Lee Buldge buster and factory crimp die or Redding G-RX Base Sizing Die Kit 40 S&W

[Jim..47]

I am trying to figure out what my Glock 22 Gen 4 needs to cycle the boolits reliable. So my question is stated above. Which one is better.

If you have first hand experience please tell me which one is better, and do not take price into the equation. I really want the best.

My experience with Lee dies is not a good one, but I don't look at that either. Nor do I look at the added benefit of having the Lee factory crimp die.

These are either either Lee 175 gn truncated or Lyman 175 Gn truncated. (I am still waiting on the mold handles for the 4 cavity Lyman mold. The Lee mold is a 6 banger.

Edit: I forgot to mention that if I shorten the OAL to 1.072 instead of the recommended 1.125 they seem to cycle Ok, but I'm not taking any chances, besides this system will help me resize brass instead of having to throw away many of them.

[Jim..47]

Also, between the Lee mold and my Lyman lubrisizer the bullets come out at right at .401. Is that a problem?

[Cane_man]

i own both... the Redding G-RX is the better made, easier to use, tool, imo... if you can afford it get the carbide version of the G-RX, and get the the soda bottle adapter that fits on the top which allows you attach a 2L or 16 oz plastic bottle on top to catch all the cases...

as far as the .401 boolit goes, you need to slug your barrel to see if the boolit is larger than the slugged bore...

[mdi]

FWIW, I have no use for the Lee FCD. In my semi-autos, when my dies are adjusted correctly, the FCD does nothing. As for the "40 cal. bulge" I have no experience. I would recommend using the "plunk test" for determining OAL for your specific gun.

[Bwana]

I am trying to figure out what my Glock 22 Gen 4 needs to cycle the boolits reliable. So my question is stated above. Which one is better.
If you have first hand experience please tell me which one is better, and do not take price into the equation. I really want the best.
My experience with Lee dies is not a good one, but I don't look at that either. Nor do I look at the added benefit of having the Lee factory crimp die.
These are either either Lee 175 gn truncated or Lyman 175 Gn truncated. (I am still waiting on the mold handles for the 4 cavity Lyman mold. The Lee mold is a 6 banger.
Edit: I forgot to mention that if I shorten the OAL to 1.072 instead of the recommended 1.125 they seem to cycle Ok, but I'm not taking any chances, besides this system will help me resize brass instead of having to throw away many of them.

You don't say what your problem is exactly. Be that as it may, I load that boolit to 1.10" loa and have run many thousands through my G23 without a problem. Perhaps you could describe the "malfunction" in greater detail.

[AggieEE]

Also FWIW, my experance with .40cal Glocks is the base buldge will result in a failure to go into battery, and knock on wood I've never had one but in theory it could be out of battery and still fire. If you have a failure to feed you're looking at a different problem than just the buldge. For the record, Lee buldge buster and 175gr truncated cone standard lube groove @ .401 dia. my glock 22 runs like a top with these. Like Bawana more info would be helpful. Good Luck.
AggieEE

[Jim..47]

You don't say what your problem is exactly. Be that as it may, I load that boolit to 1.10" loa and have run many thousands through my G23 without a problem. Perhaps you could describe the "malfunction" in greater detail.

I guess thats a fair question. Before I shortened the length I couldn't get any of them to cycle. Besides that they all have a giant size bulge. And some of them ( range pick ups) have Glock bulge before I touch them.

[Jim..47]

You don't say what your problem is exactly. Be that as it may, I load that boolit to 1.10" loa and have run many thousands through my G23 without a problem. Perhaps you could describe the "malfunction" in greater detail.

Did my last post give you the info you needed?

[Ed_Shot]

I use only range pick-up brass for my Glock 22 with Lone Wolf barrel. I size/deprime and clean my .40 SW brass and then check each piece in a chamber gauge (my barrel). I perhaps have a 2% reject rate, certainly not enough to fret about with "free" brass. Thought about getting a bulge buster but decided I didn't want to try to reuse brass that had been glocked so bad it wouldn't fit my chamber. I've seen some scary looking bulged brass.

