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Old June 30, 2012, 08:11 PM   #1
FlySubCompact
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? about .40sw brass out of a Glock

Idek just started another thread about the best brass for reloading. I'm a newbie with an interest in handloading, too, but I did not want to highjack his thread.

I've been collecting our shot brass and range brass in prep for when I finally can start reloading. Just sorted/inspected a bunch of 9mm and .40sw. Segregation in this pattern:

9mm shot from our Glock23 (with LW conversion barrel installed)
9mm just picked up from the range. (could be mine or from other shooters)
.40sw shot from our Glock23 (in stock .40 mode) and our Glock27
.40sw just picked up from the range. (could be mine or from other shooters)

All the 9mm looks great just from an initial visual inspection. As does most of the .40sw picked up at the range.

Strange thing is that most of the .40sw that I know came from our G23 and G27 have noticable case bulges near the bases of the shells. I've read that one gripe with Glock .40's is that there is less case support. Most of the salvaged .40sw range brass (from other folks' guns) looks better than my own shot brass.

What I'd like to know is is it safe to reform and reuse this bulgy brass? Seems I read that case problems are harder to correct with the dies closer to the base of the shell.
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Old June 30, 2012, 09:08 PM   #2
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As to the safety question I cannot reply but it makes logical metalury sense that a bulge translates into thinner metal.

What I do know is I purchased several thousand 40's to reload and went through the normal processes only to find they did not feed well into my Springfield XDM. That is when I first discovered the bulge problem. I now use a case gauge on everything - especially the 40 brass the first time through. I have eliminated a few rounds that I could buy a Lee bulge buster for. Not sure if is worth it or not. My Hornady dies won't go down quite far enough to get all of the bulge.

Hope that helps
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Old June 30, 2012, 09:18 PM   #3
David Bachelder
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You will need to remove the Glock Bulge after cleaning.

The Redding G-RX die will do the job for you.

LEE also offers a tool to do the same thing. I tried one but I get better results with the Redding Die.
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Old June 30, 2012, 09:24 PM   #4
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I load range pick-up .40 almost exclusively, using standard Lee carbide dies. I've shot those loads through XD's, Kahrs, Glocks, Ruger SR40C's, Sigmas, all without incident. Common sense and moderation in loads are the answer. If the brass is horribly bulged or won't enter the die w/o undue effort, throw that crap away. I run a 165-175 grain bullet (usually lead) at 825-850 fps. Case life is indefinite at those pressures.
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Old June 30, 2012, 11:04 PM   #5
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+1 on keeping the pressures low on 40S&W reloads when using mixed range brass. With mixed range brass, you don't know how many times they have been reloaded and how high of powder charges were used in them.

I shoot a lot of 40S&W out of Gen3 G22/G27 with mixed range brass and this is what I do to make the determination whether a bulged case is reusable. When a bulged case (see pictures below) won't fully resize with my Lee carbide sizer die, I will rotate the case 90 degrees and attempt to resize again. If it won't fully resize on the second attempt, the case gets tossed in the recycle bin. If the case has any damage/questionable bulge, it gets tossed in the recycle bin also.

The thing to consider about reusing bulged cases is this. When the wall/webbing of the case gets stretched, it also gets thinner. And no amount of resizing/push-through fixing with G-RX/FCD-Bulge Buster will make the thinned brass thicker back to factory specs. With the higher pressure 40S&W loads, I don't take chances and keep my loads at mid-to-high range load data with mixed ranged brass (I reserve max charge loads for verified once-fired brass).

Here's a quote from David's link - http://www.gundigest.com/reloading-h..._fixglockbulge
Quote:
The trouble is that a conventional resizing die does not completely remove the “Glock Bulge” from the case. This introduces two problems; one is the obvious potential for a case failure. The other is that a misshapen case is a jam waiting to happen.
Note that the undersized U-dies like GR-X/FCD-Bulge Buster should be used once on a bulged case when using certain brand dies that won't allow the resizing of the bulged case base (like Dillon, etc.). I would not recommend repeated use of these dies to fix the bulge. If the cases are repeatedly bulged/resized, this will work-harden the brass and may weaken the case/make the case more brittle to the point of case failure. If you get bulges with your load, I would recommend you lower the powder charge or consider using a different powder that won't bulge the case. When shooting max charge reloads, I prefer to use Lone Wolf barrels with tighter chambers that fully support the case base and won't bulge the case wall.




(left) Gen3 Glock barrel showing wider chamber mouth and exposed case base and (right) Lone Wolf barrel showing tighter chamber mouth and fully supported case base.


