More questions on 40 s&w

[bigarm]

I ordered the undersized die from EGW, so I would only need to order the bullet seating die and the crimp die from Dillon for my 550. Is that correct? The 3 die sets are available, but not the individual dies. Maybe I should just go ahead and order them and wait on them as I am waiting on powder anyway. I have put my name on notify lists for Ramshot Competiton and Sillhouette, Winchester WSF, 231. Any others I should ask to be on a waiting list for? Bruno allows back orders, but I don't know long that would be. Any idea? I had no idea it would be so difficult to get back to reloading. Any other suggestions for me? I want to load for 40 major.

Edited June 2, 2014 by bigarm

[bigarm]

Just realized I have more questions. I need a caliber conversion kit for 40 correct? Now I have a complete quick change assembly for 44 mag/spl which I am not using at the moment (I used it for cowboy action shooting, but I am not doing that now), can I use the assembly from that and buy the caliber conversion kit and use that for now to save some money? I may want to load 44 spl again in the future, but for now need to get the 40 and 45acp set up. Also, I went out to the shop and low and behold I found an unopened (now opened) Hornady Custom-Grade New Dimension Die Set fot 40/10. I think that should do with the EGW undersized die, correct? It has been too many years since I reloaded, but it is slowly coming back to me.

Now I am totally confused again. I looked on Hornady's website. I have item # 54533. I see there is another set for 40/10 that is 54534 that says it is taper crimp 3 die set. I thought all 40 s&w and 10 mm needed to be taper crimped since they are auto cartridges. So is my (now opened!) set the wrong one?

Edited June 2, 2014 by bigarm

[deerassassin22]

You can make major with IMR PB but with the price the "Bruno" wants they can keep it. They are way EXPENSIVE!!!!

[Justsomeguy]

Silhouette is a very good choice for the .40, and indeed may be the original powder used when the round was first produced though it was known then as WAP (Winchester Auto Pistol I believe) at that time.

And yes, your 40cal rounds should be mildly taper crimped. If you are ordering Dillon dies you will get a true taper crimp die in the package. You might as well buy the Dillon dies as they seldom give any problems and seem tight enough for all the brass that I regularly pick up or buy, and give good neck tension. The U die or undersized die is ok when using very thin brass with bullets that tend to be undersized but otherwise is not necessary. If you encounter so called "Glocked" brass then you might want to invest in a Redding pass through or GRX die that will, when mounted on a single stage press, allow you to iron out those nasty bulges near the case head. Once done, and shot in your own pistol, you will not have to do it again.

[earthshine402]

Individual dies are available - check the benos store..

good choice on the EGW undersized die.

[noylj]

1) Do you need an undersized die? It still won't get to case bulges near the extractor groove. I find that a Bulge Buster makes for more reliable rounds.

2) A call to Brian or Dillon will you get the information you need.

3) For me, I want:

A sizing die--I prefer Hornady or Lee as they size slightly lower on the case. Your EGW die, as I remember, is based on a Lee die.

A powder-through expander--the Dillon cartridge-specific "powder funnels" are excellent, as are the Hornady caliber-specific PTXs and Lee's cartridge-secific PTEs, when used with the manufacturer's powder measures. Proper case expansion is so often ignored.

An RCBS Lock-Out die or Dillon Powder-Check die--.40S&W, to me, is more sensitive to charge weight/pressure variations than almost any other cartridge and one simply must inspect the charge in each case with either a check die or eyeball. With manual indexing, you need to be sure that you always manually index.

A seating die with a seating stem that actually fits the bullet, preferably not making contact with the bullet's meplat--it is so common for folks to not properly expand the case (or even not expand the case at all) or use a poorly fitting seating stem that the bullet seats slightly crooked and raises a bulge on the case at the base of the bullet. This led to the "need" for the Lee FCD.

Any taper crimp die, and I do mean any.

Of course, I need at least five stations.

If you want max accuracy al low to mid-range, AA5 is the BEST powder I have found--though guns vary.

If you want max accuracy at mid-range to max, Silhouette is the BEST powder I have found--though guns vary.

Currently, if you have load data for a given powder and you can find that powder, you might as well get it...

[Bob DuBois]

I seat the locking ring on Lee's U die from the bottom of the tool head and would order a set of Dillon 1 inch nuts as Lee's locking nuts are weak. 40 S@W is the place where the U die works the best.

Have a gun with a tight chamber the U die will usually solve feeding issues. Using the U die you'll need to lube cases. I prefer Lee's seating die also and had a flat insert cut so it pushes on the nose of the bullet keeping OAL tight. Also has an adjustment knob for small adjustments. Don't care for the FCD and use a Dillon crimp die. Lee sizing dies have an excellent primer punch and more times than not will just push up if something is in the case. If is does break replacing the punch is easy and quick but it always pays to keep a few spares on hand. Used the U die in both my 550 and 650 with good results. A Lee sizing die is in the first station on every pistol caliber I load.

Powder at present is what you can find not what you want so do the research there's lots out there that will work. Put a lot of rounds down range with Titegroup and 175 gn cast bullets. VV320 with jacketed or plated bullets.