Issues reloading .40 cal

[BP707]

I have reloaded about 250 rounds of .40 cal and seems some of them fire great, but some fire and the bullet gets jammed in the barrel about 1 inch inside after firing. I had this problem once before and I was told the it was the load had only a primer "squid" maybe so I loaded 250 more and verifiedthat each load had powder. I also had a friend try these bullets in his XD and his wouldn't even load let a long fire. I went back through some of these loads and notice some have an overall length of 1.135 to 1.139. Maybe not enough powder? or maybe too long of a bullet seating depth?

Fired out of an XD 40 with a 4" barrel
I am using this recipe

Berry's bullets
165gr

Primer
CCI 500

Powder
Bullseye

Charge Weight
grains) 5.3 which is .5 under max

[CalTeacher]

If the bullet is getting stuck in the barrel then you have no powder. That is a squib. If they won't feed then you may need to lower your crimp die a tad to take more of the bell off the case mouth.

What kind of press and powder measure are you using?

[sofbak]

First: a powderless cartridge is called a "squib". If the gun went off and the bullet was stuck in the barrel, then most likely you had a squib-no powder charge. Always best to take look down the cartridge after throwing the charge to see what you got....

Second: Your overall length OAL, is a little long. SAAMI max is 1.135, so the extra .004 is a little long.

Third: for the powder/projectile combination you listed, I show in the current Lee manual that an OAL of 1.120" is specified.


hth

[Longhill]

Are your reloads passing the plunk test, dropping a reload round into a barrel and checking that the base sits equal to the barrel hood. (Barrel out of the gun)
Should hear a pluck sound as the bullet seats into the barrel.

If not, sizing is not enough, or not enough crimp, or even Glocked brass.

[BP707]

Using an RCBS single stage press and a uniflow powder measure.

[Bastard]

Third: for the powder/projectile combination you listed, I show in the current Lee manual that an OAL of 1.120" is specified.

as does the Lyman book &
the Alliant book shows nothing over 1.12 though there is no data for a 165gr


also would recommend not loading 250 rounds "to test" till you figure out what is going on.

**to clarify; you are 100% sure that there is powder. you are getting proper ignition and they are still getting stuck in the barrel?

[Pauliedad]

I pulled barrels while I waited for my case gauges. Better than nothing. I agree with above. No powder and probably more crimp but even a cheap caliper will give you some guidance.
Good luck.

[BP707]

I did the " barrel test" I found 2 that didn't seat properly they were up about 3/16" high. That's a good check system that's for that. Now should I have my OAL be SAAMI 1.135 or 1.120 max? What about these 250 I have should I pull the bullets and start over?

[J-cat]

I run 4grs of Bullseye under a 165 @ 1.150" OAL in my Glock.

5.3 is kinda hot.

It surprises me to hear the bullets are not making it outa the barrel.

[stilly]

Perhaps there is the wrong amount of powder and not "NO powder"

I had a friend make a squid when he accidently bumped his case and some of his HP-38 got loose, as a result of an undercharge his gun cut a silent fart on him and locked up the cylinder with a lil Pfffffty after he pulled the trigger. Kinda funny actually. But a busted pencil later and we got it unstuck and back to shooting.

ALWAYS wise to visually check your powder levels on your cases when you are loading with a single stage. Okay, always wise to do it on ALL charges with ALL presses, PERIOD.

Possible that the powder bridged on you and failed to drop enough in?

Please do not tell us that you also never bothered to read a book...
BUT, if you did not, then you should invest in one, you can learn some good habits from them DESPITE what others might think or say in their threads in this forum...

[mark501w]

what kind of powder measurer were you using?

[chknlyps2]

I run 4grs of Bullseye under a 165 @ 1.150" OAL in my Glock.

5.3 is kinda hot.

It surprises me to hear the bullets are not making it outa the barrel.

I agree, my loads are pretty snappy out of a heavy Browning Hi Power.

5.2 gr Bullseye
155 gr Berrys fp
1.125 oal

[jes1698]

40sw

I have a Beretta 96 and it dosen't like bullseye. I use Blue Dot 8.2 gr with 180 gr speer bullets with 1.12 OAL and they shoot very accurate. Sounds like a powder weight and or over crimping.

[BigBronco]

Is it possible that it is the cartridge jamming and not the bullet?

[rsrocket1]

Definitely no powder in those squibs. 4.0g Bullseye will still shoot them with authority. My favorite BE load for 40 is 4.5g and my M&P 40 likes them seated at 1.135" Overall Length (OAL). 1.12" is the minimum recommended length for the listed load. You should adjust the length according to what feeds best with your gun.

Since you already know how to knock a stuck bullet back out of your barrel, you can test the squib theory by loading one round without powder and try shooting it. Does it behave like your other squibs? If so, you are now sure you know what it feels like to shoot a round with no powder.

A low charge will leave lots of unburned flakes in the barrel, a sooty case and gas blowback into your face, but the bullet almost always travels most or all the way down the barrel, not just an inch or so.