Reloading .40 S&W

NormOps · October 13, 2008, 12:15 AM

Reloading is the one area of guns I must admit I don't know jack about.
I keep telling myself I'm going to get the equipment and several thick books on the subject someday, but that takes money...
So, I was wondering if one can reload .40 S&W as many times (on average) as other cases, with that singular "unsupported area" bulge. Might that shorten the life of the brass with that greater range of deformation and reformation?

Eli W.

Shoney · October 13, 2008, 02:28 AM

NormOps
I load about 2 dozen different rifle and pistol cartridges. I find the 40SW to be an extremely easy cartridge to load.

Although I do not have any unsupported chamber 40's (Glocks and some others are unsupported), I regularly get quantities of 40 brass from Glock shooters. I have had no problems with resizing that bulged brass, and after initial firing in my weapons, I cannot tell it from unglocked brass.

I have loaded lots of 40 brass over 20 times each using a moderate target load. The brass is more likely to split at the mouth from continuous belling, and often looses its ability to spring back after repeated resizing, rather than split from case fatigue in the glocked area. Since it is a high pressure round, I do not push full bore loads more than two or three times in cases I know are once fired, but call me over cautious on that point.

Read the “stickey” at the top of the page by Dave in Flower Branch GA.
http://www.thefiringline.com/forums/...d.php?t=230171
Get a couple of loading books, reading them thoroughly, then come back to the forum for answers to your questions.

Good Shooting!

sourdough44 · October 13, 2008, 04:12 AM

No problems here. My Gen III Glock #22 has as much chamber support as my H&k. That chamber support was an earlier Glock issue. I mostly reload mild target loads with Berrys plated bullets.

farnorthdan · October 13, 2008, 11:32 AM

I reload my 40S&W cases until I see a reason not to...Honestly I see very few case failures, once in a while I find a split case mouth but not very often. I pick up allot of others once fired at the range I shoot at and it all looks great. I have probable 5K cases right now ready for loading.

DS

lee n. field · October 13, 2008, 12:56 PM

Quote:

and several thick books on the subject someday, but that takes money...

Books are not quite the least of your expenses, getting set up to handload. Documentation is something you can't do without. Get the Lyman manual (IMHO -- others will have their own favorite), and read, read, read.

BigJimP · October 13, 2008, 03:49 PM

.40 is a high pressure case - so I load it in a mid range for the tables - but I haven't seen any case failures that seem abnormal - and I pick up my own and a lot of stray brass off the floor at my local indoor range - from cops shooting Glocks, etc.

I will occasionally have a case that's been shot in a gun with an unsupported chamber, like a Glock, and it won't pass my final inspection thru a case gague - but its not too many.

None of my guns in .40 have unsupported chambers - and I don't like guns in any caliber with unsupported chambers - but I don't see or hear about any problems loading a .40 as long as you keep your reloads in a mid-range.

theant · October 13, 2008, 06:08 PM

I also do not have any problems with either of my Glocks 22 or 23 both .40. I have reused the brass a couple of times and have not noticed any issues but I do load at 4.5 of bullseye and 180gr bullet. Hope this helps

K Bob · October 14, 2008, 11:55 AM

Same here I reload 40 cal and shoot them in my Glock 23 never a problem.My usual load is on the light side 3.0 clays 180 zero bullet

NormOps · October 15, 2008, 09:50 PM

Thanks guys.
yeah, the books AND the equipment cost some money...
I still have a few more guns I need to get first.

Eli W.

Sevens · October 16, 2008, 07:11 AM

Might be a long shot given that you are in Idaho, but if you are near a fairly big city, check the local library system for books on reloading that you can borrow to give yourself an overview. My local library system (Columbus) has some 15 branches and will pull a book from any of them and deliver it to my local branch, and their entire catalog is searchable from home. Couldn't be easier, cost is $0.

As for the .40 S&W, it's one of the less forgiving cartridges out there. It runs at a very high pressure and it's ultra-sensitive to COAL and is one of few calibers that has particular warnings about exactly that in most powder guides. I'm not saying I wouldn't start with .40 S&W, but I'll put it this way. If you have to choose between starting with .38 Special or .40 S&W, go with .38 for sure!

