Just received my RCBS press and ready to start!!!
Going to be reloading 40 S&W for mostly target practice
Picked up a box of 150 Grain Nosler and looking into xtremebullets 165 grain at about half the price of Nosler I figure they are worth a try.
Going to be reloading for a pistol, short 2 3/4" barrel and also a carbine with a longer 9" barrel
Does the xtremebullets copper plaiting completely prevent lead fouling with a longer 9" barrel?

Have been researching powder and came up with a few powders
W231, Unique, and Titegroup

Looking for a powder that will meter well in a progressive press and be good for a 40 s&w
thanks

"Selection". That's funny right there!
Grab all three if you can find them. Unique for everything... or almost.

231 will meter well in my experience. Not familiar with the 40 S&W but both 231 and Unique has worked in all pistol cartridges I have tried.

Plating will work up to a certain velocity. Check with the maker.

Wst and wsf are your friends.

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The American dream is alive

Jes wonderin', do you have a couple reloading manuals? A reloading manual will list recommended powders in the data section for each individual bullet/weight...

no I don't have a reloading manual,,,, where can I get one?

If you don’t have a manual, slow down, read and reread several before going further.

Graf & Sons - The Reloading Authority - Your Source for Shooting Supplies
Reloading Supplies Products -MidwayUSA

What RCBS press did you get? We know you didn’t get a kit because a kit comes with a manual. Do you have a scale?

rcbs Pro 2000 is the press. No scale, been thinking a good scale would be a good idea, can't load any thing without one. I have been looking online for powder. Any place that has good deals and good selection?

W231 (HP-38 in disguise) meters exceptionally well for me. Once I set my powder dropper, it never varies.

Much reloading data can be found online through bullet maker sites or powder maker sites, but a good reloading manual should teach you the hows and whys/why nots of reloading procedures.

And if you don't have carbide dies, spend a few exrtre bucks and get them. You'll never regret it.

Handgun powders are currently nearly impossible to find online and any dealer that lists some in stock will sell out in less than 10 or 15 minutes for a powder with a wide application range. If you want to locate some powder you will have to tell the forum where you are located. That way someone in your area who knows of an off the net dealer with powder in stock can guide you to that source.

Another potential source for powders is your local gun shows. While it's hit or miss if you attend every single show in your area you will be able to find some useful powder eventually.

Now for powders that meter well and will be useful in the 40 S&W.

One excellent powder for lighter range loads is IMR 7625. Unfortunately this powder has been discontinued by Hodgdon as of the end of 2014. If you stumble on an 8 lbs. bottle of this powder buy it, will provide enough powder for about 9000 reloads.

For more energetic loads the 40 S&W becomes a bit problematic. One powder I've used that meters very well is Vihtavouri 3N37, unfortnuately Vihtavouri powders can be difficult to find. One VV powder that has popped up recently on Gunbot is N340, a slightly "faster" alternate to 3N37. Another potential powder is a new powder from Hodgdon, CFE Pistol. I picked up 4 lbs of this at a local gun show and it's a fine grained powder that should meter quite well and it appears to be similar to Unique in burn rate and versatility. However, as I haven't tried any at this point I cannot say it's all it's claimed to be.

If you don't mind hand weighing each and every charge Longshot is a fantastic choice for high energy 40 caliber loads. Unfortunately Longshot meters about as well as Unique, which means it won't meter consistently in any powder measure I know of.

Bullets. In 38 special, 40 S&W, and 45 ACP all I load with for simple range use are plated bullets from Extreme and other sources. The velocity limit for plated bullets is commonly claimed to be 1200 fps for standard thickness plating and in these calibers you will not be able to hit 1200 fps. unless you are using a very light for the caliber bullet. BTW, Extreme's hollow point bullet feature a "heavy" plate and are rated for 1500 fps. if you want to build some 40 caliber screamers using Longshot. My SD practice ammo features a 165 grain Extreme HP bullet loaded to 1150 fps. which is a ballistic match to the HE Speer Gold Dots I carry. Basically, plated bullets will work very well for the 40 S&W and I don't see any need to spend the extra money for true Jacketed bullets. However, for my 357 Magnum loads I do use Hornady XTP's because Extreme hasn't had the heavy plate .357 Hollow Points in stock.

For a scale, get yourself an RCBS model 502 or 505 both are under 100 dollar beam type scales that work very well. I prefer the 2 poise 502 over the 3 poise 505 because it's easier to set up and simple helps minimize mistakes.

Exactly this^.
I've had the same good results with W231 for many years of reloading 9mm, 38, 45 (ACP & Colt), 40 and even 357 and 44 mag. I'm sure there are better powders for the magnums but the 231 will get it done.

