Excess powder everywhere!

[Carpasteis]

Complete Noob to the reloading game so please forgive my ignorance.

I've just started loading 40 s&w and I've got the gist of the basics.
Here's my recipe with the only powder I was able to find.

CCI 500 primers
6.8 gn Accurate #7 for powder
180 gn lead
OAL of 1.16
Out of a STI 2011

They cycle fine and feel good on the discharge but I'm getting a lot of excess powder being left in every nook and cranny of the gun to the point of inhibiting a full cycle.

Am I seating the bullet too high?

Again, I'm a noob and still learning so be gentle.

[Bt Doctur]

Hornady 4th Edition Vol 1 lists AA7
7.4 @ 850fps
8.1 @ 900 fps
8.7 @ 950 fps LISTED AS A MAX LOAD
Max COL 1.135

[meaty-btz]

At a "reduced" load like you are doing, it is possible that the powder of your choice is failing to achieve the needed pressures for proper burn (pressure is important for powder burn rates).

It also may be due to not enough taper crimp.

At this point I am going to go with, not enough pressure for complete powder burn.

[Carpasteis]

Thanks y'all. I have much to learn. Thanks for the input. And Merry Christmas!

[Pauliedad]

I've had similar experience with bunny fart loads.
Once the load thus pressure gets up into tables published, less mess.

[CGT80]

You only need enough crimp to take the flare out of the case mouth. Too much crimp will effect headspace of the cartridge and could cause problems. If you don't remove the flare, it will cause feeding issues. The little flared edge will hang up. Take your barrel out of the gun and drop a loaded round into the chamber. Make sure it is seated. The round should dump right out if it is the right length and has a very slight crimp.

Light loads can be very dirty. You should see how fast my 460 revolver gets dirty with light loads. With my mid power load, I get unburned powder, but that is just the way that powder works. It doesn't hurt the revolver. A semi auto.....yep that could be a problem.

The chamber shape, of your barrel, and the lead or taper of the rifling, will dictate COAL. Bullet profile will greatly effect this. Even a similar weight or shape can require a different COAL. The magazine will also determine max length. My 40 cal XD mags are just slightly over 1.135". I also use 9mm in those mags, for my conversion barrel, and I have to keep it under 1.135" even though 9mm max is longer than that.

I like win 231 which is the same as hp 38, for 9mm and 40 cal. With light loads that just cycle my XD, it doesn't seem to leave grains of powder behind. It does get a fair amount of soot or carbon. I am using 155 swc lead bullets for 40 right now, and they get the gun dirty much faster than using moly coated lead, copper plated, or jacketed bullets, even with the same powder. I find that I need to clean my gun every 1-2 competitions, with lead, vs. 4-5 competitions for the other bullets.

I try to find a few different sources for load data, for each load. The books can vary. Some powders can not be downloaded below published data. h110/296 for magnum pistols, is not safe for downloading. There are a few others that aren't made for light loads. Some will do ok with lower loads, but end up sporadic or dirty, like the 231.

Good luck

[stilly]

Damn title, I was hoping to find a place that had excess HS-6 and a few others in stock...

[postal]

Titegroup runs really sooty when underpowering loads too. You need to get into the minimum powder charge and it will start cleaning up.

[stand125]

I had the same problem and switched to a magnum primer which really cleaned the powder residue up. I now use magnum primers for all my pistol loads.

[enzo357]

Used to load 4.8 grains of WST behind 180s. Was pretty dirty. Chrono said it was too slow, ended going up to 5.1 grains, hit power factor and was way more clean.