My G22 loves Lee 401-175-TC (standard lube). I'm away from my Lyman 4th Ed. right now but believe it lists a COAL for the Lyman 175 gr TC (401637) at 1.100. Since the Lee 401-175-TC is .02 longer than the Lyman 401637 I load my Lee 401-175-TC to a COAL of 1.110. I did have feeding problems at first till I figured out that I had to crimp to .422. I do use the Lee FDC. What is your crimp dimention?

Just got the Lyman 401654 150 gr TC within the last month and it's a great shooter also.

What barrel are you using?

[nicholst55]

Supposedly Glock tightened up their chamber dimensions for the .40 S&W a few years ago, and all their barrels made since then give much better support to the case. This really minimizes the Glock bulge. I have a Gen 4 G22, and it doesn't bulge the brass. Of course if you're loading range brass, you have no control over what it was last fired in. If I'm really worried about it, I'll probably buy the Redding G-RX die. Then again, if my reject rate is no higher than what Ed Shot is experiencing, I probably won't worry about it.

[dakotashooter2]

I have the redding and it really made a difference. Of course a lot of my brass was coming from law enforcement because I work with them. Mine would feed OK (Beretta 96) but some took a bump on the slide to fully chamber. I don't have that issue now. Doesn't the Lee require the purchase of an FCD die too?

Lee has some good products but every rifle die I have bought from them has been oversized. It's not a tight chamber issue because generally the brass won't or is a very snug fit in any of the 2-3 guns I have in that caliber.

[W.R.Buchanan]

The Lee FCD is used with the taper crimper removed. The Bulge Buster Kit comes with a pusher, and a bottle adapter that screws into the FCD in place of the crimper to prevent cases from hanging up in the die.

The die itself is $10-12. The kit is another $25ish. The cheap Redding NON Carbide die is $35+ and the Carbide Redding die is $65. Both the Redding dies are way over priced IMHO!

All either one does is squish the bulge near the base of the case back into place. However this is a necessary operation of case preperation for the safe reloading of this caliber. Cases are pushed all the way thru the die to remove the bulge and make the case cylindrical again. Then reloaded in the normal fashion. The debulging operation does not replace the normal full length sizing operation. It is only a case preperation operation.

Do yourself a favor and do not hot rod this round!

Midrange loads are the name of the game with the .40 S&W and especially in a Glock. If you really feel you need hot loads for something, then buy factory hot loads.

This is not a cartridge to fiddle around with. It is one of the most critical ones out there. All you have to do to stay out of trouble is pay attention and stay conservative on your loads.

IF you decide to run cast in the stock barrel keep an eye on it for leading, like after every magazine to start. You'll know quickly if this is a problem.

Hope this helps

Randy

[Jim..47]

The Lee FCD is used with the taper crimper removed. The Bulge Buster Kit comes with a pusher, and a bottle adapter that screws into the FCD in place of the crimper to prevent cases from hanging up in the die.

The die itself is $10-12. The kit is another $25ish. The cheap Redding NON Carbide die is $35+ and the Carbide Redding die is $65. Both the Redding dies are way over priced IMHO!

All either one does is squish the bulge near the base of the case back into place. However this is a necessary operation of case preperation for the safe reloading of this caliber. Cases are pushed all the way thru the die to remove the bulge and make the case cylindrical again. Then reloaded in the normal fashion. The debulging operation does not replace the normal full length sizing operation. It is only a case preperation operation.

Do yourself a favor and do not hot rod this round!

Midrange loads are the name of the game with the .40 S&W and especially in a Glock. If you really feel you need hot loads for something, then buy factory hot loads.

This is not a cartridge to fiddle around with. It is one of the most critical ones out there. All you have to do to stay out of trouble is pay attention and stay conservative on your loads.

