Danger in loading 40SW

[plinker27]

Hey everyone,

I just worked a ton of overtime in the past couple of weeks and decided on getting into reloading buying all the equipment I needed. I started to research a little more into reloading and found article after article about the dangers of reloading 40SW, head case seperations and brass exploding and damaging the guns and shooter.

My question is this, is it really that dangerous reloading 40 SW? I shoot a glock, sig and xd all in 40 SW but if reloading 40 really is as bad as the articles seem then I don't think I want to do it.

[Exodus343]

I've loaded and shot over 1000 rounds of 40, no problems, as long as you have a dedicated 40 gun, and your not going over max load, you'll be fine

[ExtremeX]

I would say that it’s no more, or less dangerous than reloading any other cartridge…

Bad things can happen regardless of what you are reloading. It’s the nature of the hobby.

Just pay attention to what you are doing, follow the recipe, make sure dies and equipment is setup correctly, be sure of the powder charge you are using, and make sure you inspect your brass.

[ducky_0811]

The 40 is a high pressure cartridge, and problems usually occur when someone tries to hot rod it. Nothing against glocks as they are a great pistol but most times when the 40 kabooms it's in a glock. Not because of the pistol, but because of the brass it creates. Older glocks have an unsupported chamber which creates the glock bulge in brass, when that brass is reloaded improperly, it can fail, usually in said glock that the brass was originally fired in. And that's why glock advises owners to not shoot reloads out of it.

I reload 40 and have never had a problem. Just stick to published data and you'll be fine. As for your glock, if does have an unsupported chamber, there are dies you can use to correct the bulge and you should have no problem shooting reloads in it. With that said, all the normal safety stuff applies, reload, and enjoy it!

[plinker27]

I have a gen 3 glock. Is the unsupported chamber an issue in that?

[Pauliedad]

Ducky nailed it.
The margin of error on .40 is slim so getting everything right is critical.
One of the side effects of reloading is that you'll end up with way more guns as you get curious about other cartridges and their different benefits.

[dexstoy]

Glock 22, GEN 3. These are all reloaded, some 3 or more times. Only problem I had was with the first 100, I only loaded them to the minimum load and the gun wouldn't eject them completely, or they would stove pipe and basically it took for ever to get through all of them. I have went to a lone wolf barrel but that had nothing to do with reloading. There are about 800 rounds ready to go Friday to the range.

[emptybottle151]

I have a gen 3 glock. Is the unsupported chamber an issue in that?

[SonofWWIIDI]

Links to articles?

[Kappy]

I've reloaded thousands of .40S&W. I think it was the first cartridge that I loaded (I only load 6 calibers, so I'm far from being an expert). I don't count how many times I use the same piece of brass, but I'd guess some have been through the cycle more than 10 times.

Most of these were in a CZ75, so perhaps it has to do with the supported chamber. A few were in a Taurus PT140 which I've since sold, and I cannot remember if that chamber was supported.

Regardless, I've never had a problem aside from a few squibs when my powder thrower was malfunctioning waaaaay back at the beginning. Aside from that... never really had a problem.

I would suggest that you start with the minimum load and work it up from there to find a load which functions. Don't try to load a really hot round.

[bigedp51]

The only dangerous thing about the Glock .40 is being on the wrong side of the barrel.



I'm not bragging with this photo, I'm 65, wear bifocals which makes the sights a little fuzzy and the target still died of heart failure.

ALL the Glock bulge problems were fixed with the Gen 3 and when the ammunition manufactures started making the .40 cases thicker in the base.
And "NONE" of my .40 cases have "the bulge".



The real problem is there are Glock owners out there that have the older barrels, don't keep up with their reading and haven't replaced the older barrels and are shooting "HOT" loads.

From the Lee website and their Bulge buster kit.

Glock Cases: We do not recommend "fixing" cases fired in pistols with unsupported chambers, because there is no way to make them safe once they have bulged. The case wall is thinned where it bulges, and resizing the outside of the case back down to the correct diameter does not restore the case back to its original thickness. If this case is fired in a pistol with an unsupported chamber again, and this thinned section of brass happens to line up with the unsupported part of the chamber, there is a high probability that the case will rupture.

http://leeprecision.com/bulge-buster-kit.html

So be forewarned, many, many people use range pickup brass and I am one of them. But by not reading and staying informed is the major reason these mishaps happen. "Stupid is as stupid does"

Make Right With a “.40 Lite”

http://www.handgunsmag.com/ammo/ammunition_40lite_091806/

NOTE: The Speer #14 reloading manual has 165 gr law enforcement loads (.40 Lite) and are warmer than the loads above.

[3RDGEARGRNDRR]

the more people shooting it, the more chance of a kaboom from poorly reloaded ammo.
every popular caliber has its kaboom stories. 40 is a bit hot and cases dont last as long as a 45acp but proper technique overrides all

[kayaker]

I think you'll find that most .40 horror stories are being told by the guys that don't shoot them. Me, I reload and I love my .40's including my Gen 3 model 22

[libertyordeath]

I love shooting my .40 reloads in my xd no problems just be safe

[devster55]

I was told the danger is in bullet set back with 280gr bullets. As the min and max loads are normally within 1gr. I use 180gr bullets and they work great for my 40 and 10mm.