.40 SW what powder is equivalent too

for revolvers we all love h-110 for full max loads, what powder do people go to for max loads in the .40 SW and 10mm?

.40 S&W 180 grain load I think HS-6 would be right up there.

10mm would have to be HS-6 again, or Power Pistol.

But a lot depends on what bullet weight you are using on which powder will give maximum velocity in either caliber.

Myself, I just use Unique, as I don't load balls-to-the-wall max loads in .40 anyway.

rc

thanks RC, im not to sure about loading the .40 and 10mm to max pressures, being a LONG time revolver guy it seems semiautos are not as forgiving.

This question, sonier, is why reloading manuals are written. I don't mean to be rude, but loading manuals have this sort of information and data to show which powders do best under specific circumstances.

After you have some experience and data from your own loading results, you will be better equipped to venture out using slower powders.

archie I have ammoguide at my access, a sierra manual, hodgons manual, and nosler. but I can not find a powder that is suited for max loads at the wide range of bullet weights, I can load H-110 in my 357 mag for 110 grains all the way past 180 grains. im asking for personal experience in powders that are that universal and can have good power to them if i choose too.
the closest I found was blue dot btw

Hodgdon Longshot.

Woot longshot looks perfect now, i overlooked it, but theres data from 135 grains to 200 grains, and it can be loaded to produce over 500 foot pounds, thankyou steve

Blue Dot! If I'm making anything beside redline .357 or .44 rounds, I like Blue Dot. I use it in everything from .38 special to .44 magnum.

In the .40, I load 11.0 grains of BD under a 155 grain hollowpoint, and 9.5 grains under my cast 175 grain TC.

I have dug up and found silhouette it can be loaded really light and full mag house loads, i have never used this powder before so i have no idea how it does.

Hot loads for the 40S&W? Kind of like asking how to make a riding lawn mower go 50mph. Sorry, I just think the 40S&W is a great cartridge, but isn't really the kind of cartridge that should be loaded hot. More of a workhorse cartridge with a very defined use and range. Kind of explains why the bullet weights are in a fairly tight range, realistically 155-180 grain.

Then there is that pesky Glock barrel not fully supported problem...

That said, the slowest powder I have used was Power Pistol (Alliant) and that falls somewhere around #40. HP38 (Hodgdon) / 231 (Winchester) is pretty good all around, but having a burn rate in the low 20's it doesn't bode well in the speed vs. pressure battle. Bullseye works really well also, but I don't know why as it has a really fast burn rate.

I have a slight issue of buying a concealed weapon and shooting light loads when i can squeeze out just a lil extra oomph in case i need it ;) If i wanted a light load i wouldve chose the 9mm cartridge lol

Understood, but standard loads (155GR @ ~1200fps, 165GR @ ~1100fps, 180GR @ ~975fps) are plenty brisk for self defense. Additionally, hotter loads than these, especially in a 40, result in quite a lot of extra "snap" in the recoil, reducing your effectiveness of follow up shots. Even more so in a mini conceal type pistol.

I have experimented with 40sw to see how much power I can get.
800X is the top, but meters poorly.

Power Pistol is second, meters well, and can deliver more power than can be dealt with with any recoil springs that will fit in any semi auto 40sw I have seen.

I use Winchester 231 for almost all my pistol loads.

I can understand some concern when it comes to hot laoded SD rounds with recoil being hard to deal with for secondary shots, but when you have been shooting thousands of rounds with a 357 magnum, recoil becomes second nature lol Only problem i see is if the recoil is a lot, I may try to let the pistol just roll up which may cause jams.

recoil becomes second nature

Until you need surgery

You want more power, them buy a gun chambered for a more powerful cartridge. Those loads in the manuals have been developed using state of the art equipment - I would tend to follow their lead in this

surgery from recoil lol? i think id blow my gun up before i need surgery lol and why would i be trying to blow my gun up, its not like im shooting a freedom arms. hmm id prolly do more damage splitting firewood with a maul, all day long than i would from shooting a whimpy .40sw

For the hot stuff in the 10mm and 40 S&W Longshot seems to be the best choice. Power Pistol will probably come close as will HS-6.

Even a starting/minimum charge of LS will produce more velocity than a Max charge of several other powders in Hodgdon's line up with much less pressure. That said, it will get your attention when nearing the top. I use it and I like it, give it a try.

ill look into longshot for sure, blue dot and silohuette. I think i might just go ahead buy all 3 in one pound containers and see where it goes from there.

