.40 S&W question

[Lonegun1894]

A friend told me that he met a new reloader, who told him what he was laoding as his first load, and said friend invited him over to his place to teach him to load properly. So, I am glad and thankful that he stepped up, but will not identify him publicly without asking first, y'all understand. Anyway, the load combination this new loader was using, but had not test-fired yet, thankfully is a .40 S&W case (brand unknown), loaded with an unknown brand/type/weight of .40 bullet, and 7.0grs of H335. Yep, the rifle powder. Now, I am thinking this could have had two possible endings, and I really don't know which, but am not about to test-fire these loads. Possibility 1 is that the powder doesn't develop enough pressure to burn completely, and he would basically be shooting squib loads, probably with little to no consistency and horrible accuracy. Possibility 2, well, KABOOM!!! Anyone have any thoughts, or even better, any data or way to obtain data as to what his possible pressures might have been if fired, or possible results?

BTW, the friend said he doesn't know how many rounds the guy he met has already loaded like this, but they will be disassembled to make sure none are fired.

[kweidner]

WOW. I wouldn't shoot them for sure. Time to get out the bullet puller. Might put a call into hodgdon. They are real helpful with that kind of stuff. My 40sw gets tite group #14 on the burn chart. #81 on the powder burn chart sits H335! The slowest powder we typically use is 4227 and they are # 64 and 65. No sir not me!

[TCStehle]

Would the QuickLoad software be able to forecast what this load might do?? Regardless, it's not a load within published manufacturer data so I'd definitely NOT fire them!! Like mentioned above it's time to get the bullet puller out.

[Lonegun1894]

Like I said, none of us is curious enough to actually drop the hammer on one of these, but the question as regarding what the possible pressures/results might be, well, that was purely academic. We KNOW these aren't worth the risk, but I'm just glad that my friend got to this guy before a trigger got pulled on one of these.

[canthitsquat]

93076I'd let the guy fire them, clean out the gene pool.

[BruceB]

It's unlikely that the bullets would exit the muzzle, in my opinion. Pressures will be very low.

Even so, it's definitely bullet-puller time, or else run them through the press SIDEWAYS so that the cartridges can be crushed beyond use. Then, this simpleton should be counseled to BUY A LOADING MANUAL and follow its instructions.

[ColterB]

My estimation would be the powder would burn slowly, as it is designed to, and generate pressure slowly until the bullet exits the bore. A lot of unburnt powder would remain, and in a recoil operated pistol it would not have generated enough forward momentum to even begin to cycle the action. Or, the powder would not ignite at all.

I personally have no way of knowing without trying it- but on the surface I doubt the results would be dangerous, beyond the risk of a squib.

[Oreo]

How about buying a cheap junk gun to sacrifice. Mount the thing in a vice so that the trigger can be pulled with a string from behind a berm or brick wall. If you really want to learn something, set up a chrono and video camera too.

[Lonegun1894]

I like the way you think, but can't afford to do I, and not about to suggest it to a new shooter. Then again, especially if it, um, fails, he would definitely learn a lesson he would never forget. These are getting pulled apart, as has been said. No reason to risk injury or damage.