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Old October 20, 2009, 11:53 PM   #1
Gregory Gauvin
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Glock .40s - Reloads

According to my manual, max OAL of 40sw is shown as 1.135". Because of the risk of pressure issues in the .40 Glock, and bullet set back, I generally load at MAX OAL or longer for safety margin.

I loaded some dummy rounds to set my dies and see if they chamber in my glock 23. The glock magazine will function with rounds loaded at 1.165", and they will chamber fine. This exceeds the listed maximum OAL at 1.135". Can I use this OAL and work a load for it, or am I loading the bullets TOO long?
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Old October 21, 2009, 12:19 AM   #2
Unclenick
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It depends on your gun and the shape of the bullet. If your gun is feeding with your bullet at that length, you are good to go. It may well fail to do so with some other bullet shapes. The SAAMI max COL is all about compatibility with all SAAMI compliant guns. Most guns will, by at least a little, feed somewhat long rounds of some bullet shapes because their makers want to leave an extra margin of function to avoid gaining a reputation for their guns being fussy.
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Old October 21, 2009, 08:07 AM   #3
spencerhut
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Loading long is fairly common for several reasons, such as trying to; increase accuracy, lower pressure, increase feeding reliability.

As long as the loads are working for you and the bullets don't fall out of the case you should be fine.

Make sure you chamber a few and recheck the length to make sure they are not just being pushed further into the case.
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Old October 21, 2009, 08:31 AM   #4
PBKing
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Quote:
max OAL of 40sw is shown as 1.135"
The 1.135 OAL for the bullet used in your manual should be read as the Minimum OAL and Not the Max as seating the bullet deeper increases pressure.
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Old October 21, 2009, 04:51 PM   #5
D. Manley
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FWIW, I load some .40 caliber bullets pretty short (135 grain JHP, for example) but other than the lighter weights, most are loaded longer than 1.125. I've ran 165's & 180's fairly long in my Glocks with no problem but IMHO, 1.130 is near perfect. Feeds like butter, shoots well and provides a bit of a cushion. Unless you are pushing the load limits of the round, there's no real *need* to load any longer but if all the qualities you desire are provided by loading longer, go for it. Barring feeding problems, it should only make trouble if you run into issues with insufficient case tension on the rounds or get close enough to the lands (if that's what you'd call the Glock equivalent) to cause a problem.
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Old October 21, 2009, 05:18 PM   #6
Gregory Gauvin
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Thanks. Due to the high pressure nature of this round, and its sensitivity towards OAL and pressures, most loads given in my manual are within a narrow window. (Or perhaps bullet shapes particular to this round) I believe for most bullets in the 135 to 180 grain range, OAL's are between 1.115" and 1.135", making a .020" differential much unlike the .45 ACP where OAL may differ from 1.090" to 1.275", or a .185 differential. Noticeable variance.
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