Newbie Question:

I'm new to reloading, and I need to load .40 Smith. Looks like from previous discussions in this forum that there will always be a problem with this cal in once-fired brass, because so many people shoot Glocks.

My loader is the SQDL, and Dillon tells me it won't completely correct this problem.

Question: Should I look for a separate, more powerful resizing system? If so, what system, and what's the recommended source?

Thanks in advance,

Johnny, the 40 S&W issue and Glocks has been gone for almost 10 years now. In any Glock 40 that is third generation and above the chamber is more supported than my CZ, my Sig, and my Barsto custom barrel. I would not worry one bit about it. Just size as normal and go on.

You will still find one guy running around out there trashing the 40 Glocks but all of his info is 10 years old if you look into it.

You don't need more power, just a diff sizing die. REdding makes a through sizer that you push the entire case through. It can be mounted on any single stage press. Even the cheap Lee would work for that.

Thanks for your help, guys. Appreciate you making the effort.

Fred: I found a cheap Lee single-stage press and set of Redding 40cal dies on Ebay, but I'm not sure I'm looking at the correct dies: Series A, #80272.

The Redding online catalog shows several different lines of dies for varying prices and uses -- any advice on which I need for this application would be appreciated.

I'm beginning to think this case-sizing problem may be related to my light-primer strike problem (another posting in this forum), so I may be killing 2 birds with one stone here.

Thanks again,
JJ

First check to make sure your sizing die is screwed down all the way. It only needs a business card gap between shell holder & bottom of die. If you want to go w/ the Redding push through die, it's this one. http://www.redding-reloading.c...thru-base-sizing-die

I am not sure why the 40 S&W should be any different to size than say a 9mm or 45ACP. I use a Rockchucker press and Lee dies. I have 3 different 40S&W firearms and the ammo I reload works in all of them. I do differ from fredj338 though in that there is full contact between the die and the shell holder. Just enough to take out any 'slack" in the leverage mechanism. I use the same dies for my 10mm BTW. You will need a taper crimp die however which is extra.
Peter.

Thanks again, Fred.

After further research I expect the Redding push-through die to solve my problem, as well as my light primer strike problem, discussed in another thread on this forum.

To the others of you who have been reading along, and may have already or may someday encounter this problem, let me see if I can offer some supplemental information I have gathered as a part of this little misadventure.

Some autoloading pistols have a design flaw that does not support the lower portion of the case adequately at the loading ramp, and permits a small amount of bulging near the web area. This propensity is particularly pronounced in the .40Smith because of the higher pressures over most other autoloader calibers, and it is especially associated with the older Glock designs (although other pistols are also guilty, just not as many of them in the field).

This case bulge presents a particular problem to reloaders who buy once-fired brass, because the source of much of this brass is going to be from the Glock-type (unsupported base) pistols, which creates chambering problems in many guns. I know this to be true -- On my bench there is a box of 1000 once-fired cases and of any handful that I pick up, fully half are visibly deformed near the bottom of the case.

While some reloading presses completely reform the cases, others certainly do not -- particularly some progressives. I have a SQDL, and before buying it, I talked at length with Dillon about this problem. I live in Phoenix, and a trip across town to the Dillon facility and show room is an outing to the candy store. I spent half and hour eyeball-to-eyeball with one of their tech guys who said in no uncertain terms that the SQDL does not form the bottom 25% or so of the case, and if you shoot Glock, be certain to confine your brass to the gun it came from or you'll have this chambering problem. (I suspect that you'll have the problem even then because it appears to not be symmetrical.)

This problem is well known enough within the .40 loading community, that when I found the website on the Redding push-through die that Fred has recommended (and a similar product offered by Lee), the buyers comments went on and on in the vein of "if you load 40s, you must have this ...."

For the record, I found the Redding product that Fred suggested for $38 at Midway. They also stock the Lee product which requires that you have a 40 crimp die, so if you already have the die you might save a few bucks with that product.

For future loading, once I have sized the brass that I currently have, I hope not to have to redo this step until I buy the next batch. I have replaced the factory barrel in my Glock with an aftermarket barrel, and I have made a little catch-basket so I can retrieve my own brass for reuse.

So, hopefully, the die will arrive in a few days and resolve this issue for me.

Or, I'll be back here with a longer tale of woe.

JJ

I've noticed that some of the .40 brass that I've shot through a couple of Sigs will not completely go into battery with two of our son's XD's. This is a bunch of once fired older 40 brass that I bought in bulk about 6-7 years ago.

Maybe this Redding dye is the answer to that dilemma.

quote:

I do differ from fredj338 though in that there is full contact between the die and the shell holder. Just enough to take out any 'slack" in the leverage mechanism. I

The reason I leave a very slight gap is the carbide insert can crack if impacted. So a very slight gap, even a piece of notebook paper, is better than direct contact.

fred338, ah yes! Now I understand. I still like to have them touch to make sure I size the whole case. Never had a problem with the 40 S&W (touch wood)!
Peter.

Thanks for the piece of research. I ordered the Redding push through unit. Oh, I wish this had been available in 1995!! It really works well.

I did get the adapter and heavy duty bottle to keep the swaged cases from flying all over the room.

I love American ingenuity!!

quote:

Originally posted by fredj338:

The reason I leave a very slight gap is the carbide insert can crack if impacted. So a very slight gap, even a piece of notebook paper, is better than direct contact.

I was sizing .45ACP brass with the die just barely touching the shellholder. The loaded ammo would not totally chamber. I just finished sizing several thousand and had the die turned down to a quarter turn past contact. The hard carbide dug a slight ring into the shellholder, but I don't care. I feel confident that my brass is fully sized and the ammo will chamber...

quote:

Originally posted by homebrewer:

quote:

Originally posted by fredj338:

The reason I leave a very slight gap is the carbide insert can crack if impacted. So a very slight gap, even a piece of notebook paper, is better than direct contact.

I was sizing .45ACP brass with the die just barely touching the shellholder. The loaded ammo would not totally chamber. I just finished sizing several thousand and had the die turned down to a quarter turn past contact. The hard carbide dug a slight ring into the shellholder, but I don't care. I feel confident that my brass is fully sized and the ammo will chamber...

I'd pull out the case gauge and drop your reloads into it. I've found that eventually the expansion around the base and the head expansion will get to a point that no amount of resizing will be enough. That is, if you keep reloading the same brass until it doesn't fit, like I do.

I just resized them. I may never reload them. I sent a box of 'em as a gift to another member, I have so many. And I don't have a comparator for .45ACP...