Unsafe reloading is what it is. The .40 isn't especially susceptible to problems any more or less than any other cartridge, as a matter of fact the .40 S&W is very strong in design. The initial case design when the .40 was first introduced was weaker than it is now, but several years later the .40 S&W case was beefed up, it's plenty strong.
Guns in all calibers and models have blown up due to mishaps. Additionally published "max" is what the powder manufacturer is willing to be liable for, that doesn't mean that any more powder at all will result in problems. Quite frankly most published data is a bit conservative for that very reason. So while I firmly believe that one can go over max with certain powders (of the slower burning variety), it still needs to be done slowly.
|