.40 S&W powders...

[375supermag]

Hi...

I recently purchased a M&P 40 S&W and was wondering what other reloaders experience has been regarding powders.

I fully expected to start my reloading with this caliber with Bullseye, mostly because I have a lot on hand for reloading .38Spl. 9mm and .45ACP.

I looked at a manual and was intrigued by the recommended loads using Power Pistol, BE-86 and AutoComp.

Does anyone with experience with this cartridge and these powders have any input as to what works best with various bullet weights?

Any other powders to recommend?

[Bonz]

Definitely Hodgdon Longshot for my .40 S&W. Its a high velocity/lower pressure powder that allows for shorter COL. LOL, I gave up on trying to use just one powder for all pistol loads a long time ago... Hodgdon CFE Pistol also does a good job, just a little lower velocity.

[tazman]

There are lots of powders that will work in 40S&W. What exactly are you trying to achieve? Best accuracy? Highest velocity? Both?
If both, then you will need to work with the slower powders for the caliber.
If accuracy, then almost any of them will work with the appropriate load for your pistol. You will just need to invest some time and work in testing different loads.

[lancem]

Another vote for longshot here

[Oreo]

WSF is better then longshot in 40sw. Its in the medium-hot range. Not quite as much mv as longshot but not giving up much. Its not as loud, seems to be less muzzle flash, pretty clean, works well with lead, meters well, and a bag of tricks.

[Mauser48]

Im using cfe pistol and like it a lot. I also hear good things about HP-38.

[375supermag]

There are lots of powders that will work in 40S&W. What exactly are you trying to achieve? Best accuracy? Highest velocity? Both?
If both, then you will need to work with the slower powders for the caliber.
If accuracy, then almost any of them will work with the appropriate load for your pistol. You will just need to invest some time and work in testing different loads.

Hi...

Looking for accuracy first...I don't really need great velocity to bunch holes in paper or bounce reactive targets.

Basically looking for load suggestions that others have used that were accurate, cycled the action reliably and used less than copious amounts of powder.

[Oreo]

6.0gr WSF

[nicholst55]

I haven't loaded a great deal of .40 S&W yet, but I started with Longshot, and continue to use it. Excellent accuracy, flawless functioning, and reasonably economical.

[leeggen]

Bullseye, AA 5, AA2 even the dot series of powders. As said before just work up a powder and load to match the boolit shoot away.
CD

[MT Gianni]

Power Pistol in both my guns.

[Deadpool]

Definitely longshot! With a longer barrel, you can start pushing the 40 towards 10mm Auto velocities.

[DR Owl Creek]

I've had very good results with Unique, Power Pistol, IMR 800-X, and Longshot in the 40 S&W. IMR 800-X doesn't meter well in a volumetric type measure, but I weigh all my powder charges with a digital powder dispenser, so that isn't a problem for me.

Dave

[abqcaster]

The most broad based powders I've used are HP38 and AA5. I prefer AA5, as it seems to burn more completely and meter the best in all my loads. I shoot .40S&w. .38 spl, .357 mag and 9mm Luger with it. The same can be said for HP38 except for complete burning in some cases. All my AA5 loads burn cleanly and shoot accurately.

[375supermag]

Hi...
Thanks for the recommendations. i have or can get most of the powders mentioned, so now I have somewhere to start.

Really interested in Power Pistol...I may buy a pound to try, as I never have and it is available locally at a couple of LGS.
I may try Longshot, but I really don't intend to push the 40S&W to 10mm territory. I purchased this M&P 40 primarily as a test bed to get acquainted with a new caliber and polymer handguns. If first impressions are any indication...the cartridge seems to have some potential for me as a paper-puncher and I was favorably impressed with the feel of the M&P design. I think the frame-mounted safety is a good idea...a carry-over from a lifetime of shooting 1911s, I am sure.
Power-wise, the 180gr bullets are sure to defeat any tin can I challenge with it. I also found the recovery time for double-taps to be good...the sights seem to want to re-align quickly. The grip design allowed for a good hand-to-grip weld with no movement under recoil.

All-in-all, I am impressed with the cartridge and platform after the initial 100 rounds of factory loads. After a few hundred more rounds, I should be able to tell what bullet weight the gun and I prefer and I will purchase some plated bullets to reload.

My Midway order arrived today, with among other things, a Redding G-RX die for range pick-up brass and a Hornady taper crimp die for 40S&W. Brownell's delivered a Wilson case length gauge, as well. I bought a set of Hornady 40S&W dies at a LGS on Saturday. I have a large variety of powders and many thousands of primers on hand, so I am all set-up to reload 40S&W...just lacking bullets and they are readily available.

And the journey continues...

[Shiloh]

Unique and AA#5 is my preference.

Shiloh

[CBMC]

I have only used unique, autocomp, and hs6 in my sd40ve. I have a ton of unique and use about 5.2 grains under a Lee 175tc. The autocomp I used with some hst bullet pulls from rmr reloading. It seems to be what federal uses in their hst rounds. I only had a pound of the hs6 and haven't used it much because the unique seems to work well enough.

[375supermag]

Hi...

Thanks for the responses everybody.

Been reading other threads and blogs about reloading .40S&W and have found a huge amount of information and advice/recommendations.

Thanks again for your help. Much appreciated.

[fredj338]

If you are loading paper punching loads at midrange vel, then BE or other fast burners are ok. If you want to run closer to factory specs, then you need a medium burner to do it safely. W231 would be on the fast side of that upto Longshot on the slow side. I really like Unique & WSF for midrange & up. For 40 minor loads, I am using WST & RedDot; 3.1gr & 3gr respectively, with a 175gr LTC, gives me 735-745fps. Both are very accurate.
FWIW, never had to use anything but my Dillon dies to get reliable ammo. I shoot nothing but range pickups too.

[Elkins45]

I started with Promo and never tried anything else.

[rsrocket1]

About 30,000 rounds through my nearly 4 year old M&P 40 using mostly Unique and Red Dot but also Bullseye, Power Pistol, Clays, Titewad, e3, 800-X. The faster powders for light loads and the slower ones for full power shots. You can actually load 40 S&W to feel exactly like a 9mm gun. I've compared the two by swapping to a 9mm barrel in the same gun so everything else is identical. My most common loads are with Unique and Red Dot. I've gone through a couple 8# jugs of each in the past few years (the Red Dot does double duty as my trap and skeet powder). I would use PP or BE-86 for full house loads. They are a little less efficient and only get you a few more fps than Unique.

[yancey]

I started out using Unique under 175 Gr cast. Later found Longshot to be my powder of choice in the 40 cal.
( A couple of weeks ago i ran some hs6 through the 40 and found another powder i was happy with )

[Ed_Shot]

I started with Promo and never tried anything else.

+1 for Red Dot/Promo. Promo 4.1 gr gives me excellent accuracy @ 980 fps with the Lyman 401043 (170 gr) and @ 1000 fps with Lyman 401654 (150 gr.) out of my G22 w/ LW barrel. I've tried several other powders and I'm sticking with RD/Promo.