Glock .40s&w bulged brass safe to reload for .40 carbine?

[Analogkid]

I recently came into 3 5gal buckets full of .40 s&w brass that looks to all have the glock bulge on it. My wife has a .40 carbine that is eating me out of house and home so I would like to reload for it.


I see some comments here and there that people may think the brass shouldn't be reused at least in a glock because of the bulge regardless if you run it through a bulge buster.

Would it be safe to assume the carbine would be alright with this brass once it is ran through a bulge buster die?

Thoughts?

 

[Analogkid]

I want to add that none of it looks near as bad as some of the glock bulge or smile pics that I see on the net.

 

[LiveLife]

40 s&w brass ... all have the glock bulge ... .40 carbine ... I would like to reload for it.

I see some ... think the brass shouldn't be reused ... because of the bulge regardless if you run it through a bulge buster.

Can you post picture of the bulged brass?

I would consider bulge like shown in the pictures below OK to reload but if bulge looks like brass was fired out of battery (more pronounced bulge lower towards case base with "smiley face" outline of chamber mouth), I would not reload the brass.

Some use bulge buster (push through resize with FCD) to fix overly expanded brass but keep in mind that once the case wall has thinned, you cannot make it thicker again. I think using bulge buster to fix a slightly overly expanded brass that won't resize fully to fit your barrel ONCE is OK if the brass resizes to fit the barrel with the regular resizing after subsequent firing. But if you need to keep using the bulge buster, I would seriously look at the chamber dimensions and powder/charge being used.

My general rule for bulged brass for any caliber is when a resized brass won't freely drop in the tightest barrel I have, I will resize the brass second time and if it still won't freely drop in the chamber, I will toss it for recycling.

 

[rg1]

Started loading 40 S&W only a year or so ago. Bought once fired brass from a couple dealers in 1000 round lots. My sizing die would leave a ring where the carbide ring stopped on too many cases. The ring was bad enough to look like it was displacing material. Bought a Lee Undersized die to size and it made the ring even worse than my RCBS sizer. So on the advice of others I bought the Redding GR-X carbide push through die. It solved my problems. The cases that had the ring did NOT have a smiley face from an unsupported chamber or the so-called Glock Bulge. They appeared to have been fired in a large chamber and were just expanded in the head near the extractor groove enough that it caused the ring. Still in a couple thousand bought once fired I did find maybe 10 cases with a large guppy belly swelling on one side of the case. These cases should be scrapped while the Redding GR-X carbide die made all the other cases perfect. I run all 40 S&W cases through the GR-X die carefully inspecting all around the case first, then size with my standard die next. Saved a lot of cases and sized all the case that my RCBS sizer would not reach. My fired brass from my Glock 23 and Beretta CX4 Storm carbine does not over expand my fired cases. They resize normally but I still run all cases through my GR-X carbide die. I highly recommend the Redding GR-X carbide push thru die but I also highly recommend close inspection before running cases thru the GR-X die as even the dangerous unsupported chamber or badly guppy belly cases will size down after a trip through the GR-X die. That could be dangerous as these cases could fail.

 

[LiveLife]

OP mentioned bulge buster which uses Lee FCD to push-through resize.

rg1, thanks for the info on U dies. Correct me if I am incorrect but I thought FCD carbide sizer ring was larger in diameter (ID) than undersize "U" dies?

Could you measure the ID of the U dies?

 

[Analogkid]

Yeah all of the brass from a sampling of the 3 buckets look like the pics. No of them look like the die punch stamped smiley that some of the glock make in the brass.

I know her carbine even bulges it a little like the above pics . Maybe just a tad less than the stuff in the buckets. I will post pics this evening. Might be overthinking it a bitter. Just want to make sure it's safe for her to run in her rifle.

 

[LiveLife]

You may be in luck.

If the cases resize fully and pass the cartridge gauge or drop freely in the tightest barrel you have, I would reload them.

If any resized case won't pass the case gauge/barrel, I would push-through resize with bulge buster ONCE and see if fired brass will resize normally.

 

[GW Staar]

Perfect Glocks were made more perfect the last few years after all the bad "Glocked" publicity.

Check your own once-shot brass shot out of your wife's (rifle) and see if it matches the bucketful you have....that will depend on how old her pistol is. (Never mind, you already did that)

I think the bulge busters and GRX redding dies work, but only as a straightener to allow it to chamber well.....and not as a "fixer". You can't strengthen weakened brass. IOW's, all's fine as long as the brass is rechambered and shot with the weak side facing a supported side in the chamber.