Lastly, case life depends on a number of factors. Depends on how your pistol butchers them with regards to chamber fit and rough extraction/ejection. Depends on how you have your reloading dies set up and how much the brass gets worked. Depends on the quality of brass that you start with and it also depends a lot on the load you build. So it's not easy to answer the common question, "how many times can I reload it?"

FM12 · October 18, 2008, 08:49 PM

"...unglocked brass..." That's pretty funny!

totalloser · October 25, 2008, 02:15 AM

The bulge is more internet hoopla than anything else. I roll plenty of .40, but I also roll .357 sig. Now .40 is "high pressure" at 30-35,000 psi cup, but .357 sits around 32-40,000psi. And I have yet to see a bulge, ever. Basically the same butt on those shells, and by MY measurement, once you put the shell in the holder, the sizing die doesn't even REACH where the bulge would be. In short, don't even worry about it.

Bad luck, random mechanical failure, and flat out stupidity give more merit to this sort of thing than is due thanks to the internet. .40 is SUPER easy to load.

dakotashooter2 · October 27, 2008, 03:03 PM

For general plinking there really is no reason to push the 40 to max. Stick to mid range loads and you'll likely not have a problem. I have run across a few cases that were bulged enough that I couldn't even get them to chamber. Those I tossed.

Nnobby45 · October 27, 2008, 04:37 PM

I don't know how many times I can reload them, since my cases aren't starting to wear out yet. I keep 180 bullets between 850 and 900 fps. Whatever bullet you use, keep the loads moderate. The recoil is still close enough to full power to make for good practice.

The .40 S&W is more sensitive to changes in case capacity---as in seating depth. Follow the manual specs and use a good taper crimp (not too much) to secure the bullet and prevent setback.

Win. Action Pistol (WAP) powder was about the perfect powder for both 9mm and .40. Meters well, and fills up over half the case, making dbl chgs. unlikely. It's been discontinued and I now use Ramshot Silhouette which is actually the same stuff.

It's listed as 9mm NATO standard powder by RamShot (Western Powder Co.).

Interesting that my Dillon powder measure throws .5 more grains of the Silhouette than WAP--- 6.2 for WAP. 6.9 for Silhouette. Maybe related to moisture content changing powder density.

By adjusting the powder setting to throw the same weight, 6.2 gr., velocities were about the same for the two powders. I've seen greater differences between different lots of the same powder.

WESHOOT2 · October 30, 2008, 07:38 AM

Silhouette is NOT WAP; it is DIFFERENT (but very very close, so that it is considered interchangeable).
It has additional flash and temperature reducers.

I use a significant amount of WAP and Power Pistol, but switched over mainly to Power Pistol for more-generic 40 S&W loads.
Modest-power loads and decent chamber dimensions mean many multiple case reuses, much like the 9x19.
Big chamber, hot loads, reduced reuses, again, much like the nine.

The last twenty hours I spent sorting cases were devoted exclusively to sorting 40 S&W cases (yet, sadly, I did not make a dent; I've turned down free 55 gal barrels of fired 40 S&W cases; I'm sick of looking at 40 S&W cases; I don't shoot my 40 S&W-chambered guns just because I don't want to touch any more 40 S&W cases; know what I mean?)

Defining a "bit": No longer enough cases to make furniture from.

October 13, 2008, 12:15 AM	#1
NormOps Senior Member Join Date: September 26, 2008 Location: Idaho- Where Else? Posts: 130	Reloading .40 S&W Reloading is the one area of guns I must admit I don't know jack about. I keep telling myself I'm going to get the equipment and several thick books on the subject someday, but that takes money... So, I was wondering if one can reload .40 S&W as many times (on average) as other cases, with that singular "unsupported area" bulge. Might that shorten the life of the brass with that greater range of deformation and reformation? Eli W.

