help with 40 S&W

[jim8115]

Can anyone give me a good starting point for 180 Gr plated and lead bullets, using unique or w231? Shooting a Sigma. It seems that every manual, or article i find varies widely... I am not wanting max velocity, just a reliable safe round for my wife to practice with.
Would 6.4 of unique or 5.4 W231 be good?
I dont have a scale yet, so am constrained by the lee dippers

thanks,

 

[OKFC05]

http://data.hodgdon.com/main_menu.asp

You're too hot on the 231 load; don't start on or dip max charges.
Minimum load is more like 4.0 grains.
Try a few and see if they work the slide in the mid 4's.

 

[Fkimble]

I use 4.6 of 231 with 180 jacketed Zero's if that's any help

 

[jim8115]

Guess ill go buy a powder scale.... I have been using the lee dippers, which are fine if the powder load matches up exactly to what you are loading ( like with my .38 loads, the .5 dipper is 4.6 grains of unique ) , otherwise they are worthless...

 

[Rule3]

Guess ill go buy a powder scale.... ..

You should not even consider reloading anything without a good scale. It's the most important piece of reloading equipment.

There is nothing wrong with the Lee Dippers and the use of them is very accurate only if you know what actual weight they are delivering. They go by volume. Your W 231 probably weighs a little different than mine. It all varies by lot , temp, humidity etc. The Lee chart is only a guide to the lot they used at that particular time.

Once you know what the weight of a dipper is , it will deliver exactly the same every time if you use them correctly. Dip in the powder to over flow, do not tap or shake, take a straight edge (a card) and run it across the top.

Get a scale( not a cheap electronic piece of junk)

 

[fredj338]

Can anyone give me a good starting point for 180 Gr plated and lead bullets, using unique or w231? Shooting a Sigma. It seems that every manual, or article i find varies widely... I am not wanting max velocity, just a reliable safe round for my wife to practice with.
Would 6.4 of unique or 5.4 W231 be good?
I dont have a scale yet, so am constrained by the lee dippers

thanks,

Not sure where you got your data but both loads are too hot for plated bullets IMO. For Unique, you want to be around 5.5gr & for W231 around 5.3gr. You can work up a bit from there, but those should be under 1000fps.

 

[PDL]

+1 on 'where's your data coming from' and what bullets you're actually using.

With 180gr Missouri TCFP and Penn RNFP lead bullets, I've been loading at 5.0 of W231 or Bullseye, CCI primers, COL 1.12.
The BE is a touch hotter, but not so you'd notice.

I don't have a chrono but quickload suggests they're about 1000fps

 

[jim8115]

Ok, i was looking at load data other people had listed, different places on the different forums and web sites, etc..thats why I asked here, there was just way too much spread.... The bullets came from a local dealer, they are 180 Gr LEAD , and 180 GR Plated Round Flat nose. I dont know the brand, as they are packaged in plastic bags, with no markings.

 

[delta1679]

I've loaded about 300 .40 rounds with 5.5gr of Unique using180gr plated flat nose bullets from Berry's. That info is directly out of the Lee reloading manual. Works quite well out of my SW40VE. I would also definitely recommend picking up a powder measure, good scale, and one of the reloading manuals on the market. I'm relatively new to reloading, but those tools have been extremely helpful to ensure I'm as accurate as possible.

 

[M29since14]

In handloading, where any type of uncertainty exists, it is always best to err on the side of caution. Generally, your gun will never care, and you will never know, if your load is 100 FPS slower than you would like.

We see these variations in charge weights all the time, and it is frustrating, but usually when you look closely, there are slight component differences. Just accept the lowest maximum charge weight you find as maximum, until you have some reason to be certain it is safe to go further.

With plated bullets, it is tough to find really precise data, but more and more is coming along. I notice Accurate Arms has a considerable amount of data for plated bullets on their website now. In the meantime, take no chances. Always start low and progress carefully.

