Issues reloading .40 cal

[drdarrin@sbcglobal.net]

When you have one of these squibs, when you rack the slide to remove the casing, does any unburnt powder come out?

How are you priming these cartridges? Are they fresh primers or older? Have they been properly stored? I've seen fouled primers cause this type of behavior.

When you're charging your cartridges with your uniflow, are you doing them one at a time or a group at a time? Does your uniflow have the pistol or the rifle cylinder in it? Are you getting a consistent thunk on the upstroke and downstroke of your powder measure each time? I use the uniflow too and charge 50/100 cartridges (two loading blocks) at a time. I also use Bullseye exclusively in that same cartridge. When I'm done charging a block of cartridges, I always visually inspect each cartridge to ensure the powder level is the same.

[mark501w]

Your just not watching what you're doing .

[ducky_0811]

1.135 seems a little long hodgdon has data published for berry's plated. I also load .40 with a 165 plated bullet. I load to 1.125 for my 4" XD and it's been a great load with some hs6

[JagerDog]

Your just not watching what you're doing .

That's my guess.

Use loading blocks. Charge cases. Inspect with flashlight, hovering over each case. Seat bullets. Taper crimp.

Only thing I've seen similar is a buddy who didn't resize cases. He'd run them through after seating. Bullets would get stuck in the throat. But powder would come pouring out during clearing.

[bruce381]

No Powder.

Try this put primed brass in a plastic what you call it cartridge holder that has about 50 holes in it this allows the brass to set upright. Then load this holder with 50 or so primed brass then take the powder messure (adjusted for correct charge) and by HAND hold it on the case mouth and fill each one row by row. Then take a good eyeball look to make sure ALL are full to SAME hight( weight out a fell also). Then set boolit.

[bruce381]

take you time you should NEVER have a squib no good ju ju

[bigchinner]

I've loaded "glock" brass and other brass with no problems on single stage RCBS press. Cross reference 2 manuals for OAL (overall length) and starting charges. A case gauge or "plunk" test works but something that doesn't fit into a 40cal case gauge usually is a bad sign. Good luck.

[bsumoba]

its all about concentrating on what you're doing and have an organized and methodical approach to reloading.

Patience is a virtue and to be quite honest, reloading is where you WANT to be anal retentive and make sure you did all the steps, QA steps, etc.

For me, when I reload handgun ammo, I:

Wet tumble brass for 15 minutes to get most of the gunk out
Let dry
Decap and resize
Use case gauge length on EVERY piece of brass to ensure proper length and headspace while checking for splits, and other anomalies.
Wet tumble brass for 2-3 hours to fully clean brass and primer pockets
Let dry
Bell mouth and inspect for splits on EVERY round after belling
Prime from one tray to another
Charge powder - every 5-8 rounds, I will weigh charge on scale for QA
Inspect batch with flashlight to look for uniformity when batch is done
Seat bullets - on first one, I will be meticulous about getting the right OAL.
Start seating batch of bullets while checking every few rounds with a pair of clipers to ensure no change to OAL.
Crimp (I use a factory crimper).
After crimping, I will put EVERY bullet back into a case length gauge to ensure no headspace issues

As you can see, there are a lot of QA steps in my process. If myself, my wife, and loved ones are going to be shooting my firearms with my reloads, Im going to make sure Im doing my part to be safe and to ensure all my reloads are as if they are match ammo.

My $0.02

[J-cat]

1.135 seems a little long hodgdon has data published for berry's plated. I also load .40 with a 165 plated bullet. I load to 1.125 for my 4" XD and it's been a great load with some hs6

1.150" is more accurate than 1.125"

[RR.44]

If your using a book then you should know that you need to have all the brass had to be uniform (that means all the same length) after resizing check the length of the case and check the book for the "trim to" length and trim all the brass as necessary, also don't over crimp the case needs to rest on the end of the breech of the barrel .
My .02

[gsparesa]

For Pete's sake, don't drink while you reload.

[drdarrin@sbcglobal.net]

If your using a book then you should know that you need to have all the brass had to be uniform (that means all the same length) after resizing check the length of the case and check the book for the "trim to" length and trim all the brass as necessary, also don't over crimp the case needs to rest on the end of the breech of the barrel .
My .02

You trim straight wall pistol brass? Seriously?
And what, pray tell, does having all your brass the same length have to do with squib loads?

[jes1698]

For rifle loads trimming your brass is a must but I agree with drdarin trimming straight case is a waste of time. I do a 100% visual with my magnify headset before putting any loads in the container as ready to shoot to check for cracks, bulges and case damage. Just be careful and consistant with what your doing once you figure out what works.

[Mr. Casull]

If the case was fired in a Glock it will have a bulged base that will not resize correctly. You have to get a die that forces the case all the way thru it to get the bulge out. Then you can resize it in the normal manner. That will eliminate the cases not fully seating. Redding makes the die that will solve one of your problems.