WELL A 55 GALLON BARREL FULL OF 40 S&W BRASS FELL OUT OF AN AIRPLANE AND LANDED ON THE NEIGHBORS CAT. CAT IS NOW P.OWED. My not wanting to pass up A good education, I thought I might start to resize it all. I have been hearing about push thru sizer dies made by several reloading eq. co"s. My question is who makes them and is a case lube required to resize it?
I do not use 40 caliber, but believe Hornady and Lee make the Push Through Dies.
If Carbide, should not need lube.
Pick up one of Lee's 40 S&W factory crimp dies. Now unscrew the top and dump out the innards. You now have a 40 S&W sizing die/bulge buster. The carbide insert takes the brass down to factory specs. Lube isn't required but after you do a couple hunnerd you're gonna want some lube. It helps a bunch even with carbide. Here's how to lube a bunch cheap and easy. Grab a plastic bag and toss a hunnerd or so in there. Now grab the wifes can of furniture polish, Pledge or whatever cheap no-name brand is there. Spray a 1 second blast on the brass and shake it up. Dump it out and give it a few minutes to dry and start sizing. I put one of the sizing pins from another Lee sizer in the ram (where the shellholder goes) and push it all the way thru the die. I assume if you're casting you have another Lee bullet sizer die on hand but a feller could make one of them push pins in about 10 minutes with a link pin or bolt from the hardware store and a drill&file. I did up about 4K of the 40 S&W's this way. Audie...the Oldfart..
For lube I use hornady spray lube. Throw the clean brass in a bucket, spray and have at it. Ooh, I've found the cleaner the brass, easier it is to resize.
Swaging. Keeping the 40's running for the price of .22's
and .223 bullets for a fraction of a cent!
Lee makes one and Redding makes one (GRX push-through sizing die). I don't own a Glock but, apparently, some models, if not all (I'm not a Glock aficionado) don't fully support the case head/base and a bulge forms near the extractor groove after firing. Not all firearms chambered in .40 S&W produce this bulge and it isn't really necessary to process cases fired through them with a push-through sizer. However, in a cache of brass as large as you have, I'm sure a fair number were fired through Glocks.
Ed
I use the Redding (non carbide) die. I get FBI once fire commercial brass in 5 gallon buckets. I use spray lube on a batch, drop them in the 650 hopper and go for it. Then tumble with SS pins and then store for use. All FBI is Glock fired. Never had a problem. Rod
So there are carbide push thru f/l sizers? Who makes them and does anyone here have any experience with them? I do not want to use any case lube. I don't use it on any other pistol cases.
Re-read the first few replies. Not all dies will allow you to use them for push through sizing. You would have better results if you lubed the cleaned cases before sizing.
http://leeprecision.com/case-conditi...ge-buster-kit/
Last edited by bhn22; 08-09-2015 at 09:27 PM.
I use a lee bulge buster kit, lube isn't needed but some lee tube of toothpaste and a q tip works wonders.
To be honest I've actually stopped using it with my lee die set and haven't had a problem so far.
The Redding GRX comes in two versions, carbide and non-carbide. Looks like the Lee Bulge Buster requires that you have the factory crimp die for the case you are bulge-busting. I have no experience with either one.
Ed
I just went to Titan Reloading and checked. If you buy the Lee Bulge Buster ($14) you still have to buy the caliber specific die to use it. If you buy the Lee Factory Crimp Die (90862 for .40/10mm) it costs $17.24 and all you need do is make or find a push pin that fits the ram to shove the case all the way thru the die. You need to unscrew the top and dump out the innards (crimper) before you do that. After you're done you can re-install the innards and use it as a crimp die if you wish. I use them on 9mm and 40 S&W without any problem. So, total cost...$17.24 plus shipping and make a pin. How much cheaper/easier can it be.Audie...the frugal Oldfart..
I have about 2,000 .40 S&W's that I have run through all of the steps leading up to reloading, including sizing, depriming etc. A lot of them were shot in Glocks before I received them. I had no trouble sizing them with a standard nitride coated sizing die. Some had a noticeable bulge from firing. The ones I have loaded and fired worked like a charm. The only trouble I had was with the operator, (me), and some Speer "pulled" bullets that we bought.
Originally Posted by triggerhappy243
The Lee Carbide Factory Crimp Die, true to its name has a carbide ring inside.
The Lee Carbide FCD is simply a lower price point made die, and there's nothing wrong with it.
The Redding GRX system is a higher price point push through size die, and it's very high quality like most Redding dies are. Both will do what you are looking to do, (bulge bust 40) however the Lee Carbide die is MUCH cheaper initial investment.
http://leeprecision.com/reloading-di...tory-crimp-die
The brass colored ring at the bottom of the image is the carbide ring in a Lee Carbide FCD in image above.
The Lee Carbide FCD is normally used in conjunction with a Lee push through sizer kit press insert, or shell holder pusher.
If you reload, you likely already have a Lee push through sizer kit with a shellholder "push rod" that you can use, and would only need to purchase a Lee Carbide FCD (as sugested by Audie...the Oldfart) If not, you can purchase the complete "Bulge Busting kit" from Lee with the pusher, and pick up a Lee Carbide FCD Seperately.
Here's a link to the whole Lee bulge busting kit from Titan Reloading.
Of course the inexpensive Lee Carbide Factory Crimp Die - the heart of the bulge busting unit is sold separately, so you would also need to purchase a Lee Carbide FCD (with the internals removed) to push the 40S&W brass all the way through.
