I have an SD .40 S&W. Have been thinking about reloading for it but keep reading horror stories about too much pressure and blowing up the chamber. Should I consider reloading for it or purchase a new barrel in 9mm. Use the 9 for practice at the range and the 40 for self defense?

quit reading BS stories

if you know what you are doing and know what the gun is capable of i would say you have nothing to worry about. if you don't know what your doing, learn from someone who does, and stay within the capacities of the weapon.

i would not change the barrel, if you are going to use .40 for self defense you should practice with the .40.

I agree, if it's ever going to be a self defense (carry) gun you should practice with what you carry.

I reload 40S&W, in a Glock (king of the Internet kaboom legend) no less. I know lots of other who do as well. I know of NO one with reasonable reloading procedures who has ever blown one up. Pack too much powder in ANY pistol and it'll blow!

A simple understanding that it's not a caliber you can hot rod, and being a careful reloader will serve you well. Don't be scared...I've had and seen much worse from factory ammo than sensible reloads.

You can't expect to just change barrels [40 to 9mm] and get a reliable gun !!!! In any case while kabooms with the 40 have been highly publicized they occur with others too. They are caused by careless reloading in one way or another.40 is a fine cartridge and has become extremely popular in it's short 15 years of use. I'm keeping mine !

There's no room in my vault for a pissant 9mm,,,i have a .40,,and love it,,,Clay

The .40s&w is no more diff. to handload than any other round. It runs at high pressure & if you are loading at the top, bad things can & do happen if you make even small mistakes. Load the round below max. using med. burning powders & you will stay out of trouble.
BTW, unless you get really lucky you'll need 9mm mags & a new extractor to get the 9mm to work in a .40s&w pistol. Now .357sig, drop a bbl. in & go, but it's even higher pressure than the .40s&w & a bit more diff. to reload for.

I have a S&W M&P in .40 and started reloading for it a couple months back. Honestly I think I shoot better with the ammo I load than factory ammo. Just take it easy and start off towards the bottom until you know how your gun will take it

a little off topic but how do you like that M&P?

Clay,

You need a bigger vault!! Them pissant 9mm are cheaper to feed.

I have 9mm and 357 Sig conversion barrels for my G35 and G22 and they work just fine with my handloads. The .40 extractor and ejector are completely reliable for the 9mm so far. Can't comment on an S&W.

I used to compete in IPSC matches, and have fired many thousand rounds of my .40 S&W reloads with zero problems, as did the majority of competitors in limited class.
Never saw or heard about a kaboom, except when a shooter racked the slide with his hand over the election port to catch the round during the "unload" procedure. In these cases, it's possible for the cartrdge to snap free of the extractor, allowing the primer to contact the ejector, with disastrous results!

I reloaded "glocked" police brass for my SVI double-stack 1911, and my Dillon dies resized the glock bulge with no failures to feed or function.

The Hodgdon "clays" series of powders burned very clean with recommended loads.