Reloading 40 S&W

[RSTAmedic1985]

Hey everyone,
I’m new to the forum and by new I mean I just finished my registration about 10 minutes ago so excuse me if I don’t have all the lingo down yet but I learn quick.

I’ve been looking at the forum closely for the past month or so as well as ammo prices and I have to say that I am seriously looking at reloading my rounds my .40 . But before I throw some well earned money at it I wanted to ask a few questions to the Sig owners out there. I was wondering if anyone has or does reload 40 S&W Lead SWC or TC for a Sig and if it is feasible and or safe to do so. I’ve read a little on reloading .40 and like most reviews I’ve found ,other than this site, a lot of negative feedback and some good but I wanted to run it by the SME’s before I tip toe into the reloading realm.

Also if its feasible to reload, does anyone have any recipes for reloading a 180gr Lead SWC or TC 40 S&W?

Any info would be greatly appreciated

 

[BMWrider]

I've been pushing lead 180 Gr. SWCs down a Sig P226 Elite for a couple of years. Every once and a while the first round gets hung up (presumably because the bullet was seated a little deep), but other than that, no problems at all. I don't have my load data handy, but I believe I was using either W231 or Titegroup.

 

[john wall]

Do a little research and buy the right gear. Swelled brass is the nature of the beast, due to a high pressure load with a heavy bullet, and the design of the barrel/feed ramp in most guns.

If you buy once-fired brass, you will need to run it through a pre-sizer to resize the case head and rim.

Depending on your output you can get by with a Redding sizer, or a Magma, or if you are willing to wait a long time, a CasePro.

Read up on the 40. Proper loading is easy and straight forward. It has become my favorite caliber to reload.

 

[54lariat]

I reload a lot of .40 ammo. I have a SIG 226 and find that the Rainier hollow points feed and shoot well, I also bought 2k rounds of 180gn Remington JHP that I can make them scream and be super accurate. Buy a RCBS PRO 2000, tumbler, carbide dies, powder, primers and become addicted like the rest of us

I reload 10 different caliber's and enjoy the heck out of it. It is a great hobby.


Sent from my iPod touch using Tapatalk

 

[J2FLAN]

MY 229 will not feed the lSWC in any weight. It did OK with the other 180gr I tryed but the lighter bullets were far more accurate.

Best load for my 229 is the 165 gr tcbb from Penn Bullets over 4grs of Bullseye. Bullseye not being the best power for 40 cal. but it is accurate and a low pressure load so I don`t toss the brass untill 6 or 7 trips and they look as if they are good for many more trips but 40 brass is plentyfull at the range so I don`t go until they split, like you would with the 45acp.

2nd best --same bullet over 4.8gr WST

 

[Tim the student]

I reload .40 MBC 180g TCFP using Unique. I'd need to double check my charge weight though before I post it though - don't have that one memorized.

I used to be a medic in 5/73. What unit are you in?

 

[RSTAmedic1985]

I'm in 4/73. When were you in 5/73

 

[Tim the student]

05 to 08 (some of which was in 3/505 before the transition too). I was in 3-505 before 9/11 too.

 

[Gik-tal]

I've been loading a Missouri Bullet company 180 grain Lead TCFP Bullet over 4.1 grains of IMR-700X shoot accurate and reliable out of a P226

 

[LiveLife]

Tim and RSTA, a wave from another medic - I was in 349th in the early 80s.


I use MBC 180 gr TCFP with 4.2 gr W231/HP38.

 

[Tim the student]

Good to see all the medics shooting .40s here! (Mine is an xDM though).

RSTA, I think you will like MBC bullets. It is a very rare day when you see anything negative about them here. Brad is a stand up guy, with good prices and shipping so quick it will scare you.

 

[SmokeySam81]

I have a FNP .40, and shoot hornady xtp 180 and 200 grains with 6 or 8 grains of Longshot respectively. No problems with the 180's, the 200's I just play with the length and leave them long so they don't bulge the case. Never done the kind you're talking about but if I were to, and I probably will someday, I would cast my own.

I highly encourage reloading though, it is fun and very rewarding, and you don't have to have fancy stuff to get amazing results.

 

[sweater914]

My .40 is an H&K USP compact, I've experimented with several loads using 170gr MBC SWC's. I like the bullets I haven't had any problems running them between 800-950fps. All my loads are within Lyman's 49th Reloading manual specs with an OAL of 1.125. I've used Bullseye, Unique, Power Pistol, AA#5, Tightgroup, and HP38. 6.0gr of Power Pistol is my standard load.

The only problem I have my H&K is the lube tends to gum up the feed ramp after about 150rds. Anything after that I have a higher rates of failures to feed. I don't mind for practice, and it's a known condition with the gun. I don't mind failures to feed during practice as they are random and allow me to practice clearing actions before re-engaging the target.