Lightweight bullets for 40

[Bwidpa]

Wanting to try some lighter bullets in my STI Trojan 40 for IDPA. I shoot 180's for single stack major but downloading them makes the gun feel sluggish. Been looking around at 155's and 165's, possibly even 140's.  Only problem is the gun likes them 1.18 OAL or longer.  Any suggestions on bullets to try out? I Prefer plated Because i Usually have to resize coated and lead to .400 since the chamber is tight, but willing to try whatever since I have the bullet sizer?  What seems to be the sweet spot for minor PF and bullet weight?

[zzt]

I use 165gr bullets for major and sub-major loads and they bring back the snap.  I also use a lot of Rainier .400" 135 and 155gr bullets.  I've loaded as long as 1.175" and never had any problem with setback.  I have had problems loading long with 140gr poly coated bullets with a lube ring, so now I stick with plated bullets; Ranier (first choice) or X-treme.

[mont1120]

When I shot .40 years back, I used the Xtreme 155 grain bullets with no issue. I was wanting a light low recoil round and it worked fine in my XDm. Have since moved on to .45 and Blue Bullets.

[Distant Thunder]

I remember when the 40 S&W was introduced it was viewed as being less than spectacular in terms of accuracy with the 180 grain offerings. Some reloaders  began playing with the lighter bullets and had better results so the mantra for the round became 'lighter is tighter.' Has this been anyone here's experience as well for competition?

[IHAVEGAS]

On 12/24/2016 at 8:29 PM, Bwidpa said:

Wanting to try some lighter bullets in my STI Trojan 40 for IDPA. I shoot 180's for single stack major but downloading them makes the gun feel sluggish. Been looking around at 155's and 165's, possibly even 140's.  Only problem is the gun likes them 1.18 OAL or longer.  Any suggestions on bullets to try out? I Prefer plated Because i Usually have to resize coated and lead to .400 since the chamber is tight, but willing to try whatever since I have the bullet sizer?  What seems to be the sweet spot for minor PF and bullet weight?

Do not know if you are interested in playing with powder or springs. Same gun using Clay Dot I shoot a 145 pf 180 grain load that works well for me. Soft, but it takes down steel with authority which can be advantageous. 

Have heard good things about 165 and titegroup. 

Edited December 27, 2016 by IHAVEGAS

[Reshoot]

On 12/25/2016 at 10:01 AM, zzt said:

I use 165gr bullets for major and sub-major loads and they bring back the snap.  I also use a lot of Rainier .400" 135 and 155gr bullets.  I've loaded as long as 1.175" and never had any problem with setback.  I have had problems loading long with 140gr poly coated bullets with a lube ring, so now I stick with plated bullets; Ranier (first choice) or X-treme.

I too, use Rainier 135 grain plated bullets. I shoot them in an open 40 S&W, major power factor.

[asdfdsa]

165gr Bluebullets are sized at .400

 I use 3.5gr of red dot for 140pf out of a tanfoglio stock 2 at oal 1.140. 3.3gr gave a 132pf but my dueling tree thought it was a little anemic. 

perceived recoil is very soft.

[Bwidpa]

2 hours ago, asdfdsa said:

165gr Bluebullets are sized at .400

 I use 3.5gr of red dot for 140pf out of a tanfoglio stock 2 at oal 1.140. 3.3gr gave a 132pf but my dueling tree thought it was a little anemic. 

perceived recoil is very soft.

Was this a custom order? Any blue bullets I've ordered were sized to .401-.402 .  I have to resize to get them to .400.   BBI are the only Coated bullets I've found to be .400 without resizing.

 

[pete627]

I was just doing the same thing ... looking for a way to go minor with a lighter bullet ... (instead of using the same 180 being used for my major loads) ... to maintain more velocity. 

Anyhow ... my biggest concern with a lighter bullet was being forced to load shorter (assuming the lighter bullets would naturally be shorter). I had been loading my 180s to 1.15 and have been satisfied with that length for both minor and major loads in a couple of different guns. 

After picking up a sample pack of 165s from Blue Bullets ... I was pleasantly surprised to find them longer than the plated 180s I had been using (either XTreme or Bullet Works plated). The plated 180s measure.570 and the 165s go .600. 

What makes it even a better is ... w/o touching my dies the 165s end up with a loaded OAL of 1.17 ... (10 thou more in the case and 20 thou out front) ... and ... having a smaller diameter nose these guys slide into the chamber like butter. A big win win all around. I want to try the 155s too but the profile of these 165s is going to make it hard to switch.

[asdfdsa]

6 hours ago, Bwidpa said:

Was this a custom order? Any blue bullets I've ordered were sized to .401-.402 .  I have to resize to get them to .400.   BBI are the only Coated bullets I've found to be .400 without resizing.

 

Not a custom order, its my 3rd order from them so i am around the 3k mark. Every one i have randomly grabbed and measured has been  .400  +- .0005 

 

[Bwidpa]

6 hours ago, asdfdsa said:

Not a custom order, its my 3rd order from them so i am around the 3k mark. Every one i have randomly grabbed and measured has been  .400  +- .0005 

 

 

That's good to know. I have not ordered from them in a while, wonder if they are sizing them smaller.