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Load development - 40 S&W, 165 g fmj

3K views 3 replies 4 participants last post by  Gahunter12 
#1 ·
I got a new batch of .40 S&W, 165 gr, fmj bullets and needed to figure how I wanted to load them. I have Bullseye and Power Pistol powder and three loading manuals. I put the data in a spreadsheet (first picture, the top row is bullseye powder the second is PP). Then made up a series of loads to try (second picture)

I loaded 5 rounds for each load and marked each case 1X for bullseye, and 2X for power pistol. At the range I took a full size paper target and drew one cross for each load and put the load number above it. The gun used was a full size M&P .40. The distance to target was a measured 25' and the shots were fired using a pistol rest.

Actually I was surprised at how accurate the gun was with all the loads. There are a few flyers that were my fault. All the groups looks pretty good to me, but the best was 7.0 grains of power pistol. It was interesting to me that the cartridges loaded with power pistol were noticeably louder than the Bullseye loads. When I started shooting the PP loads the guy in the lane next to me asked was I shooting a .44. He said he could feel the concussion every time I pulled the trigger.
 

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#2 ·
Nice shooting and great report Stev.

I'm partial to power pistol in my auto loaders but it really is flashy and does have a pretty nice roar. With the load in question you may have been just over the speed of sound while the others maybe were just under it.

I've just recently tried WSF and it, along with bullseye and titegroup have much less flash. They all work very well in my guns, so to each his own I guess. It's sure fun experimenting though.:)
 
#4 ·
Great report! I would try some WST if you get a chance. I load all of my .40s&w rounds with WST. It very accurate, and smooth shooting in my Glocks, and XDm. I load 3.8gr of WST under 180gr XTreme RSFP, or 180gr PD FMJ. Great shooting round.
 
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