.40 loads

[acemedic13]

I am going to start loading .40 cal ammo. I was just wondering what moulds, powder and stuff was being used out there. Most of the guns being used will be sigs and XD'S.

I don't own a glock (and wont) but I understand they dont like cast. Any truth behind that? Not really looking for opinons on that, just real facts. If it is the case what bullets are working for you plastic gun guy's? I really appreciate any useful input.

[Shiloh]

I have an aftermarket barrel on mine so feeds and shoots everything. The fired brass doesn't have a bulge in it either. The chamber is supported better. Having KaBoomed a Glock 22 years ago with cast boolits, I wouldn't shoot cast through a .40. Others have succesfully done so.

I use a LEE 175 gr SWCTL and the same mold with the base machined off. Weighs about 157 gr.
IIRC

Shiloh

[Bladebu1]

I am loading lee tuncated cone tuble lube in a 40 xd and a 9mm xdm they shoot just fine for me I keep mine to the basic load with Blue dot I have no need or want to load hot the only issuse I had ( may one fault ) I started a little short in over all front to back and the would jam I changed my relaoder and no issues after
I love my xd's and so far I have only tuble lubed so far ttrying to find a lee lube and size is proving hard good luck be safe and have fun

[35remington]

You'd durn well better read "The Truth About Glocks and Cast" stickied in the handguns section before being too sure about what will and will not work.

Some good experiences there.

[shotman]

The Lee TL401 does a fine job in the Sig 226. I like titegroup but what ever you use dont load hot. Have a friend that uses it in a glock and if he keeps it light works pretty good. But there is no glock that will shoot with a SIG..OK have at it rick

[wonderwolf]

I loaded 1k of .40 S&W for my landlord last year using Unique, he liked the results I was loading a 165gr Bullet and 6.5gr of unique. Borrowed his gun to shoot 1 magazine out of to test the load. It shot 1" low at 25 yards and grouped really well. with the few mags I shot out of the gun. I have not loaded or shot a 40 since that time as I do not own one.

[acemedic13]

You'd durn well better read "The Truth About Glocks and Cast" stickied in the handguns section before being too sure about what will and will not work.

Some good experiences there.

I durn shore did read it.... Thanks for the advice.

Still a lot of different thoughts out there on that topic but, great info on the different types of rifling that produces leading, combined with real experiences and troubles born from lots of range time. Good stuff, thanks.

[acemedic13]

Anybody here load red-dot for a .40 load?? there are several loadings listed in the lee loading manual, but I was hoping to hear some real results with cast. Thank you.

[Tn_River_Ratt]

I use 5.0 Win231 behind a Lee 401-175 cast out of ww lubed w/ Lars carn red. Decent accuracy and no leading. My 9 yo loves it.

[JustSomeGuy]

A lot of the mid range powders work well in the 40... Unique, Universal, Silhouette, HS-6, VV340, or even VV3N37. Some of the faster powders work well too like Titegroup, 231, Bullseye, RedDot, etc, but not at maximum or even IPSC/USPSA "major" loads for which they would be very close if not over the recommended pressure limits for that cartridge. I have even used Longshot, which is somewhat slower with very good results in 40S&W. It burns cleanly, produces very good velocities at lesser pressures, but make sure you have your hearing protection on as it seems louder than some of the other powders. Currently in an XD40 4" with a 180grn lead bullet I am using 5.8grn Silhouette at 1.135 OAL which produces (for 20 shots) an average of 921.4fps with a standard deviation of only 8.4. It is much less "smokey" than Unique which I have also used at 5.4grns going a bit faster with an average of 952.6fps... but like I said it produces quite a bit more smoke nearly obscuring the target in a rapid fire 10 shot string. Both loads were very accurate though. As an aside, 7.0grns of Longshot with the same bullet in the same gun will produce an average speed of 1038fps with a standard deviation of 13.9 with little smoke and no leading that I could detect other than would be removed by a standard "after range trip" cleaning. The Longshot load was also very accurate, easily holding a sub-3" group at 15yrds, which is about as good as I can shoot standing on two legs anymore. Longshot is interesting because you can use (by the book) 6.5 to 8grns of the stuff in the .40 without going overpressure. The 7grn load I was using showed no signs at all of pressure stress but produced those high velocities. I would think it would make a nice powder for "defense" loads or even flat shooting distance plinking loads. The smoke thing is only relative to lead bullets as some powders seem to melt whatever lube is being used more than others... particularly those with a high nitroglycerine content. Plated or jacketed bullets do not seem to produce any perceptible, or at least objectionable amount of smoke in a rapid fire string.

[Shiloh]

As stated above, the mid-range powders seem to give better results. At least that is the opinion of this shooter and his fellow shooters who shoot and load for the .40 S&W.

Shiloh

[acemedic13]

Thanks for the info. All really good stuff. The reason I am looking into using red-dot is that, I would like to narrow my powders down to the few things I load for. I love red-dot in my 45 and it is great stuff in shotguns. I have LOTS of different powders. But I am trying to narrow my future purchases down to a few. Of course I have unique,Bullseye,296, and varget ( my staples). Now I am looking to narrow that down a bit more. So with this new loading for .40, I will see how red-dot works with cast. I will also try several mid-range powders. Might have to just keep the others on the shelf.....Can never have too much powder I guess...or primers...or brass...or guns.... or presses......or dies.....Thanks again for the time in the post. Joel

[Mack Heath]

If you want some additional info on loading the .40 and some different perspectives, try looking at the Brain Enos forum. Theose guys are USPSA competitors and burn up lots of ammo. Their perspectives and goals may not line up with yours exactly, but you will learn a lot. You will probably want to start with the section on General Reloading and Load Data.

http://www.brianenos.com/forums/

[acemedic13]

If you want some additional info on loading the .40 and some different perspectives, try looking at the Brain Enos forum. Theose guys are USPSA competitors and burn up lots of ammo. Their perspectives and goals may not line up with yours exactly, but you will learn a lot. You will probably want to start with the section on General Reloading and Load Data.

http://www.brianenos.com/forums/

I will do that. Thanks for the intel. Joel

[lifeon2]

175 grn TC or SWC and 5.3 grains of unique is my favorite for my glock 22 and yep it has an aftermarket barrel