RPatton

The bell on the case mouth is only to allow the bullet to enter the case without damaging the bullet or the case. Adding a chamfer would only be a waste of time since the belling of the case mouth serves this purpose. Chamferring rifle cases is another story.

Practice pile, with a note and a squib rod. Shoot them first so they never inadvertently end up in with the rest of your ammo. If they do then you will find a/the bad one when it matters the most and will end up not trusting your ammo and then having a larger "practice pile". Some cast bullets will go far enough into the barrel to allow the next round to chamber.

From the Speer #8 manual: 125 grain .355 Jacketed Soft point 4.0gr -Max of 5.0gr of Red Dot @ 998 to 1136FPS No 115gr load listed. A considerable deviation from the Hornady #4.

The dust from your tumbler is a good way to get a snoot full of lead. I take mine outside to open it and separate the brass from the media and stand upwind just because I can.

Based on the info from the link posted by rtp above, I stand corrected !

The fastest way to prove to someone that they have a flinching problem is to load their mag and insert a couple of dummy rounds without them knowing. Then have them shoot a group with that mag. It works every time.

Speed comes with practice no matter what sight you have. You can't beat a fiber optic when shooting unpainted 5" steel targets in the woods when it's raining. When you get old enough you will get either a fiber optic or a red dot sight............or just quit shooting.

You may need more than a trigger job on a "stock" edge/eagle. I needed a LOT more after I got mine.

After leaving powder in the measure for about 6 hours I could see where the plastic was etched where every grain touched the plastic. I noticed that AFTER I returned from the range. I had my first squib that day. It was a full house 125gr 357 load that went 'click'. At the time I had never had nor seen a squib and thought to myself "Hummm, never had a dud before." The bullet was apparently driven just far enough into the forcing cone to allow the cylinder to move. Failing to realize the problem that was coming I rolled the cylinder up on the next round. The blast and recoil were impressive. It was shot in a S&W Model 19 K frame that suffered no ill effects. That was 4 decades back but I still don't leave powder in the measure. I think high humidity was a factor. Some powders can react with the plastic hopper on the powder measure. MEC advises against it for this reason.

Not burning completely has been my experience also even making major in a 40. It did work well in a 9X21 making major.

I have witnessed Fiocchi brass blow out the bottom on 3 occasions(all in Glocks) with bullets that had been loaded by 3 experienced people none of whom were out to make major. It was at an indoor range so we were able to find 2 case heads. Out of curiosity I split a piece of Fiocchi and Federal brass. It was obvious why the Fiocchi blew up in a Glock as the Fiocchi case was much thinner in the unsupported area above the feed ramp. The fun goes out of it when the magazine blows out the bottom of your gun. I would not have believed you could get the extractor out of a Glock without taking the gun apart but it was gone. We found it and to Glocks credit the extractor was undamaged. Just passing the experience on.

From Hodgdons 26th edition: 40 S&W with a 180gr JHP using PB starting @ 4.8gr (836 fps) and a max of 5.3gr (878fps) from a 4" barrel. Since lead bullets can seal better than jacketed bullets you may want to start at the bottom of the scale and see what happens with pressure. They may be plated bullets but it's not that thick.

"One day......" will come and be gone along with your eyesight and reflexes. Now that you have the toys, go play with 'em. If you are ever going to do it, then do it now, because the longer you wait, the slower you get. Loading 40 for 3gun is easy. Pick a load that will provide enough power to operate the gun reliably with a reduced power recoil spring(13#) and be accurate.

When loading a 2011 in 40cal the bullets need to be > or = to 1.180 to feed reliably. Not that factory won't work, this just worked better for me and most of the USPSA shooters I know.

What gun will you shoot in 40 and what games do you intend to play i.e., USPSA, IDPA, 3gun, steel challenge, Glock matches, etc or just plinking. What you plan to shoot will or should make a great deal of difference on how hot you will want to load it. If you failed to order a bullet puller then go buy one. It is like the eraser on a pencil, you'll need it, unless you plan to never make a mistake. Don't crimp straight wall pistol pistol cases any more that it takes to make them drop easily into a clean chamber. Crimping a pistol bullet does not hold the bullet in place unless you have bullets with a cannelure and 40s don't. Pull a factory 40 bullet and look for indication that it was crimped. Pull one of yours made and compare the two. Your ammo will be shot from the chamber not out of a case gauge so use your pistol barrel as a gauge. Don't get excited with your new toys and resize all your 223 brass without checking your setup to ensure that you are not pushing the shoulder back too far. A Dillon case gauge is the best tool I have found for that. Pushing the shoulder back too far will lead to case separations. Read some books. Reloading manuals cover a lot of common mistakes. You can learn a lot from other peoples mistakes. RP

N310 with a 180gr bullet is my favorite. Soft, clean, and meters consistent. Right now a better question would be "What powder can I get at this moment in time?"

Removing media from HP bullets works depending on the bullet. I loaded some 9MM Starfire bullets and then tumbled them. Big mistake. If you wanted the media out of that bullet you had to use a pick.

Hell I don't crimp FMJ's with a crimp grove anymore. No need for it. Pat I agree with Doc. I have pulled bullets picked up at the range and you would be amazed at what you find pulling reloaded pistol AND rifle bullets. Military bullets are crimped because it's the military. Rifle bullets need to be crimped only to keep them from moving under recoil. That's why most .224 bullets don't have a cannelure and it is a mystery to me why people want to crimp rifle AND pistol bullets WITHOUT a cannelure.

Get yourself a stuck case remover anyway. Sooner or later you will need it.

There are those who have been DQed and those that are going to get DQed and those that will lie about never having been DQed.

If you tumble loaded ammo you may want to read the first 3 pages of the section on powders in the Speer Reloading Manual #8. The line "Burning rate is controlled by composition, granule size, perforation, web thickness (if preforated) and deterrent coating." was written in 1970 by B.E. Hodgdon. Maybe tumbling powder does no harm this deterrent coating. I wonder if Mr. Hodgdon would have an opinion on the subject.

After WW2 Bruce Hodgdon bought all the military surplus powder he could get and it was sold as 4831until about 1975 when that stock was gone and the "Newly Manufactured" 4831 came on the market. When in doubt check the look and smell against a new can of powder. Stored under reasonable conditions it lasts a long time.

When reloading 223 brass that has been polished in corn cob I use a die with a de-capping pin to punch out the flash hole. The press made a pop but I didn't see anything wrong and continued to load. After loading almost 100 rounds I noticed the end of the de-capping pin was broken off. I laid all the bullets out flat and moved the magnet from an old computer hard drive across them. The magnet snatched up one round and I found the 1/8" long piece of de-capping pin inside it. A computer hard drive magnet can also be used to check a magazine for AP without having to unload it.

BY the way if you reload and use Lancer mags don't plan on loading your bullets with an OAL of 2.250" because that is too long and won't feed reliably. Hornady 75gr BTHP Steel Match is loaded at 2.250" so be aware of that combination before you plan on using it. Steel Match shoots good but your semi-auto rifle turns into a single shot using Lancer Mags.

The first in gunsmithing "Screw up the cheapest part first." Good advice.