Re: Thar she blows!?
MikeO said:
Someday?
Yep, some guy over on GT already reloaded some 200 gr bullets to over 1100 fps in his GAP... and folks wonder why they blow up?
He didn't mention any problems, but I wouldn't want to shoot any of that stuff, or be too close when he does.
The person who loaded the above mentioned round did not have any problem with his G37, amazingly. But at the highest loadings which were most likely way beyond the 23,000 PSI limit, he began seeing some bulging. Backing the load down to 1047 fps tamed the critter nicely. Even at 1047 fps, the Power Factor is 209 with an energy rating of 486. I wouldn't want to shoot something that powerful in a competition where I'd have to be shooting a few hundred rounds. The point here is that the GAP can take some major punishment and can play with the big boys if he wants to.
I just tested 230 grainers in GAP format. I had to work up the loads from scratch since there isn't much reloading data yet. I pushed the bullets up to 995 fps (228 Power Factor; Energy: 505) and there was NO 6 o-clock chamber bulge whatsoever. In fact, the spent GAP brass from my 230 grain Full Power loads could still easily fit completely into the barrel chamber!!! Not only that, I had already used the brass four times previously in other moderate to full power tests.
http://mywebpages.comcast.net/petej/rel ... ngshot.htm
I used a fairly slow burning powder and recoil was quite mellow until I hit around 920 fps, still very controlalble though all the way up to 995 fps. I know some of you might think I'm way out there, but I've never had a reloading accident in the twenty-five years of practising the art. Either I'm extremely lucky or really good at what I do. In fact, I had to do a lot of study, testing, and documentation of the 357 SIG so the internet community could get a handle on reloading the little bottleneck safely (all the info is still available but is static at an archive site:
http://www.pete-357.com).
I was at first horrified when I looked at the above linked picture comparing the ACP and GAP unsupported chambers. But this is the toughest brass I've ever reloaded. It's truly a godsend for Glock's unsupported chamber issue.
Folks, the GAP is very easy to make fun of, but this round was made for unsupported chambers.
Actually, Glock has answered their engineered unsupported chamber issue. The answer is the Springfield XD, I mean the .45 G.A.P. :lol:
Oh, Barsto is ramping up to support the .45GAP within the next month or so. Now we'll start seeing those pesky gap barrels in acp pistols, just like the 357sig in the .40's. Oh oh.
Will a GAP blow up some day? Of course. It's in its seventh month of selling to the general public (including crazy reloaders), and the record is still clean so far. Maybe unsupported chamber plus super strong brass is the answer?
Even if you subscribe to the "solution in search of a problem" crowd, I have to say this is the most fun caliber I've reloaded in years. Holding 10 .45 caliber rounds in a standard sized grip feels fantastic. It's one tough, performing baby..