Herco in the .40s+w?

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ThreadKiller

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Just in the early stages of gearing up to load the .40. I have a coupla pounds of Herco on hand. (Classic 3 3/4 1 1/4 pheasant load powder). I have enough pheasant loads to last me for quite awhile so why not try it in the .40?

I intend to load up some 170 to 180 grain cast SWC's. I am looking for a mild plinking and training load for my P9.

I know it can be used in the .40, but how well does it work?

Thanks!
 
It works good. I used up a half pound or so. IF your measure likes herco go for it, there are lots of choices below it.

When you go get a new can get some Power Pistol if a little muzzle flash doesn't bother you. It is THE premier 40 powder but it is a tad flashy. Winchester Super Field and Universal Clays are also good choices.
 
Thanks! I thought that this would be a good way to "burn up" the Herco. I have more pheasant loads loaded than I'll probably ever need so the Herco wasn't going to get used there real soon. My main concern, and I guess it's not a major one, is how dirty it burns. As long as it's reasonably accurate, I can put up with a little dirt. :)

I've been doing searches here and elsewhere on preferred powders for the 40 and I see Universal Clays mentioned many times. I've loaded tons of "regular" Clays for traploads. I like it a lot.

I see Blue Dot mentioned a fair amount as well but it too is "flashy." I'm just looking to load daylight plinking loads so muzzle flash is not a major concern to me.

I will also look into the Power Pistol powder as well.

Thanks again!
 
For daylight plinking loads Power Pistol is THE powder, try it and you will really like it.
 
I prefer longshot for most of my 40 loadings.... except for 200gr bullets.

Pretty accurate and completely fills up the case.

Louder than power pistol but similar flash.(for mid-weight bullets at least)
 
I use Herco in my 40 Glock. The data that Herco has on its web site for the 180 jacketed bullets is very accurate. It meters excellent through my RCBS powder hoper. I also use Herco in 357 mag ,32 H&R mag and 38 Special. It is useful in 9 MM also. I have sme older manuals of Sierra, Hornady and Speer that offer good data. Work up to the data though. I worked up carefully to this data in the old manuals. Byron
 
Herco worked great for me in .40 using 155-gr bullets. Accuracy and speed were good, pressure signs were consistent with two or three sources which indicated you can get factory load velocities with something like 27-30K pressure (instead of 32-35K!:eek: which I try hard to avoid).

Tried maybe a quarter pound of Universal with the same bullets, but accuracy was generally 4-5 inches at 25 yards--unacceptable for me!

Dirtiness was not an issue. Clean is nice, but they weren't leaving gummy bore fouling or breechface sludge.
 
Handloader 152

This is soundin' better all the time! Hopefullly I'll have my 40 reloading operation off the ground in the next week or so.

On edit: I dug through all my old Handloader magazines last night. (I got tired of watching it snow.) Handloader issue 152 had one of Ken Waters' "Pet Loads" articles on the .40. Issue 152 was dated from July/August 1991, so the info is perhaps a tad dated. However, Ken liked Herco in the .40.

Naturally Power Pistol. WAP and Universal Clays were not in production waaaayyy back then.

He tested his loads in a Colt Delta Elite with a 40 S+W barrel in it.

I guess I should've dug through the pile of Handloaders before posting my original question. However, I did get some good ideas of what other powders to try out in the 40.

Thanks all!
 
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