Before you buy all 3 buy a lb of Longshot and give it a try. If you're happy with the results you can forgo buying the other 2 powders and save yourself ~$50...

well iI reload a few other pistols, I dont have much diversity besides herco and H-110
But I will most likely try longshot first.

7.5 grains of Longshot under a 180 grain JHP gave me 1100 fps from my XD-40. That's pretty hot, but safe.:)

Blue Dot! If I'm making anything beside redline .357 or .44 rounds, I like Blue Dot. I use it in everything from .38 special to .44 magnum.

In the .40, I load 11.0 grains of BD under a 155 grain hollowpoint, and 9.5 grains under my cast 175 grain TC.
11.0 gr of Blue Dot! Wow.. You've got to be using some of the old reloading manuals that I too have around.
Hornady lists 10.0gr as max with the 155, Speer lists 10.0gr start and 11.0 gr max, Alliant lists 11.5 max with a 150gr, so 11.0 with a 155 doesn't seem that far off...

I just picked up Lyman 49th edition and grew worried when it lists 9.2 gr max for Blue Dot with the 155 gr bullet. I've got to rethink what I load for BD & 155gr's, as I just picked up 1,000 Montana Gold 155 JHPs.

I'm not trying to hot rod the 40 S&W, but it would seem the Lyman data is much much milder than Hornady, Speer's and Alliants??
Here's my past results with BD & 155gr MG JHP's out of a 4" G23, 84 degrees, 750 feet:
9.0 gr BD for 993 fps, 340 ft-lbs
9.5 gr BD for 1051 fps, 380 ft-lbs
10.0 gr BD for 1085 fps, 405 ft-lbs
10.3 gr BD for 1117 fps, 430 ft-lbs
10.6 gr BD for 1127 fps, 437 ft-lbs

I had clocked some factory loads:
Speer 155gr Gold Dots - 1140 fps, 447 ft-lbs
Winchester 155gr Silvertips - 1117 fps, 429 ft-lbs
Federal 155 HST JHP for 1150 fps, 456 ft-lbs

I guess I had better back it down to 9.0gr or so, but that seems pretty anemic?

Anyone have any thoughts on this? Anyone else using Blue Dot in the 40 S&W?

I'm now thinking of switching to Power Pistol, as it seemed pretty popular and perhaps more suited with the lighter 155gr bullets.. but again, recent Lyman data is more conservative than everyone else.
Hornady 8.6 gr with the 155, Speer 9.0 gr with the 155, Alliant 8.2 gr with a 150gr, Lyman 7.8 max with the 155 for 1082fps.

Sonier,

Approach max loads in the 40 S&W with caution. Pressure spikes quickly in this caliber. Stay with the slower powders.

Bill

The most power I can get in experimental work ups in 44 mag is with H110.

I can get the most power from 40 S&W with 800X, but with good case support, with some other powders enough power is possible to exceed any reasonable slide mass -recoil spring combination in a semi auto handgun.

Semi auto handguns can extract cases with great force, while revolvers are limited to low pressure, where 6 cases are extracted concurrently with force from the tip of the finger.

Those other lesser powders that can produce too much power include Power Pistol.

The 10mm cannot make as much power as the 40sw, as the extra case capacity does not offset the weaker case head, but the 10mm can still make too much power. The same powders apply.

The 10mm cannot make as much power as the 40sw, as the extra case capacity does not offset the weaker case head, but the 10mm can still make too much power. The same powders apply.


Would you care to explain just what exactly you mean by this?

http://www.ronterry.com/arms/images/bp-9mm.jpg

There are some sectioned cases, and I really dont see anything to signify that the 10mm has a case head weaker than the .40, at least not enough to matter. The only real difference is the room taken up by the large pistol primer.

I've tried many powders in the .40, and nothing seems to work as well for me as HS-6.

I load full power, factory duplication loads. But I don't try to exceed factory performance in a cartridge which is already a high pressure round.

ljnowell
Would you care..

The primer falls out.

The primer falls out.


Its called foolish overloading of a cartridge. Arent you the same guy that posts on TFL claiming gross overloads in every cartridge you load for?

