Venturing into Loading .40 S&W

I use Hornady dies and haven't had any problems with them loading .40. I use them on the same progressive press as you do.

I've used Lee, Hornady, and RCBS dies. All produced decent ammo, but the Lee dies are so short that I had a couple that didn't work well in the LnL bushings. Couldn't get the sizer low enough to kiss the shellplate.

I buy Hornady dies because they allow for the bushings to be stored in the box, and I get 100 bullets each time I buy a set (not the American Select).

I can't help you w/ the powders you have, I don't use them. Have a pound of BE-86 but haven't done anything with it yet.

For pistol, I use Lee dies.

They do a great job for me. I do not like using the seater as a crimper, I prefer this as 2 separate operations.


I've had pretty darn good luck so far with TiteGroup powder.

I only have loaded 180 FMJ's, and have no plans to load anything else at this time.

Nothing special about loading for the .40. Pick a bullet weight, use reliable load data, and enjoy. I have Lee and Dillon dies for .40. I prefer the Lee 4 die set. There are plenty of good bullets and powders available. I haven't used the powders you list, so can't help you there. I have had great success with a variety of powders and bullet weights. I'm currently running 140 TC and 155 LSWC bullets over Clays or Promo powder. I'm loading for Production and SSP divisions of IDPA and USPSA at a 137-142 PF. Great running and accurate loads in my Glocks and Tanfoglio.
str1
edit: I'm loading .40 on a Dillon 650.

Loading for 700 fps, you'd be better off with a fast powder, like 231 or bullseye. BE-86 is around the Unique burn speed and downloaded that much....it will be dirty.

Universal would be another good choice, it has low charge weights to begin with.

I use Lee carbide dies for my .40/10mm loading (and all other pistol calibers). I love carbide dies, lubing and un-lubing is complete drudgery, and with carbide dies I got to leave all of that behind for pistol calibers. I actually wish carbide rifle dies were a possibility, I'd buy a set for all of my calibers. As for powders, I started loading .40 with 231, and never had a reason to move on. I have some CFE Pistol waiting in the wings, but with 2 more lbs of 231 added to the stack, it will be a while before I use anything else. I load to about 900 fps, but you could probably load the heavy 180's down a bit with a fast powder like 231 and still get good function.

3.8 grs of n320 under a 180 RMR Hard Core match FP puts me in the low to mid 700 FPS range out of my CZ P09, with decent accuracy.

As far as dies go I use lee, but then I'm loading on a lee press also.

I have reloaded for a .40 Glock Model 23 since 1995 with standard RCBS .40 S&W dies.

Nothing special about it.

Glock Bulge in the stock barrel is an internet myth, unless you try to make a 10mm out of it by over-loading it.

And I hear the .40 chambers are more fully supported then they were on my 2nd. Gen gun.


In short?

Any dies will do ya just fine.

rc

I started loading 40S&W coincident with the purchase of a Glock 23 ... one of those with an eee-normus unsupported chamber area. I never realized there was any problem with loading 40 S&W until I got educated by the internet. Until I learned the error of my ways I just loaded them like I would any other. Come to think of it, I still do and I've never had the first problem. In fact, the 40 is one of my favorites to load because of its simplicity. And since I load 10mm too, I can easily resist the temptation to push the cartridge's limits. But then, I'm a mid-range kind of guy.

I'm with rc. I not only have never seen the infamous "Glock bulge" on any of my stuff, I've never seen it definitively linked to any sensibly loaded rounds. The one time I did see bulges they were accompanied by quintessential over pressure indications. I moved to the other end of the firing line away from that guy.

My initial die set was Hornady. I later added a separate Lee taper crimp die. My 10mm dies set is Lyman and it could be used for 40 S&W. No problems with any of them.

Currently my powder of choice is Ramshot True Blue. I like it so much I've standardized on it for 9, 40, 45 and certain 10mm.

I also load for a Glock 23 and I use RCBS carbide dies with no problems. I've set the sizing die down to about a sheet of paper width above the shell holder on my co-ax and have had zero issues with the rounds failing the "plunk test".

I also have a Redding GRx die I use for range pick up brass and it sizes the cases back to factory easily.

I have no experience with BE-86, and I haven't used VN320 for .40 so I can't help much there. But the RCBS dies will serve you well.

Don't do it. You'll just upset the people trying to pick up their .45 acp brass

9mmepiphany said:

ku4hx said:

never seen the infamous "Glock bulge"

Click to expand...

