What works good for you in 40 cal.

[glockky]

I just bought my first 40ca. Tell me your experiences with the 40. What powders do u like and what grain bullets seem to excel. thanks for the info

 

[918v]

I like 180 JHP with 4.5grs of Bullseye or 3.5grs of Titegroup. The former is a near full power load. The latter, a poobutt plinker. Both shoot 1" at 15 yards in my Glock.

 

[mxjunky78]

I regularly use berry's 180gr fp with 5gr of Win 231. Best of both worlds, minimal recoil and great accuracy.

 

[sean eady]

I have come to like 180gr plated hp from either Rainier or X-treme with 5.2 of WSF.

 

[jjjitters]

Heavier works good for me ,180gr XTP's or Nosler JHP's. I use do alot of 175 &155gr lswc for target shooting mostly over AA#5 or WSF.

 

[griff383]

165 and 180 work well for me, I usually use Silhouette but have used Titegroup with good results as well. Silhouette is the same as WAP which was the original 40 cal powder when it was first introduced.

 

[Ex]

165 gn or 180 gn Zero JHPs, using Unique at 5.8 gns. This yields about 1000fps from my G22, makes for great accuracy, less muzzle flip with quick target re-acquisition.

Have also used Zero 165s but like others, I prefer a slightly heavier slug.

 

[Hamish]

I'm a fan of the 180 gr jacketed bullets from Precision Delta. I've loaded and fired thousands of them with TiteGroup through my Glock 23 and Sig Sauer P226 Elite. Very happy with the Precision Delta bullets. I've used Berry's and Rainier's as well, now I only buy the Precision Delta.

 

[santanzchild]

Rainier 180/165 plated with hst seems to work well for me

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I727

 

[Redneck with a 40]

I like the big banger's, try 6.7 grains of Longshot with a Berry's 180 grain bullet. These definitely let you know you're shooting a 40 cal, lol.

 

[murphy's law]

I use 4.5 gr of W231 under a 180 fmj. mild recoil and accuracy is excellent out of my G23C.

 

[noylj]

If you want general .40 S&W information:
1) AA5 is the most accurate powder in all my .40s.
2) Silhouette is the most accurate powder for near max performance loads.
3) Best accuracy is with 145-165gn bullets. Unfortunately, data for 165gn bullets seems rather sparse.
4) In general, 180gn is the max bullet weight for .40. 200gn bullets really take up a lot of the room for powder and can hit the case web.
5) Lead bullets, particularly L-SWC and L-TC (or L-RNFP) are very accurate. I can't afford jacketed bullets so have very little experience with them.
6) Inspect every round for bullet set-back. The .40 has a penchant for KaBooms due to any excess powder or bullet set-back. It SHOULD be no different than loading any other round, but just look on the web for KBs and you'll find that the .40 has more than its share.
7) Related to 6), load to the longest COL that fits your magazines, feeds and chambers. Also, be sure to inspect each charged case before you place a bullet to be seated. Careful loading is quite important as any error will bite you.
8) If you can see a visible bulge on any case, toss the case (crush the case mouth and throw it away). Most cases will have slight bulges that can be "ironed" out with the Lee Bulge Buster, but if the bulge is so large as to be clearly visible, the case has been permanently damaged.
9) If you haven't reloaded before, and you have a .45 Auto, start with that cartridge as your learning platform.

 

[sellersm]

What murphy's law & mxjunky said: 180gr with 4.5-5gr of Win-231 (or HP-38).

I also agree with the note about Longshot!! It's literally a blast to shoot...

 

[armoredman]

My barrel is over-sized at .402, so a .404 cast 175 grain Lee slug over 7.6gr of AA#7 works reasonably well, given the limitation of the platform.
if you do your own casting, this particular Lee mold has worked very well.

 

[glockky]

Thanks for all the info guys i appreciate it. I have been reloading for 10 years years and have loaded thousands of 38,357, and 45's.

I just always shyed away from the 40 because of all the kabooms to be honest with you. I just really like the performance of the 40 so i figured i would give it a try.

And as normal i have gotten a lot of good info on here. I have some w231 AA#2 to start with and may have to try some AA#5.

 

[LiveLife]

I just always shyed away from the 40 because of all the kabooms

I have observed several KBs with 40S&W ranging from blown case base and ejected magazine/broken mag release to split barrels and damaged shooting hands. I recommend you not start out with Titegroup as it has narrow load range and can be spikey near the max. Bullseye can work but the recoil impulse is snappier than W231/HP-38 and can be less pleasant to shoot.

Mid-to-high range W231/HP-38 will not overly bulge the case and Lee carbide resizing die will reduce down to case base to not require the need for push-through resizing with FCD/Redding G-Rx dies. If I run into Glocked (overly bulged) cases that won't fully resize down, I will rotate the case 90 degrees and attempt to resize a second time. If I can't, I deem the case base far too stretched (thinned) and toss in my recycle bin (If you are using Dillon resizing die with Glocked cases, it may not fully resize down to the case base and you will need to push-through resize them with FCD/G-Rx dies).

