40 s&w with 3N37

[Johnnn01]

I have loaded some 40 s&w using 180gn nosler hp with 6gn of 3N37
They shoot great, but seem to be a little on the light side. The brass ejects fine but not that far.
But according to VV the load of 6gn of 3n37 is toward the top of the charge limit 6.2gn being max
.40 S&W - Handgun reloading - Reloading Data - Vihtavuori
I do not own a chronograph so I am not shure if I can up the powder charge a bit or not.
Has anyone loaded vv 3n37 with a 180gn bullet and gone higher than 6gn?

 

[Road_Clam]

I don't have any experience with VV 3N37 , but thus far I've tried Win WST and Unique. My .40S&W Glock G35 seems to be happy with the 180 RNFP at about 930 fps regardless of which powder I use. I chrono'd factory Win white box 165's and they averaged 1050 fps with an ES of 34 fps . I also tested my LAX ammo 180 rnfp reloads and they tested at 1036 avg and an ES of 26 fps . Neither of these loads shoot all that great in my Glock as compared to my 180 gr handloads as stated above.

 

[Johnnn01]

I have loaded the 40 with WST, and that stuff is great.
Also have used Bullseye, too much flash
Winchester Auto Comp, good stuff
CFE, I was loading some 135gn with the max load of 7.8gn those had some kick

 

[Bastogne71]

Speer #14 has a starting load of 6.6gr for 841 fps and max at 7.2gr for 960 fps for 3N37 with the 180gr in the 40 S&W.

Lyman #49 has 6.1gr for 916 fps starting load and topping off with 6.8gr for 1002 fps.

VV 3N37 is my go to powder for 9mm but I haven't tried it in a 40 S&W. Hope this helps

 

[Johnnn01]

Thanks for the help
I just ordered the Speer #14 and Lyman #49 from midway.
My Hornady #9 does not have VV 3n37 in it.
6.8gn to 7.2gn for max makes sense considering how the
6gn load performs.
I need to pickup a chronograph, that would be a fun tool to play with.

 

[noylj]

Just keep this in mind:
A manual shows what they found using their gun and their lot of powder with their lot of cases and their lot of primers with their specific lot of bullets.
Unless you have all these variable the same, your results will differ.
At the very least, you should have Nosler's manual as you are using their bullets.
I prefer, besides inspection of the fired case, to compare the felt recoil against factory ammo of the same bullet weight and, when possible, the distance and location cases are ejected to get some idea of relative pressure. An even "better" method can be comparing the expansion ring/bulge of your cases about ⅛" above the extractor groove against the same make of factory ammo with the same bullet weight.
There are too many variable to think that you will get the same pressure as the manual's test set-up at the same pressure.
I also always try to find at least two different manuals that cover the powder and bullet weight and start with the lowest starting load and work up.
From my load compilation, I show start loads for 180gn jacketed bullets as ranging from 5.6-6.6gn and max loads ranging from 6.2-7.2gn. As you can see, one manual's start load is well above another's MAX load--and all are pressure tested.