.40 S&W Reloading Warning...
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Barney88PDC
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All XD's are supported. Glocks are not.
Waiting reply...
Good Afternoon,
I would like to inquire as to the design of the chambers on the XD series of hand guns. Do these or more specifically the .40 cal SC and .45cal XD's fully support the round case while in the chamber? I plan on hand loading rounds for my XD's and ran across a warning at Accurate Arms about issues with the .40 cambers and case support. They recommend contacting the manufacture for this information.
This warning can be found at the following link. http://www.accuratepowder.com/Safety.htm
Any information you can provide about this is greatly appreciated and thank you for your time and a quality product.
Good Afternoon,
I would like to inquire as to the design of the chambers on the XD series of hand guns. Do these or more specifically the .40 cal SC and .45cal XD's fully support the round case while in the chamber? I plan on hand loading rounds for my XD's and ran across a warning at Accurate Arms about issues with the .40 cambers and case support. They recommend contacting the manufacture for this information.
This warning can be found at the following link. http://www.accuratepowder.com/Safety.htm
Any information you can provide about this is greatly appreciated and thank you for your time and a quality product.
whbonney26
Well-Known Member
IT IS EXTREMELY DANGEROUS TO USE RELOADED AMMUNITION IN A STANDARD UN-MODIFIED .40 CALIBER GLOCK PISTOL!!
It is possible to modify your Glock for handloading, but let's first discuss why the standard Glock .40 should never be used with handloads.
1. Standard Glock pistols do not have fully supported chambers. The area where the feedramp meets the chamber is not supported. This means that the brass case must be relied upon to withstand pressure. The Glock is intended to be a service pistol and it was designed so that a cartridge case would only be fired once. If you size and fire a case in a Glock chamber multiple times, the brass can weaken and fail at the un-supported feedramp. Should a case fail, hot gases and incandescent brass particles will go everywhere and you will blow the gun-up.
2. The not-fully supported chamber problem is magnified in .40 caliber because the .40 S&W is a very intense round. It operates at 37,000 psi which is in the ballpark of starting rifle loads. This high pressure operation cuts into the margin of safety of the cartridge brass. Fire a cartridge case at high pressure enough times through a not-fully supported chamber and an accident is inevitable.
3. The high pressure operation of the .40 S&W and the not-fully supported chamber of the Glock leads to a serious potential for danger. But there is another factor which creates a perfect storm. This factor is the polygonal rifling of the standard Glock barrel. If you use lead bullets in a polygonal bore, it is said that the lead can build up inside the bore to the point where it behaves as a bore obstruction. This can raise pressures higher than Swedish income taxes. So you have a high pressure cartridge, a not fully supported chamber and a partial bore obstruction--and all of that can equal destruction.
With all of the above in mind, the only way to safely handload for the Glock pistol is to buy an aftermarket barrel. ( Jarvis, Inc. has such barrels. http://www.jarvis-custom.com ) You can get fully supported Glock barrels with conventional land and groove rifling. You should have a gunsmith check to see if your after-market barrel fits your slide properly. And then you can begin loading for your Glock.
Please understand that there are many other pistols with not-fully supported chambers. The Colt 1911 is one example. But in .45 ACP, there is a much greater margin of safety. The .45 ACP operates at about 16,000 psi and it is much harder to stress brass to failure. Back in the 1970s, there were a number of problems with 1911 pistols chambered for the .38 Super and that's why you can buy fully-supported .38 Super 1911 barrels.
The bottom line is that we must be fully aware of the mechanical characteristics of our firearms. The Glock is a fine service pistol, but it has particular mechanical characteristics that we must take fully into account.
In conclusion, I must state that I do not own a Glock and I have never handloaded for one. I have simply researched the matter very thorougly and I'm simply presenting my findings for your consideration. I also found that there are a few rumors about certain Accurate Arms powders. I do not care for rumors, so I recommend that you call the Sierra ballistics lab and ask them what powder they like best in .40 S&W.
Finally, when loading the .40 S&W, it is very, very important to ensure that the bullets are properly crimped. Should the bullet move and get pushed too deeply into the case, you are risking a catastrophic failure. That 37,000 psi chamber pressure can soar to 75,000 psi or more should that bullet get pushed too deeply into the case. You definitely need to use a Lee Factory Crimp die.
It is possible to safely handload for a Glock, but special care is needed.
and if done wrong you can see some of the effects here
http://www.thegunzone.com/glock/glock-kb-faq.html
while I was typing I see that someone has already posted the gunzone link.
It is possible to modify your Glock for handloading, but let's first discuss why the standard Glock .40 should never be used with handloads.
