Reloads tips for 40s&w
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Dirtypacman
Member
Start out with the ABC's of Reloading - I believe they are on the seventh ed.
What equipment do you have to work with?
What equipment do you have to work with?
fineredmist
Member
Welcome to the world of hand loading, you mention that you have all the equipment and I hope that includes a manual or two. All the information you need is in the "cook books" as far as dimensions, loads etc. It will take some experminating to get the ideal load for both you and the pistol.
Two important items regarding the .49 S&W, one, do not load them short as you may create excessive pressure, use the "COL" for the load as found in the book. Two, use a light crimp as you may create excessive presure. All you need to do is to remove the "loading bell" from the case and maybe .002" more.
I shoot light loads of TiteGroup (well under the minimum shown in the book)with 180 gr. Berry's plated bullets and find it to be a pleasant plinking load.
Read and understand the books, load, shoot and enjoy the sport.
Two important items regarding the .49 S&W, one, do not load them short as you may create excessive pressure, use the "COL" for the load as found in the book. Two, use a light crimp as you may create excessive presure. All you need to do is to remove the "loading bell" from the case and maybe .002" more.
I shoot light loads of TiteGroup (well under the minimum shown in the book)with 180 gr. Berry's plated bullets and find it to be a pleasant plinking load.
Read and understand the books, load, shoot and enjoy the sport.
birdbustr
Member
My pistol shoots best with 8 grains of Power Pistol powder and Nosler Competition Handgun bullets in 135 grain weight (velocity is 1300fps +/-20fps).
Most people prefer heavier weights, myself included, but my H&K .40cal Compact pistol chose these components and got a grouping at 30 feet that is about the size of a tennis ball.
155, 180 grainers were giving me a paper plate sized group, which isn't too bad for a Compact.
Still, 135 grains at 1300fps is plenty for Home defense, or for a deer if I happened to carry it along for a hunt.
Oh yeah, always be sure to use a Lee Factory crimp to hold the bullet firmly in place.
Be prepared to shoot whatever you can get your hands on and let your pistol decide what shoots best.
Most people prefer heavier weights, myself included, but my H&K .40cal Compact pistol chose these components and got a grouping at 30 feet that is about the size of a tennis ball.
155, 180 grainers were giving me a paper plate sized group, which isn't too bad for a Compact.
Still, 135 grains at 1300fps is plenty for Home defense, or for a deer if I happened to carry it along for a hunt.
Oh yeah, always be sure to use a Lee Factory crimp to hold the bullet firmly in place.
Be prepared to shoot whatever you can get your hands on and let your pistol decide what shoots best.
FieroCDSP
Member
Keep an eye out for "Glocked brass" if you pick up from the range. This is 40 brass that has a buldge near the bottom of the case from where the feed ramp intrudes into the chamber on glocks and a few other 40 cals. I've seen some that are extremely prominant and some that are near invisible. The slight buldges aren't a problem as long as your sizing die goes all the way to the shell-plate. The Lee carbide die set does a pretty good job and I have had no problem sizing slight bulges with mine. I've had slight buldges from my Smith Sigma 40, and have used that as a determiner in my decisions on which Glock brass to keep and dispose of. As I said, some are extreme and should be tossed.
In case you don't know, Glock brass can always be identified by the rectangular marking around the firing pin mark on a fired case's primer. Treat these as suspect. It might be best to simply store them until you have a lot more experience, though it seems there's never any shortage of 40cal brass.
As stated in a previous post, 40cal operates at a high pressure in normal loads, so be sure to stick to the limits in the load info and to work up to larger powder charges in small (.2 gr) increments. And if you experience feed issues with flat-points, check your OAL. That got me a few times.
In case you don't know, Glock brass can always be identified by the rectangular marking around the firing pin mark on a fired case's primer. Treat these as suspect. It might be best to simply store them until you have a lot more experience, though it seems there's never any shortage of 40cal brass.
As stated in a previous post, 40cal operates at a high pressure in normal loads, so be sure to stick to the limits in the load info and to work up to larger powder charges in small (.2 gr) increments. And if you experience feed issues with flat-points, check your OAL. That got me a few times.
Start by copying something your gun already feeds well. Copy the cartridge specs as close as possible. For example, if it likes speer gold dots, buy some to load. If it likes hardball ammo, copy it by profile (RN, RNFP, etc) and cartridge dimensions (if they differ from book) and load midrange powder spec at most on first trial. Also, use small batches of 10 or 20 until you find what your gun likes. It won't take long.
