redding grx 40 cal die

[Sure shot wv]

So after quite a few years and thousands upon thousands of reloaded 40 cal rounds i finally bought the redding grx sizing die. Sometimes i might get one case thats buldged lock me up and other times it seems like i get 5 in every magazine. Not any more! The grx die does a great job of resizing the case, and the best part is how much smoother it runs through the regular resizing die and the rest of the process. Anyway my question is how many of yall are using the die whether redding or the lee? How often do you 40 cal loaders encounter buldged cases?

A lot of my brass comes from police shoots so i do get a lot of glock fired brass but compared to my buddy he never has case buldge problems.

[David Bachelder]

I use it for all of the 40 brass I reload. It has become a habit. Some slide through easily, some take a little force and a few take a good bit of force.

[markm_04]

I am not using the grx or the "bulge buster".....yet. I do find quite a few brass that have bulged and can always tell when I run them up into the die. I pick up all the spent brass after a range session with my friends who do not reload so I get alot of brass that has been fired through a Glock.

Can I ask why you just now got the grx die after reloading so many rounds already?

[Real Gun]

I use the G-Rx because too many rounds have mushroom web areas and will not go into battery. Regular dies do not process the area held by the shellholder.

I won't go into the cause but will just say that the brass is not reliable without this step. I can also state with certainty that it is not necessarily a Glock issue.

I am talking more about ballooning than the web pimple supposedly caused by old Glocks. I just found that my Kahrs are pretty particular about ammo that is precisely made, and I value that. All that's required is ammo entirely within spec.

I see the problem with all sorts of fired-brass from who knows how many different brands, models, generations, springs, barrels, and loads.

.40 SW brass is reusable only under certain conditions. The Redding G-Rx or Bulge Buster make subsequent loading of .40 very much like loading other calibers.

I will say that I use the Bulge Buster for .45 ACP too. I solved all the other causes of gauging failures. Variations in fired brass can cause unreliable function without running everything through the Bulge Buster. It's extra work, but my goal is to produce ammo that is as good or better than the best of new store bought.

[Sure shot wv]

Mark, I honestly don't know why I waited so long. I guess at first I was primarily loading my own brass so I never had the problem. Then I started competing and shooting in more places where I couldn't reclaim my own brass so I had to start buying it. Then I started shooting a TON and started buying a lot more and scavenging a lot more. That's when the problem picked up greatly. About 3 years ago I was shooting roughly 3-6k rounds a month. After a few months I switched and started competing with a 9mm so I didn't shoot 40 very often. Fast forward till this last year and I picked up my 40 shooting and got the grx die.

[NWPilgrim]

Never used either die and never had an issue with a round not chambering. I've reloaded .40 since 1995 for G22, G23, and G27. I load both my own brass and plenty I pick up at the forest gravel pits where guys shoot and club ranges.

[markm_04]

It is definitely something to think about. I have always noticed that using the carbide sizing dies it does not go all the way down to the shell holder, it seems like there is a small lip inside the die before the carbide starts or the carbide does not go all the way to the mouth of the die so therefore it cannot possibly truly resize the case all the way down.

Although I have noticed it visually and I think I can sometimes feel it, I have never had any problems with any of my reloads chambering. Now, I do not shoot competition and I definitely don't shoot 6K rounds a month so it probably has come up more for you.

[steve4102]

I have the steel version of the GRX die and use it every time with my 40 and 10MM brass.

I also have 40/10mm Lee Factory Crimp dies (Bulge Buster).

I have found that the GRX die sizes my 40/10mm cases to .424. This is perfect.

My Lee Factory Crimp die on the other hand was set to size the case to .421. Way to small for the head and rim to fit through the die without extreme force. I even cracked my bench with push through sizing using the LFCD.

My LFCD was also post sizing my loaded rounds way to much, the .421 was just not big enough. I sent it back to Lee and had it opened up to .4225. It works great now as a Factory crimp die, but I no longer use it as a push the die, the Redding does a much better/easier job.

[Real Gun]

Never used either die and never had an issue with a round not chambering. I've reloaded .40 since 1995 for G22, G23, and G27. I load both my own brass and plenty I pick up at the forest gravel pits where guys shoot and club ranges.

I would consider that a uniquely Glock experience. Kahrs, different story in my world.

[Real Gun]

My LFCD was also post sizing my loaded rounds way to much, the .421 was just not big enough. I sent it back to Lee and had it opened up to .4225. It works great now as a Factory crimp die, but I no longer use it as a push the die, the Redding does a much better/easier job.

Good observation. Although the Bulge Buster works, I think we can assume that the FCD sizing ring was not really designed to size the web area diameter. The context would likely have been a case in a shellholder. That web area is where the Bulge Buster chokes and needs serious force on some rounds.

[Viper225]

I am running my 40 S&W brass in a S&W 310 Night Guard, and a S&W 610. Revolvers do not like bulged cases either.
I got the old GR/X Steel Die when they first came out.
I just got a new Carbide one a while back. The carbide is a big improvement. AND not just the no lube improvement. The old GR/X Steel die just has a post to set the brass on. The newer Carbide die has a spring loaded retainer sleeve on the ram. Just drop the brass into the sleeve, and it is lined up.

A must have shooting range brass.

Bob

[Beanie-Bean]

I use the carbide G-Rx die for my .40S&W, 10mm, and .357SIG brass with outstanding results.

All of those cases are able to pass their respective case gauges every time, and have fed all brands of handguns I have in those calibers.

I didn't but the Redding bottle, though--I just use an old 2-liter bottle to catch mine.

[jepp2]

Anyway my question is how many of yall are using the die whether redding or the lee? How often do you 40 cal loaders encounter buldged cases?

Most of my 40 S&W brass came from a source that had access to once fired law enforcement brass. I found that even using a Lee carbide sizing die (it sizes further down the case than my other carbide sizing dies) some would not chamber. It was a fairly small percentage (probably less than 2%) but I just run them all through my Lee bulge buster the first time I size the brass. After that everything gets fired in Lone Wolf barrels, so it is never needed again.