Power pistol / 135 grain bullet

[tmyoungjr]

Hey all,

First post - hopefully its a good one!

I got a wonderful surprise from the wife. She got me 500 Rainier 135gr plated flat nose and a pound of Power Pistol powder.

I've loaded heavier bullets and Accurate #5 and Clays but never PP and never such a light bullet.

This is for .40 S&W and I'm not using them to make Major or Minor. These will be just plinking rounds / target rounds. The wife is a bit gun shy when it comes to the .40 so I'd like to keep them as light as I can.

Thoughts/suggestions?

I've only found two references so far:

start of 7.3 max of 8.2 with OAL of 1.135

also found 8.4 / 9.3 with same OAL - labeled as compressed (i'm not even going near this one)

I'm thinking of starting much lower - but I'd rather some input first thanks!

Tim

[gng4life]

Yeah, 7.3 and a 135, you are probably already close to Major PF, if not already there. I shoot 7.2 with 147's and I was at 173 PF at Area 6. I started with 6.2 of PP with 147 Zero's and it was in the high 150's PF.

Sorry I don't have any personal data with the 135 but this should give you some reference at least. I was shooting it out of a 5.5" STI Open 9Major.

Welcome to the forum!!

[gng4life]

After some more extensive searching, this is what I found:

135 gr Rainier FP, 8.2 gr Power Pistol, 1.18" COL, 155 PF.

8.8gr Power Pistol behind a 135gr Rainier gave me 177 PF.

135gr Rainier FP, 8.7gr Power Pistol, Federal small pistol primers, COL ~1.17 or 1.18 inch.

Be careful about going too much lower than the posted minimums, some powders can be unstable and become dangerous.

[tmyoungjr]

Thanks for the info. I'm going to shoot for just at 7.0 and see how the first few go and then work from there. Recommended OAL is 1.135 - but I'll drag that out a bit longer (depending on how they feed) to keep pressure down.

Thanks!

[noylj]

There are almost no powders that are unsafe at low loadings and those are mostly very slow rifle powders used and very low charge weight and the danger is getting a melted wad of powder lodged in the barrel and then firing another shot. All the Alliant pistol and shotgun powders are safe to load as low as you want (though somewhere below 1.5gn you might stick a bullet).

Start at 7.5 and work up to 8.5 (you might be able to get up to 8.7 or so, but be careful).

If she really loves you, have her shop at Montana Gold, Zero Bullets (Powder Valley or Roze Distribution), and Precision Delta for real high-quality jacketed bullets for the same price as Rainier.

[gng4life]

If the manufacturers of the powder thought it was safe, they would state in their manuals to start at any level you want and work up to the maximum. I understand the issue with rifle powders and such but it's still a good idea to stay within stated limits when doing something that can be this dangerous.

[tmyoungjr]

There are almost no powders that are unsafe at low loadings and those are mostly very slow rifle powders used and very low charge weight and the danger is getting a melted wad of powder lodged in the barrel and then firing another shot. All the Alliant pistol and shotgun powders are safe to load as low as you want (though somewhere below 1.5gn you might stick a bullet).

Start at 7.5 and work up to 8.5 (you might be able to get up to 8.7 or so, but be careful).

If she really loves you, have her shop at Montana Gold, Zero Bullets (Powder Valley or Roze Distribution), and Precision Delta for real high-quality jacketed bullets for the same price as Rainier.

Heh the Rainier's weren't my first option. And we had never talked about what I've used, etc. She just went out and did this on her own. Figure I'll make it work.

My preference is a slightly heavier bullet - but I always like trying something new.

Thanks again guys

[noylj]

There are almost no powders that are unsafe at low loadings and those are mostly very slow rifle powders used and very low charge weight and the danger is getting a melted wad of powder lodged in the barrel and then firing another shot. All the Alliant pistol and shotgun powders are safe to load as low as you want (though somewhere below 1.5gn you might stick a bullet).

Start at 7.5 and work up to 8.5 (you might be able to get up to 8.7 or so, but be careful).

