Sinterfire 135gr Frangible Initial Tests 40S&W

[wankerjake]

Another Sinterfire thread. Very slim data on an interesting bullet and is available at a very good price at a large and popular retailer so I thought it deserves some more discussion. Thought about piggybacking on @markr6754 but figured he may want to keep that as that. Appreciate his work with Universal, I tried 4.8gr and 5.3gr Universal this weekend and both seemed like good loads.

So, the 135gr Frangible from Sinterfire available at Midway for 7.5 cents apiece shipped, plus tax where applicable. https://www.midwayusa.com/product/1022694643?pid=891762

Sinterfire lists two points of load data for this bullet:
5.0gr Bullseye
4.8gr AA#2

I think most people wish there was more data and I’m one of them. I went ahead and bought some though thanks to Mark’s previous work with Universal https://www.thehighroad.org/index.p...terfire-frangible-bullets-first-shots.873616/

I decided to tinker with W231/HP38. These bullets pose a little more thought to load work up since they are so large for their weight. While they only weight 135gr, the bearing surface is much more similar to a 180gr bullet. Pictured: 180gr Rainer HP (left) and Sinterfire 135gr (right)


Notice also the Sinterfire bullet is longer than the Rainier 180gr which means it is seated further into the case. Hard to tell from the picture but the Sinterfire starts to taper down and bearing surface is similar between the two bullets.

Looking at load data for Sinterfire’s 125gr bullets I noticed the data is very similar to the data Hodgdon provides for 165gr plated in regards to powders 700x, Universal, W231/HP38 and PB. I decided to start with 180gr data due to this fact and also given the similar bearing surface and being seated further into the case than the 180gr
Hodgdon lists 4.4-5.1 gr W231/HP38 for a 180gr Berry’s plated.

OAL 1.138”, light taper crimp, plunked correctly well before this but they have to function in the magazine. Pistol was a stock Glock 23. I brought the wrong tripod and was too lazy to go back and get it so none of these loads were chronographed. All loads shot well, cycled and locked slide on empty mag, and shot point of aim. I also tested Bullseye from Sinterfire data and Universal from @markr6754 thread.

W231/HP38:
4.2gr- stupid light recoil, way lighter than 115gr 9mm, very fun, pretty accurate
4.6gr-similar to above, recoil slightly higher but still light
5.0gr- trend continues
5.2gr- recoil moving into normal territory, accuracy good
5.6gr- recoil normal, accuracy good

Bullseye:
4.3gr- light recoil, accuracy ok
4.9gr- medium recoil, accuracy good

Universal:
4.8gr- medium recoil, accuracy fair
5.3gr- normal recoil, little snappy, accuracy good


Overall impression, these shoot well and are cheap at ~8 cents apiece shipped. They load easily, no issues with durability while crimping or pulling bullets. I ordered another thousand with free shipping last night. I will possibly work up a load with American Select and maybe Unique if I feel up to it but there’s enough good here that I can be happy shooting these with W231/HP38 and Univeral of which I have plenty. The Bullseye load is also good But I’m going to reserve that powder for the 148gr HBWC I acquired from an estate sale the other day.

Accuracy tests were not well structured and I’m no bullseye shooter. The overall accuracy of the bullet across the range of charges impressed me and any deviance here and there was very likely me. The 4.2gr W231/HP38 load was so light recoiling I couldn’t help but rapid fire them and they were all on the mark. What a fun load. I’m tempted to get 5k of these.

Lastly, they are a handsome bullet. Get you some while you can!

 

[markr6754]

Another Sinterfire thread.

I decided to tinker with W231/HP38. These bullets pose a little more thought to load work up since they are so large for their weight. While they only weight 135gr, the bearing surface is much more similar to a 180gr bullet. Pictured: 180gr Rainer HP (left) and Sinterfire 135gr (right)

W231/HP38:
4.2gr- stupid light recoil, way lighter than 115gr 9mm, very fun, pretty accurate
4.6gr-similar to above, recoil slightly higher but still light
5.0gr- trend continues
5.2gr- recoil moving into normal territory, accuracy good
5.6gr- recoil normal, accuracy good

Bullseye:
4.3gr- light recoil, accuracy ok
4.9gr- medium recoil, accuracy good

Universal:
4.8gr- medium recoil, accuracy fair
5.3gr- normal recoil, little snappy, accuracy good

Accuracy tests were not well structured and I’m no bullseye shooter. The overall accuracy of the bullet across the range of charges impressed me and any deviance here and there was very likely me. The 4.2gr W231/HP38 load was so light recoiling I couldn’t help but rapid fire them and they were all on the mark. What a fun load. I’m tempted to get 5k of these.

