loading .40 S&W

V

vt coy caller

New member
I know its a little off subject for PM forum but also know many of you load pistol rounds. I'm picking up a new M&P shield in .40 S&W today, got 100pcs starline brass, 100 hornady 155gr hp and lee 3 die carbide set that should be here today. This will be my first venture into pistol loading so just looking for any tips/ loads that others may have to get me started. I know my lgs where I'm picking the gun up has cfe pistol on the shelf that I was thinking I'd like to try, anyone played with this yet? Not sure what other handgun powders he has right now so looking for suggestions. Thanks, VT
 
one thing to note for .40... if you ever get any range brass that could even remotely have a chance of being fired through a glock (or other nonfully supported chamber'ed pistol) - you'll need to hit it with a pass through a lee bulge buster to remove the unsupported chamber bulge down at the base of the shell that a regular FL sizing die wont touch.

its kid of like some folks who need to use small base dies for 223 when resizing LC cases that have been fired in SAW's with sloppy chambers.

they turn your carbide factory crimp die into a push through sizing die essentially getting the whole case down to the proper diameter.


http://www.midwayusa.com/product/882261/lee-bulge-buster-base-sizing-kit-380-auto-40-s-and-w-45-acp


pro-tip: even though its a carbide die, i find that adding a small ammount of lube helps speed up the pass through. a small ammount of hornady one shot is amazing for this application.
 
Originally Posted By: vt coy callerI know its a little off subject for PM forum but also know many of you load pistol rounds. I'm picking up a new M&P shield in .40 S&W today, got 100pcs starline brass, 100 hornady 155gr hp and lee 3 die carbide set that should be here today. This will be my first venture into pistol loading so just looking for any tips/ loads that others may have to get me started. I know my lgs where I'm picking the gun up has cfe pistol on the shelf that I was thinking I'd like to try, anyone played with this yet? Not sure what other handgun powders he has right now so looking for suggestions. Thanks, VT

I use the exact components for my 40 S&W SD loads. I don't recall the powder in those loads. It is either Blue Dot, or Longshot. I worked up, and ran them across my chonograph, to check the velocity, and for signs of pressure. I got the 155 gr. XTPs up to published velocity, with no signs of pressure, and called it good. If you are going to push the limit, then only load with new unfired brass.

Not to dispute the previous poster, but I have piles of range brass, much of that was run through LEO Glocks, and I have just used RCBS carbide re-sizing dies, and never had a case fail, in 40 S&W. I did have a 9mm case head fail, from what I will guess was a re-loaded case, from a poorly supported chamber. So it can happen. Definitely a "What Just Happened" moment. My failure was in a Browning BDM, that took out the extractor, and the magazine, and made my hand tingle, but that was it. Made a few measurements on the pistol, replaced the extractor, and the magazine, and went back to shooting. Anyway just do a good visual inspection on range pickup cases, and any that look severely bulged, at the case web, recycle.

Squeeze

P.S. Glock has SUBSTANTIALLY improved chamber support in it's pistols. But there are older Glocks, and other brands of pistols, out there that will bulge both 9mmx19 and 40 S&W cases.
 
my concern was not about case failure, but more about ability to chamber reliably & consistently in any firearm.

in a fully supported chamber, a round with a unsupported chamber case bulge may not chamber reliably, if at all. it will of course depend on your specific chamber's tolerance.

aftermarket match barrels will likely be more susceptible to this issue.


you can push 1k pieces of brass through a bulge buster in no time. once you get a rhythm going a case every second or two is super easy to maintain.

[edit] please note - my intent was not to disparage glocks in any way. i'm just bringing to light a known issue with any handgun that doesnt have a fully supported chamber to assist in reliable feeding of ammo. glocks just happen to be one of the best known examples for this in the .40 caliber world.

its a very common issue in .380's as well. ive seen some ugly bulges on 380 brass in the past.
 
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One of the differences in loading most pistol brass is having to 'bell' the case(expanding the case) to accept the bullet prior to the seating step, another is crimping. Just make sure you read the die adjustment info with the dies when you start those steps. You may have to cycle the press several times to get the bell and crimping just right.
 
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you should only have to expand 40 brass when loading plated or straight cast bullets.

jacketed should be fine.

i've loaded them successfully with Universal and Power Pistol.

i like power pistol better, seems a bit more accurate for me with the 155's.

i burned my last bottle of universal loading a 50 cal can of 38 special for fathers day last year
smile.gif
 
when you are expanding your case - do so to the absolute minimum necessary for insertion without shaving the bullet.

the less you work it, the better off you are.


work with dummy rounds (brass/bullet only - no primer/powder) until you can seat (and then pull) one without it being shaved.

likewise goes for the crimp. start small and work your way back down to spec diamater at the case mouth, again being more careful when working with cast/plated/powder coated bullets.

over crimping a plated bullet can damage the jacket, and lead your bore up for you. likewise for powder coated cast.
 