As previously posted, you really want to double-check bullet setback with 40S&W. My QC step is to measure the OAL before and after I feed/chamber the test rounds from the magazine by manually releasing the slide. If you have measurable decrease in OAL by several thousands, you may have neck tension/brass case wall spring back issue.

I do not recommend the use of FCD with lead bullets as it may reduce neck tension and increase bullet setback issues.

Tell me your experiences with the 40. What powders do u like and what grain bullets seem to excel.

I transitioned from 45ACP/9mm to 40S&W as my match caliber and depending on powder/charge used, it can be loaded for accuracy and milder/moderate recoil without overly bulging the case. I have shot 140/155/165/170/180 bullet weights in jacketed/plated/moly-coated/lead and tested Bullseye/Promo/Clays/Titegroup/WST/Green Dot/W231/HP-38/Unique/Universal/PowerPistol/HS-6/WSF/AutoComp powders.

- 180 gr bullet weight can easily produce very accurate loads even using start-to-mid range load data. IMO, it is more accurate bullet weight compared to other weights and can produce less felt recoil for prolonged shooting sessions.

- 155/165 Montana Gold jacketed (FMJ/JHP) bullets have been my match bullets driven to mid-to-high range W231/HP-38 load data that produces moderate recoil. MG 165 gr FMJ/JHP with 5.0 gr of W231/HP-38 at 1.125" OAL is my favorite match load.

- I use WSF for full-power loads and like Remington Golden Saber/Speer Gold Dot 165 gr JHP bullets for SD/HD practice/back up loads and carry factory GS JHP ammunition.

- I introduce new shooters to 40S&W using 180 gr Berry's/Rainier/X-Treme TCFP plated bullets loaded with 3.8-4.3 gr of W231/HP-38 at 1.125" OAL. Produces lighter than full-power 9mm recoil yet very accurate loads and I work them up to 4.5 gr.

There's plenty of load data available from 125 gr to 200 gr on Hodgdon's load data site and I referenced Lyman #49 and 1999 Winchester load data for lead bullet loads.

Here's current published load data from Hodgdon I referenced for my loads:

165 gr Sierra JHP W231/HP-38 OAL 1.125" Start 4.8 gr (946 fps) 28,100 PSI - Max 5.3 gr (1001 fps) 32,500 PSI

165 gr Sierra JHP WSF OAL 1.125" Start 6.3 gr (1055 fps) 28,100 PSI - Max 6.7 gr (1115 fps) 32,700 PSI

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

180 gr Hornady XTP WSF OAL 1.125" Start 5.4 gr (946 fps) 28,000 PSI - Max 5.8 gr (1013 fps) 32,900 PSI

Here's 1999 Winchester load data:

 

[gamestalker]

165 gr. XTP's and 7.3 - 7.8 grs. of Longshot, end of story.
Take your barrel out of the action and seat the bullets to a depth that will fit the magazine, cycle reliably, and not contact the lands.
GS

 

[Stormin.40]

I have loaded 155gr LSWC, 165gr Plated FP, & 180gr Lead FP and RN. By far my light 155gr LSWC have been the most accurate and hotter 180gr LRN match the feel of my carry load, Federal 180gr HST.

HS-6 is great powder at medium to upper range load data, seems to like pressure. Titegroup works well a lower pressures.

 

[Arkansas Paul]

175 grain trunicated cone bullets that I cast and 4.2 grains of Bullseye.

 

[Captcurt]

Shot many 170 gr. LSWC in front of 4.7 gr. of Universal. Chrono reads 950 fps.

 

[Huskerguy]

I shoot the 180 grain Berrys DSRN with 4.2 grains of Titegroup, 1.125 OAL and they are very accurate and easy on the recoil. My XDM likes them very much.

 

[BBDartCA]

Most accurate load so far is 155g Gold Dots or FMJ at driven at about 1200 FPS with Power Pistol (just under 9 grains, this is near max, work up the loads). I experimented with lots of different powders and found Power Pistol to be the best. I have never been thrilled with 40 accuracy, however.

Not saying trajectory profile translates into accuracy, but if you look at some of the ballistics data, you will see 155 and 160 have almost half as much bullet drop at first measurable distance than 180g. The lighter 40 bullets have the higher % of one stop shots too (big ole can of worms getting opened). http://www.handloads.com/misc/stoppingpower.asp?Caliber=11&Weight=All

 

[JEB]

my main "go-to" powder for .40s&w is accurate #7 for 180gr gold dots, XTPs and 170gr LSWC from missouri bullet. if i want max power i use a 180gr XTP with a max load of power pistol.

 

[plateshooter]

My load is 175gr cast TC bullet with 4.2 grains of Red Dot. Works well for me in my Glock, S&W and my XDm.

I use it for paper punching and steel plate shooting.

 

[gamestalker]

I'm with BBDartCa, in that I have always preferred a jacketed XTP or Gold Dot, on top of some slower burning powder for some super accurate and significatly flatter shooting perofrmance. My personal go to powders for the .40 cal have been Longshot and HS6, but I've been considering giving Power Pistol a try for some time now, simply because it has a simular burn rate.

GS