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5/18/2011 6:04:20 PM EDT
I have been reloading for my 1911's for two years now, but for my Glock, I just bought new boxes of ammo. I was always too paranoid to try reloads in the glock, and last year I blew it up shooting some ATI factory reloads threw it, so this made it worse.
These loads were too hot, and probably double charged.

Just before this incident I was thinking of reloading my own loads for my glock. I use a single stage press, and carefully, and methodically load one at a time.

My question is

-How many loads can you get away with before it becomes dangerous for a glock( you know, not fully supported chamber and all)?

-Do I start looking for a bulge at the case head getting bigger, cracks and the obvious.

I know with the 1911, you can load those casing's over and over until u loose them, but I'm wondering if anyone has a rule of thumb for how many times they reuse casing's for their glock?

Thanks from da G-man.
5/18/2011 8:34:57 PM EDT
[#1]
I have been reloading for a 1911 and G21SF for a number of years and never had a problem with the 45 ACP brass fired out of a glock.

I use the same loads in my 1911 as I do in my Glock 21SF.
5/18/2011 9:55:31 PM EDT
[#2]
Have had no issues loading for a Glock 21 and 36 . Same loads are shot in 1911's. Brass from both 1911's and Glocks are sized together with the same die. My loads are close to maximum from published data. There is no issue with bulged brass from the Glock 45 ACP's using mostly Win and RP brass. I don't think the Glock 45's have any issues with the chamber and do not have unsupported areas of the chamber that would bulge brass. I can get as many loads from my Glock 45's as I can my 1911's.
5/19/2011 2:02:32 AM EDT
[#3]
I've shot lots of handloaded .45 acp through my G21 and always fed it either jacketed or plated loads identical to what I would shoot in a 1911. While the chamber might or might not be slightly larger in the Glock, the .45 acp is a low pressure cartridge and is not very likely to be problematic with reasonable loads.

Just be careful if using lead or moly/polymer coated bullets. If you decide to try anything other than jacketed or plated, check the barrel often for build up.
5/19/2011 6:39:51 AM EDT
[#4]
I had one case (RP) blow out  (Glock smile) on the feed ramp of my G21  It blew the magazine into the dirt damaging the mag release and scorching my hand where flame came out of holes in the grip. The case had been only been reloaded once, but it was a +P load of 231 and a win 230JHP. Since then I lowered my powder charges and have had no problems in several K rounds. Lesson learned If you want more horsepower get a bigger gun.  I did sell it later and got a Springfield XD, just so I can use lead bullets. my 2cents
5/19/2011 6:51:16 AM EDT
[#5]
I have not heard of many (or any till I read this) problems with relaods in .45acp glocks.

The biggest problems are with the 40 s&w glocks,  Comparing the GF's G23 barrel support to my XDM Barrel support you can clearly see why these are a problem.  I plan to put a new barrel in the G23 to fix this issue and shoot reloads.

I have fired many reloads in my 9mm G26 without a problem.

If you are concerned get a new barrel for the G21 that is fully supported.
5/19/2011 7:20:47 AM EDT
[#6]
Reloading for the Glock is like reloading for any other gun. Use the information in the reloaders manual and establish good reloading procedures and you'll be fine.
5/19/2011 7:47:14 AM EDT
[#7]
Loading for Glock is different , because it is different.

For one that, polly, wally, diagonal barrel is different than traditionally rifled barrels. Making lead and plated bullets iffy to use at higher pressures. More care has to be given to a Glock barrel.

I'm going to stop here, don't want to do full thread on Android. Will have to save further response for later.

Posted Via AR15.Com Mobile
5/19/2011 8:07:14 AM EDT
[#8]
The concern over the Glock's chamber size and lack of 6 o'clock support is overblown.  Glocks do have a generous sized chamber as that is a major contributor to their feeding reliability, but all Browning based semi-autos have the same basic design issue as you can plainly see below.  These are 40cal barrels considered by many to be the ones with the greatest likelihood of an issue.











I shot over 28,000 rds of my reloads through my stock barreled G22 before I converted it to a G24, with nary an issue.  Most of those rounds were on the warm side and my 40 cases were retired after 6 reloads.  As to my G21, I shot 3,800 rds of my reloads through my stock barrel before I converted it to a G20/21L, with nary an issue.  45acp cases see such low pressures that I've reloaded some 18 times without a single issue.





Why no issues?  First, I've found that resizing the case completely down to the rim is the key. Leaving a small bulge in the case near the rim can cause a round to not chamber completely.  That is where the issue really gets serious as even the low pressure 45acp's brass case won't support the pressure if it's not completely chambered.  Yes, the pistols are not supposed to fire with the round not fully chambered, but I've seen that happen on many different weapons at our range during rapid fire.



Second, I use a set of reloading dies that I know resize the case all the way down to the rim.  Lee's Deluxe Carbide 4 die sets are both cheap and do a wonderful job of completely resizing the case all the way down to the rim.  They resize my 40 cases down to .421" and 45acp cases down to .471" all the way down to the case rim and that both aids in feeding reliability as well as eliminating the bulge that all semi-auto barrels generate.  This bulge is both a weak point and the sticking point that can inhibit the round fully chambering.



Conclusion:  Reloading for a Glock 45acp is nothing different than loading for a 1911 45acp.  Producing quality ammo is the key for both.



 
5/19/2011 12:58:51 PM EDT
[#9]
Thanks everybody for all the replies.
Greatly appreciated

I know I don't want to use lead in this gun, and won't. I was looking for some hands on experience from some reloaders here.

   As for the one reply stating they never heard of a kaboom from reloads before ,or "untill they read this". I will say again that these were FACTORY RELOADS FROM ATI (AMERICAN TACTICAL IMPORTS) that blew up my 21sf, and not reloads from I, or anyone else, by hand. Even if this had never happened, I would of asked the same question here about reloading for a Glock 21sf.

Thanks again to everyone who replied here, I will now have no fear of reloading for my G21sf.
5/19/2011 5:42:05 PM EDT
[#10]
Quoted:
I have been reloading for a 1911 and G21SF for a number of years and never had a problem with the 45 ACP brass fired out of a glock.

I use the same loads in my 1911 as I do in my Glock 21SF.


What he said.
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