40 S&w

[DeanoBeanCounter]

I have a borrowed Smith & Wesson in40 S&W here that I've been shooting a little. Not much though. It's model #4043. Every time I go to the range I pick up whatever shells I can, so I don't know who's shells I'm picking up. Some of the shells I've picked have been bulged near the head to the point the when I try to resize them that a slice gets cut off the brass. My Speer #13 manual says that some guns don't fully support the shell.

How can I tell if this auto pistol is one that doesn't support the brass properly?

What can be done about it?

I THINK this is one of the problem ones.
Deano

[9.3X62AL]

The "smiley faces" you are seeing on 40 S&W brass are most often produced by Glock barrels, but Glock 40's are by no means the only design with unsupported case head areas--the 1911A1 is of this type. The difference is that most 1911A1's are chambered in a caliber (45 ACP) that runs at half the pressure that the 40 S&W runs at.

If the S&W pistol is producing such case effects, an aftermarket barrel with better case head support is called for. Bar-Sto makes barrels for S&W pistols to address that issue, and they also have slower twist rates (1:16") than the factory 1:10" and are lead-friendlier for this reason. I don't recall the S&W 40's creating this effect on brass--we had a bunch of Model 4013's in service, and I don't recall seeing the smileys on their brass. Early-series Glocks surely did, though--more recent Glock 40's have been re-designed to minimize this effect to some extent, but the fact remains that the 40 S&W is a high-pressure caliber being fitted into what were formerly 9mm chambers and platforms--just like 380's being punched out of 75-year-old 32 ACP platforms. Most of the time, the change works well--but not always.

[NSP64]

You can tell if it the pistol you are using by locking the slide back and dropping a spent resized piece of brass into the chamber. if its unsupported then you can see brass in the ramp area

[lastmanout]

The 40 S&W is best when shot with new factory rounds and the manufacturers really dislike the idea of reloads. I have owned a Smith Sigma (Poop) and a Glock 23 (better). Neither one was a great cast boolit shooter. My combat buddies have custom 1911's in 40 and those shoot very well (at $1000+ per pistol)> I would try to work down to the minimum powder charge that cycles the pistol. And the smiley face brass could be weakened to the point of dangerous. If they take a lot of force to resize--- Give them the toss. There are tons of internet legends about the 40 sw Glock KaBoom theory. I witnessed it once in person. I have moved on to more cast boolit friendly calibers. Be real careful and double check everything when reloading.

[mooman76]

I also have a 40 S&W in Sigma series and a Glock 22. I reload for both and have not had any problems but..... I do take extreem caution when loading, I watch for leading and stay away from higher end loads. I stay somewhere in the low to midrange. The Smith in the Sigma series is partially unsupported but not to the extent of the Glock and I have seen no problems. Watch your brass for bulges around the head. I haven't heard of any problems with reloading for the S&W 40's.

[johnly]

My CZ pistols fully support the case head of 9mm, 357 Sig, 40 SW, & 45 ACP.

John

[Kansas]

I have a S&W 4006 that I purchased right after their introduction, no bulge, plenty of lead through it and it is accurate. It is heavy but shoots like a dream.