Reloading Glock brass?

[charlessummers]

I've never heard this before and it seems too odd to be true, but the other day there was this guy at work who was a "gun guy" too. We got to talking about guns and reloading and he asked me if I was reloading my brass from my glock. I said sure... why not? He proceeded to tell me that the Glock will bell out the lower end of the brass, rendering it useless. Something to do with the way the cartridge doesn't fit tightly in the chamber. I called bullshit on that, and he called someone while I was there that backed up his story. I'm still calling BS on it...

Has anyone ever heard of this before?

[Patton]

There is truth to it but it is over rated. Which model Glock are you shooting your reloads out of? Most all Glocks have good chamber support after 2003ish, after that all have fairly adequate support. The 45's were the worst but it is such a lower pressure it doesn't matter. The best seem to be the 10mm and then the 357 sig.
What happens is there will be a little pop belly on he wall close to the rim. Sometimes it will come out in resizing bu the brass does get worked and stressed there.

[morrisster]

All I have is anecdotes to go off as well. I have heard the same thing. Something about chamber tolerance/support. I would buy an aftermarket barrel if you're worried about it.

 

here is a thread addressing the issue http://www.gunandgame.com/forums/general-reloading/110007-reloading-glock-brass.html

 

just reload until the brass splits...

[zombiehugger]

I run my 40sw and 10mm brass through a lee fcd and lee bullet sizing container. Just remove the screw in part of the fcd place the bullet container on top and use the bullet "pusher" in place of the shellholder. I have ran +5 reloades on brass done this way no problems

[zombiehugger]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H-PszuLwEu8&feature=youtube_gdata_player

[Guest 6.8 AR]

It usually doesn't happen unless the charge is at the high end for the bullet:"hot loads". I reload mine

unless the case looks like it has a hemorrhoid about to bust and won't resize.

[Jamie Jackson]

About all I shoot are Glocks in 9mm. After countless thousands of handloads I've never encountered a problem with my brass and "Glock  Smiles", if that is what they were talking about.

 

I inspect my brass as I'm handloading, if the brass looks questionable I just toss it in my scrap bucket...I've yet to have one of my handloads rupture...but I'm not pushing +P+ levels either.

 

:2cents:

[Lumber_Jack]

This is a situation where there is a chance of brass failure on high pressure loads and already weekend brass and that was translated through the interwebz to read "ALL GLOCK BRASS IS UNSAFE AND WILL EXPLODE ON CONTACT WITH HUMAN SKIN"

if its factory loaded brass just inspect it for bulges around the case rim. I'd wager to say its all fine. If you push the max load just go slow and look for case bulges.

If you follow proper reloading etiquette and start low and move up slowly there shouldn't be a situation where a case is blown open.

[Patton]

I would buy an aftermarket barrel if you're worried about it.

...

It really depends on which model and generation he has. Gen4 factory G20 barrels have better support than aftermarket barrels.

[2.ooohhh]

I was getting the "glock bulge" on some .40 brass, I just didn't keep the glock very long though.(solved the "problem" :cool: ) I could see how the repeated working of the case could eventually cause an issue. It never did it nearly as bad as below with my reloads though, it was generally with hot factory ammo.

 

 

I still see it occasionally in range pickups but typically in .40 rather than 9mm, I reload them once fully re-sized.

Edited June 18, 2013 by 2.ooohhh

[Guest kj4gxu]

I believe the real problem with this comes if you use brass previously fired through a Glock without properly resizing it in another gun.  

 

I ran into this when I first started reloading.  I had picked up my brass at the range and must have gotten some Glock brass in with it.  I was using the lee loader "hand banging" kit which does not do a great job of resizing.  I took some of my rounds to the range and came to one that locked the action of my Ruger p95 down completely.  Took about 10 minutes of pulling, pushing and finagling to get the action open and the round out of the chamber.  I took that round home and took the calipers to it.  It was just a little larger near the base than all my other rounds.

 

After that happened I was given a press and a set of dies by some of the members here (Thanks again guys, I use them often) and I've now reloaded 600 or 700 more rounds without ever seeing the same problem.

[jaysouth]

If you heard it on the internet, it has to be true.

Garbage in and out at the speed of light. I am a hopeless scavenger, I pick up any loose brass I see. When I see a glock firing pin mark, I scan the base to see if it has the bulge that the internet says all glocks will impart on fired brass.

In thousands and thousands, I have seen a few marks, but no dangerous bulges. When in doubt, use your gut reinforced by sight and feel. Let the internet and gun shop commandos live under the rocks that they make up in their minds.

[charlessummers]

Thanks guys... both of my Glocks are 9mm (17 & 26). I'm going to keep an eye out of the bulging, but I'm sure that I've not seen anything like this yet. I'm pretty picky sometimes, especially since I'm still new at reloading.

 

I reload my 9mm's with 5.5gr of Unique, using 115gr fmj for target shooting only.

 

Edited to include that both pistols are Gen 4.

Edited June 18, 2013 by charlessummers

[Spiffy]

I loose brass long before it's worry out. Just use a good die set and watch pressure signs like usual.

[Patton]

Gen4 9mm Glocks have plenty of chamber support, shoot them as many times as you like.

[I_Like_Pie]

That is a pretty light load.  You shouldn't have any problems at all other than the Unique being dirty.  I wouldn't sweat it.  Like mentioned you will lose them before they fail.

 

 

Thanks guys... both of my Glocks are 9mm (17 & 26). I'm going to keep an eye out of the bulging, but I'm sure that I've not seen anything like this yet. I'm pretty picky sometimes, especially since I'm still new at reloading.

 

I reload my 9mm's with 5.5gr of Unique, using 115gr fmj for target shooting only.

 

Edited to include that both pistols are Gen 4.