40 Major N320 loaded factory short.......

[Artsville]

So after reading many threads on loading 40 at or around an oal 1.130, it seems to be considered by many to be not so great. I load for 3 pistols 2 xd and 1 cz ts. I am working up my loads now.

So my questions are:

is it safe and reliable at that short an oal? (Was thinking of bumping out to oal of 1.160 for more margin)

will i still get 4 or 5 reloads out of my brass?

If not N320 what is the next best powder for a shorter oal?

I have now loaded roughly 5k rounds of 40 minor with n320 and not one issue with any rounds i have made.

I leave it to the experts for opinions.........thnx in advance

ART

[The_Vigilante]

Your OAL is going to depend on whether the cartridge will fit in the magazine and whether it will fit in the chamber without touching the rifling. I also load for XD's and CZ's. In my experience both have pretty short chambers. Whether a 1.16 OAL will work is problematic. Just reload a dummy round at 1.16. First see if it will fit in the magazine. Secondly, take the barrel out of the pistol and use it for a case gauge. If the bullet drops in the barrel freely,spins freely, and drops out freely you may be home free. I have loaded a lot of .40 S&W short (1.13, 1.12) using N320 without any problems.

[gng4life]

The SAAMI spec for a .40 is 1.135 so 130 is not that short. Most of the S_I gunners take it longer most of the time for reliabily or pressure. Loading minor with it will not be an issue. All my 40s for USPSA are STIs so I load from 140 to 160 and some of wont fit in my XD. I agree with Vig about testing and dropping to gauge what is best for your pistol.

[CocoBolo]

If its not broke don't fix it. I shot short OAL in a CZ Tactical Sport, I don't have a clue how many times I loaded the same brass I just kept picking it back up at the range got home threw it in the tumbler then loaded it, over and over and over again. Oooh I almost forgot I ran it thru a Redding GRX. I was running WST which is about the same speed as N320, N320 might be a tick faster.

The way to drop pressure at the same velocity is to go to a slower powder, but this defeats the benefit of the fast powder for a limited gun. There are many good powders for 40 which is best is a matter of buggers and broccoli which ever you prefer.

[Artsville]

Your OAL is going to depend on whether the cartridge will fit in the magazine and whether it will fit in the chamber without touching the rifling. I also load for XD's and CZ's. In my experience both have pretty short chambers. Whether a 1.16 OAL will work is problematic. Just reload a dummy round at 1.16. First see if it will fit in the magazine. Secondly, take the barrel out of the pistol and use it for a case gauge. If the bullet drops in the barrel freely,spins freely, and drops out freely you may be home free. I have loaded a lot of .40 S&W short (1.13, 1.12) using N320 without any problems.

yeah...i do this already. I know i can load up to 1.170 in an xd magazine. I have not checked that length in the barrel though.

[Artsville]

Ok....so i guess i will just continue on and see what my experience happens to be. It just seems like a lot of nay sayers posting about running major and being short.

I know most run pistols which allow for a longer oal.

art

[1fng]

What weight bullet are you using?

The 9th edition of the VihtaVouri reloading guide lists the following loads that will make major with N320. Length they list is 1.126 inches for all .40 loads.

165 grain TCFMJ- Starting load N320=4.9 grains for 994 fps. Max load is 5.2 grains for 1038 fps

180 grain LTC- Starting load N320= 3.5 grains for 883 fps. Max load is 4.1 grains for 968 fps.

Both of these loads are published by the powder manufacturer to safely make major at factory lengths.

Hope this helps.

[Artsville]

thnx guys....i made 4.3, 4.5, and 4.7gr.....180gr plated and jacketed....i have my own data from 3.7gr to 4.0gr as well from my minor loads.

[cletus9mm]

i have quite a few reloading manuals including the newest edition of the vv manual. the only manual i have that publishes an n-320 load in .40 for a 180 grain bullet is my sierra manual. it is sierra 5th edition. it shows a starting load of 4.1 grains for 850 fps and a max published load of 5.2 grains for a 1000 fps which very comfortably makes major. they're specifying this load for 180 gr jhp loaded to a C.O.A.L. of 1.125

"sierra rifle and handgun reloading data 5th edition, page 775."

regards,

joe

[1fng]

Just curious, what is the 'latest edition' of the VV manual? I have both the 8th and 9th editions of the VihtaVouri Reloading Guide, and they both list the same load for 180 grain LTC with N 320. FWIW, I got the reloading guides from the VV website.

[cletus9mm]

Just curious, what is the 'latest edition' of the VV manual? I have both the 8th and 9th editions of the VihtaVouri Reloading Guide, and they both list the same load for 180 grain LTC with N 320. FWIW, I got the reloading guides from the VV website.

you are correct. i was mistaken. my vv manual actually does have a load for 180 ltc. i overlooked it only looking at the hp load data which starts with n340. interesting enough though, the vv manual has a starting load of 3.5grs and a max of 4.1grs?! the sierra manual has a starting load of 4.1grs with a max of 5.2grs. i wonder if they have a different means of pressure testing in finland vs here in the states.

[HuntingPaper]

Your OAL is going to depend on whether the cartridge will fit in the magazine and whether it will fit in the chamber without touching the rifling. I also load for XD's and CZ's. In my experience both have pretty short chambers. Whether a 1.16 OAL will work is problematic. Just reload a dummy round at 1.16. First see if it will fit in the magazine. Secondly, take the barrel out of the pistol and use it for a case gauge. If the bullet drops in the barrel freely,spins freely, and drops out freely you may be home free. I have loaded a lot of .40 S&W short (1.13, 1.12) using N320 without any problems.

Do you have a load for 180 MG jhp at 1.130 with N320 that makes major?

[A63111]

I am using 5.0 @1.180 right now with a 180 MG JHP. Used to load at factory length. IIRC 4.8 VV320 @1.135 makes major with that bullet start @4.6 and work up carefully. 4.4 would make major in my pistol wtih precision mollys. YMMV

[Garrett]

thnx guys....i made 4.3, 4.5, and 4.7gr.....180gr plated and jacketed...

I haven't shot Limited for a while, so most of my loading the past few years has been with .38 Super. But before I went to the Dark Side, I ran a lot of .40 in both long and factory lengths.

My preferred factory length load was 4.8 gr. of N320 at 1.150", loaded with either a Berry's 180 gr. FP, or a Zero JHP. That is slightly longer than the factory max of 1.135", but it fit fine in all of my mags and didn't hit the rifling when chambered.

Average velocities from my records were:

Glock 35 - 956 fps.

Glock 27 - 891 fps. (minor in the shorty barrel)

Para P16 - 954 fps.

I've also run some through an HK USP, and it fit/ran just fine there too. I apparently never shot that one over the chrono though.

For 200 gr. loads, drop the powder charge to 4.0 to 4.2 gr.

[Artsville]

thnx.....

4.7gr N320 180gr Xtremz Plated came in right at 929.7fps…xd pf167.35......That is a 4" barrel and going to be using a 5" barrel so should be ok....

art