Grandpa Shooter
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I am new here and not looking to bust any body's chops, but I believe we need to treat all loaded ammo as though it were going to be used for self defense, and hold all hand guns (in this case a 40 S&W) to the same standard. For years I have tried to teach people that you only get out what you put in. Weak ammo, used in inaccurate guns, only ingrains low expectations and poor performance. That does not mean shooting the hottest loads you can cook up, using a race gun, or spending thousands of dollars needlessly.
All I mean is to load for real, shoot for real and live for real. Anything less can get you killed!
All I mean is to load for real, shoot for real and live for real. Anything less can get you killed!
I also load for the 40 S&W. I have had very good luck with "plated" 165-180gr. bullets. Cheaper than jacketed and works well in my "polygonal" barrel.
If you are interested in "lite" loads this is a great article:
http://www.handgunsmag.com/ammunition/40lite_091806/index1.html
If you are interested in "lite" loads this is a great article:
http://www.handgunsmag.com/ammunition/40lite_091806/index1.html
possum
Member
one great advantage to the xd is being able to sue lead bullets i do it and it save alot but if you must use fmj bullets rainier and me have had great success.
btw welcome to the forum and get yourself a reloading manaul and keep asking questions here and elsewere that is a great way to learn.
btw welcome to the forum and get yourself a reloading manaul and keep asking questions here and elsewere that is a great way to learn.
QuickRick
Member
40 S&W reload tips...
My advice would be to read what info you can find (illustrations are even better) as to the importance of the proper crimp with this cartridge. Roll crimping as with cases which headspace off the case rim thickness (like the 38 Spec or 44 Magnum) are out with the 40 S&W. The 40 headspaces via the overall case length at the business end of the case. A taper crimp or Lee factory crimp die will go a long way towards making your loads more accurate, consistant, and dependable. I've found the same to be true of the 45acp and the 30 caliber carbine which headspace in the same manner as the 40 S&W...
Good shooting and God Bless....
My advice would be to read what info you can find (illustrations are even better) as to the importance of the proper crimp with this cartridge. Roll crimping as with cases which headspace off the case rim thickness (like the 38 Spec or 44 Magnum) are out with the 40 S&W. The 40 headspaces via the overall case length at the business end of the case. A taper crimp or Lee factory crimp die will go a long way towards making your loads more accurate, consistant, and dependable. I've found the same to be true of the 45acp and the 30 caliber carbine which headspace in the same manner as the 40 S&W...
Good shooting and God Bless....
wally
Member
I seriously disagree here. You get serious over pressure from bullet setback if you don't have enough crimp way before you'll have an issue from too much crimp.
IMHO .40S& is not the place to start reloading because it has about the smallest margin of error of all the common rounds.
But if you start with the minimum loads, use a solid crimp, and pay close attension to the OAL (overall length) you should be OK. A good scale and IMHO a Lee Factory Crimp Die are not optional for .40S&W.
Stick with "bulky" powders like Unique or Blue Dot so a double charge overflows the case making it impossible to miss.
--wally.
wally
Member
You have no control over this with non bottleneck cases, other than the brand of die you choose to buy. Minimally expanding the sized case to seat the bullet is best, but again you have to bell the case mouth enough to keep the bullet in place as it rises into the seating die -- I find this the most tedious part of adjusting the dies when changing calibers.
Load some dummy rounds (no primer, no powder). Measure and record the OAL. Cycle them thru the gun (one round in the mag, with slide locked back and slingshot to load is good way to do it). Remeasure after ejecting them, if the OAL is reduced you have a problem, Greater than about 0.05" and you approach potential disaster with some loads. You can try buying a new sizer die, reduce the bell made by the expander, or try a heavier crimp -- taper crimp is the only way to go with autos. You'll get the OAL to remain unchanged a lot faster by adding another half turn to the Lee FCD setting than with any other method.
You do have to make sure you are not seating the bullets deaper than the recipe specifies or you could be loading in a potentially dangeous setback at the start.
The high pressure and relatively small usable case volume is why the .40S&W needs very careful reloading.
--wally.
I agree. That’s why I use these dies –
http://egw-guns.com/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=40&osCsid=f7af6a5a0091bea32b4d67ed7c3c89ac
I believe taper crimp is used only to remove the flare from expanding. Nothing to do with bullet setback. And that over crimping can reduce the case tension.
Don't bell the cases, don't crimp, and your neck tension will be fine. I did a test awhile back. A round which was not belled and not crimped, got set back less than one which was not belled and lightly crimped. I believe the crimped one set back something like 3 times as much, with the same number of chamberings. Do a search.
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