October 13, 2008, 11:32 AM	#4
farnorthdan Senior Member Join Date: December 3, 2007 Posts: 371	Reload till they split I reload my 40S&W cases until I see a reason not to...Honestly I see very few case failures, once in a while I find a split case mouth but not very often. I pick up allot of others once fired at the range I shoot at and it all looks great. I have probable 5K cases right now ready for loading. DS

October 16, 2008, 07:11 AM	#10
Sevens Senior Member Join Date: July 28, 2007 Location: Ohio Posts: 11,758	Might be a long shot given that you are in Idaho, but if you are near a fairly big city, check the local library system for books on reloading that you can borrow to give yourself an overview. My local library system (Columbus) has some 15 branches and will pull a book from any of them and deliver it to my local branch, and their entire catalog is searchable from home. Couldn't be easier, cost is $0. As for the .40 S&W, it's one of the less forgiving cartridges out there. It runs at a very high pressure and it's ultra-sensitive to COAL and is one of few calibers that has particular warnings about exactly that in most powder guides. I'm not saying I wouldn't start with .40 S&W, but I'll put it this way. If you have to choose between starting with .38 Special or .40 S&W, go with .38 for sure! Lastly, case life depends on a number of factors. Depends on how your pistol butchers them with regards to chamber fit and rough extraction/ejection. Depends on how you have your reloading dies set up and how much the brass gets worked. Depends on the quality of brass that you start with and it also depends a lot on the load you build. So it's not easy to answer the common question, "how many times can I reload it?" __________________ *Attention Brass rats and other reloaders:* I really need .327 Federal Magnum brass, no lot size too small. Tell me what caliber you need and I'll see what I have to swap. PM me and we'll discuss.

October 18, 2008, 08:49 PM	#11
FM12 Senior Member Join Date: February 5, 2007 Location: Monroeville, Alabama Posts: 1,683	Shoney said "...unglocked brass..." That's pretty funny!

October 30, 2008, 07:38 AM	#15
WESHOOT2 Senior Member Join Date: February 20, 1999 Location: home on the range; Vermont (Caspian country) Posts: 14,324	still have a 'bit' of WAP Silhouette is NOT WAP; it is DIFFERENT (but very very close, so that it is considered interchangeable). It has additional flash and temperature reducers. I use a significant amount of WAP and Power Pistol, but switched over mainly to Power Pistol for more-generic 40 S&W loads. Modest-power loads and decent chamber dimensions mean many multiple case reuses, much like the 9x19. Big chamber, hot loads, reduced reuses, again, much like the nine. The last twenty hours I spent sorting cases were devoted exclusively to sorting 40 S&W cases (yet, sadly, I did not make a dent; I've turned down free 55 gal barrels of fired 40 S&W cases; I'm sick of looking at 40 S&W cases; I don't shoot my 40 S&W-chambered guns just because I don't want to touch any more 40 S&W cases; know what I mean?) Defining a "bit": No longer enough cases to make furniture from.

October 13, 2008, 02:28 AM	#2
Shoney Senior Member Join Date: February 21, 2002 Location: Transplanted from Montana Posts: 2,311	NormOps I load about 2 dozen different rifle and pistol cartridges. I find the 40SW to be an extremely easy cartridge to load. Although I do not have any unsupported chamber 40's (Glocks and some others are unsupported), I regularly get quantities of 40 brass from Glock shooters. I have had no problems with resizing that bulged brass, and after initial firing in my weapons, I cannot tell it from unglocked brass. I have loaded lots of 40 brass over 20 times each using a moderate target load. The brass is more likely to split at the mouth from continuous belling, and often looses its ability to spring back after repeated resizing, rather than split from case fatigue in the glocked area. Since it is a high pressure round, I do not push full bore loads more than two or three times in cases I know are once fired, but call me over cautious on that point. Read the “stickey” at the top of the page by Dave in Flower Branch GA. http://www.thefiringline.com/forums/...d.php?t=230171 Get a couple of loading books, reading them thoroughly, then come back to the forum for answers to your questions. Good Shooting!

