Notorious "Glock bulge" on Sd40VE brass

[S&WIowegan]

I think there's little doubt dubois has a bad barrel. Definitely send it back to S&W emphasizing all factory ammo...send them a selection of the cases.

Someone said 40 S&W was higher pressure than 9mm. It is not....BUT the 40 case has thinner case walls by design which are more prone to bulge. All the so-called Glock problems are in 40 cal. with unsupported barrels.

I do lots of reloading of 40 S&W for my IPSC guns because I load the ammo outside factory specs. I buy up lots of 40 range brass and have it resized to get rid of bulges. Here's the problem....you can size out the bulge but the brass is never normal again and may blow in unsupported barrels. I leave all that brass on the range after I shoot it once.

I have had several 40 S&W case heads blow off handloaded ammo. The barrel was not fully supported, the powder was Clays and the bullet was 220 gr lead.

 

[vipermd]

As an addendum to my post & photos- I had never had a problem with my SigmaF's, Sigma compacts, SD40VE, M&P, Glock 22,23. No bulges, smileys, etc, But as SWIowegan said as it is worked it is never the same. My friend shoots in competition and the loads that got mixed in would have been standard pressure/vel or below. He shoots a Glock 24. We have not determined type of powder ( too long to explain ), but I will let all know what and how much when I have the correct info. Be Safe,

 

[cbr6864]

I have never seen in problems in my SD40, I believe glock changed the barrels in the gen 3 to address the issue....."glock perfection"....eventually....LOL

 

[AnthemBassMan]

-I've only put about 100 rounds through mine. I'll do that next time I go shooting. I grabbed a couple that landed on the shooting bench, but I didn't notice anything. But I use Blazer ammo and didn't really check the empty cases either...

L8R,
Matt

 

[mpm]

Got my SD40VE back from S&W yesterday. Took it out for a spin today. The new barrel did the trick. No "smiles". The brass still have some "bulge" but it is about the same as my 3rd gen glock 40. Federal brass seemed to be the worse.

 

[dubois9837]

Got my SD40VE back from S&W yesterday. Took it out for a spin today. The new barrel did the trick. No "smiles". The brass still have some "bulge" but it is about the same as my 3rd gen glock 40. Federal brass seemed to be the worse.

I contacted customer service about mine on Monday. They are sending me a FedEx shipping label to ship it back. Hope this works out for mine too because I love the way it shoots.

 

[piney]

I get the bulge also. brand new gun, you can see where the round is unsupported in the chamber. very pronounced bulge with the liberty umc ammo, not so much with winchester train and defend of american eagle. my camera takes blurry close-ups so no pic.
talk to my lgs, and a gunsmith friend of mine and both said this could lead to catastrophic failure, so i have the label to send it back already. going to put another 100 rounds through it this weekend, wwb this time and if still a problem i'll send it back. it'll suck to be without it for a month, don't understand why they just won't ship a new barrel

 

[martybee]

Just got back from the range again shooting my new SD40VE and have a question for any other SD40VE owners out there. I have now fired 150 rounds through my 40S&W to include 50 rounds PPU 180gr. JHP, 50 rounds Federal Champion 180gr. FMJ, and 50 rounds WWB 165gr FMJ. Pistol shot great and never had a malfunction. I seem to be getting the so called Glock bulge on all my brass ( all brands ). I can't post a picture right now but google "glock bulge 40S&W" and that is exactly what my brass looks like. I know LEE makes a bulge buster die for reloading cases with this problem. Does any other SD40VE owners experience this with their brass? Would like to reload to cut down on ammo cost.

I have shot over 100 rds. in my SD40 and they all have the bulge.
If you check the factory fired case that was sent with your gun, you will see that it also has the, "Bulge"
Martin.

 

[piney]

went back out today, 100 rounds wwb 165grn. no bulges, just a few small smileys. Now I know wwb is underpowered, and the liberty is overpowered( not quite +p) so my train of thought is just to go with critical defense loads fo sd and edc, and say away from anything +p. last thing I need is a Kb!.

 

[Waywatcher]

There is no such thing as .40 +P, anything over standard pressure .40 is thus, by definition, +P+.

 

[piney]

learn something new everyday. did not know that. thanks for the info

 

[piney]

Whether or not there is plusP in .40 I came across an interesting chart for factory ammo. Could be wrong but I'm thinking, after checking the ammo i fired, that anything over 460fpe will cause bulges in cases fired with the unsupported chamber. The chart even highlights the rounds to stay away from.
Probably have to ditch the liberty ammo I was using.
40 Caliber Smith & Wesson Ballistics Chart | Ballistics 101

 

[AnthemBassMan]

I checked the test round that was in the box with my SD40-VE. It had a slight bulge near the base that I had a hard time seeing, but I could feel it when I ran my finger over it.

L8R,
Matt