Good Mid Range Load for Berry's 180gr 40S&W with W231

[Parks2055]

Hey Folks,
I have been working my way up with this combo - 4.5, 4.7 and last ones at 4.9gr. Casings are not shooting very far.
There is a lot of mixed data in the various manuals on this load from 4.1 up to 5.6 in the lymans, but maxes at 5.0 on the Hodgdons site - Not sure why it ranges so much.
Anyone worked this combo to find good accuracy at a given amount of W231?
How much would be considered the high end of a mid load?
I have no desire to be shooting up near max. 4.9 felt pretty good - lighter than factory loads - was thinking 5.1 or 5.2 for next batch or is that starting to get up to a heavy load with this powder?
Thx,

 

[LiveLife]

There is a lot of mixed data in the various manuals on this load from 4.1 up to 5.6 in the lymans, but maxes at 5.0 on the Hodgdons site

I have wondered that too for some time and found Lyman #49 used .401" groove diameter test barrel fixture (page 362, instead of more typical .400" - don't know why Lyman technicians did that) and .400" diameter jacketed bullets and their load data for 40S&W tends to be much higher than Hodgdon load data. Unless your barrel is oversized, I generally reference Hodgdon load data for my .400" groove diameter barrels.

Good Mid Range Load for Berry's 180gr 40S&W with W231

Berry's plated bullets are sized slightly larger (.401") than jacketed bullet diameters and Berry's MFG recommends we use start-to-mid range jacketed load data.

Here's current Hodgdon load data:

180 gr Hornady XTP W231/HP-38 .400" OAL 1.125" Start 4.1 gr (797 fps) 23,800 PSI - Max 5.0 gr (947 fps) 32,900 PSI

With Berry's 180 gr FP bullet, I have used 4.1-4.3 gr of W231/HP-38 at 1.125" OAL for light/mild recoil but accurate loads for general range practice/transitioning shooters from 9mm to 40S&W as the loads recoil comparable to high range 9mm loads - the powder charges reliably cycled various pistols I have used. For match practice, I have used 4.3-4.5 gr. Since regular FP bullet base do not seat as deep as the HP bullet base, you could workup higher powder charges (especially if your barrel is oversized) and monitor accuracy trends. For my workup to max load data, I didn't see much improvement in accuracy so I use the powder charges that produced reliable slide cycling and accuracy. YMMV

 

[gahunter12]

I Load Berry's 180gr FN over 3.9gr of W231 @ OAL of 1.130" for my XD40sc. It's extremly light and accurate. My XDm would not lock back on a empty mag with 3.9gr so I up'd the powder to 4.2gr at the same OAL. Neither loads sling my cases far. They usually land about 6ft from me.