New .40 S&W loader. (I think I'm prepared)

[Shivahasagun]

Lee dies on the way for my 4-hole Turret press. (I use 3-die carbide sets)

Recieved 1k pieces fired & cleaned nickel brass. I haven't inspected many. But those were Winchester, from very little bulge to considerable, but probably not excessive bulge.

No bullets, yet. Will probably order .401" coated 165 gr or 170 gr FN.

Gun is a Beretta PX4 full size.

I'm going to lube the cases by putting the light Frankford Arsenal spray lube on my gloved hands and stirring the brass.

I'll inspect the brass and toss those with "smiles" or other major disfigurement. I don't like the idea of "bulge busters" and hope I don't have to resort to that. I'll use my PX4 barrel as my guide.

I want to make loads that are accurate, but just enough to cycle the gun. No KB!

Suitable powders I have:

CFE-P, HP38, Titegroup, 700X.

I'm thinking HP38.

I haven't decided how many times I should reload these or even worry about it. Hopefully they are easy to find on the ground.

So far so good?

 

[lightman]

Looks like a good plan! Good Luck and Good Shooting!

 

[1KPerDay]

Sounds okay to me. What are you using your barrel as your guide for? Inspecting fired, non-sized brass?

 

[Shivahasagun]

Sounds okay to me. What are you using your barrel as your guide for? Inspecting fired, non-sized brass?

Plunk test / OAL of cartridges.

 

[Soonerpesek]

I'm thinking HP38.

I haven't decided how many times I should reload these or even worry about it. Hopefully they are easy to find on the ground.

Can’t go wrong with that powder/cartridge combo…

Load ‘em till you can’t anymore…


If you are interested in some SNS 180 TCFP .401” HiTek coated, I have a bazooka ton of.
Can work out a good deal…
PM me if interested..

 

[1KPerDay]

Plunk test / OAL of cartridges.

Cool. For plunk testing it’s a great idea. As far as OAL it’s difficult since the PX4 leaves the entire case rim exposed unlike the 1911 type with a barrel hood that’s flush with the back of the case. But if you are only verifying functional/proper OAL for reliability, that’s perfect.

 

[GeoDudeFlorida]

Moderate/Target .40S&W is where TiteGroup earns its pay. Any of the powders you mentioned will work with that cartridge, though. My personal favorite is True Blue but it’s getting harder to find.

 

[Walkalong]

I'm thinking HP38.

Work up to it, but 5.0 Grs of HP-38/W-231 under a coated 180 is superb.

 

[Stevenvalleyky]

Are you gonna lube the cases because they are nickel plated? I don't lube any automatic pistol calibers with carbide sizing die but I rarely load nickel cases. Ive loaded many thousand 40 s&w and its pretty easy since you have a little more leeway on powder charge than 9mm plus the bullets are easier to handle if you have fat fingers. I shoot tons of cases that had the glock smile that ironed out fine with the Lee dies.

 

[Peakbagger46]

No need for lube with a carbide die. Good call on the plunk test with your barrel. Case life is good with the .40, keep loading your brass until the case splits upon resizing.

I’ve loaded and shot thousands of .40 out of a Glock before “we” decided to downgrade to the 9. It’s easy to load for and will save money (more so than the 9mm). Just don’t go for max loads and you’ll be fine.

 

[W.E.G.]

Plunk test is OK if you are using that ammo only in the gun you plunked.

Otherwise buy a case gage.

Lots of ammo that will pass the plunk test will NOT pass the case gage.
Usually because you failed to remove all the bell-expansion.

 

[lordpaxman]

No bullets, yet. Will probably order .401" coated 165 gr or 170 gr FN.

I shoot a lot of Blue Bullets, they have 165 and 180s. I haven’t seen many 170’s.
RMR sometimes have pulls, and they have some other FMJs that are decent. They were talking about an in-house .40 but I haven’t seen them yet, but I’ll be ordering from them when/if they do.
I reload a lot of nickel Speer .40, and while carbide dies don’t require lube, a little will smooth out the process. I use one-shot Case lube.
Of those powders you listed, HP38 will give you a nice medium load, but I’d recommend you also test Titegroup to see if you like it. If you get your hands on WST it performs great in .40. CFE-P will put you in SD territory. Be mindful and test for setback. It’d be nice to hear a range report.

 

[vaalpens]

40S&W is an easy cartridge to load. Just make sure you do your normal due diligence for a new cartridge/bullet combination and do a setback and plunk test with dummy rounds.

I have loaded a lot of pulled bullets, without any issues, so there should be a wide range of bullets you can pick from. I tend to stick to the standard FP bullets of the 180gr, 165gr and 155gr variety. Lately I have mostly loaded 180gr bullets.

