reloading 40 S&W with Lead

[Ron Wertz]

Hello everyone
1st time on the Forum
I am want to start reloading my 40 S&W with Lead bullets and can not find any info on it and I am striking out on were to buy lead bullets.
I do not want to load them on the high side just want to have good target loads only. I use a Lee pro 1000 but have not done any reloading in about 10 years, so I am a little bit rusty. I also want to reload 9 mm.
I will be shooting them from my M&P 40 that I have purchased drope in 9mm barrels. they do very well with factory FMJ ammo, I have had no problems.
If anyone can point me in the right dirrection I sure would be thankfull.

 

[growr]

Laser Cast ( Oregon Trail) & Meister have worked well for me. I use their 180 Truncated Cone and they shoot very well in my .40's. Might work well for you also....
Randy

 

[venomballistics]

it should not be an issue in any gun with conventional lands and grooves style rifling.

 

[Ron Wertz]

sounds great, what powder charge and type are you using with the 180 gr.or is there a chart that I can get if I contact Meister.

 

[Titegroups]

I have loaded them with Power pistol, was somewhere around 5.7-6.0g. with a 180g bullet. Velocity was 1070fps in a 4" barrel. IIRC.

 

[Rule3]

Here is a god article with some "lite" 40 SW loads.

Make Right With a ".40 Lite"

You can use your stock SW MP barrel, only the polygonal barrels like Glock and HK need a different barrel for lead.

I get my lead bullets from Missouri Bullets. Super fast delivery, great service and bullets.

Missouri Bullet Company

 

[Sunkist]

I agree on the Missouri Bullets for sure. I ordered 1000 170SWC .40's last Friday and they'll be here by Tuesday, for sure. Total cost $86 delivered to my door.

I switch back and forth between WSF and Power Pistol as my .40 lead powder. WSF is my first choice. My range gun likes bullets in the medium-fast range so I load them between 900 and 1000 fps.

 

[rsrocket1]

My M&P40 has never seen a factory new round since I bought it in June. The first rounds were 50 factory reloads that I chrono'ed for reference. I then put about 300 plated TC bullets through it and have since put about 2500 lead rounds through it. I used 180g TC Bear Creek moly coated bullets that I was buying at about $38/500 locally.

My loads have ranged from 2.8g Red Dot for ridiculously light recoil shooting to 7.0g Power Pistol for 1060 fps full speed loads. My favorite practice rounds were 5.0g Bullseye for mid 950 speeds.

I have since started casting my own bullets from wheel weight/linotype mix and with nothing more than tumble lubing have shot them to 1000 fps with no leading of the barrel at all.

Seating depth is important in 40S&W because it is a high pressure round and slight depth changes result in much larger peak pressures than in muzzle velocity changes. You can see with the 3 bullets here, if you seat them all to 1.135" COL, you'd end up with very different depths inside the case:

L to R: eXtreme plated 180g 0.557", Bear Creek 180g 0.595", my cast Lee 401-175-TC 0.563"

The 0.038" depth difference translates to 5-6,000 psi difference in peak chamber pressure and only a 40 fps difference in muzzle velocity.

I seat the cast Lee bullets to 1.102" COL which translates to the same depth as a 1.135" Bear Creek bullet. With the same charge, the two loads shoot identically. So be careful if you try to use one bullet's data for another. Start low and work up.

Bottom line: YMMV, but lead bullets shoot fine in the M&P40

 

[Neumann]

Midway has Hornady FMJ "Action" bullets for $17/100 in 500 lots. That's twice the price of plated bullets, but without the smoke and leading of plain lead, and no problem loading to 900+ fps.

Has anyone had a problem loading plated bullets on the hot side of 900 fps?

 

[buckshotshorty]

If all your cast bullets are as pristine as the one pictured, you did a very good job!

 

[Maximumbob54]

This:

+ this:

=

I think I was using HP-38 to push them, but it's been a while since I loaded so many the first time. That pile was the tip of an iceberg...

 

[M29since14]

I have used 5.0 grs of HP38 or WW231 with the Lyman 401638 bullet for many years now. It is mild, easy of the brass, shoots very well in my 1911 with Kart barrel, and I have tested it enough in my P229 and M&P that I am satisfied with it both for function and accuracy in those guns as well.

 

[roundgunner]

I use 175gr TC cast for over 99% of the rounds fired thru my 40s.
Almost full power practice load is 4.5 Titegroup for 965 fps.
My IDPA load is 3.2 of Titegroup for 755 fps.
I reload on a Dillon 650 and 40 S&W is the easiest to make of all.

The 40's are on the left.

My M&P's