A better or preliminary question would be which people like .40 at its snappiest and are inclined to probe the load limits of this caliber. That would probably be a short list. I use loads in the range of defensive ammo performance but well off any maximum load.

For peak performance in the .40S&W, like Clarke mentioned, with normal sane loads, 800X and LongShot give you your best velocities.

I haven't gotten the velocities with LongShot that Hodgdon's shows, but nevertheless, they were at or above those with HS-6 or BlueDot, or Universal and had much lower pressures.

For accuracy at NORMAL .40S&W velocities and pressures, I've found nothing that will top Win SuperField (WSF).

Do be careful approaching max loads with the .40 as the pressures do spike quickly as mentioned.

I've not ever used PowerPistol in the .40, but Have used LongShot. With LongShot and a 180gr XTP, you should be able to use the .40 for any reasonable handgun application. I've taken ~120-140lb deer with both the 155gr and 180gr bullets in the .40, and add 200gr XTP with the 10mm. I see little practical difference between the two cartridges, and hence don't own a 10mm any longer. I have more than a lifetime supply of brass and could double my stash with two trips to the range and pickup brass left by others. The .40 has become ubiquitous, whereas the 10mm is rarely seen, though lately in past 6mos. I've picked up more 10mm than I've seen in over 15years. At least somebody is shooting the 10 and leaving them at the range.....

I don't carry a .40 daily as I did before retirement so I don't load it anymore except for my daugther and her fiancee to go practice with some 180gr cast bullets. For that I just use 4.0gr of Bullseye.....

Longshot and HS-6 both look like winners, per Hogdon's loading data. But there's a third powder that looks to rank right up there, on paper. Win Auto Comp velocity numbers are very similar to HS-6, and even a bit faster with some bullet weights. And it does so at lower charge weights than the other 2 powders. On paper, it should provide a bit better economy vs HS-6, and a lot better than Longshot. I'm surprised it hasn't been mentioned, yet.

My experience with the 40 S&W is limited, but I have found that 800X will give about as full velocity loads as I care to shoot. Longshot and HS6 are bumping it for second place, I have not tried Bluedot.

In the 40 S&W's stepbrother, the 357 SIG, the same goes ... 800X, Longshot followed by HS6.

800X works well as far as velocity, however loading it is like trying to run cornflakes or Krispy Kreme donuts through a powder measure. Dipping with a dipper like the Lee or cut off brass works pretty good if you can "dip" consistent. So I've been sticking to HS6 mostly, it meters very well for me and gives enough velocity for me.

Jimmy K

In the spirit of the day....."you'll shoot your eye out kid". :neener:

I have never understood hot rodding calibers. Buy a bigger gun. If you want 10MM performance, buy a 10MM. :)

No one asked about hot rodding. The OP asks for powders good for max loads, and most of the replies have been in line with that. If you want to shoot soft target loads, you might as well shoot a 9mm. Now, Clark seems to be on another level, and I'm not sure if his load info is just a running inside joke on the forum, or if he's the real deal. But I doubt many people will try to duplicate his findings without the right platform, proper precautions, and gradual load workup.

I can see how cartridge capacity probably wouldn't be a limiting factor with a slow and dense enough powder - a max load of AutoComp is barely a drop in the bucket in a .40 case, and it's supposedly a tick slower than HS-6. But I, for one, will just take his word for it, while I stick with my wimpy max recommended loads. :)

well im a little to broke to keep buyings guns at 19 I have a M1 garand im still paying for and soon going to buy a CZ-75 SP-01 or shadow, with ammo for both guns it will cost closer to 2 grand of stuff, thats about 20 cords of firewood i have to cut down and sell to pay. I had to pick a cartridge that would be universal for me. I have nothing against buying more guns, just aint got the money and I am not going to go and pay with debt either.

far as super hot loads dont worry, I only need a gun that can stop a two legged attacking creature effiecently, heres something for you guys too look at, go onto google news search for one week and one month search, and google news for, murders, home invasion's, and anything else, this will show massive amounts of crime. the amount of violence in the US is disgusting.

http://www.nationmaster.com/graph/cri_tot_cri_percap-crime-total-crimes-per-capita

this site can allow you to research everything youd like, but this is my reasoning for having a hotter load than most, cause in fact the chances of something happening to one of us is a lot higher than most of us realize.

and yes im fully aware of the pressure spiking the .40 SW can produce easly, so I will be extremely cautious