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lexao3
12-14-2013, 10:30 AM
Hi
I'm new here and have a question about casting bullets,, I want to cast for 40 S&W (1) how hard should I make the lead. (2) How fast can I push them, looking for 1000FPS. (3) should I gas check them. I know I said one question, I tend to ramble some. Any help would be appreciated.

Garyshome
12-14-2013, 10:37 AM
I have been using straight WW and or Range lead. And have been loading plinkers. You need to work up to your max FPS. The plinkers don't lead but I'm using 4 gr. Clays w/Lee 401-175-tc for 666 fps average. Now I've loaded others higher power with Berry's plated, but haven't put them on the chrony yet. Hope this helps!

btroj
12-14-2013, 10:39 AM
You can shoot cast as fast as you can jacketed in a 40. I wouldn't worry about a check, other things are more important to prevent leading than a check.

Hardness is a variable thing. I would want straight wheel weight type hardness for a 40.

I don't own a 40 bit from what I gather here they aren't always the easiest to get to shoot well with cast.

Good luck. Try some things, see what works, and fix that which doesn't work.

sundog
12-14-2013, 11:23 AM
"I don't own a 40 bit from what I gather here they aren't always the easiest to get to shoot well with cast. "

Well, I had heard the same thing, so when I got my hands a 40 long enough to play around with it, I cast and loaded the Lee TC TL boolit, dipped in 45/45/10 ala Ranchdog, and they shot just fine over #5. I do not believe the 40 is any harder to load for that anything else.

JSAND
12-14-2013, 06:53 PM
+1 on COWW for the .40, I would get a 178-179 grn boolit using the COWW out of the little Lee 175grn TL mould. I used different powders depending on what or who was shooting it. You don't need a gas check to obtain what you are wanting.
My favorite load with that boolit was 5.3 grains of Unique, tumble lubed with the 45/45/10 mixture, pushing at 920 fps avg. out of my CZ40B. I never experianced any leading with the .40 and would load them up with trailboss for my then little girl to shoot with, it's a fun caliber to cast for. As others said do a little research on here and look in some manuals. There's no shortage of information.

DRNurse1
12-14-2013, 08:13 PM
lexao3: Consider reading the stickies on the ultimate loob thread. They will likely direct you to other stickies that will help you better understand the question you are asking. I had a friend try 'straight wheel weights' and he had a leaded mess after 2 rounds. He mentioned then that they were stick on (nearly pure lead) not clip on 'so I did not have to skim off all the metal clips.' I asked him after his second round if he was suppose to have lead icicles sticking out of the muzzle, and he stopped testing at that point. Me thinks he could be writing about the pistol blowing up if he kept on testing.

Speaking of which, safety is paramount, so start light and work up to your goal. You may wish to review the signs of increased pressure, but you may have to search the site for that information. It seems to be scattered around.

Have fun in your search for your best load, and keep track of your progress, notes are VERY important.

Cherokee
12-14-2013, 08:27 PM
I had very good results with the Lee 175 TC conventional lube in the 10mm, running them over 1000 fps with 2% tin and clip on wheel weights. Should work fine for the 40 S&W.

runfiverun
12-15-2013, 12:34 AM
starting at about 900 fps with the above recipe and moving ahead from there is what I would do.
working on fit before really sweating the bhn will pay off in the long run.

Hounddog
12-15-2013, 06:27 AM
Lex,

I shoot 4 different styles of lead boolits through my 40s&w m&p. The key to getting the 40 to work right is paying attention to details. Remember, Fit is king. Slug your barrel and size your boolits to .001 or .002 thousandths bigger. I wouldn't worry about hardness as much as a good fit and good lube. If fit is king then Lube is queen. I use white label BAC in my RCBS lubrisizer. I have also had good results with tumble lube boolits and 50/50 Lee Alox and Johnson's paste wax. If you have a lee factory crimp die, leave it in the box. It will swage your boolits smaller and give you leading issues. Lots of folks have great luck with cast boolits and the 40. Just focus on the details and study up on the info everyone has given you here. No sense in setting yourself up for failure. It can be done! Welcome to the addiction.

Hounddog

Mike Hughes
12-15-2013, 07:41 AM
^^^^ What Hounddog said. Fit is King, slug the barrel and get a micrometer (most calipers are not accurate) HF has a nice 0-1"micrometer for about 30 bucks

dverna
12-15-2013, 12:13 PM
Read the threads on the 9mm and .40 Both are "high" pressure rounds and will experience the same issues.

You may get lucky and have the right bullet/alloy/size combination out of the gate. If not, you will learn to make it work. As stated, first thing is to slug your barrel. Do a search on here to learn how to do it properly and you need a micrometer to get an accurate reading.

When buying a sizing die, If your barrel slugs at .400 buy a .401. You can easily open it up to .402 if you want. A good rule of thumb is .001-.002 over bore dia. You cannot make a .402 die into a .401.

Don Verna

Don Verna

gray wolf
12-15-2013, 03:57 PM
DETAILS ---
What pistol ? what barrel ? Your bullets or store bought ? What grain weight for the bullets ? what powder ?
What is your level of experience hand loading ? Did you slug the barrel and Mic the slug. What brass are you using ? new ? your fired brass ? range P/U.s Watch for the Glock smile at the back of range brass.
ACWW should work fine for you, you don't ( shouldn't' ) need a G/C
None of the above is a slam on you experience.

Make sure you don't get any bullet set back, You don't want to drive the pressure up to much in a forty.
No FCD,

lexao3
12-15-2013, 06:14 PM
Ok lets start with what I can tell ya'll. I'll be loading for a beretta 96 in 40 S&W. I got my hands on range lead and will be casting my own boolits. I have some (little ) reloading experience, rifle W/ factory boolits. Brass is once fired range pick ups. I guess I need to slug the barrel before I get started. I know not to shoot lead out of factory glock barrels. Gray Wolf, no slam taken I didn't provide the proper intel, when I ask my question. And I'm new to casting. My self & some friends are tired of HIGH ammo prices and I need to practice my shooting. Plus if this works out I have other calibers to load for. Ya'll's help will be appreciated.