Glock Reloads and what i heard from a gun store.

[Dorryn]

Ok... based on the research ive done over the last few months as ive begun to get involved in reloading, many feel that firing reloads in a Glock is unsafe due to chamber support. Modern Reloading states:

Do not use reloads in Glock or similar guns with chambers that do not fully support the cartridge due to the intrusion of the feed ramp.

When I bought my first Glock several months ago, I asked the gun store about this. (Pro-Gun Services LLC). He stated that this was nonsense and that he had been firing reloads in his Glocks for 20 years without ever experiencing a problem. Now, I have no intention of ever producing "hot" loads. However, id just as soon keep all my fingers on my hands and my Glock in one piece... Unfortunately, I do NOT have the money to buy an aftermarket barrel.

Other sources say that Glocks have improved, that chances are as long as I frequently examine the brass which I reload for problems, case weakness, splitting, et al., then I wont ever have a problem and I dont need to be concerned. I would like some advice from those of you who presumably might own a Glock and may have had personal experience with both sides of this argument.

 

[Lone_Gunman]

All manufacturers advise against use of reloads. They put that in their instruction manuals as a disclaimer in the event you blow up your gun and try to sue them.

Custom 1911s usually have been throated to improve feeding or cartridges. Throating results in the same lack of case head support that Glocks have. So don't get all bent out of shape about lack of case support, just be aware of it. Other guns have the same design limitation.

I see nothing wrong with using reasonably loaded reloads in a Glock. I would be careful to stay in the safe range on your loads with the standard Glock barrel, and of course you want to avoid lead bullets in the polygonal Glock barrel. I load some pretty hot reloads for my Glock 20, but I use a KKM barrel in it for that, and it has more support. You can also use lead bullets in a KKM barrel without fear.

 

[CZ57]

Dorryn: I have owned three. Most of the issues are specific to the .40 S&W cartridge, and unfortunately, they are valid. In 9mm and .45 ACP, I have not seen any problems other than scarring on the case mouth because ejection ports are not relieved on Glock pistols and the brass strikes the ejection port when it ejects. This is more likely to occur with 9mm, .40 caliber and 10mm Glocks. Most guys that continue to load .40 S&W for Glocks tend to keep them lightly loaded with mild loads. This is prudent for those that choose to do it with the factory barrel. Here's what occurs: with full pressure factory loads in .40 there will be bulging at the casehead, the area just above the rim. You can remove the bulge through several methods of resizing including case rollers. But, what this doesn't cover is the area where the bulge occurred and is stressed beyond normal. In the unlikely event that the area that was bulged and weakened should end up in the 6 O'Clock position over the feedramp again, it is susceptible to rupture and or a possible casehead seperation. I can't go into the 10mm because I have not seen anything definitive about casehead support. Lone-Gunman and others are using aftermarket barrels for a reason, but the reasons can vary from casehead support to getting a barrel with conventional rifling so they can more readily use cast bullets in their handloads.

 

[Brigrat]

I have seen Glock .40's KB with new ammo and reloads...I have not seen a Gen 3 Glock do this...my expereince with Glock .40's consist of managing an agency that issued about 30 of them, and training with two larger agencies that carried them. Since 2001, I have not seen a single KB, and I have personnally witnessed well over 100,000 rounds go down range consisting of all types of ammo.

 

[Exposure]

My good friend owns a Glock 36 which is the little sub-compact pistol they make in .45 ACP. Full power loads are a bit unpleasant to put through it as the recoil is very sharp. As such it doesn't always get a lot of range time when we shoot together.

I had made up 500 rounds of reduced recoil .45 using 4.9 grains of W231 under a 230 grain Rainier plated bullet for my subgun. They didn't run very well in it so I asked my friend if he wanted to shoot them up in his Glock. He said sure and they were an immediate success. Much more pleasant to shoot than a full power round and just as accurate. All 500 rounds got eaten up very quickly that afternoon. For once I actually enjoyed shooting that little Glock!

Were we rolling the dice? I don't think so. All the cases looked fine and I have since reloaded them multiple times with no trouble.

This is just my limited experience though, take it with a grain of salt!

