what to watch out for in reloading 40sw

[ummagawd]

New to reloading, only experience so far is about 300-400 rounds of 9 through my buddies 550.

I just picked up a G35 and contemplating a conversion barrel (so I can keep loading 9), or keep the lone wolf barrel in there and buy the conversion dies for 40.

But... in my research... it sounds like the 40 is "sensitive".... the last thing I wanna do is blow up my hand.

Now... from my understanding, the lone wolf barrel has much more chamber/case support and in theory is "safer" than a kaboom incident with the factory barrel... but I don't want to take any chances.

So with all that said... what's to watch out for when loading a 40 minor (as soft as possible)?

PS - i have w231 powder and winchester small pistol primers to go on range brass

[Sean Gaines]

New to reloading, only experience so far is about 300-400 rounds of 9 through my buddies 550.

I just picked up a G35 and contemplating a conversion barrel (so I can keep loading 9), or keep the lone wolf barrel in there and buy the conversion dies for 40.

But... in my research... it sounds like the 40 is "sensitive".... the last thing I wanna do is blow up my hand.

Now... from my understanding, the lone wolf barrel has much more chamber/case support and in theory is "safer" than a kaboom incident with the factory barrel... but I don't want to take any chances.

So with all that said... what's to watch out for when loading a 40 minor (as soft as possible)?

PS - i have w231 powder and winchester small pistol primers to go on range brass

first of all keep an eye on your powder in the case.

barrel gauge your rounds, especially in an aftermarket glock barrel. Be sure that you resizer die goes as far down as possible, to take any glock bulge out.

throw away brass, that have the headstamps FC, or that look corroded etc. just use your best judgement.

Be sure to put a descent crimp on your cases, not to where it breaks the jacketing, but enough not to allow for setback issues, when the bullet goes into the chamber.

other than that, just use common sense reloading and you should be fine!

-Sean

[KyroWebs]

Sean covered almost everything I would say, but I'll add a bit.

If you have trouble with your loaded ammo chambering in the LW barrel, look into the Lee factory crimp die. At first, I had trouble with my reloads not chambering in my aftermarket kkm barrel, but since using the Lee FCD I haven't had ANY chambering problems. It also helps to get your crimp "just right." I think I crimp mine at .419 when measured with a caliper at the very edge of the brass.

Second, if you are worried about a double charge get a routine down and stick with it. When I reload, I talk to myself. "Powder (check it), Turn (shellplate), Case, Bullet, Pull/Push." I will go out on a limb and say most kabooms associated with a .40 are due to a double charge. Due to the nature of the 550 being a manual indexing press, it's not as hard as you think to do! Any instances that break your routine will be the greatest chance for a double charge.....whether it be a primer that stuck to the decapping pin, stopping to check OAL/powder throw/etc, refilling powder/primers/bullet tray/etc....you get the point.

For this reason I leave the press in the same EXACT way everytime I have to pause or stop for something. I like to stop immediately after turning the shellplate. This way you are not leaving a case with a powder throw in the same station! Of course double check it when you resume reloading, but I feel it reduces my chances

Feel free to PM me if you have any questions. I'd be glad to help, as I was the same way when I first started loading .40

[dugout]

Loading 40 S&W is no more sensitive than any other chambering. The lonely 38 special is probably responsible for more hand-load KBs than any other round. Problems occur when the envelope is pushed with components which were not used intended for the purpose. We tend to leave no room for error.

This said, there is a culture of running off the sheet loads in practical pistol, with fast powders and heavy bullets, for example. One of the most popular 40 loads uses a powder not even recommended by it's manufacturer. It doesn't mean this is necessary. A 40 major load with 180g bullets and WSF powder is well within the load data min-max, as are many other loads. Have fun and be safe.

[Hi-Power Jack]

I don't reload .40, but reading here for three years,

the impression I have is loading .40 Major, with heavy

bullets and fast powder can be a little tricky.

Loading minor seems like any other semi-auto round.

Stick with the minor loads at first, and work your way

up slowly, with a chrono, and you should be fine.