1. Standard Glock pistols do not have fully supported chambers. The area where the feedramp meets the chamber is not supported. This means that the brass case must be relied upon to withstand pressure. The Glock is intended to be a service pistol and it was designed so that a cartridge case would only be fired once. If you size and fire a case in a Glock chamber multiple times, the brass can weaken and fail at the un-supported feedramp. Should a case fail, hot gases and incandescent brass particles will go everywhere and you will blow the gun-up.
2. The not-fully supported chamber problem is magnified in .40 caliber because the .40 S&W is a very intense round. It operates at 37,000 psi which is in the ballpark of starting rifle loads. This high pressure operation cuts into the margin of safety of the cartridge brass. Fire a cartridge case at high pressure enough times through a not-fully supported chamber and an accident is inevitable.
3. The high pressure operation of the .40 S&W and the not-fully supported chamber of the Glock leads to a serious potential for danger. But there is another factor which creates a perfect storm. This factor is the polygonal rifling of the standard Glock barrel. If you use lead bullets in a polygonal bore, it is said that the lead can build up inside the bore to the point where it behaves as a bore obstruction. This can raise pressures higher than Swedish income taxes. So you have a high pressure cartridge, a not fully supported chamber and a partial bore obstruction--and all of that can equal destruction.
With all of the above in mind, the only way to safely handload for the Glock pistol is to buy an aftermarket barrel. ( Jarvis, Inc. has such barrels. http://www.jarvis-custom.com ) You can get fully supported Glock barrels with conventional land and groove rifling. You should have a gunsmith check to see if your after-market barrel fits your slide properly. And then you can begin loading for your Glock.
Please understand that there are many other pistols with not-fully supported chambers. The Colt 1911 is one example. But in .45 ACP, there is a much greater margin of safety. The .45 ACP operates at about 16,000 psi and it is much harder to stress brass to failure. Back in the 1970s, there were a number of problems with 1911 pistols chambered for the .38 Super and that's why you can buy fully-supported .38 Super 1911 barrels.
The bottom line is that we must be fully aware of the mechanical characteristics of our firearms. The Glock is a fine service pistol, but it has particular mechanical characteristics that we must take fully into account.
In conclusion, I must state that I do not own a Glock and I have never handloaded for one. I have simply researched the matter very thorougly and I'm simply presenting my findings for your consideration. I also found that there are a few rumors about certain Accurate Arms powders. I do not care for rumors, so I recommend that you call the Sierra ballistics lab and ask them what powder they like best in .40 S&W.
Finally, when loading the .40 S&W, it is very, very important to ensure that the bullets are properly crimped. Should the bullet move and get pushed too deeply into the case, you are risking a catastrophic failure. That 37,000 psi chamber pressure can soar to 75,000 psi or more should that bullet get pushed too deeply into the case. You definitely need to use a Lee Factory Crimp die.
It is possible to safely handload for a Glock, but special care is needed.
and if done wrong you can see some of the effects here
http://www.thegunzone.com/glock/glock-kb-faq.html
while I was typing I see that someone has already posted the gunzone link.
buddy_fuentes
Well-Known Member
If using Glock brass or unknown brass most knowledgeable .40 S&W reloaders use a EWG (Evolution Gun Works modified Lee die) die that takes the Glock "belly" out of the brass. The die has been milled to have less taper and go further down on the case when re-sizing. It sells for twenty something dollars and is money well spent.
whbonney26 points out that for a Glock there are after market barrels available. For my Glock 22 I have a Wilson Combat barrel that is fully supported and there are many others, some selling for less than $100. These let you use lead bullets without the problem of excessive leading and gives the case full support.
Some of you have met Robert Konrady at the matches in Amite. Robert shoots a Glock chambered in .45 acp. He shoots nothing but lead and has shot over 250K rounds. I have several friends that shoot the 9 mm Glocks and have enormous round counts of lead reloads through them. I don't know of anyone that does this with forty. Forty-five is a low pressure round where nine and forty are both high pressure cartridges.
If you are shooting a Glock with lead bullets......check the bore often until you are satisfied that it is not collecting lead.
Buddy
whbonney26 points out that for a Glock there are after market barrels available. For my Glock 22 I have a Wilson Combat barrel that is fully supported and there are many others, some selling for less than $100. These let you use lead bullets without the problem of excessive leading and gives the case full support.
Some of you have met Robert Konrady at the matches in Amite. Robert shoots a Glock chambered in .45 acp. He shoots nothing but lead and has shot over 250K rounds. I have several friends that shoot the 9 mm Glocks and have enormous round counts of lead reloads through them. I don't know of anyone that does this with forty. Forty-five is a low pressure round where nine and forty are both high pressure cartridges.
If you are shooting a Glock with lead bullets......check the bore often until you are satisfied that it is not collecting lead.
Buddy
