Glock 40 S&W Kaboom warning

[TSQUARED]

With the limited amount of data available from the OP I would assume that it was a double charge which caused the pistols destruction.

 

[roughedgekid]

I havent shoot any factory bullets in 20 years ,I have 9 glocks and all shot reloads and never had a problem. You should have said dont shot reloads loaded by a idiot in a glock.

 

[David LaPell]

I never, ever, ever shoot anyone elses reloads I don't care what gun it is. It can be a Freedom Arms or the toughest gun known to man, if you screw up the reloads or use someone elses who screwed them up it will turn into a pile of parts in short order.

 

[Skip Sackett]

Really?

Well, another thread with the helpful insight of dla!

How many really want to know the truth? Really?

That gun did not blow up on accident. It blew up on purpose. Why? Because the reloader, whoever it was must not be able to read or they simply do not care, or, as some, they think they are THE expert on such matters.

I have successfully reloaded for a Glock 22 and done so with heavy bullets, 180gr without incident. YOU CAN TOO!

One thing that I do agree with dla on is that this "EVERY RELOAD BLOWS UP IN EVERY GLOCK" stuff has to stop, seriously. What those kinds of statements are really saying is: "I have no clue on how to reload for a Glock and you probably are too stupid to figure it out too!"

I had a KB once. Wanna know why? Stupidity, ignorance. Plain and simple. I think I need to say this though, it wasn't in a Glock! Ever heard of John Moses Browning? Yeah, the same guy that developed the 1911. Remember that pistol? The one that has been the standard for more years than you can count on your fingers and toes? Well, he had another pistol that was pretty famous too. What was it? The Browning High Power. Yeah, that one. Nowadays, they chamber it in 40S&W, or they did anyway. I had one. Since I had no knowledge at the time about unsupported chambers, since it didn't seem important to me, I didn't know that my wonderful Browning High Power had one, AND, one of the worst ones! Just sayin'


Well, couple that with an uber fast powder, Clays, and a 180gr bullet and a maximum Lyman manual load that was .5gr over Hodgdon's maximum for that same bullet and guess what happened? Right, KB. The thing about it, I wasn't the only one to have that happen. There is another forum member here that had the EXACT same thing happen with the exact same components and we don't even live in the same state!

That KB taught me something, stop being ignorant, um, stupid. Know your equipment, know what possible dangers you are facing by reloading for said equipment and use some knowledge about what and how powders act and react and then load away.

If you use an uber fast powder in any cartridge, where or when rather, does it reach peek pressure? Right, before the bullet ever leaves the case. If you have an unsupported chamber, where is that case/bullet/pressure situation going to take place at in your firearm? Right, in the unsupported chamber before the bullet moves at all. When the bullet starts to move, what happens to pressure? Oh, it goes down. Hummmmmmm.

Okay, now ask yourself what happens when you use a slower powder. Pressure is not at peek right away, the bullet starts to move (remember, reducing pressure) and the burning powder tries to fill the increasing volume with more gases WHILE the slide is starting to move to the rear. So, bullet is moving, pressure is less but expanding gases is more and trying to fill that gap so the bullet keeps getting worked on as the slide goes to the rear and by that time, you have almost ejected the case, almost. This is over simplified for a reason, I am simple (in more ways than one)!

Seriously, know your equipment and be safe.

If you own a 40S&W semi auto firearm, see if it has an unsupported chamber, if so, load accordingly.

Here is a simple rule of thumb I use, if loading for the 40S&W in ANY semi automatic firearm, I NEVER use a powder faster than Unique, um, NEVER! Did I say NEVER? If not, I meant to.

Titegroup, is the wrongest powder that could be used in this caliber. I don't care how many rounds have been shot by gamers doing so either. Wrong, wrong, wrong.

If you want to know what I used, and successfully after the first KB for many years, it is SR4756. Lowest pressure, highest velocity of all of the powders I had on my shelf at the time. Now, it seems that Longshot betters it. Never got around to trying that one in the 40S&W. I gave a Square Deal B, my Glock 22RTF and all of my holsters to my #2 son in law. Oh, yeah, he has been reloading for that firearm for the last several years, same load, same bullets, same results.


FWIW

Just because one guy can't, doesn't mean others can't too!

 

[Deacon KC]

There is no doubt that the reload was the problem in any of these. However, to just blatantly and rudely dismiss what has happened to others is to doom ourselves. I have shot many plated/jacketed rounds through Glocks since then without problem. To just arrogantly call someone else's observations "internet bs" serves only to cheapen your own position. I learned a great deal from many of you and thank you for the input on powders and specific bullets you have had good results with.

 

[Skip Sackett]

There is no doubt that the reload was the problem in any of these. However, to just blatantly and rudely dismiss what has happened to others is to doom ourselves. I have shot many plated/jacketed rounds through Glocks since then without problem. To just arrogantly call someone else's observations "internet bs" serves only to cheapen your own position. I learned a great deal from many of you and thank you for the input on powders and specific bullets you have had good results with.

Deacon,

I am not diminishing your experience nor am I slapping you in the face after such and incident. They are scary.

Take my advice and look into Longshot. It meters better than SR4756, although, it does meter pretty well, and is on many more store shelves now too.

Best to you and have fun, be safe!

 

[Deacon KC]

Skip, you were one of the ones i found very helpful. Thank you.

 

[roundgunner]

This has been going on for so long now I thought Glop KAboom was worn out. I have seen 3 first hand but thankfully not my hand.

I'm going to try to add insight and some humor to this.

The one below was with Win White Box

This came from a different one, reload, fired out of battery. (not fully chambered) (bad do do)

Any gun can fail Glops just do it with style!

 

[oldandfatonaharley]

Somewhat familiar...

