.40 S&W reloading

Georgezilla · Post by **Georgezilla** » Wed Dec 12, 2012 10:38 pm

Up until now, I have only ever reloaded .45acp and .38 special. Both pet loads at the end of the spectrum, so pretty ez to reload, and I can basically use the cases until I lose them, or the primer pocket fails.

I am planning on starting to reload .40 S&W rounds, but having no experience reloading a very high pressure pistol cartridge like .40 S&W, I was just wanting to pick the brains of yall that have for any advice you have for me.

I have done some internet research and read my loading manual about it. Mostly what I glean is not to use the same case more than about 3 times, beware of factory Glock barrels, and be very vigilant with case inspection. Is there anything else to watch out for?

Thanks.

bgreenea3 · Post by **bgreenea3** » Thu Dec 13, 2012 2:45 am

factory glock barells are ok, just no lead bullets. a big thing is don't go above the maximum charge for your load.

blue68f100 · Post by **blue68f100** » Thu Dec 13, 2012 8:58 am

You can reload them till you loose them or they fail (split). Beware some powders like TightGroup are very sensitive to setback. It has a history of causing KBOOM's. A little as 0.030" setback have know to double the pressure. I have been reloading for over 35yrs and I do not like ultra fast high density powders like TG. There is no need to not have a powder fill the case so double and triple charges can be noticed. This is the 1 reason I do not use powders like TG. I feel there are a lot better choices than trying to save $0.0005 a round or less on powder cost. I would suggest a powder like WSF or even 231 to start out on, both of these will fill the case. The polygonal barrel does not work with lead or plated bullets so if you want to shoot those you will need to replace the barrel. You do not need to worry about the Glock Bulge unless you are shooting a v1 or v2 model, or some range brass. Glock corrected the under supported chamber with the later versions. Some use a Glock Bulge Buster die to remove any bulge that may be there. I feel it's not necessary unless you have brass that has the bulge, and I would toss those. The bulge weakens the brass at the base the reason some to only reload them 3 times. Like with any loads start low and work up looking for pressure signs. And neck tension is what holds the bullet not the taper crimp. The taper crimp just removes the flare to put the brass back to it's normal shape. Now some brass like RP is thinner and will have less neck tension. If your going to use thin wall brass you may need to modify your expander to give you tighter fit.

Be safe.

jrayb95 · Post by **jrayb95** » Thu Dec 13, 2012 9:16 am

I thought this was a pretty interesting read on .40.

http://www.handgunsmag.com/2010/09/24/a ... te_091806/

Georgezilla · Post by **Georgezilla** » Thu Dec 13, 2012 12:56 pm

Thanks for the info guys!

I will be reloading primarily for a Glock 22 gen 4. The chamber is pretty loose, my 22 puts a pretty nice bulge on cases. I am going to get an after market barrel so I do not have to worry about the "Glock bulge" and shooting non-jacketed stuff as you guys point out.

Thanks for the read, jray. Reminds me of a while ago when I was making snappy .45 acp loads.

blue, thanks for the insight. I have done almost all of my reloading in the past with WST and Bullseye, pretty dense powders. I've never used TG though, so I am not sure how Bullseye and WST stack up against TG. That's a good point about the thin walled cases. I generally reload with range brass, or my own once fired stuff, so something to keep in mind. I only ever considered the wall thickness when I was doing some higher pressure .45 acp loads, but that is a good point that it must always be a consideration for .40 S&W.

Medicine Hat · Post by **Medicine Hat** » Thu Dec 13, 2012 3:11 pm

Reloading .40 isn't any different that other re-loading. Just follow the rules and common sense. It is a high pressure load.
Some chambers can cause a very slight bulge near the cartidge head. If that occurs then Redding makes a die that will iron it out easily. It is a push through die that resized the outside of the case. Redding # 96040 for the .40. I've been using it for about 4 years and have no complaints. I just put it on an old single stage press and if a few minutes can do a coffee can full of brass. I've reloaded some cases several times and found no problems. Basically, I don't automatically discard cases at ******* times of reloads. I check the cases with each reloading session and discard any that may be questionable.
Common sense should rule.
Reload, and enjoy 'unloading'.

blue68f100 · Post by **blue68f100** » Thu Dec 13, 2012 3:30 pm

Georgezilla wrote:Thanks for the info guys!

I will be reloading primarily for a Glock 22 gen 4. The chamber is pretty loose, my 22 puts a pretty nice bulge on cases. I am going to get an after market barrel so I do not have to worry about the "Glock bulge" and shooting non-jacketed stuff as you guys point out.

Thanks for the read, jray. Reminds me of a while ago when I was making snappy .45 acp loads.

blue, thanks for the insight. I have done almost all of my reloading in the past with WST and Bullseye, pretty dense powders. I've never used TG though, so I am not sure how Bullseye and WST stack up against TG. That's a good point about the thin walled cases. I generally reload with range brass, or my own once fired stuff, so something to keep in mind. I only ever considered the wall thickness when I was doing some higher pressure .45 acp loads, but that is a good point that it must always be a consideration for .40 S&W.

I use WST for my 45 acp loads. Its what I call a low density powder because it fills the case. BE is a high density powder but it's not sensitive to setback like TG is. If your looking for powder puff loads the fast burn powders are the only way to go. But for mid to full power the slower burn powders are better.

Georgezilla · Post by **Georgezilla** » Thu Dec 13, 2012 4:01 pm

Thanks for the info MH. I use a Dillon press and stage 1 is deprime and full length re-size, but I will keep the redding re-sizer in mind if I have any issues with that.

blue, I am more looking to do mid range loads so they will cycle the G 22 without messing with the recoil spring. What are some of yalls favored mid to slow burning powders for pistol rounds?

I used Green Dot for awhile, but I stopped because the flake size seemed a bit too large for pistol rounds (after all, it's mostly used for shotguns), I was getting very inconsistent powder throws. That is, inconsistent when you are only putting around 4 grains in a case, I'm sure for shotgun reloading the level of inconsistencies matters much less because you are using so much more powder. After that experience, I have only used WST and Bullseye. WST gives me pretty consistent throws, and Bullseye gives me very consistent throws.

blue68f100 · Post by **blue68f100** » Thu Dec 13, 2012 6:37 pm

With fast burn powders you get a very sharp spike on ignition. A slower burn builds up pressure just a little slower but burn a little longer giving you more velocity. As long as you load mid and higher you will get a clean burn. My shooting partner uses WSF for most of his 40 loads with 165gr pills. Looking on Hodgdon's site, show's you can use WST with the 40 S&W. The faster burn powders and heavy bullets will work the slide ok without pushing them as hard.