reloads vs brass vs aluminum

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--weezl--

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this isn't a "which is cheaper" thread, that is pretty obvious. My buddy is paranoid about his gun, long story, not worth it to get into, but if he breaks it, he's in a world of trouble, so he's worried about blowing the barrel or anything that would damage the gun in any way. I called around for ammo prices for him, it's a glock 20? chambered in .40 S&W, i found a place that reloads ammo and sells it, for $15/50 or $140/500, a place that sells aluminum rounds for $17.99 and of course the standard brass at $23.99.

I've fired basically nothing but winchester factory reloaded ammo,and only had 1 misfire, which when put through again, fired just fine... what are the drawbacks to reloaded ammo, and to aluminum, obviously using new brass as a standard reliable ammo.

again, thanks for all of your help, I know i don't contribute much to the forum, but i don't have gun knowledge to contribute at this point!
 
lol, if he is worried about breaking a glock, i suggest he sell it and get a new hobby.

but, on a more helpful note, brass, aluminum, steel or commercially reloading ammo is all going to be fine and not hurt the gun outside of normal wear and tear. my buddy who reloads for his glock 22 40cal is at around 20,000 rounds with very little cleaning and no issues other then a improperly seating primer which is his fault, not the gun breaking.

if it's a 40 s&w for sure, then it's a glock 22, otherwise if it's a glock 20 then its 10mm.
 
That's more or less what I thought, yes it is 110% a .40s&w, and 22 does sound right, but made me think .22, so I thought that must be wrong...

Because I know he's going to ask, what are the differences between the three, if they are all just as reliable?

I would imagine the cost between brass and aluminum is part to do with the reloadability?
 
Glocks can have an issue with some reloads. I destroyed my service pistol several years ago with one of my reloads. Apparently the "unsupported case" design was blamed. Just make sure your friend is aware of this. Phil.
 
P of PDent said:
Glocks can have an issue with some reloads. I destroyed my service pistol several years ago with one of my reloads. Apparently the "unsupported case" design was blamed. Just make sure your friend is aware of this. Phil.
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What did it do to the glock?

I've had an over pressure round in my glock when I first started reloading and switch from hp38 to tightgroup and didn't measure properly. The case ruptured from the unsupported barrel and launched the mag out.


I would say the factory reloaded and factory new ammo is basically the same outside of cost, technically there is more of a chance something could happen with the reloads as the brass has been fired once minimum.

The aluminum is just a different metal really. I did read a post on AL Flaherty that they are not bringing in anymore aluminum ammo because some people had problem with it in carbines. I've reloaded the aluminum cases several times until the primer pocket is loose which is about 3-4 times pending how hot the load is.
 
P of PDent said:
Glocks can have an issue with some reloads. I destroyed my service pistol several years ago with one of my reloads. Apparently the "unsupported case" design was blamed. Just make sure your friend is aware of this. Phil.
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wait, what happened? is there any way we can inspect rounds ahead of time to make sure this isn't going to happen?

i should also mention that where we are getting the reloads from AFAIK, it is NOT factory reloads, (which unless i misunderstood the term, is winchester reloading winchester shells speer reloading speer, ect) this is a company that reloads brass brought to him.

not trying to promote any businesses, i'm not affiliated with them, but it's called "custom reloading service inc. http://customreloadingservice.com
 
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--weezl-- said:
wait, what happened? is there any way we can inspect rounds ahead of time to make sure this isn't going to happen?

i should also mention that where we are getting the reloads from AFAIK, it is NOT factory reloads, (which unless i misunderstood the term, is winchester reloading winchester shells speer reloading speer, ect) this is a company that reloads brass brought to him.

not trying to promote any businesses, i'm not affiliated with them, but it's called "custom reloading service inc" http://customreloadingservice.com/
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they are a certified/legal reloading company who also happens to be a sponsor on this site. there ammo is good to go and is just as safe as any other commercial company.

factory ammo is not considered reloaded just so you know. when it's loaded for the first time by winchester, Remington, federal, etc it's factory ammo. but when companies like wolf, custom reloading, combat masters, etc it's commercial reloads.
 
Spawn-Inc said:
they are a certified/legal reloading company who also happens to be a sponsor on this site. there ammo is good to go and is just as safe as any other commercial company.
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so the above issue *shouldn't* happen with this ammo basically, right?

factory ammo is not considered reloaded just so you know. when it's loaded for the first time by winchester, Remington, federal, etc it's factory ammo. but when companies like wolf, custom reloading, combat masters, etc it's commercial reloads.
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that i knew, but there's a difference between commercial reloads and factory reloads right? obviously new ammo is new ammo
 
--weezl-- said:
so the above issue *shouldn't* happen with this ammo basically, right?



that i knew, but there's a difference between commercial reloads and factory reloads right? obviously new ammo is new ammo
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He broke his gun with his reloads, not commercial reloads.

There is always a risk (a very small risk, but one none the less) with shooting any ammo, but I wouldn't be worried about using any factory ammo or commercial reloads.
 
Spawn-Inc said:
He broke his gun with his reloads, not commercial reloads.

There is always a risk (a very small risk, but one none the less) with shooting any ammo, but I wouldn't be worried about using any factory ammo or commercial reloads.
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ok cool, thanks for the reassurance.

again, thank all of you for your help!
 
