Best .40 S&W Factory Ammo

[John Dunn]

I'm going to make the switch from a SS .45 to a double stack .40 STI.  What is the best factory ammo with regards to low recoil, makes major, brass life, low cost, etc.

I see ads for Sellier and Bellot ammo in SGN at attractive prices, but I have no experience with this brand.  I realize this is pre-reloading question, but it seemed to fit best here.  Thanks for the help.

[Flexmoney]

I have found the S&B ammo to be consistant and functional.

Natchez sells it at a good price.

http://natchezss.com/ammo/pistol/pa40sw.html

CCI's Blazer is even cheaper...but they don't use brass cases.  So reloading it is out.

The STI guns, however, may require a case loaded to a longer OAL than the stock.  (Some think the longer ammo feeds better.)

[Jon Merricks]

John, I would ask around at some off your local matches and see if somebody there does some reloading for hire.  They could reload it to the specs you like and could save you some money aswell.  

[John Dunn]

Jon:

I plan on doing the reloading once I stockpile enough .45 ammo so that I don't have to play switcheroo with the Dillon too often.  I've considered getting a second 550B just so I don't have to mess around with the press so much.  I am unfortunately lazy and have very limited time to reload.

The problem is the bright and shiny new pistol will be here begging to be shot long before I can get a new load squared away.  I figured a case or two of factory ammo would give me the cases for load development and still let me wring out the new gun.

Maybe the question should be: who makes the best brass?  Or what factory load would you shoot in a match if forced to do so?  I get to matches so seldom that finding a local reloader for hire is going to be hard.  I currently live in a state (WY) that has a smaller population than my previous city (Kansas City).

[Jon Merricks]

I am fond of UMC. The 180gr does have a little preasure though.  You may also need a long firing pin if you dont already have one.

[paranoid]

...before I started reloading I used to use the winchester white box,federal american eagle and UMC 180 grn. They all chrono'd right at 1000 fps.I prefered the umc more for the shape of the bullet as it had rounded shoulders.

[John Dunn]

Hate to show my ignorance, but why a long firing pin?

[gm iprod]

To make sure that the firing pin hole in the slide has something in it when pressure goes up. Keeps primer flow into said hole to a minimum.

[TheOtherErik]

If the only reason to shoot factory ammo is to stock pile the brass, I'd stay away from the S&B becasue of the crimped primer pockets. Its alot more hassel than its worth. Winchester, Federal and PMC are all good choices. THe winchester is good brass but it leaves the gun very dirty. You may just want to buy some reloads at a gun show if you just want the brass. the price is better and the loads are a bit lighter than facory stuff.

[SiG Lady]

PMC burns clean in my SiG P229 and I trade off the used-once brass to local reloaders.  Oddly, I don't care for the 'feel' of CCI's Blazers... (and there's nothing left on the floor to recycle when you're done).

[John Dunn]

Thanks for the info about the crimped primer with S&B.  I guess I'll go to Wal-Mart and get a couple boxes of everything and let the gun decide what it likes.  Thanks.

[tedbeau]

I'm new to reloading and have a question concerning crimped primers. TheotherErik said that S&B primers are crimped. I have some S&B cases that I have shot and I don't think they are crimped. I think I have probably loaded some in the last two batched of ammo I shot.

I have been having trouble getting some primers to seat fully, using a Hornady AP progressive press. When I checked the head stamp on the eight cases I cold not get the primer flush seven of them were Herters and one was a CBC case. Even looking at the cases I cant tell if they are crimped or not. Perhaps I need a better picture of a crimped primer. Dose someone have a picture showing how to identify crimped primers? Please?

In any event I have started sorting my brass now, putting all the Herters and CBC in a separate batch to process by decapping then using a primer pocket reamer to clean the pocket before reloading. I haven't done this yet because I haven't gotten a reamer tool yet. I suppose I am going to have to sort out all the S&B cases now for reaming.

[jtaylor996]

I fired some fiocchi 175gr that was pretty good. I've got some WWB for free that I'll try out before too long.

But all of it sucks compared to some minor and major loads I've worked out with BBI 180gr bullets.

[superslowmo]

I fired some fiocchi 175gr that was pretty good. I've got some WWB for free that I'll try out before too long.

But all of it sucks compared to some minor and major loads I've worked out with BBI 180gr bullets.

A couple of weeks ago I chrono'd 5 rounds of WWB 165's out of my M&P Pro 5" (I was testing 9/40 out of my 3 M&P's)

1 993 fps

163.8

2 1031 fps

170.1

3 1000 fps

165

4 1017 fps

167.8

5 1028 fps

169.6

I did some drills and practice with it Thursday of last week and was happy with how it grouped (as long as I did my part).

I then used it for a match on Saturday and it performed well- accuracy was acceptable (except on a !@#$! Texas star that left me stumped).

[cnote]

I'm new to reloading and have a question concerning crimped primers. TheotherErik said that S&B primers are crimped. I have some S&B cases that I have shot and I don't think they are crimped. I think I have probably loaded some in the last two batched of ammo I shot.

I have been having trouble getting some primers to seat fully, using a Hornady AP progressive press. When I checked the head stamp on the eight cases I cold not get the primer flush seven of them were Herters and one was a CBC case. Even looking at the cases I cant tell if they are crimped or not. Perhaps I need a better picture of a crimped primer. Dose someone have a picture showing how to identify crimped primers? Please?

In any event I have started sorting my brass now, putting all the Herters and CBC in a separate batch to process by decapping then using a primer pocket reamer to clean the pocket before reloading. I haven't done this yet because I haven't gotten a reamer tool yet. I suppose I am going to have to sort out all the S&B cases now for reaming.

Usually military brass is crimped. Edited April 22, 2015 by cnote

[Graham Smith]

It's been ages since I needed factory ammo, but I used to rely on Atlanta Arms and Ammo for my supply. They used to (as in I don't know if they still do) make remanufactured ammo from once fired brass. They had both major and minor .40 which could reliably meet power factor without going way over.

[buckaroo45]

I'm sure somebody out there knows this but doesn't loading ammunition for profit require some variety of FFL license and come with liability issues. Don't want my retirement to be a beat down rented trailer next to a garbage dump so I don't reload for others. Yes, I know you wouldn't sue me but any lawyer would take a run at it. Safer to just say no.

[jmbaccolyte]

Buckaroo- Not every lawyer would take that case against you, unless you double charged a cartridge or something. I worked around many that were very high-principled moral people and a few that were about average for the population at large. I guess there are some lawyers that some people call shysters, I just never saw it in twenty years plus; but maybe the bad ones were on their best behavior.

By the way, I'm looking for a beat down trailer to purchase for my retirement, can you point me in the right direction?

[zzt]

John, if you want to buy good but inexpensive ammo to break your new gun in while you load up a bunch of 45ACP, just buy the WW 165gr White Box stuff. It's cheap, accurate, but won't make major by 1 point. No biggie. You're just practicing and breaking your gun in.

While you are looking around, check out some of the once-fired brass sites. You can buy gorgeous once-fired for between 3 and 3.5 cents each, and fully processed brass for between 4.5 and 6 cents each. I bought two batches of 3000 ea. wet, SS media tumbled brass for 3.5 cents each and started reloading almost immediately. You could also scrounge the brass buckets at your local range and pick up a bunch for free.

I know what you mean about switching. I load 500 45ACP Major for matches, then 1000 45ACP for bullseye, then switch the press over and load 1000 40sw major for matches. The repeat.