Have fun and be safe.

 

[AJC1]

I think your missing a chamfer and debur tool. I like the Lyman one. The Lee universal expander should be on your short list and a refinement of that is using a noe expander in place of the Lee provided bits. The two step in the noe is far superior when loading lead to prevent shaving and getting the bullet started square.... and they are cheap!!!!!

 

[1KPerDay]

I think your missing a chamfer and debur tool.

If he’s trimming then yes. I don’t know why anyone would trim .40 brass personally. Unless shooting competitive bullseye and even then I’m dubious anyone could actually shoot the difference. I’ve never trimmed any auto pistol brass.

 

[AJC1]

If he’s trimming then yes. I don’t know why anyone would trim .40 brass personally. Unless shooting competitive bullseye and even then I’m dubious anyone could actually shoot the difference. I’ve never trimmed any auto pistol brass.

He's loading coated lead....

 

[GeoDudeFlorida]

He's loading coated lead....

Besides, chamfered cases just look better.

 

[Bill M]

I mostly shot cast bullets in 40, my favorite, a Lee 6 cavity that comes out at 152gr with my alloy. It is a SWC that makes beautiful round holes in the paper. I was using Zip, but I don't see it much anymore, a friend has the mold borrowed, and is using one of the Shooter's World powders.
(I too have gone to 9mm, arthritis just won't let me grip the gun correctly, and the recoil is easier!)

 

[Soonerpesek]

He's loading coated lead....

That’s what the flaring die/funnel is for…

 

[1KPerDay]

He's loading coated lead....

And? Flare a little and you don’t shave anything with coated, uncoated, or anything else.

 

[Shivahasagun]

Are you gonna lube the cases because they are nickel plated? I don't lube any automatic pistol calibers with carbide sizing die but I rarely load nickel cases. Ive loaded many thousand 40 s&w and its pretty easy since you have a little more leeway on powder charge than 9mm plus the bullets are easier to handle if you have fat fingers. I shoot tons of cases that had the glock smile that ironed out fine with the Lee dies.

Sometimes I'll put a tiny bit of lube just to smooth out the press operations.

I figured with a little extra bulging on these .40 cases a little lube along with being nickle plated would help things run easier. And it's literally easier on my shoulder.

If I do 200 rds at a time that's 800 handle pulls.

I was timing myself loading .32 acp the other day and found that once I'm up to speed I make a complete cartridge every 12-15 seconds. (Which is also 4 pulls of course)

Bigger cartridges go a little faster.

 

[Shivahasagun]

I shoot a lot of Blue Bullets, they have 165 and 180s. I haven’t seen many 170’s.
RMR sometimes have pulls, and they have some other FMJs that are decent. They were talking about an in-house .40 but I haven’t seen them yet, but I’ll be ordering from them when/if they do.
I reload a lot of nickel Speer .40, and while carbide dies don’t require lube, a little will smooth out the process. I use one-shot Case lube.
Of those powders you listed, HP38 will give you a nice medium load, but I’d recommend you also test Titegroup to see if you like it. If you get your hands on WST it performs great in .40. CFE-P will put you in SD territory. Be mindful and test for setback. It’d be nice to hear a range report.

I do like Tightgroup and have used it in 9x19, .45 acp, .44 Russian, .38 spl, .25 acp, and probably a couple others.

I'll post my results. But I do need to order some coated bullets.

 

[Shivahasagun]

I think your missing a chamfer and debur tool. I like the Lyman one. The Lee universal expander should be on your short list and a refinement of that is using a noe expander in place of the Lee provided bits. The two step in the noe is far superior when loading lead to prevent shaving and getting the bullet started square.... and they are cheap!!!!!

I haven't trimmed brass at all, ever, yet.

 

[AJC1]

I haven't trimmed brass at all, ever, yet.

Someone other than me said trim, I didn't, and I don't trim auto brass.

 

[rg1]

I would not load 40 S&W without a push through sizing die. When I just a few years ago started loading 40 I bought quite a bit of once fired brass. Had trouble with many cases that were fired in large chambers and were swollen enough my sizing die wouldn’t size down far enough. My Redding Carbiide GR-X push through die set sizes the entire length of the case. Still need to carefully inspect 40 cases for “guppy belly” damaged cases. I run all cases through the GR-X then size with my regular die set. Expensive Redding die but worth every penny!! My fired cases in my PX-4 pistol and Berreta Storm Carbine does not swell brass but my purchased fired cases had plenty of brass needing a push-thru sizing!