With powder starting to come around I'd like to see if I can find an ideal powder for .40 S&W.

I'll be loading 180 grain Montana Gold JHP's for my Shield and Beretta PX4.

I do have some 700x and Accurate Nitro 100NF I use for shotshell target loads. The Nitro 100NF is pretty fast and I don't think I want to push those too hot. I'll try a few light loads and see how they do.

So what do you like? From my fishing around here, sounds like folks like Power Pistol, Universal and CFE Pistol.

Thanks all.
15K

I use Auto Comp, Bullseye, AA-5, and AA-2 with great results.

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John

My favorite powder in 40 S&W is Winchester Super Field WSF, and next is the old standby, Unique followed by Power Pistol. All loaded mid-range or a little higher but not to maximum charges.

If you can find Universal, it performs almost the same as Unique, but burns cleaner and is more expensive. Power Pistol works good at the top end of the loads but has quite a bit of muzzle blast and flash if you shoot indoors. 700-X is another good all around powder but might be a little tough to meter consistently.

Power Pistol and Unique have been good for me with the .40 S&W.

Titegroup and CFE Pistol.

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USN Retired/VN VET
M&P X5

I shoot a lot of cast (coated SNS) and plated bullets (Rainier). My favorite load in 40S&W is 4.2gr TiteGroup over a 180gr flat nose bullet. It's stout enough to know you're shooting a .40 without a lot of un-needed stress on the pistol. Very accurate at 20 yards and cheap to shoot. In my Beretta it has the same POI as off the shelf ammo. Naturally YMMV, and always start off cautiously.

I've had excellent success with Unique for 165's. Then Longshot or Titegroup for the heavier 180's

I am using 5.3 of TiteGroup behind a 155gr Berry's FP. I used the 4.2 for a while behind 180 FP but it didn't group as well in my gun. You just need to work with loads and see what you and your gun both agree on.

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USN Retired/VN VET
M&P X5

Universal Clays is my favorite but haven`t found any lately. I like WSF almost as well and also use CFE Pistol and Titegroup. All my loading is in the upper end as I load to simulate a self defense load in whatever weight I shoot.

I really like AA -5 for this caliber. I haven't been able to find any for a while, so I'm using Unique.

I've used Longshot with good results. I was able to match factory velocities with charges well below maximum.

The sweet spot for my Glock G35 is about 925 fps. Beyond that I am just wasting powder and loosing accuracy and consistency..

Autocomp and CFE Pistol

I use W231 but only because I have so much of it.

[QUOTE=15Krounds;138496213]With powder starting to come around I'd like to see if I can find an ideal powder for .40 S&W.
So what do you like? From my fishing around here, sounds like folks like Power Pistol, Universal and CFE Pistol.

Well two out of three is not bad. I have loaded the 40 with Universal and CFE Pistol. They both work. I prefer Universal. I was able to find both powders a few weeks ago , so I am very happy about that.

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Not so Free in the Free State

I've loaded up 40 test loads, 20 with the Nitro 100NF and 20 with the 700x.

Started with ten of the suggested start loads for each powder and ten of each about halfway to maximum.

We'll see how they do. I did just see about 6 pounds of powder at my local sporting clays club. They had two pounds of Universal, three pounds of Titegroup and one of Unique. When we got back in from our round, the Unique was sold. Should of maybe picked one up to try. I just want to get started with one that is commonly available and works well for accurate and consistent loads. Nice thing about the 700x is that I use it for my shotshell target loads. It does seem like it could meter better as I was getting some variation in my charge weights. +/- .2 grains. I'd get 4 in a row that would meter right on, then one that would be low. Once in a while one would be .2 grains too much. I guess a good reason to err a little on the low side.

Thanks all for your suggestions.
15K

My favorite powders are VV N320 for light loads and HS-6 for moderately warm loads. Might try some longshot soon . . .

My Ruger P94 and S&W 4013TSW both like the same load, which gives just under 1000 fps in the shorter barrel TSW and about 1060 out of the 4.2" Ruger.

Well the first loads worked just fine. The ones loaded at start weights were noticeably *****cats.

One thing that I notice right away is that these pistol rounds sip the powder compared to my shotshells! Holy cats a little goes a long way. The Nitro100NF takes 3.5 grains per .40 S&W load compared to my target shotshells that eat 17.3 per round.

I've got the Dillon working well now. Pistol rounds crank out ten times faster than those .223's.

https://youtu.be/AELaP2z9LEc