40 caliber load for 200 grain plated bullet

[tedbeau]

I noticed that Xtreme sells a 200 grain 40 caliber bullet and I was thinking of trying some. I am looking for a lighter recoiling load. Since I shoot Marksman in IDPA using a Glock 27 I only need to make a 125 PF and I am not concerned about the slide speed.

Looking on  few other forums I saw quite a few post warning that the 200 grain bullets were not safe in 40 caliber guns due to pressure spikes, I guess.

Looking on the forums here I do see quite a few people that say they are using 200 grain bullets, but a lot of the load data they mention are considerably longer than the 40 caliber OVA length of 1.135, some going to 1.18 and even 1.2. 

I know from experience I can't load a 1.18 long load in my 40 caliber glock mags.

So my question is, is it safe to shoot 200 grain in a 40 caliber, not 10mm?

 

 

 

[ttolliver]

Safe is relative, hehehe. I think you'll have a hard time getting anyone to tell you it is safe because it is borderline at best -- and over the line for most reloaders.

 

After the time I put into careful load development I became comfortable with my choice to shoot SNS Coated 200gr bullets through an M&P that would only support 1.150 to 1.160 COAL. So I found my way to doing it for a few thousand rounds.

 

That being said, you're likely to find 80% of the people who liked heavy bullets and fast powders for low felt recoil have grown out of it as they gained experience. That is the normal trend. So definitely combine into your decision on whether to try this the expectation that odds are you'll fall back to a normal 180 at some point anyway.

[Mike21STI]

You can use a powder like winchester wsf.  I used it for limited and was well within the "safe" range. 

[dsu96]

When I shot Xtreme in my .40, I used their 200 gr RNFP.  Loaded them to 1.135" and pushed them with 4.3 gr of WST, which got me 172-ish PF.  No pressure problems that I could see.  Would assume that if you're only looking for 125 PF that you would likely be safe as well.

[tedbeau]

Thanks for the replies. Since I am pretty happy with the load I am using now I guess I will just stick to the 180 grains.

For the record, I use a 180 grain Xtreme RNFP,  over 4.2 grains of Winchester 231,HP38 with Winchester primers loaded to 1.125 OVL. Out of my Glock 27 it makes 785 FPS (141 PF) which is way more than I need for IDPA. I can drop down to 4.0 Grains and get 750 FPS (135 PF). 

Edited August 29, 2018 by tedbeau

[lstone]

 I had a load for coated and read for plated.. my bad

 

Edited August 29, 2018 by lstone