Do I have enough support???

[yesterdaysyouth]

all the reloading manuals i've looked at so far warn that when reloading 40s&w, the chamber fully supports the case....

so how does a person go about finding this info out, or checking it myself???

just because i could i took a factory round and placed it in the barrel of my pistol and there is some play around the case but it's not like it's flopping around in there....

so then i took some once fired brass, same brand, load, everything.... and slid that in the barrel, granted it's tighter than the unfired brass, where it has expanded to fit the chamber... but there is no holes in the sides or anything...

the pistol is a beretta 9000s ... do i have enough support??

 

[Nanook]

Usually they're talking about Glocks in .40 caliber when they talk about unsupported chambers. What it does is cause the bottom of the case near the case head to swell enough that it won't go into a case gauge or some chambers. The only fix for it is to have the brass roll-sized which is not something most reloaders have laying around. (pretty expensive device)

Should be no problem with a Beretta. I'm not sure, but I believe some HK pistols have a similar concern. Someone on the board will correct me if I'm wrong.

 

[Peter M. Eick]

Support is in degrees. My 40 beretta 96 is mostly supported. Much better then a glock, but not as good as my springfield p9ultra. The p9 sucks the case all the way into the chamber except for the cutout for the extractor. No other brass is visible. The beretta has a small amount of brass showing on the feed ramp. Not much but some. I have never seen the barrel of your gun so it is hard to say. Pull it out drop an empty case in and see how much is exposed.

 

[cheygriz]

This warning was put in specifiaclly for Glock barrels. Your Beretta should be fine as long as your loads are properly assembled and loaded to reasonable pressure levels.

 

[Khornet]

Ask Tamara

about 'poorly supported' Glocks. Then stand back.

Me, I'm poorly supported too. My G22 has been fed nothing but reloads since 1993. Maybe I already blowed up, and this is heaven????

 

[Zero]

It's now engrained

I think this whole Glock Unsupported Chamber, KB, Don't reload Glock Brass, Be Careful when Firing Glock thing has reached urban legend status. When someone improperly loads a round and it breaks their gun, people want to say "Watch out those Glocks are dangerous"....The larger than "normal" chamber in most of the Glocks are one of the things that cause them to feed more reliably, than many other semi-autos. What's the advantage of reloading to the high-end of the pressure scale anyway. Most people don't carry their own loaded rounds for self-defense anyway, and why make mule-kicking practice loads?

 

[IRock]

Zero

I think this whole Glock Unsupported Chamber, KB, Don't reload Glock Brass, Be Careful when Firing Glock thing has reached urban legend status. When someone improperly loads a round and it breaks their gun, people want to say "Watch out those Glocks are dangerous"....The larger than "normal" chamber in most of the Glocks are one of the things that cause them to feed more reliably, than many other semi-autos

Not knocking Glocks because I own one, but I have seen some pretty nasty bulged brass from factory ammo coming out of some of the Glock .40 cals. So it isn't always reloads that have a chance of blowing out. Better get a 10mm. It's more fun anyhow.

 

[Clark]

The case is made of a thick part at the rear called the web, then there is part that is just thin case walls.

The length of the web is the 40 S&W is .180" thick.

The feed ramp of my Glock 22 intruded .235" into the chamber.

The difference between those two numbers is the length of unsupported thin case wall.

When I overloaded the stock Glock 22 40 sw , the case failed at 30% overload.

When I TIG welded up my feed ramp, the brass has not yet failed at 68% extra powder, and there is no room left in the case for more powder.

What does it all mean?
The case support is lousy, but it is good enough for factory loads and book loads.
Hot rod loads require better case support.

 

[cheygriz]

The problems with Glock 40 caliber guns are definitely NOT an urban legend

My Glock 22 caused bulged cases with factory ammo. Reloads that duplicated factory would bulge cases as well.

I do not consider factory duplication handloads to be "high end." I load factory duplication so that I can practice with a load that duplicates the recoiul and POI of carry ammo.

I installed a BarSto barrel and that solved the problem. And BTW: Feeding has been just as reliable with the BarSto as it was with the Glock barrel.

I love Glocks! I have four of them. But three have aftermarket barrels. I like Glocks well enough that I'm willing to consider the purchase of an aftermarket barrel as part of the purchase price of the gun.