Good luck,

Jack

[ummagawd]

Thanks guys. I will def do all of that.

I didn't even notice it but I already do something similar with talking to myself lol. I will be more conscious about it.

I need to hunt down a lee FCD.

and I'm def loading minor only (I'm so anti-recoil it's pathetic)

[FLSlim]

Ditto the above. New to the 40, I would advise to stay away from faster powders, double check your charged cases, and stay away from max loads. After sizing, I check my cases in a gauge and, if they fail, I run them through a Redding GRx die (about 5% of mine fail the gauge check). I have an aftermarket barrel for my G23, but usually use the stock barrel (Gen 3). Just pay attention to what you are doing at the bench and use normal safe reloading practices, and you'll be fine loading the 40.

[JayJayJay]

Why does eveyrone on here say that a new guy should stay away from a fast powder? I am brand new and am using CLAYs so everytime I read that I start wondering if I should go back to #7. (I have yet to fire any of my rounds yet, waiting on a crono I ordered off the internet).

[a.roberts]

Why does eveyrone on here say that a new guy should stay away from a fast powder? I am brand new and am using CLAYs so everytime I read that I start wondering if I should go back to #7. (I have yet to fire any of my rounds yet, waiting on a crono I ordered off the internet).

Because the whole fast powder/heavy bullet for Major isn't exactly the most forgiving thing when it comes to mistakes.

Clays is fine for Minor.

Some are using it with success for Major at longer than factory lengths (1.18-1.20) in a 2011 pattern gun.

But a slower powder is probably a better choice for an inexperience reloader for .40 Major.

[JayJayJay]

Why does eveyrone on here say that a new guy should stay away from a fast powder? I am brand new and am using CLAYs so everytime I read that I start wondering if I should go back to #7. (I have yet to fire any of my rounds yet, waiting on a crono I ordered off the internet).

Because the whole fast powder/heavy bullet for Major isn't exactly the most forgiving thing when it comes to mistakes.

Clays is fine for Minor.

Some are using it with success for Major at longer than factory lengths (1.18-1.20) in a 2011 pattern gun.

But a slower powder is probably a better choice for an inexperience reloader for .40 Major.

Well it is to late for me I guess. I will just take it slow and one step at a time.

[ummagawd]

I hope w231 is slow enough... I have alot of it still

[Paul-the new guy]

Thanks guys. I will def do all of that.

I didn't even notice it but I already do something similar with talking to myself lol. I will be more conscious about it.

I need to hunt down a lee FCD.

and I'm def loading minor only (I'm so anti-recoil it's pathetic)

I got one I could part with... you got anything you want to trade?

[burket]

I have used Win 231 (Glock 23 - standard barrel) with MG 164gr JHP at OAL of 1.123. I have had no problems with cycling the weapon, and the only real problem is MY targeting! Best wishes.

[JayJayJay]

I have used Win 231 (Glock 23 - standard barrel) with MG 164gr JHP at OAL of 1.123. I have had no problems with cycling the weapon, and the only real problem is MY targeting! Best wishes.

I was going to load OAL 1.125 for a Glock, I sure hope it fits?

[ummagawd]

What is the longest OAL I can go for a glock?

Also, loading long is the safer way to go right?

Paul, not sure what I can offer ya but shoot me a PM on how much you'd want for it while I look at my stuff to see what I don't need.

[KyroWebs]

1.135ish is the longest that I can get to fit in a glock mag and still run reliably. I load everything to 1.130 and with normal run-out I've never had a problem. (usually between 1.129-1.132)

IMHO, yes loading long is the way to go. Especially with fast burning powders!

[ummagawd]

Sweet... Thanks guys.

Now I just need to decide which to try first... 140 or 180...

[Paul-the new guy]

throw away brass, that have the headstamps FC, or that look corroded etc. just use your best judgement.

other than that, just use common sense reloading and you should be fine!

-Sean

I have loaded a few thousand rounds of "FC" brass... what is the deal with it? Is it prone to kaboomage?