 

[donttellthewife]

Being a range rat and picking up thousands of glock fired 40 s+w brass has shown me how hard these guns are on brass. You can always tell they were fired from a glock because of the indentation left on the primer. Most of the time the brass is just recycled, you can see how the brass looks like a pregnant guppy. On rare occasions there is a rectangle hole blown through at the base of the case, it's a sure sign someone had a bad day at the range. I wouldn't hesitate to load 40 brass for the glock as long as it hasn't been through one before. Of course I would still inspect the brass before loading, some other guns can be hard on the brass as well.

Ron

 

[Lennyjoe]

If you stay within the boundries of published loads you'll be fine with a Glock factory barrel.

Use loads that fill up the case to keep from the off chance of a double charge. Load to specs and don't over due it.

 

[Dorryn]

This is why i am concerned... my Glock 27 is of course .40 cal.

I have seen Glock .40's KB with new ammo and reloads...I have not seen a Gen 3 Glock do this...

How would I know if it is Gen 3? I bought it new... so maybe this just refers to a period of manufacture? Maybe i should just sell the 27 and buy a 33 or 26...

 

[trickyasafox]

i've been using reloads in my g23 for over almost a full year now. its a used 2nd gen built in 97. i've put a bit over a k through it, mix of plated and lead. No drama yet. I know lots of people advise against lead, but i guess i'm a glutton for punishment.

 

[dakotasin]

i've never shot a single factory load through my glock 35 (40 s&w).

anybody that knows me knows i load as hot as i can.

never had any trouble. my brass does have that great glock smile, but never had any trouble w/ the gun. i load jhp's, though - not cast.

 

[nitesite]

How would I know if it is Gen 3? I bought it new... so maybe this just refers to a period of manufacture?

Gen III Glocks have fingergrooves and accessory rails.

I'm reloading 10mm Auto for my G29 and pressure signs on the case walls are almost non-existent with my 180-gr 1150-fps loads. I believe (as others have mentioned) that the primary culprit of KBs is in the .40S&W Glocks.

I want to get an aftermarked broached or button rifled barrel but until then I shoot X-Treme copper plated lead bullets to avoid the problem of barrel leading.

 

[halvey]

Finally, a gunshop guy who has it right. I wouldn't worry about it.

 

[schmidtbender]

Tell Paul Larry says hello from WY. I have shot 3000+ rounds in my old 9mm Glock, most of them elcheapo reloads with lead bullets. They all worked fine, and a magazine of jacketed factory S&Bs every 500 round took care of any real or imagined leading. It has had no special care and is just my "larger than a 22rf" plinker. It always goes "bang".

 

[cherryriver]

Omigosh! I could shoot factory loads in my wife's G17?
Hey, if it blows... it's just a Glock.
Bill

Oh, okay, I apologize.

 

[Loco]

I just got a G21SF and so far i shot 2000 reloads with the factory barrel. I was thinking of getting a aftermaket barrel but i see no need. I'am loading 4.7 of Bullseye with a 230 gr. fmj-rn. The gun loves them. I hav'nt had one problem with the round. From what i hear you just can't use a lead bullet with the factory barrel.

Loco

 

[Lennyjoe]

If your that worried then why not drop $98 on a Storm Lake barrel from Topglock? Great barrel for the money.


http://www.topglock.com/catalog/barrels_stormlake.htm

 

[CZ57]

Or, KKM, Bar-Sto, Heinie and several others. Dorryn, here's something you can do that won't cost you a penny. Take a fired and resized .40 S&W case and place it into the chamber of your Glock 27. Then, take that fired case down to the same gunshop, along with the barrel from your G27 and put the case in a pistol like the CZ 75 B, H&K USP, or a SIG, or any other they have for comparison. Since the shop owner is so convinced, he shouldn't have any problem assisting you with this. The less of the casehead you see exposed over the feedramp, the better support it provides for the casehead. This is not only a Glock issue: several gun manufactures did little more than bore a 9mm barrel to .400". This also includes the Walther P-99 which has had a few Ka-Boom events in its history. In the case of Glock, they also opened up the chambermouth to insure reliable feeding. That same case will also have a little more "play" in the chamber than it will in the chamber of a pistol that provides good support for the .40 S&W case.