Jake,

I've been waiting for your HP38 load tests. Looks like you went well beyond HP38. I pondered starting an HP38 ladder last night, but decided to use it for 38Spl instead. I loaded another 100 rounds of 40S&W using Universal, 50 with 4.8gr and 50 with 5.0gr, but switched back to CCI 500 primers. Using Fiocchi SPP, my 4.8grs had a number of cycling issues, so I want to re-verify that load using CCI. It's a very poignant reminder that changing primers, or any component in a recipe, requires a new load.

Your HP38 load spread is interesting...4.2gr to 5.6gr and still in a light to normal felt recoil band. I may skip the 4.2gr load for starting. My Springfield EMP has pretty stiff recoil springs, and the gun is still under 800 rounds. I haven't even tried these in my Beretta PX4 Storm...mainly as I don't like shooting that polymer frame. It hurts.

I'll have to look over the Hodgdon 180gr data. According to the frangiblebullets.com website they recommend using data for the next heavier jacketed bullet. However, when I compared data for 40 S&W 155gr and 165gr, they were still significantly higher charges than I wanted to test out. I'll get a sense of my comfort level using 180gr load data as a starting point.

Now is when I really regret not having a chronograph. Venturing into unknown load territory without one is really asking for trouble. At the very least, I need to order a properly sized brass rod to have on hand in the event of a squib. I'm not as concerned about overcharges due to the deep seating requirements for these projectiles.

Too bad no one else is picking up on this experiment. It seems to be the Mark and Jake show. But, that leaves plenty of these freedom pills for us to pick up more.

 

[markr6754]

Forgot to mention. I grabbed a Frankford Arsenal M Press when they were on stupid pricing sale ($121.50) at Midway with a price match at Amazon. I finally got it mounted onto my Hornady Quick Detach mount (had to drill 3 new holes) on Saturday, and proceeded to load my first rounds...my 40S&Ws. First experience with an M-Press, and I love it! No shell holder, and everything self-aligns. Very smooth going. Hated to set my Hornady L-N-L load Classic aside, but FAMP is so much easier on my lower back.

 

[wankerjake]

Yeah Mark I’ll have to look at frangiblebullets.com

I used 180 as a rough guess specifically for the Hodgdon data for Berrys, and I did that because the data for Sinterfire 125 matched Hodgdon’s data for berrys 165 so well. Figured even though the Sinterfire squeezes case volume over a 180gr, it has a similar bearing surface and is 45gr lighter which gives me some leeway I think

Hesitate to work up further without a chrono but zero pressure signs with 5.6gr 231 and recoil felt normal. I didn’t think it offered anything over the 5.2gr load so was going to test that load more

No pressure signs with 5.3gr Universal either but I’m hesitant to go past it. My thrower drops 4.9 and 5.3, wished it did 5.1. Recoil was heaviest of everything I tested with 5.3gr Universal


Hopefully Sinterfire releases more data at some point. If I end up with only 2000 of these I bet I end up wishing I’d bought more

 

[wankerjake]

The recoil on the 4.2gr load was so hilariously light I couldn’t believe it was cycling. I bet your pistol wouldn’t cycle it based on your tests with universal. However I’m excited for that load in my Glock. The 4.6gr load may be good in your Beretta

 

[markr6754]

Did a quick review of my available 40S&W projectiles after a reader on another forum asked if I actually weighed the bullets. Quite an interesting spread. Nonetheless, of all of these bullets, I just love loading the SF frangibles. I hope Midway finds some 9mm SF to put on clearance. These frangibles are usually double the original price at Midway...can't touch this clearance price.

I have about 3700 of them left. Don't know if I can swing another order.

 

[markr6754]

I just checked out the Hodgdon 180 gr BERB load data. This is quite encouraging! That opens up a whole new avenue for testing. I’m wanting to try some Vihtavuori powders but needed a “safe” starting point. This helps put me in the ballpark. Don’t know why I didn’t leap to 180gr when I was researching starting loads.

Good catch on your part!

 

[wankerjake]

Yeah, definitely tread lightly but there should be room for work up with a number of powders