.40S&W Update

[redbird1976]

I finally got my sizing die to the point where it sizes to .402. I loaded up and fired about 45 rounds this evening. There was a little leading in about the first inch of the rifling. It came right out. I think it took me about five minutes to clean the barrel versus the hour and half I spent Sunday night after shooting some more .401 bullets that a buddy gave me to try. I'm going to fiddle with the OAL some this winter and see if I can get that last bit of lead gone. I also need to clean all the copper fouling out of the barrel I didn't bother to clean it out today.

I ran two loads this evening:

180 gr tc over 4.5gr bullseye loaded to 1.110 (5 rounds)

180 gr tc over 4.5gr bullseye loaded to 1.139 (40 rounds)

I didn't check for accuracy, but both of these loaded have produced consistent accuracy in the past. They both make major as well.

My lube is made from 1part parafin and 1 part vaseline with 2 tablespoons of stp engine treatment mixing in.

[geargnasher]

Glad you're having better success, but try this:

After you get the copper out, you might have better results with HS6, Longshot, or Blue Dot, have a custom expander made to .400 or .401" that will let you .402 boolits stay .402" after seating, and switch to White Label Carnauba Red. That will get rid of that last bit of leading and let you shoot at factory velocity.

Gear

[sargenv]

While the slow burning powders are good to eliminate leading, they tend to produce a lot more blast and slower follow up shots when used in the context of action shooting. Many people use the fast burners for this reason. Bullseye, Clays, 700x, Titegroup, etc. I noticed this in the last few weeks with my loading of Power pistol to major. The gun is loud and the recoil quite sharp.. when I was loading my faster burning powders to major with similar weight bullets, it wasn't quite as sharp or loud. Since I have a load for major with medium to slow burners, now I need to find a load with the faster powders.. and I load quite a bit longer than Redbird does.. but my Para allows loading to 1.220" or so.. In my case I tumble lube with JPW and my bullets are sized to .401".

[geargnasher]

I don't think you'll make major in a .40 with anything faster than HS6 and still keep the leading under control, but if you do I'd sure be interested in your technique. I agree on the hellacious recoil and blast from the slower powders at the high end, but they deliver the freight in an express manner you can't get with faster powders without stupidly high chamber pressures. As one example of many, I stopped at 980 fPS with Titegroup and 175 gr TC boolits because of obvious pressure signs in my M&P. The slower powders also tend to enhance lube smoke IME, so not always the best choice for competitition.

Gear

[x101airborne]

I try not to use too slow of a powder because of the smoke issue also. I actually had a guy tell me I loaded black powder in a 44 special because of the smoke. I would rather have report and recoil than smoke.

[Bret4207]

I would try a commercial lube first off. That sounds very soft and I picture powder contamination. Leading removes easily with 4.0 steel wool on a bore brush and you won't hurt the barrel.

I'd look at doing as Gear says. Fit comes first and if you're "Squishing" the boolit all the lapping in the world won't fix it.

[HammerMTB]

I finally got my sizing die to the point where it sizes to .402. I loaded up and fired about 45 rounds this evening. There was a little leading in about the first inch of the rifling. It came right out. I think it took me about five minutes to clean the barrel versus the hour and half I spent Sunday night after shooting some more .401 bullets that a buddy gave me to try. I'm going to fiddle with the OAL some this winter and see if I can get that last bit of lead gone. I also need to clean all the copper fouling out of the barrel I didn't bother to clean it out today.

I ran two loads this evening:

180 gr tc over 4.5gr bullseye loaded to 1.110 (5 rounds)

180 gr tc over 4.5gr bullseye loaded to 1.139 (40 rounds)

I didn't check for accuracy, but both of these loaded have produced consistent accuracy in the past. They both make major as well.

My lube is made from 1part parafin and 1 part vaseline with 2 tablespoons of stp engine treatment mixing in.


I have good success with a 175 gr Lee TC I load over 700X. It will make major with no signs of excess pressure. It is loaded to SAAMI max length.
Tho the boolit has grease grooves, I use LLA on it. It is running a consistent 980 FPS, so it has enough margin to make major in any case, and I am not treading the thin line of minor for a shoot when they check.
Hang in there with yours. You will find the combination you need. Sometimes it takes patience, sometimes you get lucky right off the bat [smilie=w:

[josper]

What does "major" mean

[HammerMTB]

Major and minor calibers are scored differently in action shooting games.
The power floor for major in USPSA is 165
The # is obtained by multiplying the weight of the boolit in grains by the velocity.
so my .40 S&W is 175 X 975=171,500
You drop the 3 zeros at the end, for a PF of 171
This is from my 5" bbl
If I used my 3-3/4" bbl'd gun, it will be less, but only a little. I vaguely recall I checked it to be sure, but it's not in my present memory.
Check the rulebooks of USPSA and IDPA to see the whole story on scoring.

[redbird1976]

Thanks for the input. I'm in the process of working up a load with Longshot. I'm probably going work around 6.0 grains of longshot with the bullets loaded to 1.140. As far as the lube goes, my bullets don't stay loaded long:smile:. I think i'm going to add more paraffin to firm up the next batch of lube, though. The batch that I have is a little softer and stickier than I'd like.

I'm going to chrono some of my Bullseye loads tomorrow. They should be fairly close to major. I loaded some up back in the summer, but I can't remember if they went major or not and I've lost my notes:groner:

[josper]

Thank you.That clears that up.I'm not into action shooting games but in reading some of the post diferent people mentioned "Making Major" I didn't have a clue what they were talking about. This forum is grate,learn some thing new every day.

[geargnasher]

Longshot is very good for the .40, but can leave a sooty residue all over the gun, you and bystanders, and with soft lubes smokes to buggary unless loaded hot. Soot and smoke bug me a little bit, why I don't use Unique in pistols anymore. YMMV.

1.140" sounds long to me, but if they stack, feed, and chamber in your gun that's all that matters.

Gear