.40 cal brass bulge?

B

Brianma65

CGN Ultra frequent flyer
Rating - 100%
197   0   0
Location
Canada
Hello again:). I just ordered a .40 cal fn pistol and will be reloading for it. I've read that .40 brass may have a bulge, and was wondering is this all .40 brass or just glock brass? Do I need a die that removes this bulge or can I just use range brass that hasn't been fired in a glock?
 
I have a fairly new Glock 22 (40 Cal) and have never experienced the Bulge. I also have reloaded several hundred rounds for it with the RCBS carbide die set (.40/10mm) without a hitch.
 
If you did come accross some brass with the bulge any standard sizing die will remove it, I had some 40 S&W brass with a very obvious bulge and it was completely removed with my RCBS carbide sizing die.
 
If you reload (especially range found brass) you will eventually run across bulged brass. Some of this brass can be resized just fine by a regular full length sizing die, and some will not - to a point where it will not chamber in your firearm after re-sizing.
You can run a sizing die that amounts to a 'small base' or undersized sizing die like that marketed by EGW, run a Lee factory crimp die (that squeezes the base of the brass and crimps separately from the seating operation), or at the very least use a chamber guage to check your finished ammo.

I use under sized sizing dies and crimp with Lee factory crimp dies for my pistol ammo.
I generally do random spot checks with a chamber guage but any ammo used in competitions is all run through the guage.
 
Is is noticeable by looking at it? If so I can just toss it. Will any .40 cal pistol cause this bulge or is it just from one particular make?
 
Brianma65 said:
Hello again:). I just ordered a .40 cal fn pistol and will be reloading for it. I've read that .40 brass may have a bulge, and was wondering is this all .40 brass or just glock brass? Do I need a die that removes this bulge or can I just use range brass that hasn't been fired in a glock?
Click to expand...

The older Gen 1 Glock had a chamber that did not fully support the brass when chambered which led to problems with the bulge you speak of. Glock changed the design of their chabers with the Gen2 and later versions and their barrels now fully support the cases down to the webbing the same as other semi-autos. I have not run into any bulged 9MM or 40cal cases in at lrast the last five years and not many before that.

Bob
 
I load range pick up brass and have not seen the problem with Glocked brass.

However, I use a Dillon 550 and the 4th die position is a Lee factor crimp, which also sizes the loaded round, if required, to make sure it will chamber. Every once in awhile I feel it engage a fat case.
 
Ganderite said:
I load range pick up brass and have not seen the problem with Glocked brass.

However, I use a Dillon 550 and the 4th die position is a Lee factor crimp, which also sizes the loaded round, if required, to make sure it will chamber. Every once in awhile I feel it engage a fat case.
Click to expand...

I shoot a lot of lead bullets and the LEE fcd for pistol cartridges re-sizes the bullet which intern kills accuracy and encourages leading.

Bob
 
The Glock .40 bulge was caused by the early Glock barrels (feed ramps) and thin cases, the Glock barrels were redesigned and the cases were made thicker.

CaseSupport2-1_zpsb7ee6216.jpg


Any semiauto pistol can have a "bulge" depending on the feed ramp, brass thickness and how "HOT" you load.

glock-brass_zps1in2work.jpg


Below my "non-bulging" Glock .40 shooting .40 Lite Loads.

40SampW001_zpsfc7e7b54.jpg


Make Right With a “.40 Lite”
http://www.handgunsmag.com/ammo/ammunition_40lite_091806/
 
The "bulge" for the most part is a thing of the past. If you run into a piece of brass that has the "glock smile" scrap it, do not try and reload it. If you do it could lead to fairly significant problems.

I have a case pro 100 on an auto drive. It rolls the base of the brass between two plates to achieve the same function as a bulge buster. I find it handy for the fact that if your 1F range brass is coming from service pistols, ie; glock, S&W, norc the chamber can more generous than lets say an SVI or STI standard class pistol. Hence if you are running one of those higher end competition pistols you would reduce your possible case gauge failures from 3% +/- to nil.
 
