LiveLife
Member
DISCLAIMER/CAUTION: Glock does not endorse use of any reloads (jacketed/plated/lead/Moly coated/etc.) and not all suggested load data may be currently published for the particular bullet/type, so use reloads and load data suggestions at your own risk. Neither the writer, The High Road, nor the staff of THR assume any liability for any damage or injury resulting from use of this information.
While discussing a recent Glock KB thread with other reloaders, a general consensus was reached as to what factors may contribute/lead to a Glock KaBoom (KB):
- Double charge of powder (exceeding max chamber pressure)
- Overcharge of powder due to inaccurate/misuse of powder measure, scale, load data, etc. (exceeding max chamber pressure)
- Use of inaccurate/mixing up load data for bullet weight/powder (exceeding max chamber pressure)
- Inadequate neck tension/reduction of OAL during feeding from magazine/bullet nose bumping on ramp (exceeding max chamber pressure)
- Weakened/work hardened/damaged/defective case (case failure)
- Obstruction in barrel (squib round in barrel)
- Obstruction in chamber (excessive fouling buildup or foreign object in chamber to prevent full chambering of round/firing-out-of-battery)
- Especially for 40S&W, lack of full case support at ramp area of chamber (case failure)
There have been several threads on Glock KBs in recent years on THR, so how about developing a checklist or steps to prevent KB in Glocks to benefit new/old reloaders to Glocks? I have shot several hundred thousand rounds of reloads in Glocks (mostly 40S&W) using mixed range brass with jacketed/plated/lead bullets and use the following steps and Quality Control (QC) checks. Feel free to add QC checks, reloading steps or comments.
QC check - Regardless of scale type used (beam or digital), use check weights to ensure accuracy of scale/powder measure for powder charge range used.
Reloading step - Triple check load data for bullet type/weight/powder used. Only one container of powder on the reloading bench at any time.
Reloading step - Do not start at published max powder charge. Always conduct full powder work up from published start charge or 10 percent below max charge and work up in .1-.2 gr increments. Never exceed published max load data.
QC step - During powder work up from start charge, if significant bulging of case is noticed, consider reducing powder charge, changing powder (I recommend W231/HP-38 or slower burn rate powder for 40S&W) or using aftermarket barrel with fully supported chamber at the ramp area.
Reloading step - If using mixed range brass with unknown reloading history, use mid-to-high range load data. Reserve near max/max load data for "known" once-fired cases without damage/defects.
Reloading step - Adhere to plated bullet manufacturers' recommendations for load data, velocities and amount of taper crimp, etc:
Rainier Ballistics - Use lead load data, 1200-1250 fps max, slight taper crimp, Lee FCD OK.
Berry's MFG - Use lead load data/start-to-mid range jacketed load data, 1200 fps max (850-900 fps for 45ACP), 1450 fps max for Thick Plated bullets (TP), no tight roll crimp.
QC check - During sorting of brass, visually inspect all cases for damage/defect and discard/recycle as necessary
QC check - During full-length resizing of cases, if significantly greater effort is needed on the ram lever or bottom of resizing die does not "kiss" the shell holder/plate, inspect the case for "guppy or overly bulged" case base. If bulge is slight, rotate case 90 degrees and attempt to resize the case. Check if resized case pass the case gauge or fall freely into the tightest barrel chamber you have. Discard/recycle case as necessary.
QC check - If resizing cases separately, check to see if resized cases fall into case gauge/tightest barrel chamber freely. If not, resize case again and recheck. Discard/recycle case as necessary.
Reloading step - Use minimal amount of case neck flare to prevent reducing neck tension of resized case.
QC check - Press on the finished round's bullet nose against the reloading bench top and manually feed/chamber initial rounds from the magazine by releasing the slide to check for bullet set back (measure OAL before and after).
Reloading step - If loading single stage, double check for powder charge inside cases to prevent squib rounds.
QC check - Visually inspect case for powder charge before seating bullet or mount a small mirror/light to visualize powder inside the case to prevent squib rounds.
Reloading step - If progressive loading process is interrupted for any reason, visually inspect case for powder charge before seating bullet to prevent squib round or clear the shell plate and start over with station #1 if there is further concern/doubt.
Range QC - Field strip pistol and inspect barrel before each range session.
