Anyone Reloading .40 S&W???

[BigTerpAJ]

Im looking for anyone who has been reloading .40 S&W that can give some advice. When I started reloading I consulted a couple of books....I looked at the recent Lyman, and Speer books and the discrepancy between the amount grains kinda made me think twice. The range was anywhere from 6.3-7.0 and 7.0-7.8 grains. I settled at a happy medium of 6.8.

I am loading 165gr TMJ bullets with Power Pistol Powder and CCI 500 small primers and I wanted t know how safe and accurate these books are? I think the OAL of the bullet should be no more than 1.120...Is that correct??

Also if you have reloaded this type of ammo before I would love to hear your recipes that you have come up with over the years.

 

[Silverlode]

Admitting you reload 40 is akin to coming out of the closet on these boards (hang around, it will make sense later). Having said that, I have a 40 but don't reload it.

Stupid question, but the discrepancy in powder charge between the two recipes is the same powder? With the same primer? Is one book much older than the other? If you have any questions, at least with Speer, I know that you can call or email them and they are very helpful and will verify for you, except for 45 Super for some odd reason.

Probably wasn't a lot of help, but I hope it helped a little.

 

[lx1x]

6.8 is about right. Let you know when i get home will check my load data.

 

[Oreo]

I reload for .40sw. I don't use that powder. My go-to load is 6.0gr of WSF topped with a 165gr FMJ.

Having said that... keep in mind that the numbers in the books are good general guidelines but should not be taken as gospel. When in doubt start with the lowest listed minimum charge & work up .1gr at a time till you reach book maximum or till you start seeing pressure signs. These careful load work-ups are the heart & soul of good reloading.

 

[lx1x]

I reload for .40sw. I don't use that powder. My go-to load is 6.0gr of WSF topped with a 165gr FMJ.

Having said that... keep in mind that the numbers in the books are good general guidelines but should not be taken as gospel. When in doubt start with the lowest listed minimum charge & work up .1gr at a time till you reach book maximum or till you start seeing pressure signs. These careful load work-ups are the heart & soul of good reloading.

this is what i do

 

[jimbobborg]

I'm surprised they both listed the same bullet in the same weight. That's one of the reasons you buy more than one reloading manual. I prefer Unique for reloading .40 and .38 Special. Unique doesn't have the muzzle blast that Blue Dot does, and Power Pistol is what I use when I want max loads in the 10mm, not the .40.

 

[BigTerpAJ]

I reload for .40sw. I don't use that powder. My go-to load is 6.0gr of WSF topped with a 165gr FMJ.

Having said that... keep in mind that the numbers in the books are good general guidelines but should not be taken as gospel. When in doubt start with the lowest listed minimum charge & work up .1gr at a time till you reach book maximum or till you start seeing pressure signs. These careful load work-ups are the heart & soul of good reloading.

Thanks!! That is good advice I wish I had before I started this current batch. I only made about 100 so i think i will try these out and see how they perform.

Little afraid of testing the bullets. Any recommendations of how and where to test these newly made bullets?

 

[jimbobborg]

What are you shooting these out of? Do you have a 610? I test any new loads out of my 610 as it's less likely to blow up than the semiautos I own and I can find my brass to check for flattened primers.

 

[BigTerpAJ]

What are you shooting these out of? Do you have a 610? I test any new loads out of my 610 as it's less likely to blow up than the semiautos I own and I can find my brass to check for flattened primers.

Well I plan on shooting these out of my Sig and Walther P99. Unfortunately I dont have anything else to test with. I would like to get a tester gun but dont know what to get.

 

[Deep Creek Rock]

Not all bullets of the same weight - use the same load data. Some bullets have different amounts of bearing surface, as well as construction. Ideally, you should use load data for the exact brand of bullet you are loading for. Speers load data -is for Speer bullets, Noslers load is for Nosler bullets, Hornadys data is for Hornadys bullets etc etc etc.

Even powder manufacters use brand specific load data. If you go onto Hodgdons website - the abbreviations of the bullet in the load data is the brand, as well what type.

 

[Oreo]

Thanks!! That is good advice I wish I had before I started this current batch. I only made about 100 so i think i will try these out and see how they perform.

Little afraid of testing the bullets. Any recommendations of how and where to test these newly made bullets?

If I were you I'd put those aside & start with a proper load work-up. This is how you verify a particular load is a safe one. After you've worked up to what those 100rds are then pull them out & shoot them with confidence.

Do you know what all the over-pressure signs are? They come on gradually so you'll have some warning before you blow your hand & face off if you start with a minimum charge & work up incrementally. Just picking a load you read somewhere & going to town with it is dangerous.

Furthermore, you don't reload for a test gun. You load for a specific gun. Each gun gets its own complete load work-up. Only reason a stronger "test gun" would be useful would be trying to determine a minimum charge for a powder you have no book data for. Even then, I'd use a vice & a string to pull the trigger from behind cover.

 

[boardboy330]

Which books are you seeing conflicting data? Check the books and see what the powder and bullet you are reloading say...it shouldn't be widely different. That said, start small. Each manufact. should have load data on their respective sites.

I can't comment on the "testing" methods described above though.

 

[Oreo]

Anyone who reloads & doesn't know & recognise the signs of high pressure needs to go pick themselves up a copy of ABCs of Reloading & refresh themselves on the basics again before they hurt themselves.

 

[BigTerpAJ]

Anyone who reloads & doesn't know & recognise the signs of high pressure needs to go pick themselves up a copy of ABCs of Reloading & refresh themselves on the basics again before they hurt themselves.

I have read the ABC's of Reloading book. I wanted to get some advice from people that have had experience with all this stuff. I think you can sit there and read until you are blue in the face but you wont actually know how things work until you get out there and try it. I just want to make sure that after all that I have read I am still doing things correctly.

If someone else has done it and can offer advice then I think that is more valuable then any book can tell you.

 

[Oreo]

That's true & I don't mean to discount your request. Don't take anything for granted though. Its your flesh on the line.