.40/10mm reloading

[Fast Eddie]

Pardon the ignorance but I'm newbie, getting ready to reload my first.  I am acquiring components and reading, and wondering if there is a more economical yet practical way to reload both .40 and 10mm without buying the dies twice.  Are there benchloading like dies or micrometer "thingies" that would allow you to quickly and repeatably reset the dies from .40 to 10mm or are you stuck with two sets of dies on two tool heads?

[MickeyC]

You don't need to worry about that stuff. Regular dies are easy to change settings on. In fact you could use a lock ring at 10mm and then manually adjust doiwn to .40 in a few minutes.

[ny32182]

The sizer doesn't have to be adjusted when switching between the two; the seater of course will have to be.

From one newbie .40 loader to another (my close call):

I have been loading 9mm for about six months now, and all has gone well. I dropped the first couple hundred sized cases into my chamber, no issues. Checked neck tension with a vigorous "press check", no issues... Slowly worked up a load till I found one that seemed to be a very close approximation of WWB, and been shooting it in IDPA ever since with perfect function.

A couple days ago I took out my first batch of .40 loads to shoot. I went through all the same steps QC steps as I did with 9mm. With one exception: I had one individual case that, when dropped into my chamber during "sizing QC", required just a little bit of a tap with my finger to get to seat all the way. I thought, "well, when it is chambered by the slide it is going to be getting knocked into the chamber a whole lot harder than that.... it will be fine."

So, cut back to halfway through my shooting session with the .40. Part way through a mag I got a click instead of a bang. I ejected the round, guessing it was a bad primer or something. What I found was a light, very off center primer strike.

My only guess is/was that this got stuck *just barely* out of battery, and didn't get hit hard enough/centered enough to fire. When the slide just starts to unlock, what is the first thing that happens? The chamber starts to dip downward. I think this can explain the light, way off center primer strike: the slide being ever so slightly back, and the chamber not centered up to the breachface.

I think if this round had fired, it might have been a pretty bad day. After that mag was done, I loaded the round in again, made sure the slide was completely forward, and fired it without incident. The off center light strike was still visible apart from the normal strike on the ejected case.

All other rounds fired without incident.

My only guess at this point is that the case that took a slight finger tap to seat when I was checking is the one affected above. Unfortunately I did not observe the exact position of the slide close enough to know if this was the problem prior to ejecting the round.

I have not dropped my last few hundred 9mm's into the chamber prior to firing them. This incident makes me want to check size on every pistol cartridge I handload, like I currently do for rifle cartridge.

I posted a thread about this, and the general consensus is that this may be the result of "Glocked" brass that was not sized down close enough to the case head by a regular die.  Since I shoot Glocks I will eventually get plenty of this into my system anyway.  On the advice of some others, I intend to get a Redding push-through die and use that to size the base all the way down prior to running them through the regular .40 sizing die.  And I will check every one in my chamber, at least for quite a while.

I like .40, but I think there may be something to the common story that it might require some extra caution vs. 9mm or .45.

[Fast Eddie]

I've got a Glock 23 and Sig 229 in .40 and probably shoot most through the Glock.  I will have to keep this in mind.  Is there an advantage to pulling your barrel and using your chamber rather than a case guage?  If it's just as good, it would save a few bucks.

So if I'm reading this right...I  just have to adjust the seating die and the amount of the powder drop, and I'm set to change from .40 to 10mm, and MickeyC, this only takes a few minutes of trial and error?  Is this correct?

[ny32182]

A few minutes would be a very high estimate, especially if you already have a loaded cartridge that you want to copy... you can get your crimp ring (if you use it) and seater plug *very* close just by dimensioning them directly on an already loaded cartridge.

[Fast Eddie]

A few minutes would be a very high estimate, especially if you already have a loaded cartridge that you want to copy... you can get your crimp ring (if you use it) and seater plug *very* close just by dimensioning them directly on an already loaded cartridge.

Fantastic!  Sounds like a real two-fer!

[MickeyC]

It takes a few minutes as you will run a few rounds through each stage slowly to make sure you have the right dimensions etc.. The point is you don't need separate dies.

