Chrisflhtc Posted December 8, 2010 Share Posted December 8, 2010 Hi guys I am new to reloading and this site and want to reload .40's for My Beretta CX4 Storm(16 inch Barrel) I plan to load for plinking and possible hunting. I have been doing a lot of reading and searching and have been told that some of the slower powders will preform better. I am looking at longshot,autocomp and possibly HS6 I want to go as high a velocity as practical with out stressing the firearm too much. I think the 155 gr Hornady XTP may be the projectile I am going to go with unless there is a better one. I only want to load one type for both plinking and hunting so I don't hart to keep changing my set up. If I am going about this the wrong way I am sure one of you can set me straight. TIA. I am really enjoying reading all the info here however there is just so much info I am being a bit overwhelmed. Thanks Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G-ManBart Posted December 8, 2010 Share Posted December 8, 2010 Longshot and Autocomp will both give really good velocity in .40, but with such a long barrel, you may wind up exploring something even slower (not that you really need to). Purely going off book numbers, I'd be interested to see what VV 3N37, N350, 3N38 or N105 would do. Another one would be IMR 4756. What are you going to be hunting? A 155gr XTP isn't bad bullet, but may not be a great choice for some hunting applications. R, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carlos Posted December 8, 2010 Share Posted December 8, 2010 Longshot and Autocomp will both give really good velocity in .40, but with such a long barrel, you may wind up exploring something even slower (not that you really need to). Purely going off book numbers, I'd be interested to see what VV 3N37, N350, 3N38 or N105 would do. Another one would be IMR 4756. What are you going to be hunting? A 155gr XTP isn't bad bullet, but may not be a great choice for some hunting applications. R, First off, OP: welcome! Second, its been a while since I cracked a reloading manual. But, I seem to recall a published handgun load for N105 and 180s that was right up there in 10mm territory & if I was looking for a dedicated hunting round, that might be it. In general, I find 180s to be the ideal bullet weight & don't have much use for other weights (besides maybe 200s). Finally, I gotta add: 40 is one of the calibers I NEVER push when reloading, meaning I stick to the book. The guns and the data all date AFTER the late 1980s. When the manual states "max" - they mean it. THis is not the case for calibers like 9mm & others where the manual has to account for older, weaker guns out there. 9mm is capable of a lot more than the manuals suggest - with the right gun that is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chrisflhtc Posted December 10, 2010 Author Share Posted December 10, 2010 Thanks guys I have been in contact with a guy from Alliant he is suggesting Power pistol and is going to send me some load data for 155,165 and 180 gr bullets. I will keep reading. Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
photog Posted December 14, 2010 Share Posted December 14, 2010 Slowest that I remember for .40 is Alliant 2400, and there is a load for it in a book, I think the Lee reloading book. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dagger10k Posted December 14, 2010 Share Posted December 14, 2010 (edited) Cool gun! I have no experience loading for anything with a barrel longer than 5", so sadly I have nothing more. Edited December 14, 2010 by dagger10k Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
M-Bear Posted December 16, 2010 Share Posted December 16, 2010 40 is not the round to see how fast you can push it. At least not if you like your gun. Stick to published data. I would look at WSF of power pistol or even longshot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shadowrider Posted December 16, 2010 Share Posted December 16, 2010 (edited) Wow! Do they make those in 10mm? Now that would be alot of of fun and a seriously capable brush gun. And the way you have it setup it would be a hog killing machine! Think...hunting at night. Powerpistol would be a good choice in .40. Try to stay with the slower powders to utilize all that barrel. Edited December 16, 2010 by Shadowrider Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G-ManBart Posted December 16, 2010 Share Posted December 16, 2010 (edited) Wow! Do they make those in 10mm? Now that would be alot of of fun and a seriously capable brush gun. And the way you have it setup it would be a hog killing machine! Think...hunting at night. Powerpistol would be a good choice in .40. Try to stay with the slower powders to utilize all that barrel. Unfortunately, they don't make it in 10mm...if they did, I'd seriously consider one since my wife loves my 10mm carbine...would make a great bedroom gun. The one I have is definitely fun. Sadly, because of the locking system, you can't shoot extremely hot ammo out of them...it causes too much pressure on the rollers and that beats the receiver to death Edited December 16, 2010 by G-ManBart Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chrisflhtc Posted December 16, 2010 Author Share Posted December 16, 2010 G-ManBart said " Sadly, because of the locking system, you can't shoot extremely hot ammo out of them...it causes too much pressure on the rollers and that beats the receiver to death " If the picture is your gun that's cool does it have the happy parts?I do wish that my CX was a 10mm I wonder if it could be modded My CX4 doesn't have rollers or lock it is a straight blowback with a heavy bolt.I guess the trick is to maintain high enough pressure to keep the case locked into the chamber until the bullet leaves the barrel.I realize that I am limited by the volume of the case so a dense powder might be better over a loose slow powder Does that sound right? Ive never stuck a factory round I certainly don't want to with mine.It is a fully supported chamber.I ame Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G-ManBart Posted December 16, 2010 Share Posted December 16, 2010 If the picture is your gun that's cool does it have the happy parts?I do wish that my CX was a 10mm I wonder if it could be modded My CX4 doesn't have rollers or lock it is a straight blowback with a heavy bolt.I guess the trick is to maintain high enough pressure to keep the case locked into the chamber until the bullet leaves the barrel.I realize that I am limited by the volume of the case so a dense powder might be better over a loose slow powder Does that sound right? Ive never stuck a factory round I certainly don't want to with mine.It is a fully