.40 S&W case question

[cygnus x-1]

Ok guys, heres my latest question. When I am reloading 40 S&W, a handful of rounds come out and will not chamber in my wifes sig. All the other ones are fine, just these few. They are too fat to go in. I am using a Dillion 550, loading cast rounds. Should I just chalk this up to weak cases? Thanks.

 

[KMM696]

Fat rounds typically mean Glock brass. The Glock chambers are loose, normal dies don't resize down far enough to iron out everything the Glock chamber did to the brass, and your wife's Sig must have a fairly tight chamber.

That's as far as my crystal ball takes me. If you Google 'Glocked brass' you'll find more info that might help match up what's going on with your 40 reloads.http://www.thehighroad.us/showthread.php?t=405240

 

[DukeInFlorida]

Glocks do NOT support or enclose the entire back end of the case when the chamber/slide closes. The unsupported/enclosed end of the case sees enough pressure when the round fires to expand the brass as you have seen. This results in the condition that we call, "Glocked brass". It's the stereotypical condition when firing rounds in a Glock.

Normal resizing dies do NOT completely take care of that bulge. You have to use a special die to recover the brass, and that has been covered several times in this forum.

Those of us who have tons of brass just discard those bulged pcs when we find them and use only NON-Glock fired brass.

However, for those of you who shoot only Glocks, and want to reload that brass, you're going to have to invest in that Glock recovery die, and add that extra step to your processing.

 

[TY43215]

I will take all the Glock brass you have

Buy the EGW size and decap die and never worry again. While your at it buy the chamber check gauge too. Worth the minimal investment.

DIE

Chamber Checker

 

[clydepo]

You need one of these. I use this exact one and it re-sizes every case perfectly. Remember to lube the outside of the cases though before using this re-sizer.

Redding G-RX Base Sizing Die Kit 40 S&W

http://www.midwayusa.com/viewproduct/?productnumber=358543

 

[Gammon]

The Lee undersized die will solve 99% of your "Glocked" brass problems. I have found that a few cases are too badly abused to save, but the die works with about 99% of the once fired brass I have used. The key words here are "once fired". I have also found that the Lee die will not work with brass that has been fired in a large chamber more than once. The Redding "push through" die is also an excellent solution, but it adds an extra step to the reloading process.

Recently I encountered a problem with the Lee die. I installed a case feeder on my 550 and was plagued with primer seating problems. Actually, I had the problems before installing the case feeder but they were much easier to deal with with the un modified press. I blamed the whole thing on the Wolf primers I was using. The Dillon people suggested that I install a Dillon sizing die. I was reluctant to give up the Lee die, but eventually re-installed the original Dillon die.

What a difference! Don't ask me how, but the Dillon die leaves the resized case in a better position to accept the new primer which results in practically no primer seating problems, even with Wolf primers. Close observation revealed that, after resizing, the case has to move slightly on the down stroke to center itself over the new primer for seating. Comparing the two dies, the case movement using the Lee die is about twice that using the Dillon die, leading to primer seating problems.

As I said, I have no idea why this occurs or if it is a problem specific to my 550 alone. I offer this info to those 550 owners who may be having primer seating problems with the Lee undersized die. This Lee die works flawlessly on my 1050. The good news is that I have solved my primer seating problems on the 550. The bad news is that I am sitting on 10,000 "Glocked" 40 cases that have been tumbled and are ready to reload. Maybe its time to switch the 1050 over to .40.

 

[Mikie]

The Lee factory crimp die in a Rock Chucker press can also be used to fully resize the 40 brass. You use a dowel to push the 40 brass, base side first, thru the die and the resized shell comes out the top.

 

[swampy]

Lee sells a bulge buster kit to push the .40 brass through the factory crimp die. It is about $16 at midway and the carbide factory crimp dies are around $15 or so. You can use it on .380 and I think .45 also with the correct carbide factory crimp die.

 

[cygnus x-1]

Thanks guys. I think I know what is going on. She has an m&p compact .40 as well and it is just like a glock. I will have to keep the fired brass separate. Man you guys are good.

 

[IDPA Mike]

Do 9mm casings incur the same issue?

 

[HangEmHigh]

Do 9mm casings incur the same issue?

Ive never been bothered by case bulge in 9mm through my Glock. YMMV

 

[drgrant]

9mm Glocks do bulge cases but it is nothing like what happens in .40 S+W. .40 S+W Glock brass is only good for a couple of firings with the factory barrels. If I owned a .40 S+W Glock I'd probably drop in a KKM or something like that, although .40 S+W brass is so plentiful on average that you can basically just afford to throw it into a scrap bucket when you're done reloading it once or twice anyways.

-Mike

 

[DukeInFlorida]

ALL Glocks have the support issue on the back of the case, so YES, all Glocks will sometimes produce bulges. Better to say, "All Glocks have the potential to produce bulges on the sides of the cases, regardless of caliber."

If you reload "Glocked brass" and fire it in a Glock, you probably won't be bothered by the bulge.

However, if you reload Glocked brass and fire it in most any other gun, you MIGHT have chambering issues.

 

[zerodown]

Thanks guys. I think I know what is going on. She has an m&p compact .40 as well and it is just like a glock. I will have to keep the fired brass separate. Man you guys are good.

This isn't your problem. The M&P's have supported chambers and are not going to produce "Glock brass".

 

[Gammon]

This isn't your problem. The M&P's have supported chambers and are not going to produce "Glock brass".

The two M&Ps I have , 9mm full sized and Pro, both have tight chambers.

 

[Mittenk]

I roll size all my .9mm, .40 and .38 super. That way I Never have an issue with not chambering.

 

[IDPA Mike]

What, and how do you roll size

 

[Mittenk]

http://www.casepro100.com/

 

[swampy]

I had a coffee can full of 9mm that was fired from a full auto pistol that fired basically on an open chamber. Most of them were too far bulged to go into a sizing die without wrinkling. They almost looked like 357 sig brass.

Do 9mm casings incur the same issue?

 

[Gammon]

I knew a commercial reloader who sold a lot of ammo to customers with automatic weapons. He had so much trouble resizing this brass that he had a roller/sizer custom made. This was years before the "Case Pro" hit the market. The neat thing about this machine was that it also chamfered the primer pocket in one operation.

 

[Jose]

I've picked up lots of Glock fired 9 mm brass from range floors and never, ever had a problem chmbering them in my M&Ps. I just full length resize them with a Hornady die and go.

It is simply not an issue with 9 mm Glock-fired brass.