[Mark R]

I've been loading 40 major and minor for quite a few years now. the thing you want to be aware of is the pressure spikes up fast when you load to short OAL. In fact, shooting a Glock, the magazine is what makes you load short or factory length. You can load longer for Para and STI/SVI guns, but those rounds will not load in the Glock mags.

Here are some loads I've used for over 5 years now...

Use Clays for minor and Solo 1000 for major.

All with 180 grain bullets. I use Precision Moly-coated.

Small Pistol primers.

Good for Minor Glock:

2.6 grains of Clays with 1.120" OAL yields 130-132 PF.

Good for Major Glock:

4.2 grains of Solo 1000 with 1.130" OAL yields 170 PF.

Good for Major Para/S*I:

4.0 Clays at 1.180" OAL yields 170 PF

I've used these 3 loads for years.

DO NOT LOAD CLAYS MAJOR WITH SHORT OAL = Kaboom

Edited to add: I've shot both those Glock loads out of my G22 and G35. Clays minor is real soft shooting...almost feels like cheating.

Edited May 11, 2011 by Mark R

[JayJayJay]

1.135ish is the longest that I can get to fit in a glock mag and still run reliably. I load everything to 1.130 and with normal run-out I've never had a problem. (usually between 1.129-1.132)

IMHO, yes loading long is the way to go. Especially with fast burning powders!

Thanks!

[JayJayJay]

I've been loading 40 major and minor for quite a few years now. the thing you want to be aware of is the pressure spikes up fast when you load to short OAL. In fact, shooting a Glock, the magazine is what makes you load short or factory length. You can load longer for Para and STI/SVI guns, but those rounds will not load in the Glock mags.

Here are some loads I've used for over 5 years now...

Use Clays for minor and Solo 1000 for major.

All with 180 grain bullets. I use Precision Moly-coated.

Small Pistol primers.

Good for Minor Glock:

2.6 grains of Clays with 1.120" OAL yields 130-132 PF.

Good for Major Glock:

4.2 grains of Solo 1000 with 1.130" OAL yields 170 PF.

Good for Major Para/S*I:

4.0 Clays at 1.180" OAL yields 170 PF

I've used these 3 loads for years.

DO NOT LOAD CLAYS MAJOR WITH SHORT OAL = Kaboom

Edited to add: I've shot both those Glock loads out of my G22 and G35. Clays minor is real soft shooting...almost feels like cheating.

WOW, 2.6 grains for minor Glock. I guess I better try that before I shoot the 3.4 grains I made as a starting load. Thank you.

[Poppa Bear]

One of the most important things you can use for reloading is a good chronograph.

I load 5.9 grains of True Blue behind a 185 grain Moly bullet and I make major. This is BELOW the starting charge for some sites. In fact Lyman 49 lists a starting load of 6.3 for a 175 grain bullet (168 PF) while Ramshot (Makers of TB) list a starting load of 5.9 grains for a 170 grain bullet (148 PF). Generally the lighter the bullet the higher the starting charge for a given powder. When you check other data for both you will see that Lyman has you starting out faster than Ramshot lists for their max load.

The translation of all of this is to check several sources. Compare their load data for similar bullets, making sure you are comparing jacketed to jacketed and lead to lead. Find a nice middle ground to start your loads at, and then see how they shoot across the chronograph. Taking the average speed times the bullets weight divided by 1,000 will give you a Power Factor. Major is 165, minor is 125. As long as your PF is less than 180 you should not have any problems with your 40 loads. A PF of around 170 is better yet.

Based on where your loads come out you can interpolate whose data is closer to what you are looking for, and you can then decide how much you want to change things to get it to where you want it to be.

Remember what you see listed in the books and on reloading sites are just suggested loads. You have to find out for yourself how they perform out of your specific gun.

[ummagawd]

I've been loading 40 major and minor for quite a few years now. the thing you want to be aware of is the pressure spikes up fast when you load to short OAL. In fact, shooting a Glock, the magazine is what makes you load short or factory length. You can load longer for Para and STI/SVI guns, but those rounds will not load in the Glock mags.

