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Loading .40 S&W

John A.

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I know factory .40 S&W Federal 155's are around 1150 fps.

Looking at the load data, with a max load of longshot powder, hogdon shows I can get up to 1283 fps with a 4" barrel (Mine is a 5 inch barrel) so that will probably push it upwards of 1300 fps or maybe a hair more which is a notable increase in power over what most over the counter 40 ammo will do.

I know that 40 S&W doesn't have the case capacity as 10mm and 10mm is capable of a lot more so I am trying to avoid comparing it to a 10mm or call it something it is not, but the numbers exist for a mild 10mm load from the 40 cal. Hornady factory ammo publishes 1265 from their 10mm 155 gr.

I currently have a lightweight 14# spring in my XD Tactical because I'm running a 2 stage springco recoil rod in it, but if I ever run a few mags of the hotter stuff to see how they work or if I dust it off for HD duty again, I'll probably put the factory 17# recoil spring in it out of an abundance of caution so I don't damage or batter the frame.

I wouldn't feed it a regular diet of them, but I don't see a reason not to try them and if they are reliable, don't see any reason why not try it.

Does anyone knows why it would be a bad idea to load some up?

Aside from the longshot powder, I may also look at #9 and Enforcer if I can find some known good data for them since I have a few pounds of it sitting on my bench that I use in my favorite subsonic blackout loads.

The enforcer pushes a 125 gr Hornady through my 6 inch 357 at 1650 fps. And I haven't tested it through my 16 inch .357 Pardner yet to see what kind of numbers I'm getting through it. That's some really good powder too. If I can find some numbers on it with the 40.
 
Hi, John.

oli700 is quite the accomplished handloader of the 10mm and he should be able to add some expert opinion.

Me? I have dabbled in the .40S&W a little as well as the 10mm. And I know that you are a very studious person about loading.

I am curious as to what load data you are going by: Was it arrived at with

-New Brass
-Test barrel vs. an actual semi-auto handgun
-If a test barrel, the chance of case rupture is almost impossible
-If a real handgun with a ramped feed then that is different
-Used brass comes into play when we talk about going all the way to MAX in forty-cal which is known for case ruptures
-If you are going to shoot for the moon with .40S&W I would find a powder near the slow side of MED on the burn chart, and start below MAX.

Your friend,

Dave
 
-New Brass


-Test barrel vs. an actual semi-auto handgun


-If a test barrel, the chance of case rupture is almost impossible

-If a real handgun with a ramped feed then that is different

-Used brass comes into play when we talk about going all the way to MAX in forty-cal which is known for case ruptures

-If you are going to shoot for the moon with .40S&W I would find a powder near the slow side of MED on the burn chart, and start below MAX.

Your friend,

Dave
I have nothing beyond this

.....other than if you want to have a fast 40 then buy a 10mm
I tried to help a buddy with a Sig in 40. We never could get those velocities
40sw is weird , it's an after thought and it loads like one......
The other thing was none of the factory claims on velocity were really close to true
The American eagle was 1100 to 900 all in one box
We tried to load 155 to 1100 and it was a challenge

Good luck with it there are lots of choices and we only had a couple I'll never load another and he since sold that Sig and bought one in 9mm
 
Thank you very much guys.

I understand the .40 is not a 10mm. Nor am I trying to make it one. But if there's a load or two out there that would let me load to higher fps for HD purposes, that is the goal. And those wouldn't be regular diet plinking loads either.

I've heard a lot of talk about ruptured cases and kabooms over the years too and was the main reason why I wanted to ask here first before jumping in both feet first half blind. Glock was more notorious for case seperations. Not so much in the XD that I will be using them in though.

I ordered some dies last week and plan to start loading some of my once fireds that I've picked up over the years. Not sure why I held off so long loading for it, but I guess because I shoot it a lot less often than I do my 9's and 45's. And besides, I'm adding a caliber at a time slowly as time and money allow.

As for pressures, the .40 saami rating is the same as 9mm. 35,000 psi @chamber. Hogdon data has the longshot powder below under 32,000 for the bullet that I am using, even at max, which I would work my way up to obviously instead of jumping straight there.

40 s7w load data.PNG

As for people who have already used this load, it's been out there for a while and a few examples:

http://smith-wessonforum.com/reloading/283145-correct-powder-40-s-w.html

https://www.thehighroad.org/index.php?threads/hodgdon-longshot-in-40-s-w.721715/
 
I think you will get something awesome worked out. If I had one of my own I would have a better knowledge but since it was my friends I didn't really have the time to invest in finding the load it liked and what it could handle
 
I'll be honest, I rarely shoot the gun, but it's always been a good one and I may dust it off sometimes. I'd just like to get some good loads worked up for it for when I hand it down.

It's the gun that I bought for my youngest son when he was born, so long as he stays out of trouble with the law, don't get on drugs, and be an alright guy when they get old enough to have it. In other words, he has to earn it. But so far, so good. I don't expect that will change between now and then.

I figure having some load data worked up may help him out some too. Especially when it's his first HD piece. I want it right. I'm sure you know where I'm coming from.
 
I was FINALLY able to shoot the bullets that I loaded up. They shot real good. And the extra inch of barrel did help.

These weren't real snappy compared to factory loads. Very manageable recoil. I was having no problems ringing the gong from 25 yards standing/off hand.

Anyway, here's what I got.

shot 1-6

1355
1402
1378
1355
1373
1349

average 1368 fps

Not too shabby for 40 short and weak.

I shot 4 factory 40S&W 165 gr JHP Rangers while I was up there and they chrono'd at 1025, 1036, 1043, and 1029 fps respectively.

Mine were getting about 300+ more fps than they were. For only 10 gr difference in the bullet, that's significant.

Happy. Happy. Happy.

Brass was landing about 4 feet away in a neat little pile about 20" in diameter.

No pressure signs. Cases weren't even real sooty, and considering I was using longshot, I expected that they would've been because it's known for being dirty.
 
Thanks nitesite.

My goal for velocity was about 1325. And for the minimum that I got being about 1350-1400, yeah, I'm real happy with that. And these were loaded shy of max too.

1402 chrony 40 S&W.png
 
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