40 S&W Bear Creek Reloading Help

[Mentiroso]

I've been reloading for 2-3 years, mainly rifle ammo. So recently I bought components to reload 40 S&W. The ammo is within C.O.A.L. but it isn't seating in my barrel by approx 9 hundredths. I'm using Bear Creek 180 grain flat point bullets. To overcome for fact the rounds won't seat I thought I could reduce C.O.A.L. but even that proved useless.

Any suggestions would be GREATLY appreciated.

[rm1911]

It sounds like a brass issue. Maybe not resized properly or case mouth flare not removed enough during crimping. Maybe bulge in bottom of brass. It's possible the bullet ogive is coming into contact with lands as a flat point is a little more wider at the ogive than a ball type design.

I've heard there's this things called factory ammo. I've never seen the stuff as I have been reloading for 25 years and rumors being what they are, although I've seen these boxes on store shelves, and so anyways if you have some of this factory stuff, compare your reloads to them. That's a good place to start. If the drop test doesn't work with reloads but does with factory, then compare and contrast. (No essay required )

[RugerNo1]

More recent manufacture Bear Creeks have been notorious for being a bit fat. I stopped using them when I started getting way too many malfunctions in my competition guns.

Take a caliper to your bullet and check the diameter to rule that out.

Nine hundredths can be quite a bit. Are you sure you don't mean nine thousandths (0.090 vs 0.009).

[JTROKS]

For what gun you reloading for?

Do you have another gun or a friend with a gun in 40S&W? Maybe you can try you reloads with his gun .

Possible problem:
- not enough crimp or may need taper crimp
- cases not properly sized
- minimum tolerance tight chamber of gun combined with max tolerance reloads.

[prc77]

are you using a pass though die to remove the bulge,, I have shot 1000's of BC 180's through my G35 never any issues. OAL 1.125-1.135

[JagerDog]

Glocked brass?

Sharpie it up, push it in, push it out and see where the Sharpie is rubbed.

[boomer135]

I am also new to reloading the 40S&W.

To help keep down the pressure I keep the 180gn aside for my 10mm. You will find lots of guys load 155/165gn.

[Mentiroso]

It sounds like a brass issue. Maybe not resized properly or case mouth flare not removed enough during crimping. Maybe bulge in bottom of brass. It's possible the bullet ogive is coming into contact with lands as a flat point is a little more wider at the ogive than a ball type design.

I've heard there's this things called factory ammo. I've never seen the stuff as I have been reloading for 25 years and rumors being what they are, although I've seen these boxes on store shelves, and so anyways if you have some of this factory stuff, compare your reloads to them. That's a good place to start. If the drop test doesn't work with reloads but does with factory, then compare and contrast. (No essay required )

I went through and double checked the brass to ensure I had properly sized the brass. So, I am sure we can rule that out. I am staying to wonder if it isn't the bullet office as well.

More recent manufacture Bear Creeks have been notorious for being a bit fat. I stopped using them when I started getting way too many malfunctions in my competition guns.

Take a caliper to your bullet and check the diameter to rule that out.

Nine hundredths can be quite a bit. Are you sure you don't mean nine thousandths (0.090 vs 0.009).

I mean 0.09 I realize it is a lot.

For what gun you reloading for?

Do you have another gun or a friend with a gun in 40S&W? Maybe you can try you reloads with his gun .

Possible problem:
- not enough crimp or may need taper crimp
- cases not properly sized
- minimum tolerance tight chamber of gun combined with max tolerance reloads.

XD40, my Kahr won't feed it either.

are you using a pass though die to remove the bulge,, I have shot 1000's of BC 180's through my G35 never any issues. OAL 1.125-1.135

I loaded to OAL 1.135 and measured shelf ammo which is OAL 1.125. I have since changed to 1.125 and still have no luck. Looking at the brass I believe there is abulge at the base and will measure that.

Glocked brass?

Sharpie it up, push it in, push it out and see where the Sharpie is rubbed.

I may just follow this advice.

[Spyder]

I've got a crapload of bear creek 40 cal bullets that I loaded in 10mm cases, and they did the same thing. Didn't figure it out, as I mic'd them and they measured right. Hopefully I can learn something from this thread.

[CGT80]

I shoot an XD 40 and have used bear creek.

