Need some .40 s&w advice

[MrElectric03]

Hey guys. I loaded my first rounds on Friday and tried to shoot them today. I'll post my round info below. Basically they shoot fine but compared to the factory ammo I'm used they feel weak. The case does not fully eject and I don't think it's kicking the slide back far enough to push in the next round from the mag.

Gun is a factory Springfield XD40 Tactical and has about 6,000 rounds through it with flawless operation.

Rounds are once fired brass(by me, not range brass), 165 gr flat nose jacketed berrys bullets in .401", cci primers, 5.2 gr of HP38. Following starting guidelines from Lyman 49th manual. Suggested OAL was 1.120", they came out between 1.124" and 1.127".

Has anyone run into this? The only possibities I can think of are my scale is off( it's a brand new Lyman 500), factory springs in the gun are too strong for that load, or maybe the load is just not enough as its a starting load. Like I said its my first batch.

I'd appreciate the help guys!

[SixPointEight]

you loaded a starting load and noticed its weak? you're likely 150fps less than factory ammo depending on your manual, of course it feels weak. get up towards the max and it will start feeling like factory

[MrElectric03]

you loaded a starting load and noticed its weak? you're likely 150fps less than factory ammo depending on your manual, of course it feels weak. get up towards the max and it will start feeling like factory

I really don't care about it feeling weak, I just want it to cycle the cases correctly and my semi-auto pistol to be semi-auto. Right now its feinsteined.

I'm just wondering if this is normal for a starting load or not.

[JagerDog]

It's not abnormal. Ladder up 0.2grs at a time till you get where you want.

[MrElectric03]

Cool thanks!

[sixoclockhold]

No pressure signs? Aren't you just .2 gr from max recommended? I'd go up .1 10 rounds ea. for 3 ladders and see. You should be in no rush. Factory loads tend to be strong, all the sudden you will be there.

[Bill Steele]

Hey guys. I loaded my first rounds on Friday and tried to shoot them today. I'll post my round info below. Basically they shoot fine but compared to the factory ammo I'm used they feel weak. The case does not fully eject and I don't think it's kicking the slide back far enough to push in the next round from the mag.

Gun is a factory Springfield XD40 Tactical and has about 6,000 rounds through it with flawless operation.

Rounds are once fired brass(by me, not range brass), 165 gr flat nose jacketed berrys bullets in .401", cci primers, 5.2 gr of HP38. Following starting guidelines from Lyman 49th manual. Suggested OAL was 1.120", they came out between 1.124" and 1.127".

Has anyone run into this? The only possibities I can think of are my scale is off( it's a brand new Lyman 500), factory springs in the gun are too strong for that load, or maybe the load is just not enough as its a starting load. Like I said its my first batch.

I'd appreciate the help guys!

According to Hodgdon's website, start loads for that bullet and caliber with W231/HP38 is 4.7gr and max is 5.4gr at a minimum OAL of 1.125" for a max velocity of 1049fps.

I am a little surprised 5.2gr is not cycling your gun. The springs on your factory XD are not particularly heavy, they are selected so they will cycle a wide variety of ammunition.

Your Lyman scale should be very accurate right out of the box. You should also invest in an inexpensive RCBS check weight set so you can confirm the accuracy of your scale from time to time.

In general, I agree that you can safely work up to the maximum in your Lyman 49th book as long as the cases are failing to eject and there are no pressure signs (flat primers, bulged cases, smiles on the case left by the feed ramp edge, etc.). I would use .2gr increments as your scale is likely somewhere in the +/- .1gr range anyway.

W231/HP38 is a little fast to get maximum velocity out of a 40S&W (Velocity = Recoil/cycling). Slower powders like Longshot, Autocomp, Blue Dot, Power Pistol, etc. will get your velocities up closer to factory premium ammo.

Good luck, have fun.

[MrElectric03]

No pressure signs? Aren't you just .2 gr from max recommended? I'd go up .1 10 rounds ea. for 3 ladders and see. You should be in no rush. Factory loads tend to be strong, all the sudden you will be there.

