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Ok better powder for 40 minor and major with 180 Bear creek


tiger49931

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I run WST under a 180 for major, and simply switch to a 155 gr bullet with no changes to press or powder charge for minor.

In my Browning Hipower, clays minor loads didnt group well. So never tried it again. But it seems to work for many,, plus you have 16 lbs of the stuff. Load it up and shoot it. Save the WST for major.

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3.1 of clays under a 180 JHP for me in minor. Very soft, flat, and clean but very easy to double charge if you're not careful.

ETA - Just realized you want maj and minor (reading from phone, sorry). I was using titegroup for that but it was a bit dirty in minor and I needed to go a little over to make major in my G22.

Edited by BostonBullit
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WST

Clays

HS6

??

I have a few LBS (4) of WST and a TON ( 16 LBS) of clays

But if wst is safer to meet Minor and major ill use that just wondering.

What specific pistol would you be loading this rounds for?

Good Luck And Be Safe!!!

:D

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I used 4.5-4.7 grains of WST with 180gr lead loaded to 1.160 to make major in my 5 inch Para.

I used 5.0-5.2 grains of WST with 170gr moly loaded to 1.165 to make major in my 6 inch Schuemann barrel.

I used 2.8-3.0 grains of Clays with 180gr lead loaded to 1.135 to make minor in a Glock 35.

These worked in my guns, use caution developing loads in yours!

Mike

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I would go with clays for minor. Its what clays does. Plus you have a bunch of it. I have never pushed it to major.

I have used wst for major and minor. It felt good but solo1k and bullseye felt just as good and grouped better off the bench.

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I would go with clays for minor. Its what clays does. Plus you have a bunch of it. I have never pushed it to major.

I have used wst for major and minor. It felt good but solo1k and bullseye felt just as good and grouped better off the bench.

What was your load data for bullseye? 4.0 - 4.2 at 1.125 for STI gonna work??

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WST with lead 180s that I cast myself. Makes major pretty easily, no spikey pressures.

I would disagree with this. I have shot WST for years with no problems until year. Have loved this powder a long time, but to make major, you are at the top end of it. Combine that with a shorter load for a Glock, and use brass you have picked up at a match, and you could easily have issues. My load has been 4.9gr WST behind a MG 180gr at 1.200 for my STI for years. I shortened the load to run in a Glock 22, and had my first KB! So I won't really say that the pressure is "spikey", but to throw that out there, makes it sound like it is all good and safe, but the reality of it is that to make major, you are at the top end of this powder's pressure limits. If you want to look at things, compare Sierra's max load with a 180, to the Winchester powder site, and see how far apart the max loads are!

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'Morning Steve,

My post is only anecdotal, and as always, YMMV. Sorry to hear about the KaBoom!

In my 5" M&P, 4.7 gr of WST gets me 1000 fps at 50 degrees when my LEAD 180s are loaded to 1.16". My barrel often chronos a few fps faster than I expect. One nicety of lead over jacketed is the lower engraving forces and lesser barrel friction (and subsequently lower pressures) at a given velocity.

Forty is a high pressure round, plain and simple and no data is "all good and safe" since there are so many other variables in the mix. Loading without working up is not a good idea!

Cheers

Mark

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  • 2 weeks later...

I would not use WST or Clays for MAJOR. It is just asking for trouble. They are too fast and when loaded near (or past) their maximums they get squirrely and bad things can happen. For minor they are both pretty good. Personally I use mostly Clays for minor, but have used WST as well. For major I use Silhouette which is on the upper range of medium burners going towards slower powders. I shoot XD/XDm type pistols most of the time and so I load to 1.135 or so for the OAL. Using this OAL for major would be catastrophic with those fast powders. Even long OAL's would be risky, but some guys get away with it. "Getting away with it" is not something I want to do on a daily basis.

HS6 is supposed to be a medium powder, but will be flashy and thumpy in 40 when loaded high enough to burn it all, as it likes pressure to burn cleanly. It will do if nothing else is available for major, but keep shopping around and try to find something else.

I know the outlook for finding medium burning powders is rather bleak at the moment, but for 40 major there is no substitute really. They will give the best performance without straining the pressure limits. Save the fast powders for minor and get something more suitable for major. Unique, Universal, Power Pistol, WSF, 4756, True Blue, Autocomp, and Silhouette are all better choices for major and all have their adherents with few detractors. But hey... I'm just some guy on the internet... what do I know.

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