Lone wolf chamber size .

[357reloading]

I found this comment by LW on Glock Talk forum http://www.glocktalk.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1377323
"We have a few reloaders that do not want to change their loads. this will cause an issue with the chamber. We offer the chamber reaming to off set the problems but really, we encourage reloaders to bring their ammunition into spec.
"

I have always made my reloads a .001 oversized. The way I read that last part,"bring into spec" would mean that my 10MM cast bullets would need to be sized to .400. This leaves me confused. Tell me if I am wrong. I thought part of the reason to shoot a little oversized is to keep hot gases from escaping from around the round as it goes down the barrel causing leading.

Sure the LW people know more than I. However, based on what I think I have learned over last 40 years leads me to not agree with LW. Comments please. All three of my LW barrels have been rechambered or in the process.

[seagiant]

Hi,
I don't know how many 10MM aficianando's we have here so I thought I would give my experience. I bought a LW barrel for my model 20 as I wanted to shoot IDPA and not have to stop and clean the factory barrel half way through the match. My ammo is made using a single stage press and I try to load the best ammo I can. I'm using once fired brass from an MP5 so it has to be resized correctly. All this to say that I use a Wilson 10MM case guage and my ammo IS to spec!

When I got my barrel I had problems from the git -go. I called LW and the young lady told me the guy that does the chambering was out of town and would not be back for a week. This and the $25+shipping made me look more into this. I have a friend that is a Gunsmith and talked to him about it and he said it was probably very little that was needed to be removed more like a polish than removal and I could do it myself with a split rod and some 600 grit sandpaper. He warned to keep the paper a little forward on the rod to protect everything and to NOT go beyond the throat which is easy to see and feel.

This is what I did and it was funny how LITTLE I had to do. My barrel now feeds perfectly and I have had no problems since. However if I decide to use my Glock 20 for defense in the real world it will of course have the factory barrel and factory ammo! To answer your question I believe like you that the LW barrels are a hair tight and I should of made a chamber cast before my work but didn't!

[357reloading]

Measurements show that the LW chamber is less than SAAMI cartridge specifications. SAAMI chamber specfications are larger. I measured the Glock standard barrel and it is greater than the SAAMI chamber specs.

[Bwana]

On my LW G20 10mm and 40S&W bbls all I have to do is make sure the full diameter portion of the boolit doesn't extend beyond about .020" from the case mouth. They work fine set up like that. My 9mm G23/G32 conversion bbl doesn't need this and boolits are seated normally.

[357reloading]

Bwana . i will check my loaded rounds . thanks

[ku4hx]

I found this comment by LW on Glock Talk forum http://www.glocktalk.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1377323
"We have a few reloaders that do not want to change their loads. this will cause an issue with the chamber. We offer the chamber reaming to off set the problems but really, we encourage reloaders to bring their ammunition into spec.
"

I have always made my reloads a .001 oversized. The way I read that last part,"bring into spec" would mean that my 10MM cast bullets would need to be sized to .400. This leaves me confused. Tell me if I am wrong. I thought part of the reason to shoot a little oversized is to keep hot gases from escaping from around the round as it goes down the barrel causing leading.

Sure the LW people know more than I. However, based on what I think I have learned over last 40 years leads me to not agree with LW. Comments please. All three of my LW barrels have been rechambered or in the process.

I have four LW barrels (had five but just sold one to a forum member) and I had several conversations with Fred at LW. What they advised me to do was have the external dimensions of the loaded rounds to factory, unfired, specification. When I did that, I got perfect feeding with all five barrels. Well, the .357 SIG was a different case altogether. I did have one SWC profile boolit that wouldn't feed in either the Glock or LW barrels. I no longer cast that boolit.

What I also found successful was for the 40 S&W, 10mm and 45 ACP tapered crimp to be just tight enough to allow the cartridge to make a satisfying "Ka-Plunk" into the chamber and fall freely back out. At that point I was home free. You have to have cartridge OAL set such that the boolit doesn't impinge on the rifling but that was a no brainer too.

I size my 40/10 boolits to .401" and my 45 ACP to .451". At the ranges at which I do 99% of my shooting all are far more accurate than I am and leading is basically non existent.

[seagiant]

Hi,
Well something was screwey,because LW seemed to have an in house reaming of the chambers on the 10MM barrels anyway! Has this been fixed? I don't know? Would I buy another LW barrel? Without a doubt,I believe they are excellent barrels at an excellent price point. As I said I did more polishing than "reaming" and was good to go and the pistol is as accurate as with the factory barrel! Where the rubber meets the hiway was that MY rounds were to spec and I still had an overly tight chamber!

[mpmarty]

I've got three 10mms all Tanfoglio competition guns and the chambers are dead on to SAMMI specs and my cast .401" boolits work fine, no problems.
Extra barrels from Italy are less than a hundred bucks delivered but I've never needed one/

[357reloading]

seaigant ditto on my reloaded round being less than factory spec.

[prs]

Well, its a wonder that I got away with what I did. I shot my Glock 23 wirh OE boolits with no problems. Very accurate and NO leading. Being curious, I did get a LW barrel for it. I noticed the paperwork with the barrel mentioned their tight specification. Did not give it a second thought and merrily shot many rounds of my hand loads without any problems or thoughts of problems in the LW barrel.

The thing is, all of my brass was fire formed in my Glock chambers and only passed through the carbide factory crimp die "bulge buster" to size the whole case. I then sized again with full lenght sizer, but only in that portion that actually holds the boolit. Also used an M die to allow easy insertion of my .401 boolits. The loaded rounds do have a very slight "bottle neck" like a 44/40, but less so and they feed into the LW barrel just fine. (Pulled boolits still measure .401 on micrometer. Go figure.

Oh, and the LW barrel leaded slightly the first 2 times I used it (about 100 rounds per session), but now leads no more. I only shoot off hand and only single handed, but am suspicious that the Glock barrel may be more accurate. After reading this thread, I'm gonna do the "plunk" test with the LW barrel.

prs