My Glock had a cracked frame by the trigger guard and the mag blew out the bottom. This was my own reload but it was not until after the incident that I found out Glocks didn't like some reloads (internet was not big in those days). I convinced to department that this was a factory load and didn't have the casing as it was lost in the snow. The casing was blown out in the side near the bottom above the web. I knew the Glock rep very well and next time he came to town he went for a rideaolng with me (he was a part time officer in the US) and I told him the real story and he again stated they didn't recommend reloads especially with lead bullets. I've never had a problem with any other before or after this event. Phil.
 
bringing this up, my buddy's gun broke...

before i go into any details, I am not blaming, trying to imply blame or recommending anyone else to blame the reloads themselves, nor the company who did the reloading!

so I think we put something like 700 rounds through his glock in the day, he took it home, cleaned it up good and noticed his firing pin was broken, long story short, he took it to his armorer, who inspected it, looked up at him and said you took it shooting, and put reloads through it didn't you? My buddy admitted he did. Turns out that the firing pin chipped, and then glazed over afterwards, possibly due to overheating from putting a lot of rounds through it, possibly just a weak firing pin, the armorer gave him crap for it and told my friend about how reloads tend to burn hotter than new ammo, he then recanted after he heard the price we paid from the custom reloading service.
 
--weezl-- said:
bringing this up, my buddy's gun broke...

before i go into any details, I am not blaming, trying to imply blame or recommending anyone else to blame the reloads themselves, nor the company who did the reloading!

so I think we put something like 700 rounds through his glock in the day, he took it home, cleaned it up good and noticed his firing pin was broken, long story short, he took it to his armorer, who inspected it, looked up at him and said you took it shooting, and put reloads through it didn't you? My buddy admitted he did. Turns out that the firing pin chipped, and then glazed over afterwards, possibly due to overheating from putting a lot of rounds through it, possibly just a weak firing pin, the armorer gave him crap for it and told my friend about how reloads tend to burn hotter than new ammo, he then recanted after he heard the price we paid from the custom reloading service.
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tell your buddy not to go to that armorer anymore... the firing pin would have chipped regardless, reloads can be hotter, or drastically softer then factory ammo. he clearly knows nothing about reloading. what did he mean by glazed over?
 
Lmao funniest thread i have read in a while. Who is his gun smith? I have shot around 30,000 rounds through my glock 17 all reloads with no issues other than replacing a recoil spring ( basic maintenance) i do not shoot light reloads either 4.6 grain 231 with 124 grain plated projectile. For a striker to glaze over you would have to be puncturing quite a few primers ( you will know if you do) i had a bad batch of cci primers that kept puncturing and no issues with anything , just alot of smoke in the face lol.
 
My Gen 2 Glock 17 from 1986 has seen mostly reloads over its life and has never had a problem, thankfully. I also shoot lead but I control speed and lube, plus lead hardness cause I don't like cleaning lead fouling :)
 
Spawn-Inc said:
tell your buddy not to go to that armorer anymore... the firing pin would have chipped regardless, reloads can be hotter, or drastically softer then factory ammo. he clearly knows nothing about reloading. what did he mean by glazed over?
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from what I was told, the armorer said it was evidence that it may have overheated, as a result of putting a whole tonne of hot reloads through it, which we did, the gun got damn hot at a few points in the day
 
--weezl-- said:
from what I was told, the armorer said it was evidence that it may have overheated, as a result of putting a whole tonne of hot reloads through it, which we did, the gun got damn hot at a few points in the day
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when i got my glock 17 all those 2-3 years ago i put 500 rounds through it in one visit, that being said it was factory ammo. but the gun got HOT, even putting 200 rounds it gets hot, but i usually just switch guns and go from there.

i really want to put 500 rounds in one sitting some time, but the hoarder in my doesn't want to dip into my stash to try it lol.
 
I thought the unsupported case head was more of an issue with the 40 cal Glocks. There's warnings about it in my loading manuals, but nothing under the 9mm header. Assuming your guy who'd be in caca for wrecking his pistol is an LEO of some sort. I wouldn't be afraid of any factory ammo, commercial reloads should be fine as well, I'd just keep away from brewing your own out of his fired brass. It's the potential for the case head to bulge at the unsupported spot creating a potential weak spot in the brass that is the issue. When reloaded and fired again, the case has a spot that is more likely to rupture, although a few CGN'ers report multiple reloads without issue.
 
kennymo said:
I thought the unsupported case head was more of an issue with the 40 cal Glocks. There's warnings about it in my loading manuals, but nothing under the 9mm header. Assuming your guy who'd be in caca for wrecking his pistol is an LEO of some sort. I wouldn't be afraid of any factory ammo, commercial reloads should be fine as well, I'd just keep away from brewing your own out of his fired brass. It's the potential for the case head to bulge at the unsupported spot creating a potential weak spot in the brass that is the issue. When reloaded and fired again, the case has a spot that is more likely to rupture, although a few CGN'ers report multiple reloads without issue.
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yeah, I can't really mention much about him, but I can say with complete conviction that we won't be doing any reloads on our own any time soon! If I get into it, it will be to feed my 30-06, and a .223 if I get one, will probably end up using the .22LR-.223 kit that's floating around
 
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