Questions: .40 S&W and 155 gr

[rope stretcher]

I'm a new member here, my first post really, except for intro. Outstanding forum.

I'll try to keep it brief. Been reloading 9mm and .45 for a bit but have stayed away from reloading .40 because of all the negative reports ("kaboom"). However, .40 brass is plentiful, I've got a couple of .40s that I enjoy shooting so I want to reload for it. I've picked up a Lee .40 undersizing die, usually keep Power Pistol, Bullseye, and some HS-6 on hand, and just picked up a good amount of 155 gr plated FP and FMJ HP.

Any thoughts on loads for this bullet? I'll be running them through a Glock 22 and an M&P 40.

Thank you,

rope stretcher.

 

[CZ57]

Welcome to the forum. My recommendation for avoiding Ka-Booms is to stay away from very fast burning powders in .40 S&W. Hence your HS-6 and Power Pistol would be the preferred powders. Hodgdon and Alliant list loads at their sites.

 

[LiveLife]

Welcome to THR!

If you want full power loads, PowerPistol and HS-6 should do fine.

I have tried Bullseye for 40S&W but it is too fast burning with really snappy recoil for me.

I prefer W231/HP-38 over Bullseye for target loads with much less concern for pressure issues if using mid-to-high range load data (hardly no bulging of case). Recoil is mild to moderate with good accuracy.

 

[Walkalong]

Yep, stay with medium speed powders like AA #5, HS-6, Unique, N340, SR 4756, True Blue, etc.

HS-6 will fill the case well which will eliminate double charges. Pick a charge from the Hodgdon online data somewhere in the middle and work up. Stop at 75% of jacketed data for the plated bullets and you will be fine. Sometimes you can go higher. You be the judge.

http://www.thehighroad.org/showpost.php?p=6195350&postcount=11

 

[rope stretcher]

Thanks, CZ57, So far I like the Power Pistol, I started out with it because it seemed versatile over multiple calibers. The HS-6 has been fine but there seems to be a finer line between min and max loads with HS-6 versus PP. I'm going to keep the loads middle of the road at least for now. I've never shot 155 gr, with most factory ammo being 180 gr and up.

 

[rope stretcher]

You guys are fast, two responses before I can fire back.

The case bulging spooked me a little. i noticed it more on the plated caes over the regular brass, don't know if it's a function of that type of case or just more visible than regular brass.

My plated bullets are flat point and the load data is for jacketed HP. Should I use the same overall length for a flat point as the hollow point, the profiles seem the same?

 

[LiveLife]

The case bulging spooked me a little. i noticed it more on the plated caes over the regular brass, don't know if it's a function of that type of case or just more visible than regular brass.

If you are using Berry's plated bullets, they are sized larger (.401") compared to jacketed diameter (.400") and will develop more chamber pressure if same powder charge is used.

I shoot both G22 and M&P40 and will reduce the powder charge for Berry's bullets (Berry's website recommends you use start-mid range jacketed load data).