I've been reading over these forums daily for the last month or so, finally got my XL 650 in, assembled and ready to make my first round. As I was getting ready to do it, I thought I'd just triple-check what I think I know.
I've got:
(500) Berry's Plated 40 S&W 180 GR FP
(500) West Coast plated 40 S&W 180 RNFP
(1000) CCI 500 small pistol primers
1lb of TiteGroup
A bunch 'o brass
From what I found in a bunch of searches, it seems like there are at least a few people around here using 3.5 grains of TiteGroup @ 1.135 for a good, light .40 round, but when I look at my speer manual, I see that they list 4.0 --> 4.7grains of TG @ 1.120 OAL.
After worrying about the large difference in suggested minimums, then reading what people at to say here: http://www.brianenos.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=2122 I've come to the conclusion that I should be able to safely load a 180gn anywhere from 3.5 --> 4.5 with an OAL of 1.135, and with an OAL of 1.120, I should be able to safely load 4.0 --> 4.5ish? Does this sound right?
I'm just looking to punch holes in paper right now, but since I live about an hour from the range, I'd like to make a bunch of configurations in small batches (different brands of bullets VS different amount of powder), and take them all at once (of course, starting with the lightest loads, and working my way up so long as everything looks ok). My idea behind this is just to see if I can notice any accuracy difference between the two brands of bullets I have, and also to "feel" the difference between various powder amounts.
If it changes your answers any, I’ll be shooting with a G27 and a G35
Does everything seem kosher, or have I missed something?
Thanks!
