How to tell bad 40 Smith brass?

[762 shooter]

I am getting ready to load up a bunch of 40 Smith for a Glock. I got some brass that looks good to me. I am a 45 ACP loader and this is the first time loading 40.

I've read some about stressed out once fired Glock brass (unsupported chamber), and wondered if the brass looks very pregnant or how to tell dangerous brass?

The brass I have looks very uniform. The ass end is about 0.420 and the area where the powder and bullet is measures 0.430.

No real Bulges to speak of.

I tried a search but can't seem to come up with an answer.

Thanks

 

[Walkalong]

No bad bulge. Check.

No splits. Check

Good to go.

 

[ReloaderFred]

Put a case into the barrel of your Glock after you've removed it from the slide. Look at the underside of the case and see where it's unsupported. This will be the area you'll look for a bulge on the brass. And as Walkalong says, no splits or bulges, it's ready to be reloaded.

Hope this helps.

Fred

 

[BWB]

Not trying to hijack, but I'm being discouraged by friends from buying a .40 (XDM probably) because "all .40 brass splits after a load ot two". I handload everything and have a bait of .40 brass on hand (good reason to buy another gun). Also have a healthy scepticism of this sort of report.
Are they likely talking about the Glock bulge, or is there more to it than that?

 

[ReloaderFred]

BWB,

Get the XD and tell your friends to back up their myth with facts. Besides, .40 S&W brass is plentiful. In fact, I've still got about 4 buckets of it that I can't find an outlet for. When the scrap prices go back up, it's probably going to go for scrap.

The .40 loads just like any other pistol round and I very seldom see split cases unless someone is shooting with an over sized chamber. I load it, but it's not one of my favorite calibers, even though I've got several handguns in that caliber.

Hope this helps.

Fred

 

[glock40sw23]

i'm new loader with a glock 40 reloading my used brass some on its 3rd reload, it always has a glock bulge. what's a bad bulge? Loading mostly light loads but put some fmjs together with some below max. unigue data and they seemed pretty hot. but my brass looked ok. primers looked ok. am i likely to experience a brass failure even if there are no other warning signs ??? brass looks fine when sized.???

 

[BWB]

Thanks, Fred. Suspicions confirmed. These stories once started are hard to kill. Never could see why the .40 should be any different from any other admittedly high pressure straight walled case. .40 XDM here we come, so I can pursue my environmentally sensitive recycling efforts.

 

[762 shooter]

What I needed.

Thanks

 

[Walkalong]

XD SC in .40 here. No bulges in brass shot in it, and no more splits than any other reloads.

 

[jonnyc]

If it syas "AMERC", it's trash.

 

[CatsEye]

I have .40 brass that I have reloaded 7 or 8 times. Never a problem with any of it.

 

[243winxb]

Bulged 40 S & W brass

Redding makes a die to fix a bulged case.

The new G-RX push thru Base Sizing Die is designed to restore fired cases from 40 S&W autoloading pistols that exhibit a bulge near the base.

See die here> http://www.redding-reloading.com/pages/grxpushthru.html Would i reload brass that needed this die, No. More Photos here, Kaboom http://www.thehighroad.us/showthread.php?t=377078

 

[Walkalong]

Those pics are the product of a much bigger problem than a poorly supported chamber with properly prepared loads.

 

[double d]

I have a Redding push through resizing die, and based on the amount of
muscle needed, I'd say my Glock 22 is leaving a bulge behind. Not anything
like the pictures above, but enough to create pressure in the die.

 

[ReloaderFred]

double d,

Be sure to lube your brass before you push it through the die, if you're not doing so, now. The better the quality of the lube, the easier the sizing.

Hope this helps.

Fred

 

[The Ten-Ring Kid]

I'm actually new to reloading, and I started with the .40. I've already run a few hundred of my reloads thru my XD-40, with mixed headstamp range brass and with mid range loads using TiteGroup, Bullseye and HS-6. I've even worked up to a hotter load with the HS-6, and no noticeable case problems. I've got about 4 loads on most of the brass and it's still looking good. I say load 'em up and have fun!

Oh, BTW, my first post! I finally quit lurking!

 

[rfwobbly]

If there's any doubt, then slip the reloaded cartridge into a "cartridge gauge".

"Ten Ring" welcome to THR !!

 

[Grump]

To me, a "bad bulge" is one that leaves a CREASE in the case, at the juncture between the supported and unsupported portions of the case wall.

Heck, in the old days of feed-ramping .45 ACPs, even than 21,000 psi or so cartridge could produce some fat-belly brass.

Those pictures above are the worst examples of sidewall bulge all the way around that I've ever seen. The "Glock problem" brass bulges at most over a 45-degree arc. I would never, ever, reload any case that started out looking like those pictured.

If the handle pressure needed to resize a case doubles from what it normally does for your die/press combo, just toss that piece of brass. Saving a nickel ain't worth blowing a case, trashing a magazine, breaking trigger parts, or WORSE.

 

[Rodentman]

The Redding push thru die takes some effort even with new brass, well lubed.