I've often found bulged brass, usually when I sort them after cleaning, and they'll have the characteristic rectangular Glock striker indention. I'll have to pay more attention in the future to see if it is limited to certain headstamps

Click to expand...

"Glock bulge" or "guppy belly" expansion of 40S&W cases do happen and not limited to Glock barrels and can occur in barrels with generous chamber dimensions (By Gen3, Glock barrels have tightened up their chamber dimensions to reduce this).

Pictures below demonstrate "Glock bulge/guppy belly" expansion of case wall and these were once fired CCI Blazer Brass cases.



Close up picture with calipers to accentuate the bulge



As indicated by the primer indent, this case was not fired in a Glock chamber (lacking the Glock rectangle primer imprint)



Cases showing Glock rectangle primer imprint



Comparison pictures below show Gen3 Glock barrel with Lone Wolf 40S&W barrel. By Gen3, Glock tightened up the chamber dimensions to reduce bulging of case but the Lone Wolf barrel shows fully supported case base with tighter chamber dimensions to prevent bulging of case wall

I load a lot of .40 S&W. The only problems I have are with cast lead which mic .401. It take a heavy crimp to make them chamber. I guess the chamber is a bit tight. If they go in the max length case gauge they will chamber. HP bullets will mic @ .40 are no problem.

9mmepiphany said:

40 S&W ... Beretta 96 ... IDPA ... 180 gr RMR bullet about 700 fps, maybe a little more, out of a 5" barrel.

BE-86 and some VN320 on hand ... Hornady LNL AP ... RCBS die set ...

recommendation of specific dies that have worked unusually well for them in this caliber?

Click to expand...

40S&W was my USPSA match caliber for many years as meeting major PF was relatively easy and my loads downloaded well for minor PF loads.

Montana Gold 165 gr JHP around 5.0 gr of W231/HP-38 was my reference match load but I have found 6.1 gr of Herco to be accurate and very clean burning (no black fouling inside the case wall) - http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=743416



But since you have BE-86, I would suggest you use BE-86 for your match loads as it produced even more accurate loads -



As indicated on the Herco thread, if your barrel has longer leade, key to more accurate load is to load the bullet longer than SAAMI max of 1.135". For my Gen3 Glock and Lone Wolf barrels, 1.155" is the working OAL that would reliably feed/chamber from the magazine.

While RCBS dies would work, my Lee carbide sizer will resize case base further down to smaller OD. Even for overly expanded cases, I do not need to push through resize with U-Die/FCD as resized cases all freely fall into the tighter Lone Wolf chamber.

I load for my g23 now used to load for my 23 , 22 , 35 glocks and an fns40 and a sig 229
Even though I just have the g23 now I never had an issue with any of them

I have used RCBS dies in my LNL for a lot of 40S&W reloads. They are a bit short though, especially the de-capping resizing die, but it is workable.

I have had equal luck with RCBS and Hornady products. They are both great companies and actually warrant their products well. I'm not knocking LEE or any other manufacturer. I just haven't used their products as much.

I would highly recommend the Redding GR-X push through die. I've bought once fired brass from a couple vendors and some cases must be fired in large chambers. The Redding GR-X die sizes them back to factory the entire length of the case. The GR-X carbide die requires no lube. My cases fired in my pistol and carbine rifle size fine with a standard sizing die. I would think that the Redding GR-X die would insure that you wouldn't have a rare case that might not chamber during competition which could ruin your scores. Inspect all purchased or picked up 40 brass closely and scrap any with badly bulged case walls. You will sometimes find some "guppy belly" brass that shouldn't be reloaded.

700 fps with a 180g bullet is really slow. My data shows 3.0g Clays will drive my Lee 401-175-TC (drops at 180g) 766 fps and 2.7g Clays 734 fps. 2.8g Red Dot did 712 fps. Much lower than that would still cycle the slide but not lock it back on the last round half the time. The brass will also flip up maybe 6 inches and may land on your head or hit you in the forehead so wear a cap and eye protection (of course). You will want the fastest powder possible or else you'll wind up with sooty cases, blow by and lots of unburned powder.

700fps is not likely to be reliable in most pistols with the 180gn bullet. It's not even a reliable minor power factor load. I'd load for at least a 135pf @ 750fps. My preference for a usable load with that bullet/caliber would be around 800fps.
str1

Titegroup would be a good powder for this purpose. A starting charge with a 180 grain bullet produces a standard velocity of about 950 fps.

Midsouth has it in stock right now.