My first inaccurate .40 load (Berry's 180 FP, American Select)

Status
Not open for further replies.
1KPerDay said:
180 gr Berry's plated FP ... HP-38 ... Recommended loads to get me in the ballpark?
Click to expand...
Hodgdon lists the following for Berry's plated bullets (BERB) - http://data.hodgdon.com/cartridge_load.asp
180 gr BERB FP W231/HP-38 OAL 1.125" Start 4.4 gr (872 fps) 26,400 PSI - Max 5.1 gr (984 fps) 33,500 PSI
Click to expand...
For me with the same bullet/powder combination at 1.125" OAL, 4.2-4.3 gr produced mild recoil yet accurate loads in Gen3 G22/G23/G27 and M&P40. 4.4-4.5 gr produced more moderate recoil loads.

I think 10 rounds of 4.2, 4.4 and 4.6 gr will give you a good idea.
 
Last edited:
Thanks! Got a few dozen loaded up to try.

I also reduced the crimp, which may have been the entire problem in the first place.

I imagine, to conform more fully with scientific method, I should only change one variable at a time, but I'm too impatient and I just want to find a dang load that will group well enough to hit the plates. :D
 
Although Berry's MFG advertises their 40S&W bullets at .401", my last two boxes of 180 gr TCFP and RS (round shoulder) bullets ordered this year measured around .400".

As rcmodel usually recommends, I normally add .021" to the bullet diameter so I use .421" taper crimp with them.

Hope you have a better range session and keep us posted.
 
A bit better, but still not as accurate as factory or my previous loads with Berry's 180 or 155, or MBC 140 or 180. I don't get it. The 6.0 grains Power Pistol seems most promising, as long as I use the Storm Lake barrel rather than OEM G23C barrel.

.40 S&W 180 Berry's FP 4.8 grains HP-38 1.125" CCI SPP, 25 feet from bench, Gen 3 Glock 23C. 6 O'clock hold below red circle.

40HP-3848_zpsbb8c1385.jpg

Top left and right, OEM G23C ported barrel, bottom left Storm Lake bbl, bottom right 5.5 grains HP-38, Berry's 155 HBFP (my "known good" load for comparison).

Recoil moderate, ejection and function reliable. Minimal case bulge/swell in OEM barrel, no bulge in Storm Lake barrel. No "smileys" or primer issues. Not very accurate. :(


.40 S&W 180 Berry's FP 6.0 grains Power Pistol, 1.125" CCI SPP, 25 feet from bench, Glock 23C

40PowerPistol60_zps1b5789c3.jpg

Top L and R G23C OEM barrel
Bottom L storm lake best so far? But with annoying flyer?
Bottom R OEM G23C barrel, 5.5 HP-35 155 berry's HBFP

No bulge with storm lake, minimal bulge OEM barrel with HP-38 and Power Pistol loads. No smileys or primer probs. Recoil/flash strong with PP, about like factory Winchester 180 ball but flashier.
.40 S&W 180 Berry's FP 6.6 grains Power Pistol, 1.125" CCI SPP, 25 feet from bench, Glock 23C

4066PowerPistol_zpsd04b2014.jpg

TL & R OEM G23C barrel
Bottom L Storm Lake PP
Bottom right OEM barrel, FEDERAL CHAMPION 180

RECOIL SHARP with power pistol, more than factory Federal. Very flashy, lots of concussion with ported barrel.

No bulge with PP and storm lake
"Normal" bulge with OEM, no smileys or primer issues.

Storm lake with Power Pistol 6.0 seems best of this attempt, maybe 6.6. May need micro adjustable charge bar. My Lee auto disc orifice throws 6.0 and the next step throws 6.6.

Still no loads as good as factory or my previous reloads with other bullets.
 
Your factory G23C having comped barrel may be a factor and require hotter loads.

Loads I suggested were for regular non-comped barrel.
 
Yeah, but it doesn't seem to make a whole lot of difference. I typically shoot the non-ported Storm Lake barrel and groups are pretty poor with all of my trial loads with these bullets. It's very accurate with loads it likes. see post #4 above for examples
 
1KPerDay said:
.40 S&W 180 Berry's FP 4.8 grains HP-38 1.125" CCI SPP, 25 feet from bench, Gen 3 Glock 23C. 6 O'clock hold below red circle.
Click to expand...

Those are terrible groups for 25 feet. Are you sure you have a consistent seating depth and crimp on the bullets?
 
Sometimes a gun just doesn't like a bullet, even a bullet that usually shoots well. Guns are weird sometimes.
 
bds said:
Glad you put the Montana Gold bullets I sent you to good use.