IF you decide to run cast in the stock barrel keep an eye on it for leading, like after every magazine to start. You'll know quickly if this is a problem.

Hope this helps

Randy

I forgot to mention I bought the Storm Lake barrel for this gun. I just don't take any chances, and thats why I want to add the extra step to make my brass perfectly functional every time I pull the trigger. I won't be buying much J-bullets for it.

Can I assume from your write up that I am better going the Lee route for this, as its carbide and lasts longer? If so thats why I asked these questions in the first place.

As far as my load, I'm using 5.3 grains of Bullseye and from the charts I've read this should be safe and functional. Am I right?

Also I forgot to thank everyone for their contribution here. I'm not a new comer to casting or loading but I try to get it right the first time.

[W.R.Buchanan]

That load should be fine however you'd be better off with W231 for that cartridge just because BE is kind of dirty. I run 5.4 gr of W231 with a 165 gr plated boolit.

Bullseye is a little hotter powder, but I think you are still safe. Just make sure your PM is not fooling you and varying charges. Bullseye is not a powder you want to overcharge with. Just pay attention and check your powder drops every few rounds, and then less frequently. Always check your powder drop at the end of any loading session. If it comes up heavy it's time to start pulling boolits.

Do expect malfunctions with the SL barrel for a while until it gets worn in. The chambers are tighter on a SL barrel than stock barrels, as a result there will be times when things don't line up. Tap rack flip!

As far as the die goes it is because the product that Redding is offering is way over priced for what you get. Their base $35 die requires lubricant since it doesn't have a carbide ring, and their $65 carbide die is rediculously overpriced.

There is no difference in the way the two carbide dies work, the Lee die is just a cheaper way to go that gets you there. The carbide is no different as far as wear goes. I have shoved 10K + thru mine and there is no noticable wear. If it wears out it is $10-12 for another one.

Do clean your brass first.

Randy

[RobS]

Lee die on this end........works as advertised with no problems and I never considered the Redding die due to the price.

[gunoil]

put your sizer die in the laithe and take (bottom) some off, then it will linda lovelace rite down low on the brass. Then do what buchannan said. If you dont understand machine shop then forget this post. Ya gotta have precision machine shop to make some equipment work. (example) i take lee exp die and take bell out and put step in. RCBS & DILLON HAVE STEPS. Why?, because i have a mrbulletfeeder.biz boolit drop die. I run rcbs exp die in station 2 of LLM and [machine lee powder/expander die flat in sta.3, cut the nipple off.] All powder hopper does is drop powder only on my llm.

[Lloyd Smale]

ive got the redding but wish i would have sprung a few more bucks for the carbide version. This one works but its much easier with lube and that means tumbling afterward. It will work without lube but takes some efford on some cases

[garym1a2]

I put over 15 months of match shootin thru mine. G22, storm lake, the budge buster does work. But if you get a case very hard to push or over budged trash it. I only use 4.2 gr of Bullseye or 3.7 gr of WSt for my minor loads with the lee 175 TC. No need for the abuse, as these are real soft loads. If you want major loads switch to a slower powder like WSF, Universal or Unique. They get the velocity with out the pressure. With Bullseye you get high pressure with low velocity once you try to push it.
My Glock 22 also has a Storm lake 9mm conversion barrel and it works very well, no need for a budge buster in 9mm. Just a charge of WSF and great results, or 3.8gr of bullseye and a great plinker.

[dakotashooter2]

I don't lube every case I put through the die. I probably lube every tenth case. That seems to keep the die lubed enough to process with little trouble.

[Jim..47]

I can't tell you guys how much I appreciate your help. You are the best!!!!!!!!

I now feel good about proceeding with my boolits. I think I will book mark this thread, that way if anyone new comes around with my questions I can shoot this thread out to them. Thanks a bunch, and I'm sure I will have more questions, plus, when I get these bullets already to shoot and feel comfortable with my new Glock I will post some pics.