hexagonal rifling
Lone Wolf barrel showing square cut land/groove rifling
Glock's smooth, rounded start of rifling with longer leade causes issues with lead reloads as it results in more high pressure gas leakage around the bullet before the bearing surface of the bullet engages the start of rifling to build chamber pressure. This may result in greater gas cutting and reduced grip with the rifling.
I do shoot lead reloads in factory Glock barrels, but in my experience, fouling builds up faster and gets crusty along the rifling, essentially making a smooth bored barrel if the fouling builds up too much (not to mention the potential for chamber pressure increase due to narrowing of the bore). Due to these reasons, I usually inspect Glock barrels at 200-300 rounds and clean as necessary as continued fouling build up also affects accuracy of my shot groups (usually Hoppes #9 solvent and copper bore brush does a good job of removing the fouling). If you shoot a lot of lead reloads, use of aftermarket barrels with conventional square cut land/groove rifling may help with fouling build up. I have shot over 500 rounds of lead reloads out of Lone Wolf barrels and instead of hard crusty fouling build up, I just got lube residue (which actually helps with bullet seal with the barrel).
Glock barrel after ~100 rounds of lead reloads (note hard/crustry fouling build up along the rifling - if build up continues, you'll have a reduced diameter smooth bore barrel)
Lone Wolf barrel after ~350 rounds of lead reloads (note there is no hard crusty build up along the rifling, just lube residue that help with bullet-to-barrel seal)