Here are some loads I've used for over 5 years now...

Use Clays for minor and Solo 1000 for major.

All with 180 grain bullets. I use Precision Moly-coated.

Small Pistol primers.

Good for Minor Glock:

2.6 grains of Clays with 1.120" OAL yields 130-132 PF.

Good for Major Glock:

4.2 grains of Solo 1000 with 1.130" OAL yields 170 PF.

Good for Major Para/S*I:

4.0 Clays at 1.180" OAL yields 170 PF

I've used these 3 loads for years.

DO NOT LOAD CLAYS MAJOR WITH SHORT OAL = Kaboom

Edited to add: I've shot both those Glock loads out of my G22 and G35. Clays minor is real soft shooting...almost feels like cheating.

Mark... THANK YOU! This is huge for me as I've been getting confused with jacketed vs. lead and the whole OAL thing for days now. I did get the association that for super soft shooting = CLAYS + heavy bullet (like 180). One quick question though, I still have a good 4 pounds of W231. Should I just sell it and buy CLAYS (and were talking about regular CLAYS right?)... or would I be fine with w231 assuming I find the right powder charge?

One of the most important things you can use for reloading is a good chronograph.

I load 5.9 grains of True Blue behind a 185 grain Moly bullet and I make major. This is BELOW the starting charge for some sites. In fact Lyman 49 lists a starting load of 6.3 for a 175 grain bullet (168 PF) while Ramshot (Makers of TB) list a starting load of 5.9 grains for a 170 grain bullet (148 PF). Generally the lighter the bullet the higher the starting charge for a given powder. When you check other data for both you will see that Lyman has you starting out faster than Ramshot lists for their max load.

The translation of all of this is to check several sources. Compare their load data for similar bullets, making sure you are comparing jacketed to jacketed and lead to lead. Find a nice middle ground to start your loads at, and then see how they shoot across the chronograph. Taking the average speed times the bullets weight divided by 1,000 will give you a Power Factor. Major is 165, minor is 125. As long as your PF is less than 180 you should not have any problems with your 40 loads. A PF of around 170 is better yet.

Based on where your loads come out you can interpolate whose data is closer to what you are looking for, and you can then decide how much you want to change things to get it to where you want it to be.

Remember what you see listed in the books and on reloading sites are just suggested loads. You have to find out for yourself how they perform out of your specific gun.

This is great info too... I have been noticing that everyone's load data always differed... but the one thing I keep forgetting is the jacketed vs lead/moly.

[JayJayJay]

One of the most important things you can use for reloading is a good chronograph.

I load 5.9 grains of True Blue behind a 185 grain Moly bullet and I make major. This is BELOW the starting charge for some sites. In fact Lyman 49 lists a starting load of 6.3 for a 175 grain bullet (168 PF) while Ramshot (Makers of TB) list a starting load of 5.9 grains for a 170 grain bullet (148 PF). Generally the lighter the bullet the higher the starting charge for a given powder. When you check other data for both you will see that Lyman has you starting out faster than Ramshot lists for their max load.

The translation of all of this is to check several sources. Compare their load data for similar bullets, making sure you are comparing jacketed to jacketed and lead to lead. Find a nice middle ground to start your loads at, and then see how they shoot across the chronograph. Taking the average speed times the bullets weight divided by 1,000 will give you a Power Factor. Major is 165, minor is 125. As long as your PF is less than 180 you should not have any problems with your 40 loads. A PF of around 170 is better yet.

Based on where your loads come out you can interpolate whose data is closer to what you are looking for, and you can then decide how much you want to change things to get it to where you want it to be.

Remember what you see listed in the books and on reloading sites are just suggested loads. You have to find out for yourself how they perform out of your specific gun.

Thank you. I have a CRONO on the way, just got the tripod in the mail today. I will start off real low with CLAYs and most likely just use it for minor loads untill I run out of it. I have ordered some TITEGROUP and will use that. Thanks for all your help.

[ummagawd]

what kind of chrono did you get Jay?