For the load I'm following 5.2 is the starting load, max is 5.8.

[MrElectric03]

According to Hodgdon's website, start loads for that bullet and caliber with W231/HP38 is 4.7gr and max is 5.4gr at a minimum OAL of 1.125" for a max velocity of 1049fps.

I am a little surprised 5.2gr is not cycling your gun. The springs on your factory XD are not particularly heavy, they are selected so they will cycle a wide variety of ammunition.

Your Lyman scale should be very accurate right out of the box. You should also invest in an inexpensive RCBS check weight set so you can confirm the accuracy of your scale from time to time.

In general, I agree that you can safely work up to the maximum in your Lyman 49th book as long as the cases are failing to eject and there are no pressure signs (flat primers, bulged cases, smiles on the case left by the feed ramp edge, etc.). I would use .2gr increments as your scale is likely somewhere in the +/- .1gr range anyway.

W231/HP38 is a little fast to get maximum velocity out of a 40S&W (Velocity = Recoil/cycling). Slower powders like Longshot, Autocomp, Blue Dot, Power Pistol, etc. will get your velocities up closer to factory premium ammo.

Good luck, have fun.

That's strange they are such different load datas. Ill have to look into some check weights. Thanks for the tip!

[Bill Steele]

That's strange they are such different load datas. Ill have to look into some check weights. Thanks for the tip!

You will get some pretty wide windows depending on the sources.

In addition to the fact that on any given day the results can move around quite a bit, the lawyers have had an impact on load maximums. Loads that were developed a few decades ago are invariably lower today.

You shouldn't take the forgoing too cavalierly, but keep it in mind as you gain experience. Always work up your loads, enjoy the process, never make more than a handful when starting a new powder and bullet combination. Failure drills get old fast.

Have fun.

[MrElectric03]

Yea I agree. I have enough components to make a thousand rounds and was really tempted but knew I had to wait until I tested this batch, if I hadn't I'd really be up a creek.

I pulled apart the other ten rounds I had. I had one that was 5.0 gr but most of the others were well below, most around 4.0 or even 3.7 gr. I played with my powder measure a bit and I think I had it turned all the way down. I charged 25 primed cases now and all were 5.1 gr to 5.3 gr. so I loaded myself 10 more rounds and am going to test them now.

[MrElectric03]

Great success! The rounds all shot great and cycled properly. They were bit lower recoil than I'm used to with factory ammo but it was a bit nice. I'm going to load some more of these and maybe step it up a little to see how I like some more powder. Thanks for all the help!

[noplay6978]

How was the accurracy? I also have the XD and 1k berry's 165 gr. plated FN too. I'd like to try your reciepe. Would you recommend? I saw it on hodgen's website and was going to try 5.2 gr. of hp-38 too. Trying to find some good receipes for berry's plated boolits in 9mm 115 grn rn, even less info..

[MrElectric03]

How was the accurracy? I also have the XD and 1k berry's 165 gr. plated FN too. I'd like to try your reciepe. Would you recommend? I saw it on hodgen's website and was going to try 5.2 gr. of hp-38 too. Trying to find some good receipes for berry's plated boolits in 9mm 115 grn rn, even less info..

I wasn't really going for accuracy but was shooting at about 20 yards and hit a clay pigeon on the first shot and was pretty much nailing them from between 20-50 yards the whole time. I shot 50 factory rounds after my 10 test rounds and ill say I noticed slightly less muzzle flip with the reloads. I liked it, I think it's a great starting load. I loaded 200 more when i got home. May step up the powder for some test rounds but for now im happy with them as is.

[sixoclockhold]

Personally I like my rounds to feel like factory in my 9mm, I'd step it up a notch.

In a week I should get my first shipment of Berrys for a .40 & .45 pushed by some W231. My first adventure into those and it will be fun. Brass is sitting here begging me to load it.

Glad your day went well.