Dlister70 Posted August 24, 2016 Share Posted August 24, 2016 I'll soon be loading .40 for the first time after getting started earlier this year on 9mm. I have been loading 165 grain 9mm because they seem to shoot the softest with barely any recoil compaired to 115 grain. The heavy bullet didn't require much powder to hit minor power factor and was plenty accurate at 25 yards. I'm curious if the same theory would apply to .40? Should I shoot the heaviest bullet I can find to get a nice soft shooter? It seems like most people shoot 165 or 180 grain .40 for major power factor, so there must be a reason for that. But then again, I suppose not a lot of people shoot 165 grain 9mm either. Is it just due to cost, or an accuracy related reason? Before I order a bunch of bullets, I was hoping for some input from more experienced shooters/loaders. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ttolliver Posted August 24, 2016 Share Posted August 24, 2016 Hey Dlister70, here are a couple thoughts. One of the dynamics out there is that when we're first doing load development it's easy to fixate on reducing the felt recoil as much as possible. But then after a while you realize that even though there is a noticeable difference during bench testing you really don't notice the difference when actually shooting a stage. Then as you gain experience you begin to appreciate the faster recovery of the slightly lighter bullets. So it's a whole journey that you'll see repeated time and again in threads here on BE. That being said, I am not of the camp that says just shoot 180s through your 40 now because you'll get there someday anyway. There's no harm in letting that whole process take its course. When I moved into a 40 I tried 220s and 200s both. I was doing it in an M&P40 rather than a 2011 at the time and 220s were so long they had occasional feed issues. So if you're attempting 40 with one of the M&P or Glock type platforms that wasn't originally designed for a longer cartridge I wouldn't bother with 220s. Reliability is the worst thing to sacrifice in our game. Good luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mach1soldier Posted August 24, 2016 Share Posted August 24, 2016 (edited) I really liked the 220 bullets over 3.6 grains of titegroup. Soft shooting and easy to track sights. I have shot 60k of them. I am now experimenting with 180's to see how they perform on the clock. I would only try the 220's in a long chamber 1911/2011. Edited August 24, 2016 by mach1soldier Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gooldylocks Posted August 24, 2016 Share Posted August 24, 2016 Shooting lighter bullets is cheaper. Cheaper lets you shoot more. Shooting more makes you gooder. That being said, a buddy of mine shoots 220s with N310. And it both sounds and feels like a 22, but I am in constant fear of it blowing up. Take it for what you will. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hi-Power Jack Posted August 24, 2016 Share Posted August 24, 2016 4 hours ago, Dlister70 said: I'll be loading .40 (Major) for the first time after getting started earlier this year on 9mm. Before I order a bunch of bullets, I was hoping for some input 1. If you're starting with .40 Major, The Most Important consideration is NOT accuracy, speed felt recoil or cost - The Most Important consideration is if you use heavy bullets, and fast powders (to get the soft recoil you spoke of), you are in DANGER unless you make sure you are NOT getting Bullet SetBack - that can do damage to you and your gun. Start by reloading .40 at PF 140 or so - check for bullet setback - vigorously. If there is NONE - proceed to PF 165+. If there's any setback - check your sizing die to make sure you're resizing your cases tight enough to prevent bullet setback. 2. Don't order "a bunch of bullets" until you've tried them out in Your Gun - try 100 or 500 of them - make sure they are : accurate, soft, reliable. First ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jcc7x7 Posted August 24, 2016 Share Posted August 24, 2016 (edited) What toliver said +1 200 are a great place to start, soft shooting gun cycles plenty fast especially if your new to the 40. And as stated much easier to reload and not be concerned about the load causing you problems. I've gone down to 165 and found I didn't like them. I've settled in on 180's BUT keep a supply of 200's so when I've spent a month shooting my 9 in single stack the change back to Limited is less abrupt. So I practice with 2-500 200's then go back to my 180 load and all seems well on the timer. Ultimately that's where you have to make your final choice. What can you keep in the A zone at the fastest splits. good fortune on the adventure Edited August 24, 2016 by jcc7x7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dlister70 Posted August 25, 2016 Author Share Posted August 25, 2016 11 hours ago, Gooldylocks said: Shooting lighter bullets is cheaper. Cheaper lets you shoot more. Shooting more makes you gooder. Truer words were never spoken. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dlister70 Posted August 25, 2016 Author Share Posted August 25, 2016 11 hours ago, mach1soldier said: I would only try the 220's in a long chamber 1911/2011. It is a CZ 75 CTS that I will be shooting them out of. I'm not sure if that is considered a long chamber or not for these purposes? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dlister70 Posted August 25, 2016 Author Share Posted August 25, 2016 Thank you all for your wisdom! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gooldylocks Posted August 25, 2016 Share Posted August 25, 2016 1 hour ago, Dlister70 said: It is a CZ 75 CTS that I will be shooting them out of. I'm not sure if that is considered a long chamber or not for these purposes? Definitely not. The longest I can load with my TS is like 1.15, absolute maximum. That is like dragging on the inside of the magazine. I loaded 1.14ish with 180s. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tanks Posted August 25, 2016 Share Posted August 25, 2016 7 hours ago, Dlister70 said: It is a CZ 75 CTS that I will be shooting them out of. I'm not sure if that is considered a long chamber or not for these purposes? I shoot a CZ 75 TS, 180 xTreme HPs at 1.13. No way much longer OAL will fit the mags or the chamber. I am happy with the accuracy of my rounds and make major PF easily with 4.5 grains of N320. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dlister70 Posted August 25, 2016 Author Share Posted August 25, 2016 6 hours ago, Gooldylocks said: Definitely not. The longest I can load with my TS is like 1.15, absolute maximum. That is like dragging on the inside of the magazine. I loaded 1.14ish with 180s. Understood. Thank you for your help! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zzt Posted August 25, 2016 Share Posted August 25, 2016 Your trade-off will be between harder on the hand with quicker splits, or softer and slower. I tried 200s and it felt like the action took forever to cycle. I prefer the snap of 135s and 155s, but my TS doesn't shoot them as accurately. So I stay with 165s and 180s. Both shoot well, accurately and feel about the same. I prefer the 180s for Major and the 165s for Minor. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andrewtac Posted August 26, 2016 Share Posted August 26, 2016 I use 200s in my single stack. One other thing that limited me was bullet profile. The 220s I found were a flat point, had feeding issues. I tried multiple weights and stuck with the 200s, round nose. I almost went 180s. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ltdmstr Posted August 26, 2016 Share Posted August 26, 2016 As zzt says, it's personal preference. I used to shoot 200s (10+ years ago), switched to 180s, and am going to 165s soon (when I use up the rest of my 180s). Although I used to try to reduce recoil, that's not really a concern any more. Now I actually prefer the feel and speed of a snappy gun and the lighter bullets tend to do that better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dlister70 Posted August 26, 2016 Author Share Posted August 26, 2016 On 8/24/2016 at 9:21 AM, ttolliver said: But then after a while you realize that even though there is a noticeable difference during bench testing you really don't notice the difference when actually shooting a stage. I actually noticed this when shooting a stage recently. I had one mag of 115 grain factory Winchester white box, and another mag of my 165 grain reloads that just barely break 125 PF. Although you could hear a difference in the report, I didn't really notice a difference in recoil while in the act of shooting the stage. I think I did get a better score with the reloads, but that wasn't a large enough sample size to know if it was just luck or the ammo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dlister70 Posted September 24, 2016 Author Share Posted September 24, 2016 I ended up going with 200 grain since that's what the other guys I've been shooting with are using. 200 grain XTreme Bullets copper plated bullets 3.7 grains of Titegroup 1.135" OAL Winchester primers Mixed range brass Fired from a CZ 75 CTS with a 5.4" barrel. It's been feeding and firing great! Very reliable and accurate! I was at about 3.66 grains of Titegroup but was only getting about 162 PF, so I bumped it up to 3.7 grains and I still need to chrono to see where I'm at now. Hopefully I landed at about 169 or 170, but I guess we'll find out the next time I'm out with the chrono. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishpinoy27 Posted September 25, 2016 Share Posted September 25, 2016 AOL? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dlister70 Posted September 25, 2016 Author Share Posted September 25, 2016 3 hours ago, fishpinoy27 said: AOL? Average length is 1.135" for this load. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Audia6 Posted October 16, 2016 Share Posted October 16, 2016 200gr works better for me 220 seem slow Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Audia6 Posted October 16, 2016 Share Posted October 16, 2016 1.135 oal Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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