Good stuff there strykervet. The 1006 is definitely going to be the test pilot on new loads before I take them over to the glock 20. It gives a much greater sense of security wrt protecting the hands if anything went awry.
Yeah, but I kind of do it the other way around --I work them up in the Glock first. I always intended on doing this when I got a 1006. The Glock will show pressure problems first due to the looser chamber and "unsupported" area. In fact, it has almost the same support as the 1006, it has an unsupported area too. But the chamber IS tighter and the unsupported area a LITTLE smaller. I'm almost positive that a load that will blow a G20 will not show much evidence in a 1006. Besides, how many 1006 KB's do you know about? It is also deceptive with the recoil --it is so heavy that you really don't feel much difference between loads, even when 1+ grain difference!
What I was able to tell was that the Glock was JUST beginning to show symptoms at 10.3 gr. of 800x. It was probably fine, but I didn't want to go any further with it. An estimated 1320fps is good enough for the Glock 20 anyway, it is in the range I desired, and like they say, it is better to go up in calibre than blow up a calibre. Problem is the 10mm is the highest performance you can get out of a production semi auto, so if you are loading for fun and performance, 10mm is it. So I get what I get. 10.3 would be more than sufficient for defense, I don't hunt with it, and mostly I use them as range toys (save the G29). The G29 btw, it smokes the G27 with similar loadings by as much as 300fps. depending on the load. If the box says 1200+ fps for a .40 factory load, I generally get 1000+. Just a general rule of thumb for the G27 I've learned. The G29 is capable of over 1200fps, but I haven't been able to actually clock it yet. I have GOT to get that new IR light they have for my chrono (don't need a new chrono, it turns out the IR setup is an add-on!). The main reason I load for performance is that I load for performance --both accuracy and velocity. It is a handloader thing I guess, I quit buying ammo long ago and when you start loading your own, performance natually becomes a focus.
But now I'm hooked. Ten millimeter is just the bees knees for me. The most flexible round by far in a semi auto, and the most fun for me. Chances are the next pistol I get will be another 10mm, but I really have my eyes on that .50GI upper for my G21. It looks like a VERY fun round with a lot of potential, provided some special bullets are made for it. Guncrafter also appears to make good stuff. When you handload and reload (I consider them different) obscurity no longer matters as long as bullets and brass exist. So, my favorite pistol load is obviously 10mm, but my favorite rifle load is the 6.5Grendel. It is kind of like the 10mm of AR's.
So if you work up the load in a Glock first, my theory is that in absence of a way to confirm pressure, you have less of chance of blowing up a heavier weapon like the 1006. It is a tank, but because of that, I feel it would be easier to blow up due the fact that lures you into a sense of complacency --it digests everything with out a problem it seems, but I bet when it reaches the limit it just goes, no warning. Because the loose chamber of the Glock allows the brass to expand more, it simply allows one to see if the "Glock smiles" turn up. When you see those, you are definitely over pressure. Period. They are tough, they can take way over pressure rounds, but they aren't invincible. Furthermore, the only Glock smile I've ever had personally was from a box of factory RBCD ammo --every single one nearly blew out the bottom. This was in a G27, and the .40 is already a "hot" load as it is --load it lighter it doesn't work, load it hotter it blows up. To me, it is a specialty load with no room for work. I hate loading for it, I only load target ammo because the room for error is so slim. Even at that, my target loads are pretty stiff for "target loads" compared to 9mm, where I have to use 15lb spring to make it function. Note when I say "Glock smile" I mean a definite bulge in the shape of a smile big enough to easily feel with the fingernail. All powerful loads in the .40-.45 Glocks show slight "grins" from my experience, but they always come out when you size them.
So I figure that the Glock COULD handle 11gr. of 800x, but I ain't doing it. Almost positive the 1006 could, but again, ain't doing it. When folks say they get 1400+ with 180's, I believe it, but I also believe they are playing with fire. That is my guess based on how the brass looks. I don't really bother with flattened primers, it seems almost every load I use flattens the primer anyway to some extent. I do look for bulges, deformities, deep extraction marks, and especially gas marks around the primer. THAT is a pretty good indicator if you ask me, it means stop. Or check your brass, if primers fall out I suppose they'd leak.
When I run the same ammo through the 1006, I get no signs at all. Even with 10.5, which looks like the load I prefer in this particular pistol, for defense anyway. It groups okay, I know a 200gr. XTP loaded to just over .40 specs will yield the best groups in my particular pistols (higher BC, and the fact it is an XTP!). But that Gold Dot seems like a better defensive bullet, at these speeds an XTP will expand, yeah, but it'll also go through two feet of substance.
As for accuracy, I haven't ran enough rounds through it to find the best one, I just expect the XTP's to do better. I do expect the 1006 to be more accurate, but to be honest, I expected it way outperform the Glock in accuracy. I was surprised that, given several equal loadings, it generally groups the same as the Glock, and the G20 was actually more accurate, tighter groups, than the 1006. Again, I haven't ran much through it, and I bet when it gets the XTP's it will shine.