[Fast Eddie]

Thanks guys...saved me $60.95!

[ny32182]

Well I ended up getting some pistol gages that I will now use to check my 9mm and .40 rounds (got 10mm too, but haven't loaded any 10 yet... Need to order large pistol primers first).

I also got a Redding G-Rx base sizing die for .40, that I just used for the first time on 100 cases.  Then I ran them through the regular sizer, and waiting for them to come out of the tumbler.  Hopefully they will all gage good after that.

[ny32182]

So the sized cases gaged well prior to loading, but after bullet seating, they would *not* go all the way into the gage, stopping consistently with the extractor groove still exposed.  Not sure what is going on, but something in the seating step changed the dimensions enough to keep it from gaging right.  They all drop right into my G23 barrel, so I think they are fine to shoot in that barrel at least.  I'd still like to know what is going on.

I do not flare/expand nor crimp these loads.  The working theory at this point is that a lack of flare may cause enough downward pressure on the case walls to cause an imperceptible bulge of some sort.

[Camp Cook]

I've been reloading tfor he 10mm since 1988 and by just changing the adjustment on the same dies the 40S&W since 2002...

Blue Dot is my favorite 10mm powder to use it meters extremely well/consistantly and gives close to the best top performance you can get in a 10mm.

IMR800X is awesome but difficult to use... I weigh each powder charge when pushing the very top loads, pressures can spike so fast using this powder but when you are being safe the velocities you can get are the very top I have chrono'ed 135gr Nosler HP's @ 1860fps out of a 6" Barsto barrel in my Colt DE.

AA #9 is one of the best beginner reloader powders for the 10mm you cannot fit enough in the case to ever reach pressures that are not safe.

Glock Talk 10mm Reloading forum is the best source of 10mm reloading data that I have found, Mike McNett of Double Tap Ammo fame has posted some of the best data there.

I have 4 10mm's a Colt Delta Elite, Glock 20 + 40S&W barrel + AA 22LR conversion kit, Glock 29 + 40S&W barrel and a 18.5" T/C Contender carbine barrel...

Sold my Glock 23 40S&W because I found I liked the Glock 29 so much more...

I

[Fast Eddie]

Thanks for the info.  I've got a G20, Tanfoglio Eaa Match Witness, and  a MecTec CCU in 10mm.  I'll have to check out the 29, but I will never sell my 23, it's a real tac driver.  I have a 9mm lonewolf barrel for it and it's a tac driver with that also...think it's a magic frame!

[Jack-O]

Thanks for the info.  I've got a G20, Tanfoglio Eaa Match Witness, and  a MecTec CCU in 10mm.  I'll have to check out the 29, but I will never sell my 23, it's a real tac driver.  I have a 9mm lonewolf barrel for it and it's a tac driver with that also...think it's a magic frame!

how do you like your mech tech?  what dont you like about it? do you have the collapsible stock?

[Fast Eddie]

I've only put about 200 rnds through it but it's fun.  Only shot it with an Eotech I pulled off of another rifle, but seemed reasonably accurate.  I have the stock, wire stock, which is not so good.  The collapsable would be more compact for storage, and has good lop adjustments, but has even a worse cheek weld problem...a poster here that has the collapsable stock called it more of a jaw weld.  An AR type stock with a cheek riser would work better but make it less compact.  I plan to get a quad rail for it, and probably the collapsable stock that I will modify.  I like it for what it is...a light, 10mm carbine conversion of my G20.  But you should know...1) it looks something like a prison shop project.  2) It will end up being somewhat pricy if you buy a bunch of add ons. 3) It will ring like a muted tunning fork when you fire...not really bothersome, but curious...guy with the collapsable stock said the same thing...must have something to do with the tubular "receiver" and the wire stocks.

If Keltec made a subbie 2000 in 10mm, I'd buy it in a second.  Waiting to see what the Microtec Aug clones do, but will probably be way more expensive, and ultimately too much to spend on a pistol caliber carbine.  Right now it's Mec Tec or nothing.