Hodgdon "WARNING" About 40S&W

[Sam Casey]

I was looking through my new 2016 copy of the Hodgdon Reloading Annual and see they warn against using their data when reloading 40S&W for guns that do not fully encase the round in chamber. First time I have seen such a warning, but don't buy their Annual every year. Anyone know what guns they are referring to? No such warning with 9mm, etc. Is it a serious concern and under what circumstance?

 

[twodog max]

Probably Glocks. Supposedly they do not completely support the base of the case. I have heard it argued both ways and I once had a 40 Glock and never saw any bulging.

 

[retired_diver]

Probably Glocks. Supposedly they do not completely support the base of the case. I have heard it argued both ways and I once had a 40 Glock and never saw any bulging.

i have a Glock 23 (40sw) Gen 2 it definitely has the bulging. Glock in their Gen 4 don't.

Here is a pic of how you can tell a Glock older gen It has the "smile" or bulge.

 

[venomballistics]

if that warning were any older, it'd be in the bible.
older Glocks played some dirty pool to enhance feeding.

 

[Rule3]

That warning has been around forever also in most manuals.

FYI the Browning HP in 40 SW will do the same thing.

 

[Engineer1911]

All of my 9 MM and 40 S&W range pickup brass was fired in Glocks. I have not had a problem reloading this bulged Glock brass with RCBS carbide sizer die. I do not use max powder charges, do not own a Glock, and have 1911 style semi-autos.

Yes, I'm a dinosaur, and a cheap one.

 

[Rick_A]

That warning has been around forever also in most manuals.

FYI the Browning HP in 40 SW will do the same thing.

Never seen a bulged case out of our HP 40.

 

[S&WIowegan]

I agree with everything Engineer 1911 said!!

 

[Rule3]

Never seen a bulged case out of our HP 40.

Take out the barrel, drop a round in it. See if it is fully supported. May depend on the year it was made? I am not 100%, also could be the load?

 

[rwsmith]

This has been known....

This has been known for years but I guess nobody bothered to put it in their manuals. I'm sure there are plenty of the older pistols around.

 

[Road_Clam]

I'm wondering if this "Glock Bulge" is just another isolated internet hype scare. I've fired and reloaded about 1K or rounds through both my .40 S&W Gen III G22 and G35 without any "bulge" problems. Don't know where the "unsupported barrel" claim fear is stemming from. Here's a pic of both my Glock barrels :

 

[PzKfW5]

It is from the base of the barrel where the feed ramp meets the chamber. So you have your picture exactly the wrong way to show it.

 

[BigMuddy]

That warning has been in the Hodgdon Annual Manual as long as I have been buying them, which has been several years now.

Dan

 

[Preacher Skip]

If you have a firearm with an unsupported chamber, use the slowest powder possible for the weight bullet and you will never have a problem. It is when you use fast powders with heavy bullets that problems occur. Remember though, this problem showed up in Glock's with factory ammo, not reloads. It has also shown up in their older 9mm firearms.

Rule 3 is 100% correct too. There are a lot of famous firearms that are worse than Glocks, or, maybe as bad. I had a case blow out in a BHP in 40S&W!

 

[Rule3]

It is from the base of the barrel where the feed ramp meets the chamber. So you have your picture exactly the wrong way to show it.

Exactly, need a picture of the other side of the barrel where the feed ramp is.

I am no Glock expert but believe the GEN 1 and 2 where more of a problem, they may have tightened things up in the G 3.

But that is why Glocks are so reliable and feed properly even when dirty.

 

[Preacher Skip]

I'm wondering if this "Glock Bulge" is just another isolated internet hype scare. I've fired and reloaded about 1K or rounds through both my .40 S&W Gen III G22 and G35 without any "bulge" problems. Don't know where the "unsupported barrel" claim fear is stemming from. Here's a pic of both my Glock barrels :

No! It is not an Internet scare, it is real and, people that know about reloading know that it exists and load especially for this NOT TO HAPPEN.

 

[bigedp51]

I have a Glock 22 .40 and do not have any problems with bulged brass. The fix was to change the feed ramps and the case was made thicker in the base.

Below the Glock .40 barrels over time and their changes.

The only Glock bulge problem I have is the bulge in the back of the target board.

 

[Rule3]

^^^^ nice picture comparison, Sure can see the difference in the early 1998 barrel.

 

[J. R. WEEMS]

Yeah, Glocks for sure-- you can almost always tell the range brass that has been Glock fired-- I just don't bother with it as I have buckets full of the stuff. I will stick with my Sig 250C thank you.

 

[Road_Clam]

I have a Glock 22 .40 and do not have any problems with bulged brass. The fix was to change the feed ramps and the case was made thicker in the base.

Below the Glock .40 barrels over time and their changes.


The only Glock bulge problem I have is the bulge in the back of the target board.

Ok thanks for the clarification NOW I can see the validity of an issue with the older barrels. My Glocks were both 2012+.