LiveLife
Member
Thank you and you are very welcome. Glad to help out fellow THR members.bds, Your posts provide more detail and viable information than a load manualA veritable encyclopedia of useful info!
BTW, Hodgdon lists load data for Berry's plated bullets under "BERB" - http://www.hodgdonreloading.com/data/pistol
- 155 GR. BERB FP WST COL 1.125" Start 5.1 gr (996 fps) 27,400 PSI - Max 5.9 gr (1,091 fps) 33,400 PSI
- 155 GR. BERB FP W231 COL 1.125" Start 5.1 gr (979 fps) 24,100 PSI - Max 6.0 gr (1,130 fps) 33,900 PSI
- 155 GR. BERB FP CFE Pistol COL 1.135" Start 7.2 gr (1,162 fps) 26,400 PSI - Max 7.8 gr (1,232 fps) 31,900 PSI
FYI, these are load development steps I use to determine max/working OAL and identify most accurate loads:
- First determine the max OAL/COL using the barrel. Dummy rounds (no powder, no primer) should drop freely in the chamber with a "plonk" and spin without hitting the rifling.
- Next determine the working OAL that will reliably feed/chamber from the magazine. Feed dummy rounds from magazine without riding the slide. Incrementally decrease the OAL (say by .005") until rounds feed reliably.
- Next conduct powder work up using working OAL until you have reliable slide cycling and spent case extraction/ejection (If working OAL is shorter than published, I will reduce start/max charges by .2-.3 gr). Then monitor accuracy trend (shot group size) while you increase the powder charge towards published max.
- Once you determine the most accurate powder charge, if using longer than published OAL and you want to further extract accuracy, incrementally decrease the OAL (say by .005") down to published OAL to see if accuracy improves. If group size decreases, use shorter OAL. If group size does not decrease, use longer OAL.
40S&W brass shot in generous chambers can overly expand or bulge the brass. I have found different brand dies resize to varying OD and down to different points towards case base.my experience has been that it is usually worst with .40 than 10mmI had to start pass through sizing for Glock 10mm. Is that only a 10mm thing? Or is that needed on 40 also?
My Lee carbide resizing die will resize 40S&W brass to smaller OD and further down the case base than my RCBS carbide resizing die. While other brand die users need to push-through resize their brass, I haven't needed to do so.
If you are not using Lee dies for 40S&W, check resized brass in the case gauge or tightest chamber barrel you have (in your case, your only barrel). If the resized brass won't pass the case gauge or your barrel, consider push-through resizing or Lee resizing die.
While I am a 1911 fan (started out USPSA shooting 1911), I am also a Glock convert - https://www.thehighroad.org/index.p...omo-reloading-range-test.578444/#post-9415802further investment in the cartridge and additional pistols. As a 1911 fan, I’m sure there are some nice ones in 40 that I can try to get on my Christmas list.
FYI, I use 40-9 conversion barrels in my Glock 22/23/27 to shoot 9mm. It's like having two caliber pistols for the price of a barrel.
If you are considering another pistol purchase, also consider various police-trade in at attractive prices ($250-$350) including Beretta/Glock/M&P/Sig pistols - https://www.sportsmansoutdoorsupers...an/used-firearms/of3/40-SW/order_by/min_price
Last edited: