Obo2

A forenote to any new reloaders:
The information requested in this post is ment to get opinions on components and compare favorite loads.
No one should take any load data from this post at face value as a safe load.
A reloader should always do a thorough load work up with any new components.

Just got my sr40c 2 months ago and my 40 cal dies this month.

So far I have loaded only Xtreme 165gr plated hp over 4.6 grains titegroup (did a workup from 4.6 to 5 and liked the 4.6 the best) with winchester spm primers.

I would love to hear what some of you guys may be running in your 40s.

You don't have to list a specific powder charge if you don't want to but I would like to hear them.

Just trying to get an idea of some components i would like to try.

The rounds i have now are a relatively accurate economical plinking round and could be used for SD HD if needed.

Other great economical plinking and practice rounds as well as nice accurate enhanced terminal balistics HD/SD (economical doesn't hurt here either) loads would be great to hear.

RockDoctor

155gr Ranier plated flat-point .40
6.9gr Hogdon HS7
Federal 100 primer
Avg 1,000fps

Shoots well out of my Glock 23

bhefley59

Berrys Bullets 180gr FP with 5.3gr SR7625 with Winchester primers , avg 950fps .... very clean , low recoil and accurate. I have shot thousands of this load through my SR40.

tglazie

damn you all. I have been trying to fight off getting a .40 becuase I hear that they are too harsh, too much of a defensive gun to be a good target shooter, but all this talk of FP bullets at 950-1000fps has me drooling. I load at about 1000fps with Berry's 124gr HBFP in my 9mm and love it. Since you all shoot/reload for .40, I guess I should ask the group- can I expect better/same/worse accuracy with .40 (assuming the guns are "equal" in quality)

Obo2

I dunno how great a comparison this is but i can shoot my buddies full size glock 9 a little better than my sr40c.

a little practice with it and i tightened up a lot and was doing close to the same with both.

granted we are looking at pretty different barrel lengths and geometry there.

the 9 i could shoot fairly well with a sloppy grip the 40 is a bit of a firmer handshake.

supposedly the sr40 is about the smoothest shooting 40 out there.

mine is pretty comfy for hundreds of rounds

scattershot

I haven't noticed my .40s being "snappy" or harsh to shoot. For a practice load, I use a 180 grain bullet over 4.0 Red Dot, for about 850 FPS. I use Winchester T series HP ammo in the same weight for serious use.

If you're going to handload, be awarre that the .40 is a high pressure cartridge, and pressures tend to spike toward the upper end of the load range. A paper target doesn't care how fast a bullet is going when it pokes a hole.

RockDoctor

It should be repeated, the wise and safe approach to handloading is to start with the lowest recommended load for a particular powder and bullet and work up, loading a few, checking for any signs of high pressure.

bhefley59

The SR40 is a great gun. I have shot other brands that had a heaver recoil. I can hit just as good with my 40 as I can with my 9mm. I shoot USPSA and we shoot a lot of rounds at our club and the load I listed earlier is the best load I have found for my gun and still make major. I have tried the red dot load and it's also a good load but dirtier and it won't make major. You need a SR40 or SR40C both great guns..

tglazie

Good info. I have been picking up .40 brass for a while now at the range, "just in case". Maybe Santa will bring me a SR40 if he cant find a SR1911 in stock.

RockDoctor

When I shoot I also pick up brass, my own particularly, to reload. The effort is worth it to go to the effort, I think. 8 to 10 cents each round, Cha-Ching.

Obo2

I thought I addressed this somewhat in my original post.

I am not asking for a safety lesson I am asking what loads people like.

I do a new load work up any time i change powder bullets or col.

Noone should just grab a random load someone posted on line and expect it to be safe.

Not to insult anyone here but i would never trust any load someone recommends without first doing my due diligence.

My due diligence includes:

getting load data from the bullet and powder manufacturers (if I can),

looking in my load manuals,

going to my LGS and looking in all of their load manuals,

going to my friends house and looking in his manuals

and then of course a thorough load workup generally in .2 or .3 grain increments using the average minimum acquired from all of those sources for a start point and I will usually go up to 1 increment over max at least with jacketed rounds.

During my load work up I fire the first round of a particular charge weight and then inspect the case for pressure signs then i fire the rest for a group.
If at any point I see any pressure signs I stop and pull the rest of the cartridges that are a higher load than what showed pressure signs.

The factor for how I decide which charge shoots best from my particular firearm is vertical grouping. I look for a charge which has very little vertical spread which has charges just above and below it that also group well.

Now that we have addressed the legal disclaimer...

What do you like to load for your 40 S&W?

showmebob

180 FMJ + 4.0 Titegroup + WSP

terry_p

My pet load is 155 gr JHP over 8.0 gr of Power Pistol and SPP. Great accuracy load for me.

Obo2

Power pistol is the next powder I wanted to try out do you have a preferred JHP?

bhefley59

Smart way to go ... But you know there are people out there that for some stupid reason would post a load that may hurt someone or at the least blow a gun up. (not saying anyone here would ) . I to would look at the proposed load and look at my books to see if it's in a range for my cal then work it up.