Lee bulge buster kit = $14.99
http://www.titanreloading.com/index....ter_name=bulge
Lee Carbide 40S&W Factory Crimp Die - $17.24
http://www.titanreloading.com/lee-cr...ory-crimp-die-
So your looking at $17.24 for the 40 S&W Carbide FCD and your ready to go, if you already have the shell holder push rod from a Lee push through Lube and Sizing kit.
If you don't already have a pusher you can borrow, pick up the Lee bulge busting kit for an additional $14.99.
Total - $32.23 for both which is still a pretty decent deal.
Conversely, here's a link with a review regarding the use of the Redding G-Rx die system which does the same thing, only at a higher price point.
http://www.gundigest.com/ammunition-..._fixglockbulge
G-Rx Push Thru Base Sizing Die
The new G-Rx Carbide push thru base sizing die is designed to restore fired cases from 40 S&W autoloading pistols that exhibit a bulge near the base without the need for case lube. By passing the case completely through the new G-Rx Carbide Die, the bulge is removed and the case may be returned to service.
Links below to the Redding G-Rx Push Thru Base Sizing die
http://www.redding-reloading.com/ind...arbide-die-set
http://www.redding-reloading.com/ind...ase-sizing-die
While Redding does not show prices on their website, I happen to have a Redding 2015 catalog and price list in my possession.
Item No. 96150 G-Rx Carbide Sizing Die* = $119.00
Item No. 96040 G-Rx Steel Sizing die* = $56.50
Item No. 96010 Optional Bottle Adapter = $14.90
Item No. 96020 Large 32oz HDPE Bottle = $9.60
* Includes Shellholder Pushrod
Your going to spend at least $119.00 for the Carbide Redding G-Rx sizing die before shipping. You can't even get the Steel G-Rx sizing die (lube required) for the cost of the entire Lee Carbide bulge busting system.
I will say that I do own the Lee Carbide Factory Crimp Die in 40S&W, and for the price it's a bargain for what you intend to use it for.
Redding makes EXCELLENT dies, in my opinion they are the top shelf brand of reloading dies. I absolutely cherish the Redding dies that I own, but in this case I don't think it's worth the extra cash just for a push through sizer/bulge buster application to purchase the more expensive Redding G-Rx Carbide die.
Other opinions may be much different than my own, but there you go.
- Bullwolf
Last edited by Bullwolf; 08-09-2015 at 09:50 PM.
Just in case it wasn't clear, the G-Rx and FCD are NOT sizing dies. They size the case down enough to fit any SAAMI chamber, but not as far as a real sizing die--so bullets can be very loose if you don't properly size the cases.
Thus, you are adding a step.
well I am starting to understand why no one in this part of the forest wants to mess with reloading the 40 S&W. it looks like a real pain in the Hillary Face. shooters in these parts have a real Woody for Glocks... I just dont understand. Give me a 1911 any day and Im happy.
Supposedly, Glock changed their chamber specs for the .40 S&W about ten years ago. Barrels made since that time do not cause the "Glock bulge". I owned a G22 Gen 4 for a while, and it didn't cause any case bulges. Running the brass through a standard sizing die is all that was required. Of course, I wasn't loading range brass at the time, either.
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I heard all the horror stories about .40 S&W in Glocks. About a year ago, I found a Gen3 23 with 357 Sig conversion barrel dirt cheap. I couldn't turn it down. I then loaded and shot hundreds of 357 Sig rounds with no problems.
I looked at the original .40 barrel, and it was just as well supported as the 357 barrel. In fact, .40 is slightly lower pressure than 357 Sig. I then got .40/10mm Lee dies, and loaded some range brass with them. No problems whatsoever. I even cast for it.
As long as you use published loads, and don't use deformed brass, you should be OK. From what I can tell, Winchester is the thickest, and RWS is the thinnest. R-P and Federal are in the middle. They all work fine for normal loads. The cases expand a little after firing, but never too much for the sizing die.
It's just not a popular round for reloaders. It could be because it's more of a police caliber, factory ammo is cheap, and/or reloaders prefer 9mm, .38/.357 Mag, .45 ACP, etc.
Last edited by Chris24; 08-10-2015 at 02:18 AM.
You are grossly overcomplicating this, .40S&W reloads like any other handgun cartridge and you do not need any special dies or procedures unless you run into a problem. You may have issues if you have a very tight "match" chamber and are using brass from very loose chambers but for most guns you will be perfectly fine with range brass sized dry in an ordinary carbide size/decap die.
Around here .40 S&W is a very popular caliber to reload most people simply buy clean brass, dump it into their case feeder and load it size/decap, prime, charge/bell, seat, crimp, done. You can spend hours and hours pre-processing your brass if you want to but it's not normally necessary.
Now if you are in business selling processed brass or reloaded ammo you should be base-sizing your brass but that is done with a big automated roll sizer or punch press, any other way is too slow.
I have loaded .40 S&W for years on my Dillon 550 with Dillon dies and shoot 2 different Glock's and have 2 Lone wolf .40cal barrels.
I have never needed any special dies for sizing using range brass, once in a while I will find a .40 that will not size down so I just pitch it in the scrap bucket.
I figure if a piece of brass is stressed that much I don't want to shoot it any way.
+1 I see lots of .40 at the range; but I've only seen a handful with a bulge. They've been overstressed in a critical area. Toss em.
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