Any unsupported barreled firearms will create bulged brass, I've seen this come out of Beretta 92's as well. .40S&W does seem to be susceptible to this phenomena. Most times, my sizing die will take care of the bulge, but I have recently taken to running all my .40S&W through a Lee Factory Crimp die as the last stage in the reloading process and have had zero issues since then.
 
the bulge is an old thing with older unsupported barrel, not the new ones. with range brass and normal full size die, there is a fat belly after resizing that could be mistaken as bulge. see my post a while ago on page 2.
you can see the picture how it looks like after the perfect straight case was resized. Many people here and technical support from LEE(I use LEE carbine dies on all 4 stations on my Dillon 550B) thought it was bulge at first until seeing the pictures I posted in sequence.
From LEE, it's fine, or to get the perfect straight case, I need to do partial resizing which I didn't bother to do. So, all my finished ammo is like coke bottle shape and they shoot fine and dead accurate(40S&W Campro FMJ with 5.5gr Longshot). the key is to test your loaded ammo(use dummy round) with the barrel drop in test. as long as that tested fine, you are good to go.

http://www.canadiangunnutz.com/forum/showthread.php/1288856-LEE-sizing-die-defected-out-of-box/page2


Brianma65 said:
Is is noticeable by looking at it? If so I can just toss it. Will any .40 cal pistol cause this bulge or is it just from one particular make?
Click to expand...
 
herpinator45 said:
The "bulge" for the most part is a thing of the past. If you run into a piece of brass that has the "glock smile" scrap it, do not try and reload it. If you do it could lead to fairly significant problems.

I have a case pro 100 on an auto drive. It rolls the base of the brass between two plates to achieve the same function as a bulge buster. I find it handy for the fact that if your 1F range brass is coming from service pistols, ie; glock, S&W, norc the chamber can more generous than lets say an SVI or STI standard class pistol. Hence if you are running one of those higher end competition pistols you would reduce your possible case gauge failures from 3% +/- to nil.
Click to expand...

X2 on the CASE PRO.. I love mine... Anyone with bulged brass can send it to me :)
 
Has anyone reloaded bulged brass many times? I bought a Glock and began seeing a few bulges on brass that I'd been reloading for quite a while. I didn't want to wreck my brass so ditched the Glock 21 and used other 45s to shoot - then ran up that brass up to about 50 reloads - and I couldn't imagine brass lasting that long if it had been bulged a few times.
 
anchor3593 said:
Has anyone reloaded bulged brass many times? I bought a Glock and began seeing a few bulges on brass that I'd been reloading for quite a while. I didn't want to wreck my brass so ditched the Glock 21 and used other 45s to shoot - then ran up that brass up to about 50 reloads - and I couldn't imagine brass lasting that long if it had been bulged a few times.
Click to expand...

Glocks are known to have generous chambers but unless your 21 was a Gen 1 or 2 your gun should not have been causing the Glock bulge. The Gen 3 and 4 support the case as well as any other pistol. The Glock bulge, as it became known early on, occurred at the six o'clock position on the case.

The Lee FCD for straight walled handgun cartridges can be an issue if you are using lead bullets. The die will re-size the lead bullets resulting in the potential for leading and decreased accuracy. I use Dillon pistol dies in the main along with a couple of Lee die stes and have never had a problem with cartridges not feeding due to poorly sized cases. OAL yes, fat cases nope.

The FCD can be an issue with plated bullets as well. If your loaded cases are slightly fatter where the bullet is seated and smooth after you run the case through the die then the bullet has been sized down.

For rifle shooters who use the Lee FCD who have not used the handgun cartridge die, the two are not the same and operate totally differently. I use the Lee FCD for my rifle cartridges. The Lee FCD I have is on my shelf as a reminder there is no free lunch.

Take Care

Bob
 
DO NOT LOAD BULGED BRASS!!!!! Look up Glock Kaboom or Glock KB. It is normal to have a bit of expansion around the bottom of the case above the extractor groove in the cartridge when fired in a service pistol with full power loads. But if you see a true bulge then scrap it, it is not something that you want to see if you can "fix"

I purposely have the clutch on my case pro setup that if anything with more than normal expansion goes through it shuts down the machine. Its a safety thing.
 
So it was only the glocks that had this issue. I'm waiting on my FN .40 and was just wondering if I'd have this issue with this gun. I have lots of .40 brass and I could sort through it no prob as long as it won't be happening in my FN
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom