Reloading for Glocks?

[LiveLife]

GLOOB, you are correct. The pictures of bulged cases are not from my Gen3 Glocks but from another shooter's earlier generation Glock.

BTW, the comparison barrel pictures are of my Gen3 G27 and LW G27 barrels.

As a reference, using W231/HP-38 mid-to-high range load data, I do not get bulged cases out of my Gen3 G22/G27.

 

[armarsh]

Here is a photo that shows the difference between a Gen 2, a Gen 3, and a Lone Wolf Barrel. Support was improved substantially from Gen 3 on. The photo was copied from an image server years ago, so I don't know who's picture it is.

 

[RugerNut9]

Great information in this post! I don't care for a 40 either but I was also considering getting one because the Prison I work at is retiring the S&W 64 for a G23!

 

[Pugsbrew]

Further research.

http://glocktalk.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1383583

 

[918v]

Bunch of nonsense in that thread.

Picking powders on the sole criteria of bulk density eliminates many accurate possibilities. Maybe people should stop reloading the .38 Special and the .45 ACP because Bullseye could result in a double charge. Please.

 

[LiveLife]

While there are good reasons for choosing powder based on case fill (powder charge position relative to primer, etc.), for me reloading for semi-auto pistols like Glock, powder selection is often done based on practical accuracy and consistent metering.

If you exercise safe reloading practices with proper QC checks, you shouldn't have to rely on overfilling the case to prevent double charges.

With current shortage of reloading components, you may not be able to find the powder of your choice anyways and regardless of powder choice, you should monitor your case bulging during your powder workup. If your barrel has generous chamber and you experience significant case bulge your resizing die cannot resolve, you can simply reduce the powder charge. You can always test different powders as more popular powders for the caliber become available to see which powder works best for your pistol/barrel.

 

[918v]

Again, normal case expansion is not case bulging.

Case bulging is an anomaly. It is a sign of a defective case, or a mechanical issue with the gun. It cannot be controlled with an adjustment of the powder charge.

 

[LiveLife]

918v, I agree with you. Such extreme "smiley" face case bulging you posted in #22 is obviously from out-of-battery situation and cannot be resolved by powder charge adjustment.



What I posted in #5 and #20 referred to case wall expansion or less extreme case bulging that results from generous chambers of factory barrels that fired from full battery and fired normally without mechanical issues. The pictures below are of cases shot in earlier generation Glock but I have seen similar case wall expansion or case bulging from other non-Glock factory barrels. For cases like these, powder charge reduction can decrease case wall expansions or case bulgings.

BTW, I think OP is simply asking if spent factory new cases from Gen4 G23 and Ruger SR9 can be reloaded without the concern over "normal" case wall expansion or case bulging and the answer would be yes.

Reloading for Glocks ... Planning to reload ... .40S&W ... I don't quite understand with reloading cases already shot through Glocks... or cases that will be shot through a Glock ... Gen4 Glock 23. The 9x19 is a Ruger SR9.

Just trying to figure out whether I'm good to go reloading factory cases fired through these guns.

My response to OP in post #5 included reloading cases that are mixed range pick up brass with unknown reload history shot in generous chamber barrels.

 

[918v]

My issue is the use of the term bulging to denote normal expansion. I think bulging should only be used to denote abnormal expansion.

 

[LiveLife]

OK. I could see how "bulged cases" to a new reloader may warrant some concern. I will try using "case wall expansion" to describe bulging in normally shot cases in factory barrels.

 

[918v]

Thank You for accommodating my pet peeve

 

[kingmt]

I had a TCP that would bulge the bread like the one 918 pictured. It wasn't malfunction. The chamber just had no support at all. The feed ramp went well past the web. The bulge was higher in my cases tho. They started above the web & went half way down the web. The case he pictured looks like the chamber was semisupported & over charged.

I could use shower powder to stop the bulge & only get over expanded cases. I guess this because of pressure peek vs unlocking. Bullseye was way to fast in it tho. My wife has the same gun & it has about 3/4 of the web supported & doesn't have that problem but is very picky about what it eats.

 

[vont01]

I have the glock 22 and am using the Lone Wolf barrel and have had no issues with the reloads. I also use the Bulge Buster if it is so warranted.

 

[HexHead]

Yea!!!....another who thinks like me.

The whole FBI 9mm to .40SW seems like someone finding a solution to a problem which did not really exist, which was actually the 10mm. Oh but lets make it a shorter 10mm. I'm sure the ammo makers would love to get them all to switch to another caliber again.....profit, profit, profit.

They should of gone with a hotter 9mm or the .45.

Police departments adopted the .40 as a compromise round. Almost as much capacity as a 9mm, and almost as heavy a bullet as the .45.

 

[CatPuke]

My hoard of .40 brass (about 4,500 pieces) is all once fired out of select-fire glocks.. (theres a guy in my neighborhood who makes select-fire glocks for the government, and he sold me a bucket of his brass from his demonstrations).

I ordered the "bulge buster kit" from Lee and ran a few hundred cases through it, and after resizing with the bulge-buster, the brass was still oversized. I tried running the brass through a standard resizing die *before* the bulge-buster, and when I did that, the brass didnt touch the die on the bulge buster.

Based on that, I stopped using the bulge buster, since it seems redundant.. not pretending to be an expert on this - I've loaded about 600 rounds so far with mild loads of WSF & 180gr berrys bullets, with no problems. Most all of my brass has case "swelling", but none of it has a line like the example-pic that was posted.

 

[918v]

It's redundant until your casehead let's go. I wish they made push through dies for every caliber.

 

[Kachok]

You CAN reload for a Glock but you will never catch me doing it. I load for S&W, Ruger, Taurus, and Springfield pistols but I absolutely will not load anything for a Glock.