Did a little hunting around the net for powder and everything seems to be out of stock. So check on gunbot every now and than till someone has some stock?

Best way I've found is to look through handloading books and online handloading guides, find out which powders have recipes for the bullets and caliber you are loading, then make a list of the powders that will work. Then arrange the list according to what powders you prefer. Then when you look at Gunbot (or wherever) you will know which powders are possibilities. The reason for having a list is that you won't have time to look up a particular powder in a book or online when it shows up. You have to order it as soon as you see it. Good luck

Edit, there are some places that don't list on Gunbot, Recob's and Natchez are 2 of them that come to mind. And don't check "every now and then" if you want to get powder, it becomes a "look at Gunbot every time you can".

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Minimize the variables

You're also going to need a powder that meters easily from your measure if you're using a progressive press.

If you see it do not pass on the CFE Pistol.

I have some and have used it in 3.1" barrel .40
with good results. With various loads I get
950 to 1020 average FPS. Meters well, not perfect but
quite well. I am using 155gr. RNFP X-treme. You can go to the Hodgdon site and they have a lot of loads listed.

Can't say enough about having a couple of manuals.
Especially, read the part that does not contain the loading data.

Safe loading. Good shooting.

I don't shoot/load 40 cal. but do load 38 Special, 9mm and 45acp. I've just recently started using plated bullets in 9mm, as I usually just use hard cast for plinking/range loads.

Good luck finding powder! Pistol powders especially. I finally found a dealer that had Alliant Bullseye in stock in 8 lb. jugs. They don't ship, so took a 6 hour round trip to buy it! It was worth it! I also had a chance to pick up 3 lbs. of TiteGroup, which I am experimenting with now in 9mm-so far, very good results with 115 & 124 gr. plated bullets.

I also picked up some Red Dot, 700X and CFE Pistol-none of these I have tried yet, but will at some point. Point is, you may have to look for something that is AVAILABLE that you can use for the time being.

Also, GET RELOADING MANUALS AND A SCALE! The manuals for load data and valuable information to help you understand the processes of reloading and a good quality scale so you know exactly what powder charge is going into your cartridges! An RCBS 505 would be my personal suggestion. Don't skimp on the scale-it'll last you a lifetime and is the most valuable piece of gear you'll own (in my opinion).

While I own a paper copy of the Lyman manual, which I recommend fully, if you move out of the standard calibers it sometimes doesn't have information (45 win mag) being an example. An old copy of speer is helpful to have since IMO it has less lawyerized loads in it and if you use hornady bullets their manual is a good catch since sometimes Lyman and others won't have the load data. In short, Lyman to start, pick up a few others to cross reference.

As for scales, the lee safety scale is pretty good but it can be tedious to weigh each charge (although it is very safe and you need to weigh manually a few charges here and there if you choose a more automated scale). The auto disk is a great quick way to weigh charges but you trade off some flexibility, you are limited to charges the autodisk can weigh. Also, you need to calibrate it for each powder as it is a volumetric measurement system. I also can fully recomend the lyman automated scales, I have one and I LOVE it, very accurate, but not quite as fast. A powder thrower is a good in between of all of these and the RCBS powder thrower is a great one, people I know with the Lee one have had problems with it leaking powder.

You didn't say what make of 40S&W. Some of the barrels do not offer full support for the rear base of the cartridge and when using hot loads the base of the cartridge will be blown out due to lack of support. Glock was famous for this. Sig pistols do offer full support. Frank

The pistol is a SIG P229, and the carbine is an MP5 both are 40 S&W

Try to find a copy of the current Handloader magazine #292. It has
an extensive article on the .40 S&W by Brian Pearce. He used a variety
of powders in the loads and lists those that gave best results. He used
a Glock 22 for the test to prove all the loads were safe. His articles
are very detailed and you can probably learn about all you need to
know about the .40 from this one article. A Glock 22 is pictured on
the cover.

Johnnn01, you still haven't posted where in the USA you live. You really should correct that so a reader in your area might be able to guide you to a source for powder.

On the chance that you are within 300-400 miles of Northern Ohio I can tell you that between Fin, Feather, & Fur in Ashland, Ohio and The Sportsman's Den in Shelby, Ohio you should be able to find a powder you can use. Most likely it won't be an "ideal" choice but it should be useful.

The Fin has someone on the phone on a daily basis checking with distributors for powders, primers, and bullets and they do pay a slightly premium price for materials in short supply. As a consequence of of doing this they do have useful powders in stock at somewhat higher prices than what you see on the net, typically it's a 5-8 dollar per pound premium. Last time I stopped into the Fin Aug 23 they had Bullseye, Unique, and H110 in stock. Granted, you won't be using H110 because is a Magnum Handgun powder but both Bullseye and Unique are useful as long as you hand weigh each charge.