Last edited by BDS-THR; July 1, 2012 at 03:03 AM.
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Old July 1, 2012, 12:39 AM   #6
FlySubCompact
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Thanks for all the replies/info. My reloading experience is down to just owning a Lyman pistol manual and having a few hundred spent casings.

Also, forgot to mention that our main practice ammo will be running our .40 cal Glocks in 9mm mode with LW barrels. (less expensive). 9mm is also the first caliber I will be handloading. Guess that is a good thing seeing how almost all the recovered brass in 9mm looks great.

Judging by your replies about the bulgy .40 cases this is not a new thing if they have special reforming dies for bulged cases. Did not know that. Tell y'all what.....I'll get my feet wet with the 9's, save the .40 brass when I get more experience on this business.
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Old July 1, 2012, 02:00 AM   #7
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I toss all the .40S&W brass with the "pregnant guppy" look into my recycle bucket. The rest goes through the bulge buster before resizing.
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Old July 1, 2012, 02:41 AM   #8
FlySubCompact
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"pregnant guppy look"

That is a perfect description of how some look.

I find it strange that the .40's should suffer such deformation while the little 9's almost all look perfect. BTW, most all of the 9 and 40 brass that I've colleted is WWB we've shot. Maybe a few Monarchs thrown in the mix.

I think I read that both calibers see simular pressures. Maybe the 9mm cases are stronger/size?

9mm will be the first I fiddle with anyway. My wife's converted G23 runs great with the 9mm LW barrel and she prefers it in G19 mode. That is the way she carries it with defensive 9mm cartridges. I much prefer shooting the G27 in G27 mode. I actually enjoy shooting .40SW more than 9's and it pains me (from a reloading standpoint) to know that reuse of that brass is going to be more persnickety.
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Old July 1, 2012, 02:59 AM   #9
BDS-THR
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Glock 9mm chambers are tighter and won't bulge the cases (it's comparable to my Lone Wolf 40-9 conversion barrel chambers).

This may simplify your reloading steps. You can resize all the 40S&W cases first and drop test in the Lone Wolf barrels (they should all drop in freely) and attempt to resize the ones that won't drop in freely. If they don't after the second resizing attempt, set them in the recycle bin or use the Redding G-RX/Lee Bulge Buster. Now you have a batch of 40S&W cases that you know will chamber fully in both Lone Wolf and Glock chambers. Depending on the powder and charge used, they may not bulge or bulge slightly enough so they can be normally resized with the sizing die.
Quote:
I think I read that both calibers see simular pressures.
Both 9mm and 40S&W are higher pressure loads of around 33,000 PSI compared to lower pressure 45ACP loads of 19,000 PSI.
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Old July 2, 2012, 11:54 AM   #10
FlySubCompact
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BDS,

This Bulge Buster deal you guys have mentioned....how much do they cost?

The plan is to start with just 9mm reloading. I carry .40SW factory loads, but our bulk practice/plinking is with 9mm.

I do rather enjoy shooting .40 and will reload those eventually if safely do-able.
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Old July 2, 2012, 01:37 PM   #11
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They are $13 at fsreloading - https://fsreloading.com/lee-bulge-buster-90487.html

The Lee Bulge Buster is an accessory kit that utilizes the Factory Crimp Die (FCD) that comes as the 4th die in the deluxe pistol die set. If you do not have a FCD, you'll need to purchase the FCD separately. The kits come in these calibers: 380 ACP, 40 S&W, 45 ACP, 45 Win Mag, 10 mm, 41 AE, 45 GAP.

For straight walled semi-auto calibers, FCD is a taper crimp die with an undersized carbide ring insert. You push through-size your bulged cases and the bulge buster kit collects the cases.

There's no bulge buster for 9mm as it is a tapered case (base of the case is wider than the neck).
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Old July 2, 2012, 09:07 PM   #12
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BDS, Thanks for the info.
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Old July 4, 2012, 10:08 AM   #13
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I had the same issue with 10mm brass out of a G20. The culprit turned out to be my Dillon sizing die, which, like many brands, didn't size all the way down the case. I switched to Lee dies which size further down the case and haven't had an issue since.

In my experiementing, I did buy a bulge buster, which I now use for periodically deburring my 10mm brass. I also use a Lee Factory Crimp die, but only for crimping, because the brass is probably sized it doesn't touch the sizing ring.
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Old July 6, 2012, 09:43 PM   #14
FlySubCompact
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Testuser,

I've talked to a couple of folks who reload and they both use Lee dies. The carbide ones. Both fellows did not use Lee presses, but they both recommended the dies.
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