October 13, 2008, 04:12 AM	#3
sourdough44 Senior Member Join Date: October 17, 2007 Location: WI Posts: 621	No problems here. My Gen III Glock #22 has as much chamber support as my H&k. That chamber support was an earlier Glock issue. I mostly reload mild target loads with Berrys plated bullets.

October 13, 2008, 03:49 PM	#6
BigJimP Senior Member Join Date: February 23, 2005 Posts: 13,195	.40 is a high pressure case - so I load it in a mid range for the tables - but I haven't seen any case failures that seem abnormal - and I pick up my own and a lot of stray brass off the floor at my local indoor range - from cops shooting Glocks, etc. I will occasionally have a case that's been shot in a gun with an unsupported chamber, like a Glock, and it won't pass my final inspection thru a case gague - but its not too many. None of my guns in .40 have unsupported chambers - and I don't like guns in any caliber with unsupported chambers - but I don't see or hear about any problems loading a .40 as long as you keep your reloads in a mid-range.

October 13, 2008, 06:08 PM	#7
theant Junior Member Join Date: April 22, 2008 Posts: 3	I also do not have any problems with either of my Glocks 22 or 23 both .40. I have reused the brass a couple of times and have not noticed any issues but I do load at 4.5 of bullseye and 180gr bullet. Hope this helps

October 14, 2008, 11:55 AM	#8
K Bob Member Join Date: October 16, 2007 Location: East Texas Posts: 18	Same here I reload 40 cal and shoot them in my Glock 23 never a problem.My usual load is on the light side 3.0 clays 180 zero bullet

October 15, 2008, 09:50 PM	#9
NormOps Senior Member Join Date: September 26, 2008 Location: Idaho- Where Else? Posts: 130	Thanks guys. yeah, the books AND the equipment cost some money... I still have a few more guns I need to get first. Eli W.

October 25, 2008, 02:15 AM	#12
totalloser Senior Member Join Date: October 19, 2007 Location: Fort Bragg, CA Posts: 679	The bulge is more internet hoopla than anything else. I roll plenty of .40, but I also roll .357 sig. Now .40 is "high pressure" at 30-35,000 psi cup, but .357 sits around 32-40,000psi. And I have yet to see a bulge, ever. Basically the same butt on those shells, and by MY measurement, once you put the shell in the holder, the sizing die doesn't even REACH where the bulge would be. In short, don't even worry about it. Bad luck, random mechanical failure, and flat out stupidity give more merit to this sort of thing than is due thanks to the internet. .40 is SUPER easy to load.

October 27, 2008, 03:03 PM	#13
dakotashooter2 Senior Member Join Date: January 13, 2005 Posts: 498	For general plinking there really is no reason to push the 40 to max. Stick to mid range loads and you'll likely not have a problem. I have run across a few cases that were bulged enough that I couldn't even get them to chamber. Those I tossed.

October 27, 2008, 04:37 PM	#14
Nnobby45 Senior Member Join Date: November 20, 2004 Posts: 3,150	I don't know how many times I can reload them, since my cases aren't starting to wear out yet. I keep 180 bullets between 850 and 900 fps. Whatever bullet you use, keep the loads moderate. The recoil is still close enough to full power to make for good practice. The .40 S&W is more sensitive to changes in case capacity---as in seating depth. Follow the manual specs and use a good taper crimp (not too much) to secure the bullet and prevent setback. Win. Action Pistol (WAP) powder was about the perfect powder for both 9mm and .40. Meters well, and fills up over half the case, making dbl chgs. unlikely. It's been discontinued and I now use Ramshot Silhouette which is actually the same stuff. It's listed as 9mm NATO standard powder by RamShot (Western Powder Co.). Interesting that my Dillon powder measure throws .5 more grains of the Silhouette than WAP--- 6.2 for WAP. 6.9 for Silhouette. Maybe related to moisture content changing powder density. By adjusting the powder setting to throw the same weight, 6.2 gr., velocities were about the same for the two powders. I've seen greater differences between different lots of the same powder.