Looking for a mellow cast 180gr .40 load

[VrockTDSaz]

I'm looking to get rid of 500 180gr lead flat point bullets by sending them down range at paper. I'd like opinions on a load that doesn't need to be very fast, or flashy. Just a nice, easy shooting, fun round that's not going to lead up the barrel. My plan is to load pretty light, no where near max.

Powder choices are:

Longshot
Tight group
Power Pistol
700x
HS6
Blue Dot
Enforcer

Which powder for a 180gr Plinking round?

 

[hartcreek]

So u have a 40 that aint got polygonal rifling?

 

[VrockTDSaz]

So u have a 40 that aint got polygonal rifling?

KKM .40 barrel in a G32

 

[sexybeast]

I'm looking to get rid of 500 180gr lead flat point bullets by sending them down range at paper. I'd like opinions on a load that doesn't need to be very fast, or flashy. Just a nice, easy shooting, fun round that's not going to lead up the barrel. My plan is to load pretty light, no where near max.

I used 4.2gr of titegroup with my Missouri 180gr truncated. Soft and accurate.
I sent them down my stock glock barrel with polygonal rifleling! Done it with 40 thousand at least. Both 9mm and 40. No issues at all.

 

[rsrocket1]

700X would be the best for low recoil loads, but it is tough to meter consistently because of its large flakes. The Hodgdon website says 4.2g is a recommended starting load for 900 fps which is a mid speed/recoil load. From there you can drop down until you start getting FTE(jects) or failures to lock back the slide on the last shot. FTE and FT-lockback will happen way before you risk a stuck bullet.

Lead is slightly more tricky to load for low velocity than plated/jacketed in that you want to make sure the bullets are as big or slightly bigger than the grooves of the barrel and the load generates enough pressure to prevent the gases from escaping around the bullet and vaporizing the lead. If your loads lead the barrel, you need to fix that or the lead will build up and your accuracy will go to pot quickly.

Too bad you don't have faster powders, most of the ones you list are pretty slow and are better for higher end loads. They don't generate enough pressure until loaded to near max. Better powders would be Clays, Titewad, Red Dot/Promo. My favorite low recoil 180g lead 40 load is 3.0g of these powders in my M&P40 which then feels like a 9mm. I get reliable ejection of the cases, but they only fly up about 1-2 feet so a hat and safety glasses are a must.

 

[david bachelder]

Titegroup at 4.5 grains.

Worked for me.

 

[plmitch]

Cast bulletd work great with polygonal rifling, my boys glock will eat them all day. None of the powders would be my first choice, go with tite group if you have to.

 

[RealGun]

KKM .40 barrel in a G32

For "G32" I am finding only .357 Sig caliber.

For 40 S&W with 180 gr, I would concur on the use of Titegroup from what you have available.

 

[LiveLife]

KKM .40 barrel in a G32

I also use lead loads in KKM/Lone Wolf barrels in my Glocks.

As others posted, from the available powders you have, I would go with light charge of Titegroup but I normally don't suggest faster burning powder than W231/HP-38 (with the exception of Green Dot) for 40S&W, especially if you are using mixed range brass with unknown reload history.

For 40S&W, I tested Bullseye, Red Dot/Promo, Clays, WST, Green Dot, W231/HP-38, Unique, Power Pistol, Universal, HS-6, WSF, AutoComp and found W231/HP-38 produces the least recoiling light loads that are still very accurate.

With 180 gr lead TCFP bullet, I usually use 4.1-4.3 gr of W231/HP-38 but 3.8-4.0 gr should also work to produce even lighter recoiling loads. Using slower burn rate than W231/HP-38/Unique may not work to produce accurate lighter target loads as you may not get consistent powder burn at less than high range load data. I typically use high range-near max load data of WSF/Auto Comp for full power loads. Many like Power Pistol for full power loads but not for light target loads.

 

[VrockTDSaz]

For "G32" I am finding only .357 Sig caliber.

