40 S&W Powder other than WSF

Any non magnum pistol powder will work.

A friend worried about that for 9mm in OP I. I made up a list of 26 powders that there was data for and we went off to the last store in the area that carried components. They had two of the 26, he bought one and has stayed with it ever since instead of going back to his original load.

wild willy said:

I'm about out of WSF I like it plan on buying more. Going to check a couple local shops. If they have it that's what I'm getting.

If not what should I get ?

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When I shot USPSA, I used WSF for 40S&W major power factor loads due to flexibility to maintain accuracy even down to mid-range load data compared to other slower burning powders. And for decades, I used WSF for duplicate factory JHP using same projectiles (Golden Saber, Gold Dot) for loading practice rounds as WSF produced higher velocities than other powders.

In recent years, I made the switch to BE-86 as it produced higher velocities and greater accuracy while maintaining flexibility to produce accuracy down to lower powder charges - https://www.thehighroad.org/index.p...ick-plated-bullets.761471/page-4#post-9646469

If you can't find WSF, you can reference this thread to identify "comparable" powders - https://www.thehighroad.org/index.p...-different-labels.797388/page-6#post-10806193

This is my groupings of "relative" burn rate powders I use. If you want to identify powders with similar burn rate, look at powders in the same row.

Alliant Sport Pistol with 165gr is unbelievably accurate

Walkalong said:

Coated 180s and W-231 is a nice combination in .40 S&W.

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+1. I used W231/HP-38 for my 40S&W minor power factor loads.

165 gr FMJ/TCFP with 5.0 gr of W231/HP-38 was one of my reference loads.

As Walkalong posted, 180 gr lead/plated TCFP with 3.9-4.3 gr of W231/HP-38 will produce 9mm like lighter recoiling loads.

rfwobbly said:

Alliant Sport Pistol with 165gr is unbelievably accurate

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I replaced W231/HP-38 with Sport Pistol as it meters better with better temperature sensitivity.

I may do a side-by-side comparison.

I like Ramshot Silhouette for 40 and 9mm, it’s usually available where I shop too. I never see it listed in my manuals but there is plenty of data on ramshot.com

wild willy said:

I'm about out of WSF I like it plan on buying more.Going to check a couple local shops.If they have it that's what I'm getting.If not what should I get ?Not buying enough to justify HazMat

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WSF is in the mid/slow rate powder, are you loading full power loads? If you want target loads, Titegroup, IMR Target and WST all work really well. If you have N320 that also has a nice recoil profile.
For slower powders, I load Universal, N340 and CFE Pistol. Good luck!

BE86 and Power Pistol are two of my favorites for 40 S&W, and 9mm too, for that matter.

Silhouette, Universal, AA#7, and Longshot are others that worked well for me.

wild willy said:

I'm about out of WSF I like it plan on buying more.Going to check a couple local shops.If they have it that's what I'm getting.If not what should I get ?Not buying enough to justify HazMat

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Where are you located? I have an unopened lb. of WSF that I'm most likely not going to use. I've been using HS-6 and CFE pistol and getting good results for what I'm doing, so I'm probably not going to mess with the WSF afterall.

CFE-Pistol is my go to

When powder was scarce during the Obama days I found a couple of lbs of Longshot and was successful with 180 gr FMJ using it. Haven’t really tried anything since.

Thanks for the offer.I have some Longshot I don't care for the loudness.

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Longshot works well for .40, at least for 180s, haven't tried it with lighter pills, but it's loud.

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Sort of off thread but I used Longshot in 9mm and could never figure out how it seems to be twice as loud as everything else,

Ah Loudshot

CFE pistol is my choice for 165s. I haven't tried anything else. It shot great for me and wasn't snappy. So I stopped while I was winning.
I'm not a bullseye shooter by any means. My 40 is a compact I'm with night sights. So I'm happy with 3 of 5 touching at 15 yards.

AA#5 is my go to powder for the 40.

wild willy said:

..Not buying enough to justify HazMat

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Try Silhouette. In short barreled 40 S&W it is low flash. Here is a cut a paste from my reloading notes. This is data from a M&P Shield. I also use the same loads in a 4" Sig Elite with excellent results.

Universal under a 170 gr. LSWC got me through several IDPA matches. 940 fps and shot better than I could hold them.

WST and 180 coated for me....

These are powders I use in 40S&W.
W231/HP-38, Universal, Longshot, Blue Dot.