Justsomeguy Posted January 6, 2007 Share Posted January 6, 2007 (edited) I see a lot of loads listed here for 40SW for minor loads. I was wondering why anyone would do that? Since the cost of bullets, powder, and cases is higher for 40cal then for 9mm I don't see the point. Do you think the gun is easier to shoot in 40cal or something? Clue me in! Plus... I don't get shooting minor anyway. If you have a 40SW gun to begin with, and you are at a scoring disadvantage with minor scoring, why would anyone choose to shoot minor? Is it somehow easier to win shooting minor? Edited January 6, 2007 by Justsomeguy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Merlin Orr Posted January 6, 2007 Share Posted January 6, 2007 IF, for whatever reason - you do want to shoot a few..100 or 1000 rounds at minor...and you own a .40 and a reloading machine... It will take a while to save enough buying 9mm vs .40 to pay for a new gun. As to the scoring differences - lots of games to play besides USPSA that you can use a handgun in...I use mine for ESP in IDPA and when I shoot ICORE with my bottom feeder. .40 at 135-140 PF is "nicer" than the same PF with a 9mm. IMHO. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carinab Posted January 6, 2007 Share Posted January 6, 2007 Hit the search function and you will find a ton of info...There is an article in this thread which published in front sight on just this topic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
benny hill Posted January 6, 2007 Share Posted January 6, 2007 Hit the search function and you will find a ton of info...There is an article in this thread which published in front sight on just this topic. Wow... Nice! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Justsomeguy Posted January 7, 2007 Author Share Posted January 7, 2007 Hit the search function and you will find a ton of info...There is an article in this thread which published in front sight on just this topic. Ok... I read the articles and looked at the chart about kinetic energy and I guess I see some good reasoning there. However, Brian Enos also has a point about the larger bullet causing more torque when shooting as well. Since I have some 155's as well as 180grn Berry's bullets which I load to major, I guess I will try loading down to minor and trying some out as well just to see how they feel. What I still can't get past is the problem with IPSC scoring with major vs. minor. If you go out of the "A" zone you don't get any points with IPSC and that is the only action type game in town at my range at the moment. They do shoot some steel matches there occasionally, so I can see some loaded down 40's for that purpose as I believe they would take down steel a little better than a 9mm. I guess I will just have to play around with the minor loads to see if I can keep ALL my shots in the "A" zone to make it worth trying in a match. Otherwise I would still think you are at a disadvantage using minor loads. Still... this is an interesting discussion and I appreciate the input. Keep it coming! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brazos SC Shooter Posted January 7, 2007 Share Posted January 7, 2007 If you choose to shoot in production you don't have a choice on major vs. minor. I use my carry gun (HK .40) in both Production USPSA and Stock Service Pistol in IDPA. As someone said above, .40 minor feels lighter than 9mm factory. I also get the benefit of additional trigger time behind the gun I use for self defense. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DanM Posted January 7, 2007 Share Posted January 7, 2007 I have a Glock 35 and plan to shoot mostly Production with it this year so I load to minor. When I do shoot Limited or L-10, I load it to major. For Steel Challenge, I load it to slingshot level 1 gun, 4 games, all the same (crappy) trigger. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ParaJoe Posted January 7, 2007 Share Posted January 7, 2007 I load my .40 to minor because I'm shooting Production with it. 180gr MasterBlaster boolet, 3.6gr of Titegroup, and 13lb recoil spring. Shoots better than my 9mm. I will say this though, I haven't loaded a heavy 9mm boolet with a fast burning powder. I might try this and then maybe my opinion would change but I doubt it. As DanM said, one gun and one caliber will do three division with only minor reconfigurations. Joe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aircooled6racer Posted January 8, 2007 Share Posted January 8, 2007 Hello: Try the 155 grain bullets loaded to minor. It will put a smile on your face. You can use it for practice as well. You will not want to shoot factory 9mm anymore. Keep this a secret so everyone won't be shooting minor 40 loads. Thanks Eric Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Justsomeguy Posted January 8, 2007 Author Share Posted January 8, 2007 Happily, I have a supply of 155grn Berry's bullets on hand. I have been toying around with several powders looking for a good major load with them, but have also acquired some 180grn to try as most of you fellows seem to prefer the heavier ones. Nonetheless, I guess I will have to make a few more trips to the range with my chronograph and see what I can come up with. I did get 8lbs of Titegroup (have a couple hundred loaded rounds with 2 different bullet weights ready to test but was going for major with those) 'cause you guys seem to use that more than any other powder. I also have a reasonable supply of Unique (does the job but a little dirty if not loaded to major loads), some 231 (which looks ok for minor but is temp sensitive), some HS-6 (which supposedly duplicates old W540 but which does not give me the same velocities as the "book" says it will and leaves a lot of unburned powder so far...), 4lbs of Silhouette (which I have yet to settle on a load for or actually put in a case but duplicates the discontinued WAP and should do the job), and some 3N37 (which meters nicely and I loaded up some rounds with but have yet to test... maybe tomorrow). I still have a pound or so of some old Bullseye as well, which the book says will do for either major or minor, but I think Titegroup will get the nod in the faster powder category and will do either too. Now if it would only stop raining or, heaven forfend, snowing... I could get some data and find what I want. Any and all suggestions, comments, and trivia that may apply will be taken to heart and be most welcome. