Bad KB experience .40 caliber

[tabberski]

Has anyone seen a shell like this? My plastic frame is now cracked, extractor missing. Ammo condition unknown. Caliber is .40 S&W.

[westhope]

40 SW is one of the most sensitive handgun calibers I know. It starts out as a high pressure round and there are many things the will easily overpressure the round that would not have as great of an affect as with other calibers.

What handgun was it in?

[Evad]

I want to say it's a Glock barrel...but it's different than mine. Fourth gen?

[OldmanFCSA]

Was this fired in a Glock?
Was this previously fired in a Glock?
Were you using "reloaded" brass?
Were you violating your warrantee by using "reloads"?
If using reloads, were you de-bulging brass, and was it de-bulged multiple times?

I reload and use reloads in all my firearms !!!
However, some firearms were never intended or designed to use reloads, which may result in the KaBoom you experienceed.
Choose your firearms carefully, use as designed or accept the consequences.

Were you hurt?
Other than your pride?
Was it a "learning experience"?

I don't want to come across as an asshat, but I do want everyone to understand there is more to "Reloading" than installing a new primer, dumping in some powder, and seating a bullet.

If this was not a "reload", I apologize if I hurt your feelings.
This should still be a "Learning Experience" for all of you, and ME.

[mmcnx2]

....Were you using "reloaded" brass?....

100%, I don't know how many folks I see buying range brass and just running with it.

My food for thought is as follows:

Lets say you buy some nice shiny range 40 brass.

What you don't know is some guy that reloads, and maybe runs them a little hot (think USPSA major), has reloaded his brass 4-5 times so this time when he goes to the range he leaves them because he starts to see a few cracking.

The range cleans those up, sorts out the few cracked brass.

You go home and load them up having no idea they are a bomb.

On 40 that assumption can cost you a gun, in a tank built 45 maybe just a embarrassing casing stuck in a barrel. Either way you play with fire eventually you will get burned.

Maybe I'm old and overly conservative but I don't shoot or reload any ammo I don't know its life story. Not a 100% guarantee but better than Russian roulette.

[OldmanFCSA]

IF anyone needs NEW 40S&W brass, contact me.

I keep my NEW separated from my re-processed brass, even though my SS Pin cleaned brass looks like new.

I "DE-bulge" all my re-processed 40S&W brass now, due to a problem similar to this case. My example was a severely stuck case in my Beretta 96 Inox. Yes, reloaded brass from 2005 when I first started reloading 40S&W and had not heard of the infamous Glock Bulge.

I now reload only once-fired brass or fired in my gun only so I know its history, it must be de-bulged using my new process, and loaded to a lower power setting using a slower-burn powder to reduce the pressure spike = not as efficient, but safer.

[JTapper]

A fellow shooter I ran into at BPR told me about the Lee Bulge Buster. Said it works perfectly on Glock-fired brass. We got to chatting about my getting into reloading and I brought up my concern about "the Glock bulge".

Has anyone used the Lee Bulge Buster and had good results?

[OldmanFCSA]

A fellow shooter I ran into at BPR told me about the Lee Bulge Buster. Said it works perfectly on Glock-fired brass. We got to chatting about my getting into reloading and I brought up my concern about "the Glock bulge".

Has anyone used the Lee Bulge Buster and had good results?

I know people who use it with good results.
My system uses a RCBS die, which squeezes it a bit more than the Lee die.
The important part is the direction of flow of the brass. My system uses a pusher that holds a de-capping pin. I must load case onto pin locating in the flash hole. This difference does two things, it removes the primer first, and more importantly, it pushes the bulged brass back into its original location instead of pushing it into the base area thinning the wall in that area. Fine-line, but it makes a difference.

[MXGreg]

The case pictured above looks to have gone boom while only partially in the chamber. Did the round not fully chamber, or did the case rupture as it was exiting the chamber?

[Rodentman]

I bought a bunch of 223 brass from a range and of course have no way of knowing if it's 1x or many times fired that someone just left. I process it carefully and inspect closely. I haven't fired .40 in a while but I run all .40 thru the Redding carbide GRX die and then the regular sizing die.

[tabberski]

It looks to me like the shell was not fully chambered. I don't check every time after pulling the trigger on the one before. This is my direction also. The way the case bulged out I think would indicate a not fully chambered round. But I don't work in ammo forensics. Nor am I trying to pass blame, deflect or assume cause of the situation. Firearm was brand new to me, but used. Appeared to be in very low round count. I have a few shells left and will measure and pull apart to measure volume. Barrel appears fine. Only harm done was to the wallet.

[OldmanFCSA]

Measure just ahead of the case head, where a bulge is likely to occur. This is what I found to be the problem with my first loaded 40S&W ammo. The bulged case would not fully seat into the chamber properly, maybe this was the cause of your accident.

[XD-GRIF]

A fellow shooter I ran into at BPR told me about the Lee Bulge Buster. Said it works perfectly on Glock-fired brass. We got to chatting about my getting into reloading and I brought up my concern about "the Glock bulge".

Has anyone used the Lee Bulge Buster and had good results?

I have been using the lee bulge buster for about 3 years now. I have put 3k - 4k through mine and it works great. I shoot USPSA limited major.

[tabberski]

Now that I'm not really pissed anymore I looked into what caused the problem. One thing of interest I found was that the thin long pin and spring were not in my slide. I don't know if they would have gone shooting out during the event. So extractor gone, pin assembly gone.
The pin I'm referring to is on the lower right corner of this picture link. Not my picture, for reference only.
https://bay178.mail.live.com/default.as ... id=flinbox

[Seismic Sam]

I agree - looks like you got a 40 case with a pretty bad bulge, the size die took all of it out except the back end, which then failed to chamber all the way but STILL allowed the gun to fire.

Question: Do Glocks have disconnects like 1911's so the hammer won't fall unless the slide is fully in battery?

I use the Redding G-Rx debulger for my 40, 10mm and 357 Sig brass. For 10mm and 357 Sig with full power loads, the bulge is a lot lower and can actually include the case rim. Not nearly as much with the 40, which bulges higher up (in some cases nearly half the case length! ) I have also tried the Lee die to debulge the brass, and the smoothness of the carbide with the Lee dies is not nearly as good, meaning it takes a LOT more effort to shove the case through the die. In addition, I think the Lee dies are just tungsten carbide, while the Redding dies are Titanium carbide, and there's quite a difference in friction between the two.

If this had been the other 40 problem with a Glock, which is bullet setback, the resulting pressure spike normally blows the slide off the rails, literally.

Glad you're still in one piece. Oldman already took care of me having to be an azzhat with his post about how reloading can have serious consequences, so I don't have to. Congratulations. You are now a MUCH safer and more careful reloader than you were a few days ago, and it only cost you a gun.