 

[noylj]

Plated bullet manufacturers say to use lead data or go no higher than the mid-jacketed data.
I don't like plated bullets and recommend buying jacketed in bulk from Montana Gold, Precision Delta, or Zero (Roze Distribution). In bulk, they are the same or even less than the plated bullets.
There are very few guns that don't perform their very best with jacketed bullets (either JHP or H-RNFP). I am a life-long cast bullet shooter, but if I can't cast I use real jacketed bullets.
Never "guess" at a load. Reference at least two different manuals and start at the LOWEST starting load and work up. Work up in 5% or 0.3 grain increments, whichever is less.
Never trust a load from any source other than a reloading component manufacturer.

 

[roundgunner]

I agree with too hot.
This is my medium hot 180 JHP load

180 JHP 6.2 UNIQUE 1090 M&P 1060 M&Pc

I used the dippers when I first got started. Sometimes I used a combination of 2 scoops to get the right charge, about 10% under full power.

 

[jim8115]

Thanks to all of you for the input. I ordered a RCBS powder scale today, and will start with the lower figures y'all have provided me.

 

[Rule3]

Thanks to all of you for the input. I ordered a RCBS powder scale today, and will start with the lower figures y'all have provided me.

Good to hear. RCBS makes excellent products. As I mentioned, a good scale is the most important tool to have. Without knowing the exact weight of your powder charge you can get in trouble real fast. You can still dispense powder with the dippers once you know exactly what they hold. If it is a little over, you can sand them down a bit untill you get the exact charge you want. Just put a piece of medium sandpaper on a perfectly flat surface and use a circl motion to sand a tiny bit at a time. Then scoop and re weigh.

 

[weyerbacher]

If you like 231, you might want to try Winchester Super Field. I use it for my 40 loads. It's cleaner than 231.

 

[scattershot]

You might want to invest in a good reloading manual, too. Two of my favorites are the Lyman and Hornady books.

Good shooting!

 

[jim8115]

Would 4.6 grains of unique be too low for a start? My powder scale wont be here till next week......................and I can get that with the Lee dippers

 

[fredj338]

Ok, i was looking at load data other people had listed, different places on the different forums and web sites, etc..thats why I asked here, there was just way too much spread.... The bullets came from a local dealer, they are 180 Gr LEAD , and 180 GR Plated Round Flat nose. I dont know the brand, as they are packaged in plastic bags, with no markings.

YOU NEVER USE FORUMS OR OTHER NON VETTED SITES as "data". Data comes form a punlsihed source where it has been pressure tested. I am confident that 99.9% of any loading info form forums or your buddy's uncle or whatever are NOT pressrue tested.
Bullets are NOT plug & play. Plated, lead & jacketd, FMJ, truncted cone, JHP, etc, none can be just thrown into a load w/ working that load up form the bottom.

 

[jim8115]

I understand. Which one would you recommend? The ones I have checked so far seem to be rather incomplete, they only have certain bullet weight, powder, etc. Is there a really good one that covers most combinations? For example, alliant only gives a max charge, and it is 6.7 unique for a 180Gr jacketed. From what I can tell from getting real world input from people here, that is too high...........thats why i was trying to do some research before i even start
Thanks

 

[Rule3]

I understand. Which one would you recommend? The ones I have checked so far seem to be rather incomplete, they only have certain bullet weight, powder, etc. Is there a really good one that covers most combinations? For example, alliant only gives a max charge, and it is 6.7 unique for a 180Gr jacketed. From what I can tell from getting real world input from people here, that is too high...........thats why i was trying to do some research before i even start
Thanks

You are going to find discrepancies between manuals and the powder companies test data. It all depends on the actual bullet used, the powder lot # and test barrel. You can not go wrong with the load data from the powder companies which is on line.

I like Hodgdon (IMR Win) the best. There web site is easy to use and prints out well for all their powders.
Alliant powder, yes, uses the max load but tells you to start at 10% less.

As to manuals Speer, Lyman are both good. Speer only uses their bullets but uses a real gun to test.
Lyman has more lead data.
Get several manuals plus the online data from the powder companies. Compare and go with something in the middle if in doubt.

I