For 40 S&W with 180 gr, I would concur on the use of Titegroup from what you have available.

G23 (.40) and G32 (.357) have the same slide and receiver, so the barrels are interchangeable.

Based on what I'm reading, I am going to go to the local reloading store and see if they have a faster powder. Maybe W231/HP-38 or GreenDot.

 

[AABEN]

I like the 165 Gr bullet it has less recoil and is more accurate. I have 3 40 and all of them likes the 165 Gr bullets.

 

[LiveLife]

Based on what I'm reading, I am going to go to the local reloading store and see if they have a faster powder. Maybe W231/HP-38 or GreenDot.

Ideally, W231/HP-38 would work well, especially for light recoil target loads but if you can't find W231/HP-38, I found Green Dot to be fairly close in loads (I usually need to use .2-.3 gr more) with slight decrease in accuracy compared to W231/HP-38. Both powders will produce accurate lower pressure loads for 40S&W and won't bulge the case.

Even faster burn rate powders like Red Dot/Promo will work for 40S&W and I use low to mid range load data to relatively duplicate the snappy recoil of factory rounds for range practice in 9mm/40S&W. I do like Titegroup but use it primarily for jacketed/plated bullets as I prefer to use Red Dot/Promo/W231/HP-38 for lead loads.

 

[TfflHndn]

If you can find WST, it makes for a soft shooting and manageable load.

 

[VrockTDSaz]

If you can find WST, it makes for a soft shooting and manageable load.

WST is what they had. So, I picked up a pound. You think it'll work better than a Tightgroup for a light load?

 

[gahunter12]

WST is not as fast as titegroup, but works very well in 40s&w. WST is also a nice powder to shoot behind lead because it seems to smoke less. I use WST exclusively in all my 40s&w loads for IDPA where I need a very light recoiling load. I also like the fact that WST doesn't have the pressure spikes like titegroup. You should be good to go!

 

[horseman1]

I use WST and a 180 gr lead for my mouse fart loads in 40 SW. Works great. Very inexpensive as well, since I can get by with just less than 4 gr of WST powder for this load. YMMV, so check the manuals and work up your own load that works in your gun. I use this load for the kids and wife to shoot my XD40.

[edit] I forgot to mention to watch for leading when you do this. When I was at the starting loads, I got some leading in the barrel. Got a better seal when I worked up to the next charge wt. and it reduced the lead in the barrel and worked fine.

Some folks question the wisdom of me teaching the wife to shoot.... Wonder why? She's a terror with the lever guns too.

 

[LiveLife]

WST is what they had. So, I picked up a pound.

You can reference current Hodgdon jacketed/plated load data and older Winchester lead load data for WST - http://data.hodgdon.com/cartridge_load.asp

180 gr BERB FP WST OAL 1.125" Start 4.4 gr (868 fps) 26,900 PSI - Max 4.9 gr (932 fps) 32,000 PSI
180 gr HDY XTP WST OAL 1.125" Start 3.9 gr (830 fps) 28,300 PSI - Max 4.3 gr (888 fps) 32,400 PSI

I usually reference 1999 Winchester load data as it shows lower start charges than 2003 Winchester load data. 1999 load data don't list OAL but 2003 load data indicates 1.135" OAL. I usually use shorter 1.125"-1.130" with 180 gr TCFP bullet and use more conservative load data for my powder work up.

So if you are using 1.125"-1.130" OAL/COL and WST for the 180 gr lead TCFP bullet, I would suggest start charge of 4.0 gr and test 4.2, 4.4 gr and perhaps 4.6 gr.

1999 Winchester load data for 40S&W 170 gr lead bullet (OAL/COL not listed):

2003 Winchester load data for 40S&W 180 gr lead bullet (1.135" OAL/COL):

 

[Rule3]

Some "lite" loads listed here:

http://www.handgunsmag.com/2010/09/24/ammunition_40lite_091806/

 

[SDGlock23]

I like 3.8-4.4gr of TiteGroup loaded to around 1.140". Very easy shooting.