10mm / 40 Caliber Reloading

[The Knight Of Light]

Originally Posted by army89bravo

can i use blue dot or winchester 296 to load 40 s&w? if so, where can i get some reloading data for them?thanks

Alliant Powder - Reloader's Guide

For Winchester, 296 is not listed on the Hodgdon data website. So most likely it is not recommended.

[JustSomeGuy]

Originally Posted by ragsflh

all reloading charts have aol. my xdm will shoot 1.085 this is short to 1.139 so far.according to your post .003 longer will/should work

The overall length of the cartridge is important for a couple of reasons. 1) Obviously if the cartridge length is too long it wont fit in the magazine and things will go wrong! 2) The OAL is relative to the PRESSURE generated by the particular powder used in the load. Powder makers thus quote the OAL used in testing a particular powder/bullet combination in order to give some idea of what to expect with that combination or similar combination in a "standard" barrel. Your results may vary... somewhat. But shortening the OAL is NOT RECOMMENDED because it will increase peak pressures more rapidly in a gun. Lengthening OAL on the other hand LOWERS peak pressure and so most people who use faster powders like Titegroup or (heaven forefend) Clays, especially in 40S&W which requires near or absolutely max loads of those powders to make major will increase OAL in order to lower peak pressures in that cartridge. Many IPSC shooters will load to 1.130 or 1.135 in an XD for that reason. Some also report that feeding is more reliable at that length... but that would depend on a lot of other factors as well, like bullet shape and material. Still, I would think that going a tad longer than the "standard" length would always be safer than going shorter for the pressure reasons alone.

And honest... if you are reloading get a chrono as soon as possible. I delayed doing so for some time, but when I got one I found that the data was so important to me I was kicking myself for not doing it sooner. A decent chronograph and a spreadsheet will do wonders for your shooting!

[Jachin]

Greetings everyone,
I'm new to reloading. Being accustomed to the likes of W white box, Blazer Brass, Rem and stuff I buy at Walmart, I have never known a "light load." So, after first loading up some 9mm to match factory loads, I decided to load some 40 lites. I used 4.2 grains of Winchester 231 behind a 180 Montana Gold CMJ to a OAL of 1.128-1.130.
On Sunday at the range, I stacked four 40 lite's under four Blazer B 180's (chrono'd at 965 fps average a few months back) in a mag, stuffed the mag in my XDm-40 and fired away. Well, after reading a lot of these threads about "soft" loads, I'm telling you I was outright laughing. These suckers are close to a 22. I loaded a full mag of lites and half way through i had to stop shooting to laugh some more. I loved it. I was thinking if these worked out, I would try them in a production match, now I can't wait.
Of the twenty-five 40 lites I fired, all fired, the XDm cycled perfectly and the slide remained open after the last round. The angle that the case ejected was different but all ejected.
I'm going to load some more and try them in my XD-40 service model next.
Here's my question.
Is there anyone loading a soft 180 gr. round using W-231 less than 4.2 grains of powder and shooting a XD that cycles reliably? Or, how low can I go and still cycle reliably?
Best regards,

XD-9 S
XD-40 S Black
XD-40 S Dark Earth
XDm-40
XD-45 S

[mousegun380]

I can't answer your question as I don't use w-231, but I wanted to suggest going slow with the light loads until you prove them 100% reliable. If you get a squib and are ripping through a mag.....

My light load is 4.7gr Unique with 180 grain cast.

[LittleDave]

jUST Chrony'd starting loads with 170 grain Missouri Cast bullets.

800x - 5.6 grains, Win SPP's, mixed heads, 1.119 OAL

At starting load had a min of 866 fps, and max of 983 fps.

I've heard that powder does better at the higher end of the spectrum.

I also did 10 shots with same bullets, but with BlueDot.

7.3 grains of Blue Dot

Min 955 fps
Max 965 fps

Looks like 7.3 grains of BlueDot is my new favorite load.

I was shooting on the 50 yard range, through the Chrony, at an SR-1. With the BlueDot I shot an 87 - 3x.

Also shot 2 - 10 shot groups of .223 Privi Partizan 69 grainers through the Chrony, Benchrested XM-15 20" chrome lined barrel, 20x Tasco scope, CMP complient (6.5lb) 2 stage giselle, had about a half inch group, shot high 2800's with a 69 fps spread.

lower 70's muggy, overcast

[nouseforaname1246]

ok this is probably a stupid question but i heard that you cant reload aluminum cases. is this true? why? the reason im asking is a friend of mine who dosnt reload gave me a decent sized bag of brass from his last trip to the range and its about 3/4 aluminum. also are the nickel cases ok to reload?

[The Knight Of Light]

Originally Posted by nouseforaname1246

ok this is probably a stupid question but i heard that you cant reload aluminum cases. is this true? why? the reason im asking is a friend of mine who dosnt reload gave me a decent sized bag of brass from his last trip to the range and its about 3/4 aluminum. also are the nickel cases ok to reload?

While some people will say otherwise... You should not reload the aluminum cases. Some of the newer Blazer aluminum has a boxer primer and in reality could be reloaded. Speer has tested it and it can be done. Is it safe? I won't do the testing with my guns. My opinion says save all the aluminum cases and recycle them. Nickel cases can be reloaded just fine.

[p-nut]

Originally Posted by nouseforaname1246

ok this is probably a stupid question but i heard that you cant reload aluminum cases. is this true? why? the reason im asking is a friend of mine who dosnt reload gave me a decent sized bag of brass from his last trip to the range and its about 3/4 aluminum. also are the nickel cases ok to reload?

Look down into the aluminum case and look at the inside of the primer. You normally see two holes (this means it's not reloadable - can't deprime it).
As for the nickel cases - I don't use them because they're hard on dies.
Bulk brass is cheap. Check your local craigslist if you're low on it.

[The Knight Of Light]

Nickel cases are hard on steel dies not Carbide or TiN dies(Hornaday).

[fredj338]

Originally Posted by p-nut

Look down into the aluminum case and look at the inside of the primer. You normally see two holes (this means it's not reloadable - can't deprime it).
As for the nickel cases - I don't use them because they're hard on dies.
Bulk brass is cheap. Check your local craigslist if you're low on it.

SOme have successfully relloaded both aluminum & steel cases. It is NOT recommended though. Niether have the elsticity of brass & are not meant to be reloaded. It's why they orignally put the Bedan primers in, to discourage reloading. It may work fine or th ecase may blow out on the first try. Nickel, I have no issues w/ nickel p;ated brass in carbide dies, although I tend to lube those every other case or so.