Where the newer Glocks are supported better such brass will probably last a while. If reshot in the same gun that "glocked" the brass in the first place, (which You won't be doing), best case....another face of the brass gets over stretched.....worst case, the case finds itself back in the same place and the weakened side gets blown out again...........you can't expect to repeat that too many times.

I just reread the post where you said the word, rifle! Surely there's better support in a rifle chamber! Is the feed ramp out of the magazine the same as a Glock, with minimum support?

 

[rg1]

Sorry, I was wrong and I don't have a Lee U die in 40 S&W but only in 9MM. Don't like the U die and it only makes things worse as far as sizing expanded cases. Might be ok if you don't have good neck tension? Lee says the 40 S&W U-die sizes .002-.003" smaller than their standard sizer.

 

[LiveLife]

It really helps to read the OP.

I recently came into 3 5gal buckets full of .40 s&w brass that looks to all have the glock bulge on it. My wife has a .40 carbine

- OP did not fire the brass. They were fired in someone else pistols.

- OP did not mention Glock pistol only that the brass "looks to have glock bulge"

- OP is not going to use the brass for Glock pistol but for a carbine.

GW Staar, I do agree with you on using thinned/weakened brass on less supported barrels that could lead to thinned/weakened part of case base ending up in the same spot to add to case wall failure/rupture.

 

[LiveLife]

I don't have a Lee U die in 40 S&W but only in 9MM. Don't like the U die and it only makes things worse as far as sizing expanded cases. Might be ok if you don't have good neck tension? Lee says the 40 S&W U-die sizes .002-.003" smaller than their standard sizer.

I was hoping to compare ID of U dies with ID of 40S&W FCD I have.

AFAIK, ID of FCD carbide sizer is larger than the ID of the undersize "U" die as FCD carbide sizer was meant to "finish" the loaded rounds to SAAMI max dimension.

 

[Analogkid]

Yep correct. This will all be shot through her rifle not through another glock.. All the brass looks to be police range brass.

 

[W.E.G.]

Run it through a bulge-buster die.

http://www.amazon.com/Lee-Precision-Model-LP90487-Buster/dp/B005KW5F3K

 

[mgmorden]

Bulge Buster is the ticket - though I don't run every round through it.

Since I'm using range pickup brass there's no telling what gun it was fired in. I just reload all of it and then case gauge the rounds. Anything that passes the case gauge is fine - even if you do notice a bulge.

The rounds that fail the case gauge I then run through the bulge buster die. I then re-test them with the case gauge. 50-60% of those rounds usually now pass and I'll put with the rest.

Anything that fails the gauge after going through the bulge buster I just toss out. It's been my experience that running them through the bulge buster a second time only fixes 5-10% of them at that point which isn't worth my time.

 

[GW Staar]

It really helps to read the OP.

- OP did not fire the brass. They were fired in someone else pistols.

- OP did not mention Glock pistol only that the brass "looks to have glock bulge"

- OP is not going to use the brass for Glock pistol but for a carbine.

GW Staar, I do agree with you on using thinned/weakened brass on less supported barrels that could lead to thinned/weakened part of case base ending up in the same spot to add to case wall failure/rupture.

Yeah, for me three times is the ticket.

I did correct the pistol for rifle at least....and added another clarifier or two.

If, as he mentioned, the "bucket" came from a police range, it is in all likelihood Glock shot. Most PD sidearms are Glocks these days for good reason, and they don't care about "bulges," (they use cases ONCE) they care about total reliable function, which Glocks with their ample chambers excel at.

So again, clarifying, if cases shot from her weapon (rifle or whatever) creates similar bulges,

I know her carbine even bulges it a little like the above pics . Maybe just a tad less than the stuff in the buckets

then it also has a case support weakness.....slightly less I believe he said.....and that's good....smaller bulges are good.

The point I make is you can't reopen old wounds in a case no matter how well it "looks healed".(bulge-busted) Unless the case is supported in the chamber so that it can't over-stretch there again....I'd do as the police do....use once.

That's why I suggested to the O.P. to compare carefully ammo shot in "her" weapon with the bucket from the police range.