supported chamber.I ame Actually, that picture is the last one I had, although the current one is identical. It's a work gun, so it does have happy parts as well as being a SBR. Yeah, the H&K system works well, but it was never intended for ammo significantly hotter than sort of "standard" 10mm. I think your CX4 will be fine with anything you can work up, and there are a lot of good powders that really get the 10mm rocking. I'd be curious to see what you got with Cor-Bon 180gr JSPs...they were an honest 1200fps out of my 610 (4"). R, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaredr Posted December 17, 2010 Share Posted December 17, 2010 I'd be curious to see what you got with Cor-Bon 180gr JSPs...they were an honest 1200fps out of my 610 (4"). R, holy cr@p - you have any extraction problems with those? Last corbon ammo I had was their 125gr 357 magnum out of a 4" 686. had to take the cartridges out of the cylinder with a dowel and a roofing hammer, didn't bother trying any more to chrono them and see what was going on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G-ManBart Posted December 17, 2010 Share Posted December 17, 2010 I'd be curious to see what you got with Cor-Bon 180gr JSPs...they were an honest 1200fps out of my 610 (4"). R, holy cr@p - you have any extraction problems with those? Last corbon ammo I had was their 125gr 357 magnum out of a 4" 686. had to take the cartridges out of the cylinder with a dowel and a roofing hammer, didn't bother trying any more to chrono them and see what was going on. Nope...none at all. Honestly, Buffalo Bore is probably hotter...noticed they had it listed as one of the test rounds below, but they didn't test the 180 Cor-Bon. http://ballisticsbytheinch.com/10mm.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
photog Posted December 29, 2010 Share Posted December 29, 2010 (edited) Straight blow back has advantages: you can add weight to the bolt and add spring pressure to slow the bolt down and keep the pressures in the barrel. The only difference between a 9mm or 45acp or 7.62tok subgun is the bolt weight and spring weight. The disadvantage is that if the bolt can not hold the case in the breech long enough, ruptured cases or worse can happen! If it were mine, I would push the boundary of published loads without fear. Just to edit: I mean PUBLISHED loads only. As stated before, 40 is already higher pressure than 9mm/45/old style calibers, so the margin for error is smaller. For example, max loads for 40S&W are around 35000psi in my reloading book, and the highest pressure load I see for 45acp is 20500psi. The book also has 9mm loads at 33000psi, but the case is so much smaller in 9mm that the extra pressure can be contained within the case a bit easier because of the mass of the case is in greater ratio compared to 40 or 45. Edited December 30, 2010 by photog Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chrisflhtc Posted January 6, 2011 Author Share Posted January 6, 2011 (edited) Well I picked up some CCI primers and a pound of Longshot last night. I'm still not ready to fill cases yet but I'm getting closer Anyone have a favorite load using longshot that I can work up to? I am going to use 155 XTP's Chris Edited January 6, 2011 by Chrisflhtc Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ronnie j Posted January 6, 2011 Share Posted January 6, 2011 Well I picked up some CCI primers and a pound of Longshot last night. I'm still not ready to fill cases yet but I'm getting closer Anyone have a favorite load using longshot that I can work up to? I am going to use 155 XTP's Chris My pin load is 7.9 longshot with a 180grn zero jhp.It moves the pins around pretty good. Recoil is stiff in a 2011 and if I find a piece of brass I'll let you know what it looks like. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chaos Posted January 18, 2011 Share Posted January 18, 2011 (edited) My current favorite for my CX4 is 7.5gr Longshot with a 165 Winchester FMJTC bullet and a Winchester primer. Max OAL 1.135 and a light crimp Sharp recoil and extremely loud in my M&P pistol, but tame and accurate in my CX4. Haven't noted any over-pressure signs with this combo, but use good judgment and work up. I noted that you have a Lee Classic press (shown in second photo) Just a suggestion, Pick up a Hornady Lock-N-Load adapter and some bushings. Lock-N-Load The adapter will fit your press. Screw the bushings onto your dies and adjust. Once you are set up, you can remove / replace your dies with a ¼ turn without ever having to readjust again. You can buy more bushings as your die collection grows. Also, remove the primer arm from the press (if you haven't already done so) and use a hand priming tool instead. It will give you more control and speed. Built in flip-tray keeps you from having to handle (and contaminating) the primers. RCBS Hand Priming tool Edited January 19, 2011 by Chaos Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chrisflhtc Posted January 20, 2011 Author Share Posted January 20, 2011 Chaos thanks for responding I do have the Lee Precision Challenger Press w/Breech Lock so no need for the Hornady adapter. The tech at Hodgdon suggested that I start in the middle range I think my manual says starting 7.3 to 9.8 gr so I was going to start around 8.3 gr and work up. I will have to check around some more. I am not trying for high speed I had no problems using the press to prime.I sat down and primed 100 cases the other night in about 40 min. Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chrisflhtc Posted March 22, 2011 Author Share Posted March 22, 2011 I shot my first reloads Sunday.All went well I saw no signs of pressure as a matter of fact the first loads were a little sooty on the casings. Here is what I am using 155 gr hornady XTP's over 8.5 gr of Longshot with an OAL of 1.128.I shot over my chrony I did not record all the data. I ended up clipping one of the sky screens wire supports. I was getting between 1450 to 1492 fps on that ten. My second round had 8.7 gr of longshot there was still no pressure signs although these ten were not near as sooty. These were traveling from 1520 to 1562 fps. All the primers still had rounded edges and even though the extractor made some marks in the rim it was from the force of the recoil it was not the bolt face that was imprinted. I guess I will move it up a notch to 8.9 gr and 9 gr.and see how they perform. Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2147 Posted March 24, 2011 Share Posted March 24, 2011 Don't get too greedy. Reliability and accuracy trump vel. any day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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