Working Up A HK P30 40S&W Load - No Good

[vtail]

So I was trying to work up a load for a new HK P30 40S&W today using Montana Gold 180gr JHP's.

Using HP38, I loaded ten each of the following powder weights:

4.0
4.2
4.4
4.6
4.8
5.0

None of them grouped worth a damn.

Can anyone recommend a load with these bullets and powder combination for further experimentation?

OAL was 1.125.

 

[chris in va]

IIRC HP-38 is the same as 231.

My Lyman manual shows a 180gr JHP with a starting charge of 5.0, 5.6 max.

I think your charge is too light.

 

[Bovice]

My 180 XTP load is:

1.125 OAL
5.4 grains of Universal

Warm and accurate.

 

[vtail]

chris:

You're right, my Lyman manual shows the same thing.

i don't know where in the world I got the starting weight as 4.0, but I bet that is the problem.

I'll load up some more starting at 5.0.

I thought I may have been over taper crimping since they all were so terrible.

 

[LiveLife]

For some reason Lyman used larger .401" groove diameter test barrel for 40S&W instead of more typical .400" and their powder charges are higher than Hodgdon load data.

Hodgdon load data

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

Lyman #49 load data

180 gr Sierra JHP W231 OAL 1.115" Start 5.0 gr (927 fps) 20,400 CUP - Max 5.6 gr (1015 fps) 22,800 CUP

So for barrels with .400" groove diameter, I have been suggesting the use of lower Hodgdon load data. However, if your HK P30 has polygonal rifling, it may affect how much powder charge you need to use to generate consistent chamber pressures for accuracy (you could try 5.1, 5.2, 5.3, 5.4 gr loads and see if the accuracy improves) - http://www.brianenos.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=151215