I too use tons of range brass with no I'll effects on feeding or case failures in my gen1 g27. I also don't push the envelope when loading. I load for cheap plinking/ practice ammo and try to get the most rounds per pound of powder possible. I use titegroup powder for all my pistols. (.380, 9mm, 38sp, 357mag, 45acp)
 
I too just started loading pistol rounds for the first time and it was for the 40 s/w and used in a glock model 22, gen3. I purchased some once fired brass, resized them with RCBS 3 piece carbide dies, didn't use a bulge buster die. I am using Winchester 165 gr. truncated bullets and unique powder. I followed the measurements found in my Lyman 49th reloading manual and made sure that my couple of dummy rounds passed the plunk test ( they passed the test),loaded up 40 rounds and every one fired great in my block.
I'm happy
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Thanks a bunch for the replies fellas! I did notice in the hodgdon manual they have a warning about using their data in firearms that dont support the entire case I was a little curious as to what guns did not, also why is this common in the .40 s&w? I did pick up the gun yesterday along with a pound of cfe pistol, I also looked for universal but they don't currently have any nor did I see power pistol but ill keep my eyes open for them
I picked up a box of win 180gr hp so I could shoot some before I get a chance to load any up, its fun to shoot and seems pretty accurate, about 2.5" group at 20yds resting on the railing of my deck. Triggers a little heavier than I'm used to so I was thrown off a little by that.
I'm anxious to start loading for it now, I can already see I'd better get more bullets and brass coming it didn't take long to burn through 30 rounds last night! :-o
 
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I use the plated bullets for plinking and target practice. They are cheap and do just fine out to 25yds. For my 40 I run 155gr berry's with 4.2 or 4.5grs of bullseye and Remington primers. One thing to watch out for if you are using bullseye is a double charge. I load all mine on a progressive press and have a powder check die. Plus I visually check each round before I seat the bullet.
 
Originally Posted By: vt coy callerAny steps I should take with new brass beyond the normal inspection for crushed or dented mouths or are they usually pretty much set to load?

40 S&W brass is so common it's almost free. I never had any that was new. I would do at least a partial 'size' to get the mouth uniform then do 'just enough' bell to allow the bullet to push in without shaving.

Once seated I make sure any bell is out, usually with a touch of a Lee FCD. No matter what you do, use your barrel as a 'case guage' or sorts. Removed from the gun. Also don't load up more that a sample amount until you test them out for proper function.

Nothing wrong with full length resize, with NEW brass it's mostly the mouth area that needs checking. The bullet in most instances won't slide in without some 'bell'.

 
I would do at least a partial 'size' to get the mouth uniform then do 'just enough' bell to allow the bullet to push in without shaving.

Why wouldn't you full length size them.?
 
I buy once fired brass off of gunbroker for cheap, fire it once and never pick It up.

I shoot AA#5 in my 40's, best accuracy is near the top end.

I have a load with a 165g plated bullet that is 4.4g of Clays, powder puff load.

The hard cast bullets out of a lee mold approximately 175g are very accurate in my pistols, and I don't own a glock for this very reason.

These hard cast H.P. bullets are both very accurate and expansion is great:

http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewItem.aspx?Item=480737774
 
Succes! Got to load some yesterday, I loaded a few test rounds of the 155gr ftx's at 6.8gr cfe pistol they all went bang and cycled well so I went up to 7gr and sent a few through the chrony, they were right around 1,130. Fps which is on par with the hodgdon data. Today I loaded the rest of the bullets a had and fired off 40 rounds. All went well!

Thanks again for the input, especially the case prep tips it was much help and saved me some experimenting.
 
I've been loading .40cal for years and never knew anything about the bulge buster, however I have seen and am familiar with the bulge on the cases. Thanks for the info!

That being said i've never had an issue with the full length sizing, I don't even sort my brass I just run it all though a progressive. In goes clean brass, out comes a full bullet. Seems like an extra step that is unnecessary for range use reloads, but makes sense if your concerned about/are having cycling issues.
 
Originally Posted By: crapshootI too use tons of range brass with no I'll effects on feeding or case failures in my gen1 g27. I also don't push the envelope when loading. I load for cheap plinking/ practice ammo and try to get the most rounds per pound of powder possible. I use titegroup powder for all my pistols. (.380, 9mm, 38sp, 357mag, 45acp)

+1 for titegroup, throws very consistently unlike some other powders.
 


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