Range QC - If shooting lead reloads, inspect inside of barrel near chamber area for fouling/leading build up and clean as necessary every 200-300 rounds. If shooting a lot of lead reloads, consider using an aftermarket barrel with conventional square cut land/groove rifling for reduced fouling/leading and greater accuracy.
While discussing a recent Glock KB thread with other reloaders, a general consensus was reached as to what factors may contribute/lead to a Glock KaBoom (KB):
- Double charge of powder (exceeding max chamber pressure)
- Overcharge of powder due to inaccurate/misuse of powder measure, scale, load data, etc. (exceeding max chamber pressure)
- Use of inaccurate/mixing up load data for bullet weight/powder (exceeding max chamber pressure)
- Inadequate neck tension/reduction of OAL during feeding from magazine/bullet nose bumping on ramp (exceeding max chamber pressure)
- Weakened/work hardened/damaged/defective case (case failure)
- Obstruction in barrel (squib round in barrel)
- Obstruction in chamber (excessive fouling buildup or foreign object in chamber to prevent full chambering of round/firing-out-of-battery)
- Especially for 40S&W, lack of full case support at ramp area of chamber (case failure)
There have been several threads on Glock KBs in recent years on THR, so how about developing a checklist or steps to prevent KB in Glocks to benefit new/old reloaders to Glocks? I have shot several hundred thousand rounds of reloads in Glocks (mostly 40S&W) using mixed range brass with jacketed/plated/lead bullets and use the following steps and Quality Control (QC) checks. Feel free to add QC checks, reloading steps or comments.
QC check - Regardless of scale type used (beam or digital), use check weights to ensure accuracy of scale/powder measure for powder charge range used.
Reloading step - Triple check load data for bullet type/weight/powder used. Only one container of powder on the reloading bench at any time.
Reloading step - Do not start at published max powder charge. Always conduct full powder work up from published start charge or 10 percent below max charge and work up in .1-.2 gr increments. Never exceed published max load data.
QC step - During powder work up from start charge, if significant bulging of case is noticed, consider reducing powder charge, changing powder (I recommend W231/HP-38 or slower burn rate powder for 40S&W) or using aftermarket barrel with fully supported chamber at the ramp area.
Reloading step - If using mixed range brass with unknown reloading history, use mid-to-high range load data. Reserve near max/max load data for "known" once-fired cases without damage/defects.
Reloading step - Adhere to plated bullet manufacturers' recommendations for load data, velocities and amount of taper crimp, etc:
Rainier Ballistics - Use lead load data, 1200-1250 fps max, slight taper crimp, Lee FCD OK.
Berry's MFG - Use lead load data/start-to-mid range jacketed load data, 1200 fps max (850-900 fps for 45ACP), 1450 fps max for Thick Plated bullets (TP), no tight roll crimp.
QC check - During sorting of brass, visually inspect all cases for damage/defect and discard/recycle as necessary
QC check - During full-length resizing of cases, if significantly greater effort is needed on the ram lever or bottom of resizing die does not "kiss" the shell holder/plate, inspect the case for "guppy or overly bulged" case base. If bulge is slight, rotate case 90 degrees and attempt to resize the case. Check if resized case pass the case gauge or fall freely into the tightest barrel chamber you have. Discard/recycle case as necessary.
QC check - If resizing cases separately, check to see if resized cases fall into case gauge/tightest barrel chamber freely. If not, resize case again and recheck. Discard/recycle case as necessary.
Reloading step - Use minimal amount of case neck flare to prevent reducing neck tension of resized case.
QC check - Press on the finished round's bullet nose against the reloading bench top and manually feed/chamber initial rounds from the magazine by releasing the slide to check for bullet set back (measure OAL before and after).
Reloading step - If loading single stage, double check for powder charge inside cases to prevent squib rounds.
QC check - Visually inspect case for powder charge before seating bullet or mount a small mirror/light to visualize powder inside the case to prevent squib rounds.
Reloading step - If progressive loading process is interrupted for any reason, visually inspect case for powder charge before seating bullet to prevent squib round or clear the shell plate and start over with station #1 if there is further concern/doubt.
Range QC - Field strip pistol and inspect barrel before each range session.
Range QC - If shooting lead reloads, inspect inside of barrel near chamber area for fouling/leading build up and clean as necessary every 200-300 rounds. If shooting a lot of lead reloads, consider using an aftermarket barrel with conventional square cut land/groove rifling for reduced fouling/leading and greater accuracy.
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