If she really loves you, have her shop at Montana Gold, Zero Bullets (Powder Valley or Roze Distribution), and Precision Delta for real high-quality jacketed bullets for the same price as Rainier.

Heh the Rainier's weren't my first option. And we had never talked about what I've used, etc. She just went out and did this on her own. Figure I'll make it work.

My preference is a slightly heavier bullet - but I always like trying something new.

Thanks again guys

The main thing is you have a loving wife that actively got you something you would enjoy.

I told my wife that there was one difference between her activities and mine. Hers generates things that will be around for decades while mine consists of a lot of consumables. Hers start to take up a lot of space while mint are self-correcting.

[noylj]

If the manufacturers of the powder thought it was safe, they would state in their manuals to start at any level you want and work up to the maximum. I understand the issue with rifle powders and such but it's still a good idea to stay within stated limits when doing something that can be this dangerous.

They are trying to give you starting loads that will function in your gun. You don't see them printing BIG WARNINGS about going below the starting load, do you? The only real warning I have read is the danger of dropping 296/H110 much below max and sticking a bullet and a wad of unburned powder in the barrel because the powder will not burn properly unless used at high pressure.

That does not apply to most powders, and the Alliant handgun and shotgun powders have been used for almost 100 years in very light rifle loads.

There is a difference between being cautious and being a "chicken little".

[tmyoungjr]

I've got 7 different loads to test out. No chrony available - but that's not my goal on these. I'll report back on what I end up with once I can hit the range. Remember in this case I'm looking for a relatively light feeling load - so it'll be entirely subjective!

[Roundguy]

I use 2 loads myself one is 155gbullet with 4g of pp this is my plinking load feels light and easy to control my match load is 180gbullet with 6g of pp and i make 180pf with a 5" barrel Forgot to add that for the 155s to eject spent cases i had to lower my rec spring weight down its a powderpuff load as my buddys call it.

Edited August 21, 2011 by Roundguy

[GrumpyOne]

I know for a fact that PP will work quite well down to 5.6 grains with a 180 TCFP bullet, I don't see why the 5.6 wouldn't work well with the 135...might be very pleasant to shoot!

[tmyoungjr]

I know for a fact that PP will work quite well down to 5.6 grains with a 180 TCFP bullet, I don't see why the 5.6 wouldn't work well with the 135...might be very pleasant to shoot!

I actually started out with loads at ~7gr and OALs varied between 1.135 and ~1.17.

Of those the ones at approximately 1.17 felt the best

I then moved up to 7.2 and kept the OALs the same

Lastly I had 7.8gr and kept the various OALs.

I've decided I'm still dropping the charges even lower. I'm down to 6.5gr at 1.155 OAL and I'll see how that goes. I may even drop it lower based on what I'm seeing in some of these posts. Thanks guys!

[tmyoungjr]

Another update.

I'm currenly at 6.2gr with an OAL ~1.14

This is pretty soft shooting and no issues cycling my gun (Ruger SR40 with a stock 20lb spring). I believe I'm going to leave it here and use these.

I may go lower just to see where the bottom end is for my gun - but I like where its at.

I may also get my hands on a chrony to see where I am power wise. I'm certain its minor - if that.

Thanks for the help!!

For search purposes :

135gr Rainier plated bullets

6.2gr of Power Pistol powder

OAL of ~1.14

[gng4life]

Where are you located?

[tmyoungjr]

Where are you located?

Apparently I never filled that out (i usually add it to all of my forum profiles).

I'm in Western NY

[gng4life]

A little far for me, I was going to say we could meet up and use my chrono.

[tmyoungjr]

A little far for me, I was going to say we could meet up and use my chrono.

Thanks for the offer However, this just gives me a reason to acquire one!

[motosapiens]

I know for a fact that PP will work quite well down to 5.6 grains with a 180 TCFP bullet, I don't see why the 5.6 wouldn't work well with the 135...might be very pleasant to shoot!

I've gone down to 5.3 or 5.2 with a 165gr bullet. cycled 100% reliably, and still had more recoil than what i usually shoot with n320. I saw an article online where one of the magazine guys was loading .40's in the mid 4 gr range, but that was also with heavier bullets.