How interesting on the difference shown on accuracy.
Click to expand...
Yeah, thanks again. :cool: I was really shocked with the 4.7 grain no FCD one-hole group.

It's possible that I just put a good group together but I really feel like I'm doing the same thing every time when shooting these.
 
Since you have W231/HP-38, you could use 165 gr MG JHP with 5.0 gr and .421" taper crimp as reference. It was one of my match loads and shot well in G22.

If you get a load more accurate than this reference load, then you are on the right track.

Dang, now you got me wanting to try American Select! :D
 
I tried it first, based on your recommendation, didn't have particularly good results. I can't remember now if I used a FCD or not. I did measure the crimp, though. I'll try again without the FCD. I have to buy some more MG HP first, though. They seem to be really good. All groups were better than the berry's 180 in any case.
 
As I PMed you before I sent you the Montana Gold 165 gr JHP bullets to try, your range experience is similar to mine. If you want accuracy, go with Montana Gold jacketed bullets over plated bullets.

When I switched my match caliber to 40S&W using two Glock 22's, my most accurate match loads were with Montana Gold FMJ bullets over plated bullets. I initially tested both Rainier and Berry's plated 180 gr TCFP bullets (and later 165/180 PowerBond plated bullets) but they did not come close to MG 155/165/180 gr FMJ/JHP bullet loads.


1KPerDay said:
primary problem of what to do with all these Berry's 180s
Click to expand...
Use the Montana Gold jacketed bullets for match shooting and use the plated bullets for practice.

BTW, with .400" diameter bullets that do not have out-of-round problem, you shouldn't need to use FCD. I used Lee carbide dies and I never needed to use FCD for my match 40S&W loads using Montana Gold bullets, whether I was using factory Glock barrels or tighter Lone Wolf barrels. I always chamber checked my finished match rounds to make sure they dropped in the barrel freely with a "plonk" and did not experience chambering issues during matches.
 
Last edited:
Cool. I planned to use the berrys 180 for practice/plinking because that's pretty much all I do. But I can't find a load that even equals factory and that's a rarity for me. Luckily today my order of HB 165 berrys from tjconevera arrived so I don't need to solve the mystery for a while.
 
YAY! finally found a combination that works!

Thanks to bds for his recent thread on .40 and Herco (and a longer OAL) I tried again and found a very consistent, accurate load. Groups below are from 10 yards. 6.0 Herco 180 berry's TCFP tula primers 1.14" OAL. Whew! Now I can load up a bunch for the range.

60grainshercoberrys180tcfp_zpsd8fc9ddf.jpg
40180berrys6grainsherco51grainsHP38_zps2e504f37.jpg
 
I shot quite a bit of rounds for the Herco threads (over 1000+ rounds for 9/40/45 load development) and kept you and this thread in mind when I did my 40S&W range tests.

I also repeated the same exact loads you tested in this thread along with comparing the accuracy with other bullet weights (like 165 gr plated bullets) and different powders. I will post my results as I complete my range tests with other powders and really looking forward to testing the new CFE Pistol for 40S&W. In the end, we find that Berry's 180 gr plated bullet was not to blame but we just needed to use the right powder and charges (along with longer OAL/COL).

Glad to be of service and isn't that what THR HR forum is all about? Team/community involvement to solve our reloading issues. :D
 
Yeah, I'm wondering if varying my OAL rather than changing charges would have been more productive. I'd just had such good results with 1.125 (and it's the OAL listed in all the manuals) that I took it as law.

Incidentally I tried 6.3 grains Herco at 1.125" and 1.14"... the 1.14" groups were fairly consistent but quite a bit larger than the 6.0 groups. The 1.125" groups showed some promise (one really good group) but seemed more inconsistent overall.

No smileys on brass or primer pressure issues with any loads. Recoil with 6.0 seemed just slightly less than Speer Lawman factory loads. 6.3 felt about the same.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

LiveLife
  • Locked
Load data for 40S&W Berry's bullets?
Replies
13
Views
9K
Hondo 60
Hondo 60
1KPerDay
  • Locked
feeding problems with Berry's 180 FP .40 in Storm Lake
Replies
11
Views
732
sexybeast
S
T
  • Locked
This dont make sense
Replies
15
Views
3K
therealwormey
T
B
  • Locked
Berry's Platted bullet help / 40 S&W
Replies
12
Views
968
Branden967
B
BinRat
  • Locked
Question Regarding Hodgdon Reloading Data for the .40 S&W
Replies
3
Views
618
gamestalker
G
Back
Top