Questions on loading .40S&W.

[tango5]

Im debating on reloading pistol .40S&W ammo. I have never loaded ammo for pistols, just .223 and .308. Im guessing a .40 will use a small pistol primer, but what type of powder is the best for just plinking ammo? I dont need expensive powder since it will only be used to kill paper targets. Any recommendations on powder type and brand? Thanks in advance.

[DRM6000]

hodgen titegroup is pretty popular. the .40s&w uses small pistol primers.

[Fjold]

Go to Hodgdons.com and go their online reloading manual they have a dozen powders listed .

http://www.hodgdon.com/basic-manual-inquiry.html

[r08ert209cali]

titegroup and universal clays work good for plinking ammo. I would recomend one of these for reloading .40 help keep ammo from blowing up in your gun http://www.redding-reloading.com/pages/grxpushthru.html

[gotgunz]

I use Winchester 231 behind a 180 grn lead bullet for target practice and it works find.

[bruceflinch]

W231 is good. PM inbound.

[jumbopanda]

You can't go wrong with Alliant Bullseye or Power Pistol.

[Revoman]

I tried Bullseye for awhile, I found that it was not the best for this caliber.
I also tried titegroup and did not seem that it was a good choice either, although some here seem to like it just fine.
It seems to like Unique a little better in my experience.
I am shooting from a revolver, not a semi however.

[vta]

you also might want to inspect the brass to make sure it has been 'glocked'.

Thats the bulge near the bottom of the case from an unsupported chamber. here is an easy way to fix it if you have a lee factory crimp die

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H-PszuLwEu8

or you can spend $50 and buy this:

http://www.redding-reloading.com/pages/grxpushthru.html

[EricClay]

you also might want to inspect the brass to make sure it has been 'glocked'.

Thats the bulge near the bottom of the case from an unsupported chamber. here is an easy way to fix it if you have a lee factory crimp die

Wouldn't a normal full length sizer die take care of this? Seems easier then trying to rig some other method to do the same thing.

Am I missing something?

[vta]

Wouldn't a normal full length sizer die take care of this? Seems easier then trying to rig some other method to do the same thing.

Am I missing something?

i dont know if other resizer dies do this but my Lee carbide die certainly didn't. you should be able to see a visible difference if it has been shot out of an unsupported chamber.

[EricClay]

i dont know if other resizer dies do this but my Lee carbide die certainly didn't. you should be able to see a visible difference if it has been shot out of an unsupported chamber.

I'll go check now. Hopefully this wasn't a poor assumption on my part.

[bruceflinch]

VTA is right. Glockisized brass is not debulged by most resizing dies. You have to roll size or use a "U" type die by Lee, & Redding has one now.

[vta]

For reshaping the bulged shells i take the internals out of my Lee FCD and ram the shell all the way thru it with the pusher rod from the bullet seating die. The rod is seated in a 45acp shell holder in press. Works fine for me. takes a good amount of pressure to get it all the way thru but it takes the bulge out.

[Corbin Dallas]

I've been reloading all my glocks for years now and I can tell you there is way too much hype about the 40s&w.

Bottom line is if you over load, any case will rupture.

Read the manufacturers recommended low and high load amounts then adjust accordingly. Too many people assume their equipment is on par or the max load is merely a suggestion. Some don't bother to adjust for lead or moly coated bullets, others use OAL from FMJ for JHP. Also, proper crimp is essential because bullet setback causes case pressures to rise by 10^x.

You really need to pay attention to the details when loading high pressure rounds such as these.


I personally use Unique for my 40, 10mm and 357sig loads. Why? Unique is a slower burning powder which decreases the chance of rising case pressure. Also, Unique is very "fluffy" which means a very LOW chance of double charging. For 357sig, the case is nearly full which helps to reduce case setback because the bullet cannot physically go any deeper.


According to Alliant Powder (maker of Unique), a 180g JHP max load is 6.7g with a min OAL of 1.2" and a FPS of 1000.

Since I use moly coated lead, I will take an additional 10 percent off the 6.7g which makes it an estimated 5.9 (MAX LOAD).

I loaded 20 rounds at an average 5.7g, 20 at 5.4g and 20 at 5.1g and went to the range. What I found out was 5.7 was WAY too hot, 5.4 felt strong and 5.1 felt good.

I then loaded 50 rounds at 5.2g and grabbed a box of WWB to compare. Having the girlfriend load the mags 5 at a time and insert them into the well, I did not know which one I was shooting (blind test). I was unable to determine which rounds I was shooting at first but after 4 mags of each I could tell the difference.

I returned to the house and loaded 1500 at 5.2g. Crono'd them last Sunday at an average of 895fps out of my Glock23 and I'm very happy with the results.

So, do your homework. Measure your powder, measure your crimp, measure your OAL and don't guess.


Sorry, I forgot to mention a couple more things.

To eliminate the "glock bluge", use a lee or ERW undersizing die.

I recommend a redding competition seating die for fine tuned and consistant bullet seating.

I also recommend (almost insist) on a Lee Factory Crimp die (FCD) for proper and consistant crimp. (also, make sure you keep this clean and free of rust)

That's all! Happy loading!!!