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aircooled6racer Posted January 8, 2007 Share Posted January 8, 2007 Hello: What pistol are you using so we can give you some loads to try? Thanks Eric Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Justsomeguy Posted January 12, 2007 Author Share Posted January 12, 2007 (edited) Hello: What pistol are you using so we can give you some loads to try? Thanks Eric I mainly use a Witness Match with a 4.75" polygonal barrel and an XD40 with a standard 4" barrel. In the last few days I have tried some of the powders mentioned and have produced these results over a ProChorno digital chronograph. The bullet designation CP RSFP means copper plated round shouldered flat point for those not familiar with the Berry's bullet. The data is from 20 shot strings with the chrono placed about 10 feet in front of the muzzle. 40SW 155grn Berry CP RSFP 5.6grn TiteGroup OAL = 1.128 Average Speed 1126.0 Power Factor 174.5 Standard Deviation 9.9 Gun = Match 4.75" bbl Note: 51 degrees The same configuration in the XD40: Average Speed 1091.2 Power Factor 169.1 Standard Deviation 14.4 Gun = XD40 4"bbl Note: 51 degrees 40SW 180grn Berry CP RSFP 4.6grn TiteGroup OAL = 1.143 Average Speed 927.7 Power Factor 167.0 Standard Deviation 9.9 Gun = Match 4.75" bbl Note: 51 degrees XD 40 again with the same bullet and load: Average Speed 893.4 Power Factor 160.8 (no major here, but made it with the Witness Match) Standard Deviation 31.2 (why this is so much higher in the XD is beyond me!) Gun = XD40 4" bbl Note: 51 degrees 40SW 180grn Berry CP RSFP 6.5grn VV 3N37 OAL = 1.143 Average Speed 956.0 Power Factor 172.1 Standard Deviation 15.2 Gun = Match 4.75" bbl Note: 51 degrees The XD again: Average Speed 903.2 Power Factor 162.6 (again, missed major in the XD) Standard Deviation 17.2 Gun = XD40 4" bbl Note: 51 degrees In both guns with the same powder load of VV3N37 but with a Hornady XTP HP, I get nearly identical results except the XD does make major as well, but just barely. Also this was with an OAL of 1.163 instead of 1.143. Here is an HS-6 load also: 40SW 155grn Berry's CP RSFP 8.5grn HS-6 OAL = 1.125 Average Speed 1114.2 Power Factor 172.7 Standard Deviation 22.9 Gun = Match 4.75" bbl Note: 51 degrees Regrettably, I did not have time to test the above load in the XD that day. I have some Silhouette loaded up with 155, 165, and 180grn bullets and am waiting for the weather to allow some testing of those. Any suggestions would be appreciated. Hopefully I will be able to settle on something soon. Edited January 12, 2007 by Justsomeguy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billdncn Posted January 12, 2007 Share Posted January 12, 2007 (edited) I see a lot of loads listed here for 40SW for minor loads. I was wondering why anyone would do that? Since the cost of bullets, powder, and cases is higher for 40cal then for 9mm I don't see the point. Do you think the gun is easier to shoot in 40cal or something? Clue me in!Plus... I don't get shooting minor anyway. If you have a 40SW gun to begin with, and you are at a scoring disadvantage with minor scoring, why would anyone choose to shoot minor? Is it somehow easier to win shooting minor? I don't own a 9. In IDPA SSP, and ESP the min. PF is 125. So I shoot 40 minor, and I'm at the same advantage as everyone else. At one point in time I was shooting bulk 9mm, and handloading 40's is cheaper then that. Although not as cheap as handloading the 9. Last year I won a match shooting 40 in SSP, where nearly 40 other shooters were shooting the 9. So I'd say I'm certinly not at a disadvantage. I've had MD's threaten to Crono my load because they thought I was Cheating. The 40 loaded to minor can be very soft shooting. If I had a 9 I would be using that for IDPA, and Production, but for now I'm doing the best I can with what I have. Edited January 12, 2007 by billdncn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nemo Posted January 12, 2007 Share Posted January 12, 2007 40SW 155grnBerry CP RSFP 5.6grn TiteGroup OAL = 1.128 Average Speed 1126.0 Power Factor 174.5 Standard Deviation 9.9 Gun = Match 4.75" bbl Note: 51 degrees The same configuration in the XD40: Average Speed 1091.2 Power Factor 169.1 Standard Deviation 14.4 Gun = XD40 4"bbl Note: 51 degrees Try those 155's over 4.0 grains of Titegroup. That's my production load. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ryucasta Posted January 21, 2007 Share Posted January 21, 2007 (edited) Not a bad load. While I dont use 40Cal/10mm 155 grain bullets I would consider them for a minor load. Another_Minor.pdf Edited January 21, 2007 by ryucasta Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TonyT Posted January 25, 2007 Share Posted January 25, 2007 I enjoy shooting light 40 S&W loads in my S&W 646 and CZ-40B. Very accurate and easy on the wrist. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ckc123 Posted February 20, 2007 Share Posted February 20, 2007 Plus... I don't get shooting minor anyway. If you have a 40SW gun to begin with, and you are at a scoring disadvantage with minor scoring, why would anyone choose to shoot minor? Is it somehow easier to win shooting minor? There are several reasons.. 1) one caliber for all the guns makes reloading easier. Same powder, same case, same primers, same OAL. it's simple to change.. just adjust the amount of powder. 2) I find less recoil in a minor .40 then an factory 9mm (and since 9mm is so cheap, it's not worth my time reloading them) 3) All my pistols are .40's .. so why change? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DanM Posted February 21, 2007 Share Posted February 21, 2007 Not a bad load. While I dont use 40Cal/10mm 155 grain bullets I would consider them for a minor load. Thanks! That's the load I've been using for a month now with MG 155's. I like it a lot Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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