Glock bulge

[MacWonderful]

I just spent a day full length resizing (de-bulging) .40 brass fired by a Glock. Now that it’s all done, I’m starting to wonder. Since I only own one gun in .40 (a Glock) Would reloading bulged brass be a bad idea? Would the gun still feed and cycle? Would it screw up case pressures? Or get jammed in the chamber? Anyone ever try it?

 

[bigedp51]

I have a gen 3 Glock .40 and have no problem with bulged cases fired in my pistol.

If I'm picking up brass at the range I simply throw away any cases with a bulge.

If I remember correctly it is the early Gen 1 barrels that are unsupportive above the feed ramp.

The barrel on the far left is unsupported and can cause the cases to bulge. Glock later changed the design of the feed ramp and the ammunition manufacturers made the cases thicker to prevent the bulge problem.

Below is "Glock Bulge" and I would not reload any case bulged as much as this. Also do not confuse a bulged case that was fired in a large diameter chamber with a bulge from the unsupported feed ramp.

The case below had Glock bulge and the case cracked when resized. And if the case is weakened at the bulge area it can fail and let go when fired again.

I myself have found very few Glock bulged cases at the range. And I think these cases are fired in early Glocks by shooters who do not reload.

All the cases I pickup at the range that were fired in someone else's pistol I run them through my Lee bulge buster die. This simply sizes the base of the case back to SAAMI minimum diameter. And ensures they will function in my Glock .40. And for practice I shoot mostly .40 Lite loads and my brass lasts a very long time.

Make it Right With a ".40 Lite"
https://www.handgunsmag.com/editorial/ammunition_40lite_091806/138689

 

[B]

In the 40-50,000 rounds of .40 and 10mm I have loaded for Glock pistols the only time I had bulges is when I was pushing things too far... I had a bulge buster for about a week before I figured it wasn't worth it.

 

[MacWonderful]

I have a gen 3 Glock .40 and have no problem with bulged cases fired in my pistol.

If I'm picking up brass at the range I simply throw away any cases with a bulge.

If I remember correctly it is the early Gen 1 barrels that are unsupportive above the feed ramp.

The barrel on the far left is unsupported and can cause the cases to bulge. Glock later changed the design of the feed ramp and the ammunition manufacturers made the cases thicker to prevent the bulge problem.

Below is "Glock Bulge" and I would not reload any case bulged as much as this. Also do not confuse a bulged case that was fired in a large diameter chamber with a bulge from the unsupported feed ramp.

The case below had Glock bulge and the case cracked when resized. And if the case is weakened at the bulge area it can fail and let go when fired again.

I myself have found very few Glock bulged cases at the range. And I think these cases are fired in early Glocks by shooters who do not reload.

All the cases I pickup at the range that were fired in someone else's pistol I run them through my Lee bulge buster die. This simply sizes the base of the case back to SAAMI minimum diameter. And ensures they will function in my Glock .40. And for practice I shoot mostly .40 Lite loads and my brass lasts a very long time.

Make it Right With a ".40 Lite"
https://www.handgunsmag.com/editorial/ammunition_40lite_091806/138689

My cases didn’t look like that. Maybe I like you said they were fired from a larger diameter chamber. Either way, thanks for the info!
I like your motto! I’ll save my warm loads for the wheel guns.

 

[bigedp51]

My cases didn’t look like that. Maybe I like you said they were fired from a larger diameter chamber. Either way, thanks for the info!
I like your motto! I’ll save my warm loads for the wheel guns.

The Speer No. 14 manual with their 165 grain bullets lists some of the start loads as "approximate 165 gr Law Enforcement loads" ("40 Lite") approximately 950 to 1000 fps.
These are the warmest loads I normally practice with.

 

[RePete]

This is my G35 Gen 3 barrel taken about 7 years ago, with a reload.

These 2 are from this year with a Winchester factory and a CCI Blazer Aluminium case.

 

[JuicyG]

Once upon a time I bought a sizing die for glock brass from evolution gunworks. It was advertised specifically for tackling glock bulge.
I’ve poached a lot of brass over the years and Reloaded a ton of glock brass without issue.

https://www.egwguns.com/undersize-reloading-die-9mm-luger

 

[Sniper_485]

I've had "Glock bulge" brass in 9mm damage a JR carbine and blow the grip panels off a 9mm 1911. I figure it was range pickup brass I got at a match where I was just about the only one picking up their brass. I don't try and save bulged brass that looks like the stuff pictured above, its become too weak from being fired in an unsupported chamber and will just blow again. In 9mm "Glock bulge" is actually from a S&W with the same problem as the G23 had IIRC.