I'd be interested in knowing which carbine and what the magazine to chamber is like........IOW's, if she was to have a case that ruptures......what direction is the damage going to go. Away from the shooter hopefully.

Nearly all the .40S&W kabooms I've read about were bulged cases reloaded. Luck of the draw when a weakened case happened to face the weak side to the bottom of the chamber against the feed ramp....again.

 

[leadchucker]

Those photos that bds posted look pretty normal to me. All brass get bulged a little when its fired. That's what a resizing die corrects for. Any decent resizing die will fix it. Run them through a good resizing die and load them up. They'll be fine.

OTOH, if the brass is showing smiley faces from distortion from being bulged out into a feed ramp, that's a different story. I accidentally loaded some 40 s&w rounds a bit too hot and that's what I got. I'm probably lucky I didn't get a kaboom out of the deal. I wouldn't use that brass over.

 

[LiveLife]

GW Staar, maybe my coffee yesterday morning was not strong enough ... wasn't trying to come across short.

If, as he mentioned, the "bucket" came from a police range, it is in all likelihood Glock shot. Most PD sidearms are Glocks these days for good reason, and they don't care about "bulges," (they use cases ONCE) they care about total reliable function, which Glocks with their ample chambers excel at.

Chances are law enforcement Glocks used currently will likely be Gen3 Glocks. By 3rd Generation, Glock has tightened the 40S&W chamber quite a bit and is on par with other brand 40S&W barrels with comparable case base support at the chamber mouth. I have compared my Gen3 G22/23/27 with M&P40 and other brand barrels and they show similar case base support at the chamber mouth.

BTW, the picture of "expanded brass" I posted did not come from a Glock as the primer indent was round without the typical rectangle Glock breech face impression (see picture of primer indent below). Case bulge from my Glocks are actually less than what's shown in the picture.

Bulged cases NOT fired from Glocks

Primer indent lacks typical rectangle Glock breech face impression

That's why I suggested to the O.P. to compare carefully ammo shot in "her" weapon with the bucket from the police range.

Good suggestion. If the case bulge from her carbine is comparable or less than bulge in the picture, she is good to go.

 

[Analogkid]

I know it was asked so ...This is all going to be ran in her HiPoint carbine. It's well wore in , she has ran it since 2012. She picked this out after shooting their 9mm and this one at the local range rental rack.

It's mostly been tula ammo through it. It's cheap and she goes through it like candy.

The steel case ammo doesn't bulge through it. Just the brass case stuff that's seldom ran through it and it's a little less pronounced than the bulge in the police range brass.

She runs it enough that I don't want to buy factory ammo for it any more. I bought 3.5k rounds of tula for it a few years back and she is just about out.

That and the tula junk is dirty which really isn't a issue for most rifles but this one is kinda a pain to take apart to clean. It runs dirty alright though.

Just be nicer to take it apart and clean it and go straight to using the brass. It looks like most of this has the less pronounced bulge so I'll run up some starting loads in the brass cases and run a few hundred in it to see how they do.

Maybe this will also get me into a 40s&w chambered pistol for my self again. I had a g27 g3 but like a goof I sold it.

 

[GW Staar]

Not so goofy...like bds said 3rd generation Glocks.....and for that matter 3rd generation .40's in general have better, safer case support. What you buy new today is IMO better and safer......especially for reloaders. Another plus, is that most non-glock manufacturers are making more reliable pistols, on par with Glock.

Personally, I don't shoot Glocks well.....my hands don't fit them worth beans......so I've had to look elsewhere for .40S&W fun. Best fit for me was the Ruger SR40. Very nice, totally reliable, well supported chamber, great shooting, min. felt recoil in my smallish hands. Fit is everything. Find one that fits. The newer Smiths are nice too........shoot, nowdays are are a lot of great .40's to choose from....don't get in a hurry.

BTW, I never meant to insinuate that bulge busters aren't worth having. I use a Redding GRX for mildly bulged brass. Used in such brass, resized in dies that don't size all the way down, they make feeding problems disappear. I just was pointing out that what they "fix" is feeding, not safety. Don't use 'em to "fix" ruined brass...

 

[GLOOB]

All the brass looks to be police range brass.

So if you're reasonably sure it's OF'd, I'd debulge and reload it. But if it continued to bulge in the carbine, then maybe I'd toss the brass after a few reloads.

Most all 40SW carbines are blowback guns, so they don't have full case support, either. You don't want to have a case failure next to your face.