40 Major - 165 Grain Bullets

[Abacus]

Hi, I am wanting to work up some 40 Major loads using 165 grain copper plated bullets.  I see a lot of threads where shooters are using 180 or 200 grain bullets but I have a ton of 165 grain Xtreme copper plated bullets on hand. The powders I have on hand are WSF, WST, Titegroup and W231.  I will be shooting them through a Glock 35.  Any thoughts or suggestions on what a good combination would be?

[Reshoot]

One of my favorite powders, for 40 S&W, is WSF. I do not shoot 165 grain bullets but, if I did, I would use jacked bullet data and work up from a lower load. This is where a chrono becomes a priceless tool. 

[DougM]

I've not used the Xtreme plated bullets but I have used HP-38 (same as W-231) with 165 gn Zero JHPs, Out of a 4.25" M&P, I was seeing velocities of just over 1000 fps using 5.4 gns. A load of 5.6 gn got me up to 1030 fps (pf of 170) and still grouped well. In case you aren't familiar with Zeros, they are copper jacketed and not plated so they will likely be a little slower than a plated Xtreme of the same weight. Assuming you have a chrono, if I were you, I'd do a ladder test starting around 5.0 gn of W-231 and move up in 0.2 gn increments until you got the speed you are looking for. Be careful and watch for pressure signs. Hodgdon gives a max load of 5.3 to 5.4 gns for 165 gn jacketed.

[rishii]

My loads out of a 6" 1911, with 165 gr fmj Seated to 1.200

231-6gn -169pf

titegroup-5.1grn-171pf

and as always start low and work your way up

 

[bjones6686]

6.1gr of WSF at 1.150 OAL made 169-171pf for me out of 5 inch barrel guns when I used WSF. I started at 6.1gr and never needed anymore to make major. Hodgdon recommended 6.1gr as the starting load data with 165gr Berry's bullets.

[SNSCaster2]

Red Dot has worked really well for a few friends of mine who are shooting 165's at major pf.