The one below was with Win White Box

I've had a split case in a .44 magnum revolver with the White Box, and some .40 cases that that showed signs of overpressure, although my Glock refused to grenade itself. I now avoid that ammo if at all possible. You'd probably be only slightly less safe firing handloads assembled while drunk.

 

[GregG]

Roundgunner, funny post.

Those two barrels are from a Glock 21?

 

[brucev]

I've fired many thousands of rounds from G-17, 21 and 22's, both factory and reloads. I've not ever had a single problem. In fact, out of all those thousands of rounds fired from 2002 to date, I've not had but a single instance when I had a failure to feed, and that was with a single magazine. Had I correctly reassembled the magazine, I'd likely never have had a problem with it. I have had a KB... using reloads in a Colt 1911 pistol using Unique. I got a hard lick on the forehead from the casing and the casing was badly bulged, but that is all. If I'd not made an error in reloading, the round would have fired normally. The Colt was not to blame for the bulged casing, etc. I was. If someone reloads a improperly assembled round and proceeds to use it in a normal factory pistol/revolver and then gets a KB, any fault is their own. I've seen nice revolvers... S&W and Ruger... with cylinders blown up from overloads. I've seen the results of "J" and "M" splits with rifle rounds in otherwise nice high quality bolt action rifles. The damage was not because the rifle was not well designed/made. The damage was entirely because the round itself was defective. I understand that some folks have an irrational dislike for Glock pistols. It may be like one of my former church members who served in the PTO w/ the Marines. His career wound up on Bougainville when he lost his left leg. Years later he still had no use for Japanese cars, etc. Perhaps if the Glock had been stamped "Made In U.S.A.," and perhaps if it had not been chambered for the .40 S&W in a hurry and get to the market first rush, things might be different. Perhaps if it had been designed with standard rifling to better satisfy reloaders using lead bullets rather than polygonal rifling tasked to shooting lots of jacketed bullets, etc., it might have made a difference. I don't know. Of course, maybe I'm just thinking out loud while I drink coffee and get ready to head to work. Sincerely. brucev.

 

[Hogpauls]

Like others I've shot thousands of reloads out of my Gen 2 G23 with no problems. The Gen 2 (the earliest) .40 Glock put out does have a barrel with the least case support. Knowing that I go no where near max loads, extra deligent about inspecting fired cases and always check for overcharges.

 

[roundgunner]

Brucev
I had a Glop 27, it worked fine. I only got rid of it becouse the grip angle was different. Still can't miss a chance to jump on the bandwagon.

The first two photo's in my post were from the www

 

[Boox]

I own, shoot and reload for a Glock Gen 3 model 23 in .40. My gun is just under 10 years old, all stock. I have not yet had a KB, and don't expect one. Just today I was at the range with a couple of friends to mutilate some paper with our 40's. My Glock, buddy Bill's new SD 40 and friend Chris's Sigma 40. They were shooting their store bought ammo, Blazer, Tula, Remington, and Winchester. Me, I was shooting my reloads;
155 gn XTP bullet over 8 grains of Unique, new Win cases,
180 grain XTP over 5.0 grains of Unique, in older win cases and new Starlite cases,
180 grain Hornady FPJ over 5 grains of unique, new SL cases and
135 grain Sierra HP over 8 grains of Unique in mixed cases.
One of the guys has a new SD 40 and he wanted to try some of my 155 grain bullets in his gun. He loaded 5, took his first shot, looked at me and said he thought it a bit stout, then fired the rest. All 5 center mass.
It was my brass so I chased them down and was surprised to see the cursed "Glock Bulge" in them.
I went to my pile of brass and couldn't find any of my brass bulged. The firing pin mark is a giveaway for knowing who fired it.
Stopped him from loading any more, and we took both guns down. His barrel actually showed more of the shell case when fully inserted than did mine in my Glock. His ramp is more undercut under the shell case. None of my Glock fired cases show any bulges, none ever have to this point.
So, my question is, What think you? I look forward to your comments.

Boox

 

[lenmattsen]

Clock ,40 S&W Ka-book\m

Gentlemen,
I have retired from 24+ years as LEO, am an amateur ballistition for an ammunition company. They produce new and reloaded ammunition for the wholesale trade. That said, I have some experience with the issue.

Once a cartridge is fired in an un-supported chamber two things happen every time to one degree or another:
First, the case srtetches to fill the chamber and the unsupported portion of the chamber, thereby stretching, thinning and embtittiling the brass, bulge or not.
Secondly, it changes the grain and molecular structure of the brass. No amount or method of resizing the case will reverse the two results mentioned.

We use a small base resizer die and load the case with a low pressure powder to lower than standard velocity. Included in the packaging is a warning to fire this reconditioned ammunition only in guns with a fully supported chamber.

We also advise our customers to refer to their instruction manual or contact the manufacturer fo assure themselves that their gun is safe for reconditioned ammunition in that gun with a fully supported chamber.

Rember, just because you survived an event does not imply it was a good idea. You alone are responsible for your safety and persons around you. You be careful out there!

 

[lenmattsen]

Remember, if you fail to follow the manufacturer's instructions you assume the results.

 

[accessbob]

Secondly, you CANNOT use cast bullets in Glocks, only ones with a jacket,

Hmm, then my Brother-in-law shooting cast bullets through his Glock 23 for two years must be a fluke.

 

[125JHP]

Slow down and let me jump on the band wagon....

I sold my Glocks years ago for that very reason and haven't looked back in regret

... now give me some more of that kool-aid...

 

[bshepherd]

20,000+ rounds of 40 through my BHP in 17 years. Nema Problema!

 

[Ursoboostd]

I've probably shout around 3K reloads through my G23. Usually 180gr Xtreme plated bullets and 5.5gr of Unique.