Reloads

[Ole man 52]

I have a Smith& Wesson 40 M&P pistol. Is it ok to shoot reloads thru this gun ? I have been told not to shoot reloads thru a glock but really don't know the reason why. Will you guys she'd some light on this for me ? I'm new to reloading and don't want to hurt me or the gun. Thanks in advance

Jerry

[rduckwor]

Lead will be fine thru your M&P. Glocks and HK's have polygonal rifling in their barrels and may (or may not depending upon whom you talk to) lead badly.

Good Luck,

[Adamantium]

Lead, jacketed and plated will all be fine through your gun assuming everything that goes along with reloading is being done safely.

[Ole man 52]

I have a 1911 Springfield 45 that I shoot my reloads thru so I'm thinking , why not my 40 Smith & Wesson. I have 231 powder and small primers so I will get out the book and load a few. This reloading is very addictive, wish someone would of told me this in advance. Thanks for the info !!!

Jerry

[NESHOOTER]

most mfg's state this as a disclaimer to or damage from reloads but as stated earlier reload safely and all will be good in your reloading experience. I also could not afford to shoot if I did not reload for the glocks...

[rebs]

most mfg's state this as a disclaimer to or damage from reloads but as stated earlier reload safely and all will be good in your reloading experience. I also could not afford to shoot if I did not reload for the glocks...

So you do reload for your Glock's ? What are you loading, lead or jacketed ?

[rtpzwms]

i shot plated bullets thru my glock and had no problems. to be fair I normally load on the lighter side.

[NESHOOTER]

Yes, I reload for my glocks I use Berry's plated and I follow the info for lead I dont have any issues. I also use Hornady XTP's and Z-MAX's.

[NESHOOTER]

Do not run LEAD through a Glock Barrel, due to it design and will lead over, if you want to shoot lead buy a aftermarket barrel for your glocks they run around 130.00 such as lone wolf brand and some other.

[TMD]

Polygonal barrels that are found in Glocks and HK's have been around long before jacketed bullets. Find the right combination of powder and lead hardness and you can shoot lead through them all day long. To date I have close to 10k rounds through my G35. All but a hundred or so have been reloads and most if not a majority have been lead. Everytime I shoot it I usually put 200 to 400 rounds through it and have hand no leading issues.

[brickeyee]

I have been told not to shoot reloads thru a glock but really don't know the reason why.

Every manufacturer of guns says this as a CYA move.

If you blow something up they do not want to be blamed.

Polygonal rifling can have issues with lead bullets, but jacketed handloads are fine.


Nothing is foolproof, because fools are so ingenious.

[BDS-THR]

Originally Posted by Ole man 52

I have a Smith& Wesson 40 M&P pistol. Is it ok to shoot reloads thru this gun?

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.

I have been told not to shoot reloads thru a glock but really don't know the reason why.

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)