Take a sized case (not flared/belled) and push it into your chamber (barrel out of the gun) and see if it will go all of the way in. This will tell you if the brass is OK to start out with.

I assume you have just enough flare/bell to seat the bullet. Use just enough crimp to take the flare out, and then if needed you can increase the crimp to make the round chamber. You don't want more crimp than necessary with BC bullets as if effects the accuracy and SD numbers.

Don't be afraid to seat the bullets DEEP. Seat some deeper than you think you need, but without primers or powder. At this point you don't care about the rules or reloading book specs, you just want to find out what works and why your ammo doesn't. When you figure that out, you can decide if it is safe to load up live ammo and fire it with those specs.

BC bullets will not have the same shape as other brands, so it is almost pointless to compare seating depths between various manufacturers. It doesn't matter what brand, as they vary in shape by a bit, most of the time. Your XD will not have the same length requirements as other XD pistols may. My brother has an XD 40 also, but his takes shorter COAL to work properly.

It is easier to use a separate seating die and crimp die. If you seat a bullet really deep and then crimp, and the round still won't drop in the chamber and drop out or come out with very little help from you, then the crimp may not be tight enough. I had this happen with my 40 reloads.

Double check the bullet diameter. I am shooting 0.401" +/- 0.001", usually a tad over rather than under, because I cast my own as well.

As you work on a test round, you can pull a bullet and see if the brass is leaving an impression on the bullet, and also measure the bullet diameter to see if the bullet is swaged down to a smaller size. You might have to except a very slight indentation at the case mouth, but you want the lower portion of the bullet to be full diameter.

Along with the barrel, I also use a dillon case gauge to see how well the round fits. Case gauges vary in size and are not a perfect match to your barrel, so you have to learn if the gauge is bigger, smaller, or very close to your chamber, but it is good for quick spot checks. The case gauge will find brass with bulges on the bottom that may clear the barrel/chamber due to the ramp in the barrel. My dillon gauge is tighter than my XD 4" factory barrel.

If all else fails, don't stress yourself. Just give me the XD and bullets and I will put them to good use.


I have run 180 grain bullets and 200 grain bullets(berry's plated) in my XD 40, but I like 155 and 160 grain cast boolits the best. My 155 load is at 1,000 fps with hp-38 powder. I have some 180 BC bullets here, but have not done test loads for them yet, and I don't have data in my personal book on these, so I probably have not used the 180 BC in the past.

[rsrocket1]

Color the offending cartridge completely (brass and bullet) with a magic marker and try chambering it again. You will see where the ink rubs off. That will tell you where your problem lies.

['ol shooter]

I would call Bear Creek and ask them what their recommended seating depth is. If it is not a conventional shape, it might have an unconventional seating depth. Case in point, I load Oregon Trail in .32 Win. Spl., and their recommended seating depth was nothing like published specs, and in fact they will not chamber if they are loaded to published data.

[JagerDog]

OK...you made me go measure. I'm loading to 1.100" with 4.6gr of HP38 with Bear Creek 180 flat point.

My Sig 239 like 'em (and it can be picky on HP's).

[JTROKS]

I suggest a case gauge to see if the reloaded rounds are within spec.


Cases that are bulged might be salvageable by running them through the Redding G-RX push through die

http://www.redding-reloading.com/online-catalog/3-g-rx-push-thru-base-sizing-die

Or Lee Factory Crimp die turned into a push through die when combined with the Lee Bulge Buster Kit. I highly advise using a sturdy Press for this job or you may end up getting a badly bulged case stuck in the die. Don't even try pushing through a steel case for fun.

Some folks solved that problem by using a small base sizing die

http://www.midwayusa.com/product/687452/lee-undersized-carbide-sizing-die-40-s-and-w

I use the Lee FCD as a push through die for 40 and 45, and have a modified shell holder and sizing die to get the bulge out of my 9mm brass.

If using a single stage a modified she'll holder to let the case go in further and the die's bottom taper is removed to get maximum surface on the case.

['ol shooter]

A bulge would definitely not be a good thing. I ran some ring bulged ones (not Glocked) through the Lee setup, and they still will not fit my case gauge. They will drop freely into my XD barrel in either direction. I sent a query to Lee, because they advertise it as returning the case to factory specs, which it did not do.