Reloading the .40 S&W for Glock Pistols

[ezypikns]

I've heard of possible difficulties reloading for this caliber in Glock pistols. Does anyone have any personal knowledge or experience that might shed some light on possible problems?
If I were to reload for a Glock in .40 S&W, I'd probably keep the loads light. Self defense loads would be commercial ammo.

Ideas? Comments?

 

[LeonCarr]

ezypikns,

When loading for the Glock .40, IME it is best to use new or once fired brass to maintain good neck tension on the bullet when seated, use a Lee Factory Crimp Die as the final step to ensure a good taper crimp and reliable feeding, and use less than maximum loads with plated or jacketed bullets to minimize bullet setback and heavy lead buildup in the factory Glock barrel's polygonal rifling. IMO shooting hardcast/swaged lead bullets in factory Glock barrels, along with setback of said bullets, is responsible for the KBs (Ka-Booms involving case rupturing at six o'clock on the barrel feed ramp) that you hear and read about involving Glocks.

Hope that helped.

Just my .02,
LeonCarr

 

[trickyasafox]

i just recently got a g23 i load for so i'll throw a few pennies at this

my reloading has all been done with either 155gr or 165gr JHP (rainer, they were on sale) with a smattering of golden sabers and winchesters in there as well. i load 40 brass as long as it has good neck tension and isnt split (pretty much like every other piece of brass) i like unique, and i use a pretty stout charge.

i heard setback was the big problem as well, but running the medium weight bullets i havent had any problems in just over 1000 reloads. next im going to try experimenting with lead 170 gr and 180gr bullets in a stock glock barrel.

soooo basically if you take proper care like you should with any caliber, you should be all set if it's out of your comfort zone, i'd stay with jacketed and plated bullets in the medium weight range at lower velocities. this will give you the most room to play with concerning pressure. that way if you get a little setback you have a slightly higher margin of safety to work with.

1000 really isn't a lot of ammo for many shooters here, but for me it's pretty significant

just so you know, i use a lee pro 1000, and haven't found a need to run the factory crimp die after on the rounds. if you set the dies up right, you'll get more then enough tension to prevent set back.

i'd stay away from SWC profiles though. none of my stock glocks (g17,g23,g30) run that bullet profile well it might just be me or something i do wrong, but i'll try to share what i learned. as always use your head, no one is responsible for you but you.

hope this helped!

 

[HSMITH]

I have shot at LEAST 10,000 of my own jacketed bulet handloads through Glock 40's with factory barrels. I have had zero issues, and consistent success. Not even 1% of the loads I have loaded and shot have been light loads, all loads are on par with factory premium defensive ammunition or slightly faster. Some have been significantly above factory ballistics. Almost all of these loads have been 180 grain bullets.

Things to remember, if you are looking to prevent setback in the crimp die you are already screwed. Setback is prevented in the sizing die and nowhere else. Either you have enough case tension or you don't, nothing you can do after sizing will help, and anything you do after sizing can hurt.

Die selection is one possible problem. Glocks, due to the shape of the chamber, promote a slight bulge at the bottom of the case. To ensure reliability this bulge must be sized out. I have found that Lee dies take this out better than some other dies like Dillon for instance, and size down far enough to take the bulge out completely. If you would like to make absolutely sure setback will not visit you EGW sells a Lee carbide sizing die that is .001" smaller than the normal Lee die, they call it 'undersized die' and on most boards you will see it called the 'Lee U-die' or 'EGW U-die'. .001" may not sound like much, but it is a mile in case tension terms. It makes a tremendous difference. Your crimp must return the bell in the case mouth you put in the case for bullet seating back down flush to the bullet. The case must lay flat against the bullet, any less and you didn't crimp enough, any more than that and you are overcrimping. Overcrimping will increase the chances of setback, don't do it.

Other than the things I listed above I can't really think of anything a reasonably skilled reloader wouldn't know already. If you have any questions please feel free to ask.