FightFireJay

I have used JHPs, TC, and Semi-wadcutters in my .40 and found very little difference in the holes left. A full wadcutter is another story lol. But just about anything is better than 9mm with their typical pointy fmjs lol. Since I don't compete for prizes or money I don't care as much about the perfectness of my holes.

For the OP, I am currently using the stock sights my M&P Pro came with. Eventually I will probably get the Dawson adjustable, but the stock sights are decent.

Roostershooter, There are a couple options similar to the Trijicon HDs (which look good to me, even if the Trijicon price isn't great). http://xssights.com/index.php?nID=sights&cID=Sights&pID=sights&sID=handgun XS has their Big Dot fronts and a shallow V rear sight, good for carry, but maybe not as good at precision? http://www.ameriglo.net/catalog/sights/pistol-sights/smith-wesson/night-sights Ameriglo with the same style (as Trijicon HD) front and a slightly different rear. I'm having a hard time deciding what to get for MY new carry gun, but I am leaning toward trueglo tfo.

there is life outside of competition... But inside I would think the Pro version would make an awfully nice limited gun if you put an SSS magwell on it.

You could blow up causing a rift in the space time continuum and the only way to close it would be with the ghostbusters crossing the streams from their proton packs. But that's PROBABLY an unlikely scenario. My Lee manual shows the following case capacity... 380 - .49cc 9mm - .74cc 357sig - .89cc 38super - 1.00cc 38special - 1.30cc 38special+p - 1.18cc 357magnum - 1.15cc Every load I checked (124/125 gr, 130 gr, and 147 gr) for 38 super and 357 sig shows equal (within .1 gr) or higher max powder charge for 357 Sig. BUT there is no data for Titegroup so I can't say that the trend continues or not.

As long as you are trying slower powders (more specifically, medium burn rate for 9mm), you might look at Unique or Universal. Slow powders might have a touch more recoil, but 9mm isn't high on recoil anyways.

SOUNDS like a safe idea to me, but I haven't loaded .357 Sig. I know it has more case capacity, I wonder how close it would be to a 38 Super...

I think WST is marginal for both 9mm and .40 S&W for making appropriate power factors at safe pressures, but I see a lot of positive reports for WST in .45 ACP. That being said, it seems to have a small cult following for 9mm with cast rounds and I have tried it in .40 S&W with cast as well.

Are you looking for major or minor power factor?

I didn't think you could make .357 Sig brass from .40 S&W, I thought it was to short?

Just make sure you do the "plunk" test, dropping some rounds in your chamber if you lengthen your load and you should be fine.

I've loaded for minor in .40 S&W with Titegroup, WST, and Trailboss. I like the Trailboss the best, 3.1 gr under 180 gr TC Bearcreek moly. Cycles stock Glock 23 and M&P 40 Pro. Some people report having issues with it not metering very well, but it gives me the lowest SD out of all my reloads.

My M&P Pro 40 and Shield 40 both run great at 1.145 with lead and plated truncated cone. No failures ever.

if they have the same profile, a jhp HAS to be longer. But if the profile is different (or a different material, like lead free) then you could have an FMJ or TMJ be longer than equivalent JHP.

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Would Power Pistol have any specific advantages over Universal (Clays)?

Wow, I can only imagine the many and varied replies you will get. I guess I'll start off. I like both, certainly there are more gun choices in 357 Sig. My friends XD Gap shoots like a dream. Streichers.com has 45 Gap SD ammo at the same price as 45ACP, but the 357 Sig is a hell of a round too! I'd probably go for 357 sig because of the new experience of loading a necked pistol round... And I already have 9mm bullets and a .40 bulge buster. That's a tough choice!

Competition - M&P Pro 40 (full Apex trigger, non-FSS) CCW Gun - M&P Shield 40 (Pro trigger sear) I think it's okay to have different guns as long as the carry gun has similar or less safeties, other than that, I don't think it will make much difference.

I would be cautious with Clays, Hodgdon only lists a single load that makes major PF (barely) within SAAMI specs.

If you are in the Phoenix area, Shooters World and scottsdale gunclub both have NRA endorsed new shooters basic pistol classes. My wife and a friend have taken it. It would be a great way to learn the basics SAFELY. I think it's 3 hours of class room time and an hour on the range. After you are comfortable enough to feel safe handling your firearm, I would HIGHLY recommend going to Ben Avery range on a Thursday night when they have practice matches. I think it's 17 dollars to enter, bring about 150 rounds, must have. Holster and extra magazines (buy a cheap plastic style magazine pouch for reloading the gun) and you will learn SOOO much. Or just watch for free! There are no prizes so everyone is friendly and no pressure.

By squishing your bullets down to a smaller diameter. We're not making this up... This is not always the case, I'm not making this up. My 9mm FCD sometimes squeezes an excessive flare and often sizes the very base of the brass, but almost never feel that swaging resistance at the top of the cartridge. (.40 S&W is a different story)

I would offer that there is both a correlation between the required charge weight to make a certain velocity and BOTH the energy density AND the burn rate of the powder. Slower burning powders take more powder not because they have less energy per grain, but because they use it slower and don't create that quick initial pressure spike of an "efficient" fast powder. But two powders that have nearly the same burn rate like maybe universal and unique, have different charge weights, probably because one has more energy per grain (less of the wood pulp or whatever the carrier is for the nitro.) For those who say they don't feel the difference between 124 and 147 gr bullets, I will simply that I have a hard time feeling the difference in 9mm. In .40 S&W I can easily tell 180 gr from a 155. But in 9mm, from 95gr, 115 gr, 124gr, and 130 gr, I have a very difficult time telling them apart. This is at about 130-135 PF with Titegroup powder.

For most people competing I would imagine that the flash or smoke from any modern smokeless gun powder wouldn't be an issue during day light. I however do most of my shooting at practice matches that take place thursday nights. So it matters a bit to me. As far as self defense, I'd rather rely on being able to make well aimed follow up shots than the bad guy being scared of my muzzle flash... then again, I don't shoot reloads for Self Defense anyways, lol.

I'm not familiar with these ridges in the chamber, any chance you could direct me to a picture of this? What is the purpose of these ribs?

38super.net has some VERY good information, someone getting into reloading ANY pistol caliber would do well to read the whole web site. In a nut shell (these are generalizations and there are always exceptions)... -faster burning powders require less powder to make a target velocity -faster burning powders will create a higher peak pressure to make a target velocity -faster burning powders usually feel like they have a snappier but lighter recoil (slower but stronger recoil for slow burning powders) -fast powders with heavy bullets usually create the lightest recoil when making target power factor, but also give you the little margin of error. -slow burning powders are needed for SAFELY getting to full power / high velocities. -fast and slow does not describe the temperature. Some fast powders burn "hotter" than others and may cause barrel to heat up faster. My advice... Untill you get to the top levels of any competition, I'd suggest a medium burn rate powder, like Universal or WSF. They will provide decent feel with some margin of safety. YMMV