I enjoy reloading, that’s not a secret. I was at the range a few weeks ago enjoying some trigger time and 5 shots into the magazine, all of a sudden my semi auto jams on its way into battery. It was ceased up pretty good. Eventually with the help of a mallet we got it open, there it was… A case with a bulge about 1/4″ up from the bottom. So I pulled my barrel and inspected my chamber. Everything looked good. So I started dropping rounds into my chamber and I noticed some didn’t fit. I jumped online and purchased a Hornady cartridge gauge, I actually purchased one for every pistol caliber I load. When it arrived I sat down and started dropping rounds in, and to my surprise found that about half didn’t fit.
Needless to say Green = Good, Red = Bad. I know what’s coming next: “Your 40 caliber looks funny, why is it round?” That’s because it is loaded with 155gr HBRN. So running them through the chamber gauge this is what I was seeing:
So I took to the internet and was reminded that some manufacturers have unsupported chambers i.e. Glock, and even factory rounds in an unsupported chamber can expand brass out of spec. Thinking back this was the first brass I loaded that wasn’t originally fired from my gun (fyi all of my pistols have supported chambers) I aquired it from a friend who for a while did own a Glock, and that the standard RCBS deprime and sizing die does not go low enough to resize the bulge from unsupported chambers.
So in searching the vast knowledge of the internet I learned there is currently only 1 product that can remedy this bulging brass. Lee makes a product named The Bulge Buster, but you can only use it attached to a Lee factory crimp die. So after I studied some YouTube video’s on the subject. I sat on my couch and purchased the Lee .40 s&w die and a Bulge Buster. Once they were set up. I now have a whole bunch of useful handloads:
I have now purchased chamber gauges for every pistol caliber I load, as well as Lee factory crimp dies so I can “Bulge Bust” all of them.