.40 s&w powder

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Railrunner85

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Hey guys, My uncle decided he wanted me to load him some .40s, He orded 1000 round from TJCONEVERA.com, ( I recommed this guy highly ) and some ranier 155gr PFN. Being that it is a long drive for me to get powder, I was wondering if my 231 or bullseye would work, (having trouble finding load data for these) or should I just make the drive. He is wanting these rounds to be as powerful as safely possible.
 
Bullseye+ WW-231/HP-38 will work--BUT...

Rail, you can find load data for both of these powders, but I usually do not use those in the .40 S&W.
I use mostly TiteGroup in ALL of my pistol loads--I know--be careful-easy to double charge-burns too hot-some say erratic??
My next go to powder, that also does well in the 40 is HS-6- it does fill the case better+is a good shooting powder for me
Just my 2 cents worth..Bill.;)
 
I really like Universal in .40, but other similar burn rate powders should work well.
 
I set my lil brother up for loading .40 S&W last year.

165gr plated over 5.6gr of Winchester 231 ended up being great. Plenty hot and does not hardly buldge brass when fired from his Glocks (very important). Be careful with your OAL in the .40. I set his OAL a little longer than recommended (I set it out as far as would fit in the mag) so they would feed better when he loads for his COLT Gold Cup Elite 40 (very finikey gun).

The Speer #12 and Hornady 4th Edition Loading Manual give some load recomendations and that is where I got my initial load info.

Here are some other THR members experience and recomendations.

http://www.thehighroad.org/archive/index.php/t-536260.html

Good luck with your 40.
Will
 
W231 and Bullseye will work, but only at modest velocities. They're great powders if you want the weakest ammo possible.

If he wants the most powerful ammo possible, check out Hodgdon's reloading center. If you believe the data, Longshot is far and away the speed king.

Compared to data from other manufacturers' top 40 powders, Longshot looks like an anomaly.
 
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Of the 2 powders you mentioned 231 is your best starting point. While not Ideal for the Hottest stuff, it's better than Bullseye on the warm end. For the hotter stuff I would look at HS-6 or Unique. YMMV.
 
CAUTION: The following post includes loading data beyond currently published maximums for this cartridge. USE AT YOUR OWN RISK. Neither the writer, The High Road, nor the staff of THR assume any liability for any damage or injury resulting from use of this information.

I only use bullseye for my .40 loads. Haven't used that projectile, but this may give you an idea of where to start.

170gn Lead Cast SWC, 4.3gn Bullseye, OAL 1.130 - 977fps, very mild load but very accurate.

I have loaded everywhere from 3.5 to 5.1gn of bullseye, all function my SIG P226 reliably. 4.3gn is by far the most accurate. I usually begin to see signs of high pressure around 4.9gn.

According to QuickLOAD calculations 5.8gn of Bullseye under that bullet weight should yield 25899 PSI and about 1100 fps muzzle velocity.
 
A powder similar to HS-6 is the original factory powder for .40 S&W. I'm speaking of Ramshot Silhouette. It will allow you to safely duplicate factory defense load velocity and has a flash suppressant. This powder was formerly known as Winchester Action Pistol and was used in the development of the .40 S&W cartridge. ;)
 
I've used both AA#5 and Blue Dot. AA#5 struggles to get factory load velocity and is said to be the leading culprit powder in the Glock/.40 S&W KaBoom phenomenon. Blue Dot works fine in achieving factory velocity or greater but it is a very bright flashing powder. There are better choices than either of those two. ;)
 
Go to Hodgdon's site for data: http://data.hodgdon.com/cartridge_load.asp

You should be ok with W231/HP38. I use HP38 for 165 GR RNFP from Xtreme and just started testing with Berry's 165 and 155 RNFPs. For the 165, I use 5 or 5.1 grains of HP38 in a USP 40 full size at 1.130 OAL. You should have at lease 2 reliable sources for load data. The more the better because they can be quite different. The Speer #14 manual listed 5.8 grains to start for the 165 using HP38. That seemed high to me. Lyman's 49th is more conservative. I decided to start with Hodgdon's data. I also go to handloads.com just to see what other people use. Don't take anyone's loads at face value. Use the info and corroborate it with data from other reliable sources before loading.

So far, I've tried the Berry's 155 RNFP at 5.4 or 5.5 grains (notes are at home). The groupings aren't bad, but the slide doesn't lock open after the last round. I may up the charge a little or may shorten the OAL and rework. I'm doing development for 9mm as well. Had some nice groupings but the slide wouldn't lock open until I'm near max. I shortened that OAL from 1.135 to 1.30, and the slide locked open.
 
I've been using Unique and Green Dot for cast/plated loads, but wouldn't mind a recommendation for something different. I can get Hodgdon and Alliant stuff locally pretty easily; other brands will likely be mail-order only.
 
I've had good jacketed numbers from WSF, Unique, Blue Dot, AA #7 and Power Pistol, but if you want uber velocities with 165gr jacketed bullets, try 3N38 combined with Federal primers. For whatever reasons, VihtaVouri powders that I've tested, like Federal primers compared to Win and CCI.

Bob
 
Railrunner85 said:
TJCONEVERA.com, (I recommed this guy highly)
Click to expand...
+1. I have happily ordered bullets/cases from him with free shipping.

He stocks both Berry's and X-Treme plated bullets. Berry's are sized like lead bullet diameter at .401" and I use lead load data or start-mid range jacketed load data for them. Rainier/X-Treme bullets are sized at .400" and I use jacketed load data. With any new bullet, whether jacketed/plated/lead, I highly recommend a full work-up from start charge towards max while looking for pressures signs and accuracy trends.


I was wondering if my 231 or bullseye would work
Click to expand...
Absolutely. Been using W231/HP-38 (same powder) for past 16 years as my 40S&W match powder with good accuracy. I use Bullseye for 9mm but not for 40S&W as I prefer W231 over Bullseye.


having trouble finding load data for these
Click to expand...
Really? Along with online load data posted by others, here are Alliant and Hodgdon load data pdfs:

Alliant 2011 Reloaders Guide - http://glarp.atk.com/2011/2011_Catalogs/AlliantPowderCatalog.pdf

Hodgdon 2010 Basic Reloading Manual - http://www.hodgdon.com/PDF/Hodgdon Basic Manual.pdf
 
I can get some massive recoil with a max load of AutoComp. It's right up there with HS-6, Ramshot Silhouette, and Longshot, per the manufacturer's numbers. Quite punishing in a stock G27.
 
I've been using Universal and HP-38/W231 in the .40 and 10mm.
Universal seems to be a little more accurate.
 
OK, 'nuther comparo - Unique or HS-6? I have a bunch of Unique and used it in the past with reasonable success and have some HS-6 kicking around here somewhere as well.
 
I am currently using Unique at 6.2 grains over a 180 grain Montana Gold Bullet FMJ. It is a nice target load, but only for target.. I have an 8 lb jug I am trying to use up. Unique is OK, but not my favorite. Also, it meters like large gravel in my Uniflow on my RCBS Pro 2000 but not on the bench in a stand alone hand operated Uniflow for some strange reason.

Auto Comp: Shot very well, but the dirtiest powder I ever used in a pistol.

Power Pistol: Good powder for .40 loaded at 6.6 to 6.8 (I forget the exact number) and good accuracy.

W231: It meters like water but is pretty slow on velocity with a subtle recoil.
 
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