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165 vs 180 for minor


flat9999

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Just did some load testing with Blue Bullets 180gr. and N320. I did discover that my barrel is extremely fast, and I was able to easily make minor PF with a scant 3.4gr @ 1.170".

2.8gr. of Clay's at the same OAL also put me comfortably at around 130pf.

While accuracy was acceptable with either of the two loads I tried, I felt that the groups started to shrink as the velocity increased. Before I go and order a few thousand 180gr. bullets, has anyone noticed accuracy gains in going with 165gr bullets? How has recoil impulse felt when going down in bullet weight and staying within minor PF?

 

Thanks in advance!

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Almost any 180gr bullet fires accurately out of my CZ TS.  165s not so much depending on who made them.  My pistol does not like Xtremes, but others swear by them.  Mine has no problems with Rainier truncated cones of hollow points in 165.  Recoil with 180 is a tad softer in the hands, slightly slower cycling and slightly more muzzle rise.  165 feel snappier, quicker and exhibit less muzzle rise, but hit the hand harder (assuming same PF).

As far as accuracy vs velocity goes, I had to go to 139PF with 180s to get good accuracy and consistency.  Going to 172PF with the same powder and bullet shrinks the groups.  I happen to use e3 powder for 40sw.

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Some worry about Clay's being a pretty fast powder for your application. 

That said, Clay's and 180 grain bayous is my favorite 40 cal minor load. I run about 145 pf though, maybe I could get a better split time at lower pf but it is just a fun load to shoot and for IDPA/USPSA I like a load that is going to do a good job on the steel poppers. If you play those games and run at minimum power factor you will occasionally have good hits that do not drop the steel or that drop it agonizingly slowly, particularly at local matches. 

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I have three .40 S&W guns. In all of them, 155-165gn bullets are more accurate than 175-185gn bullets. However, we are talking about average accuracy of 1.24-2.25" vs. 2.0-3.0". For action pistol, it just doesn't matter. What matters is how if feels to you. Order 100 and see if you like the lighter bullets.

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