As for the Sportman's Den, they are rather far "off the grid" and supply a LOT of Trap, and Skeet shooters, so they have a pretty good inventory of shotgun powders in stock most of the time. BTW, many "Handgun" powders were originally developed for use in Shotgun loads. So, at times the Den has a wider selection of powders useful for Handgun than the Fin and they charge less than the Fin. Unfortunately they do have a 2 lbs. limit on powder purchases for each type, so make sure to take a shopping list and stock up as much as possible. BTW, it's off the top of my head so it's likely way short but Handgun powders that started as Shotgun powders are Unique, Longshot, Titewad, Titegroup, Steel, Bullseye, SR7625 and likely many many others.

I'd suggest you slow down and start right. First step; get a copy of The ABCs or Reloading. Also a copy of Lyman's 49th Edition reloading Handbook. Read these and you'll have a good idea of all aspects of reloading including brass, bullets, powder, primers and how to assemble them and why each is used. These will also give you an idea of what equipment is needed for your reloading needs. Forums are a good source of some info (and a whole lot of opinions) but pay no attention to reload data from any forum expert, gun counter clerk, "pet" loads web site, or gun shop guru. Use your reloading manuals for reloading data, not from any anonymous source and you'll prolly have no OOPS!...

I have been fortunate for powder and have a good variety. In 40S&W I have loaded 231, HS-6, Power Pistol, N340, 800X, Bullseye, Unique and Blue Dot. They all worked fine although some meter better than others...example would be 800X as it's a flake powder that is tougher to meter for pistol weights just like 700X. Better suited to shotguns. I only tried a few test loads just because but it shoots fine. Titegroup is not listed in the Lyman manual for 40 S&W and I have never loaded it in any caliber. From what I have read it is a dense powder that is easier to double charge so I have never tried it. Better to use a powder that fills the case for the load you are using. JMHO.

I like 231 for it's economy but also load a lot of Power Pistol. HS-6 meters and performs well but requires around 8g per round in .40S&W compared to less than 6g for 231 and less than 7g for PP so doesn't go as far...but I still have over 8lbs so I'll use it. These numbers are for comparison only and not suggested loads!!

Many have favorite powders for various reasons but I can't say I find great differences among them for target loads outside of metering properties and economy. Some flash more than others and some are cleaner than others but I've not seen any that I had a problem with. Make a list of some from your loading manual and carry it with you so when you see powder you can insure you're buying the right ones. Bulleye, Unique, 231 and Power Pistol will work in most calibers so can't go wrong with any of those.

Watch Armslist for your area in your search for powders...I've had very good luck but you have to check daily as it doesn't last long. Watch out for price though as some ask stupid high prices. Most powders go from about $20 to max $30 per lb...a bit less in 8lb jugs.

Get at least two manuals and good luck in your powder hunt!

Bullseye is a good powder in the 40, I use a lot of it.
Also use it in the 38 and 45.
If you find it, buy it.
Works great in any pistol loads, except the hot magnum ones.

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John

picked up a few books: Lyman Reloading Handbook, 49th Edition,,,,
Hornady 9th Edition Handbook of Cartridge Reloading,,,,,and The ABCs Of Reloading: The Definitive Guide for Novice to Expert.

Now if I could find powder!!!

That's great! Now study them thoroughly. Don't reload anything until you do.

MANY powders will 'work' with the .40. Between the books you have and the data on the web try to find a pound of something that will do the job until you find what you actually want. Some people around the country report seeing all kinds of powder. Most of the folks can't find much of anything. Over the last year I've found:

Titegroup
PB
Red Dot

I've also seen some IMR 4227 which I don't use and 2400 which I do use.
My two favorite rifle powders, O4895 and 4759 have been fairly available.

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"He was kinda funny lookin'"

Seriously! Where are you? I've got powder sources in N. Colorado, likely somewhere in your area has some too. Don't be the only one looking...the forum is a great resource if you let it be.

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Fight socialism. Never stop.

Same place you got the press, ya just overlooked it like many do.
For your penance, you must now get three manuals.

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it just needs more voltage

venom,

Overlooked indeed! See post #25. What shall we assign you for your penance?

Andy

Reading the whole thread.

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it just needs more voltage

I am surprized. The bestest powder for the 40 small and weak is HS-6. Meters well and burns clean.
I use Monotana Gold 165 grain with 7.2 grains of HS-6
I also use W-231 with xtreme 180 gain bullets. My brother likes that load.

You can access manuals from Alliant, and Hogdon online. Handloads.com a great source too. I have a Lyman 49th, and use it VERY little.Bob