Favorite Powder for .40 S&W

[disneyd]

Can anyone recommend a good powder for .40 S&W?

I'm looking to develop a good target load for my Sig 229 and STI LS40. Looking
for something accurate that isn't too hard on the pistol for paper punching.

While I'm asking... how about favorite bullet for the above situation?

Finally, as far as bullets go, is there a difference between 10mm and .40? I've seen them listed separately and I've also seen boxes (Hornady come to mind) labeled 10mm (0.400).

 

[wally]

If there is a difference, its the jacket of the hollow points being stronger for the 10mm in expecting higher velocities so the bullet doesn't break up which might mean less expansion than you might like if loaded for .40S&W.

For .40S&W I like 5.2 grains Unique and a Bushwacker 180gr hard cast lead FP. Good for paper and steel plates, or 5.7gr Unique and whatever 180gr FMJ bullet I can find "on sale".

--wally.

Edit: if you double charge with unique, you'll be sweeping it up off the floor and have no room in the case to put the bullet for seating.

 

[ILLINI]

Try Winchester WSF. A good power that fills the case nicely and helps avoid double charges. Another popular selection is Hogden Titegroup. Titegroup requires less powder for a given load and is pretty inexpensive too. Recoil for Titegroup is very manageable. I use 4.2 grains of Titegroup with a 185 gr. Precision Black Bullet. As always, validate this load with your reloading manuals...Illini

 

[FieroCDSP]

For short range(defensive 10'-25') practice I shoot an economical combo of Rainier 155gr flatpoint, CCI 500 primer, 3.8gr Clays (regular, not universal) at 1.125"

Soft shooter. You might have to adjust as that is near minimum reliable cycle for my M&P. Max is 4gr, I think. It drops the brass three feet away at my four-o-clock. No hunting for the brass and they're not beat up at all.

 

[CZ57]

With LaserCast 170 gr. SWCs I like Ramshot True Blue. 6.4 grains will achieve around 950 FPS from my CZ 75 B, takes the center out of a 50' target and groups under 1".

For JHPs, I use the original .40 S&W powder Winchester used and called WAP. Now it's called Silhouette and comes from Ramshot. The powder and data are identical. 7.5 grains with the NOSLER 150 gr. JHP is similar to a factory load in performance. I get very good accuracy from the 75 B.

 

[RON in PA]

4.4 grains of 231 under a 180 grain hard cast bullet. Very comfortable 40S&W load.

 

[Crazy4nitro]

I shoot Local cast 180gr SWC with 3.8gr of Unique. Cycles slide 100% and barely flips the brass out. Very Soft shooter,feels like Half the recoil of the WWB Wally world stuff..

Glock 23 With a Lone wolf Barrel for shooting Lead.

Crazy4nitro

 

[dakotasin]

my 40's do very well w/ power pistol.

 

[Linear Thinker]

Universal Clays (I think they call it plain Universal nowadays, to avoid confusion with International Clays and plain Clays) gets my vote. Works great with 180gr bullets from Berry and Rainier. Very clean and consistent.
LT

 

[klcmschlesinger]

Another one for titegroup. I also use Accurate #7 and #9. Takes more powder than titegroup but they shoot well for me.

 

[Walkalong]

WSF, AA #5, & Universal Clays all work well for me in the .40. I have not tried True Blue yet, but feel like it will do well also. I like 180 Gr. bullets at around 900 to 950 FPS for plinking/target shooting. They are much more pleasent than hot 155 and 165 gr loads in my lightweight XD SC. In my Witness Elite Match it is not as big a deal, but I still like the heavier bullets. That said, Zero 165 Gr. JHP's shoot GREAT in the Witness using Universal Clays.

 

[rdhood]

4.4 grains of 231 under a 180 grain hard cast bullet. Very comfortable 40S&W load.

+1. This is pretty much what I shoot as well.

 

[XD-40 Shooter]

I'm currently loading 6.5 grains of Unique behind a 155 grain Ranier, its pretty much a full power target load, as it clocks 1030 fps from my Millenium Pro, its very accurate. I like the fact that this load mimics my self defense ammo, allows me to get comfortable with the recoil. Unique has given me excellent results in 40 S&W.

 

[tbtrout]

I am using 231 with good results and a 175 lswc in an XD