what is needed

[oldRoger]

Actually your cases should be all about the same length after firing a few times. Straight-walled cases tend to shrink slightly after firing and in my experience stabilize after a while. I have some old military 45acp brass which has been fired countless times and is about the same length as newer cases fired 8-10 times.
The cartridge over all length is going to be dependent to a degree upon bullet shape. Lighter bullets usually end up not as deep in the case as the heavier bullet, this is a factor in the initial development of the load. So what you see published takes the bullet depth in the case into consideration and is why you see COL included in the data. It is an important figure because it affects pressure.
The listed dimensions for the .40 S&W Cartridge Overall Length (COL) is as follows:
Minimum=1.085”
Maximum = 1.135”
I strongly suspect that most pistols will not feed reliably at the minimum dimension. You will also find that your factory ammunition is probably under the max by a bit.
I think for your bullet, the 1.125” COL from Accurate Data is probably a good figure. If you plan to have all of them fall between 1.120/1.125’ you should be good.

I would make up enough dummy rounds to fill your highest count magazine, no primer or powder. at the correct COL and check for feeding in your pistol.

I use Sharpie permanent markers, they work and you can remove the marks if you want with thinner.

 

[a1racer]

thanks for all your info it is helping me a lot. i will put some dry rounds together today and post back on how they work at the lenght specified and if they load and eject correctly

 

[a1racer]

OK i put 10 dry rounds together and tried loading and ejecting them all worked fine no jams or stucks. and i was ably to get the die setup to 1.125 on each shell. so when i start building real loads in a few days i should be good to go.

 

[oldRoger]

When you have loaded your experimental loads and fired them, please let us know how they shot. Look at things like how far the brass goes when it ejects, how much smoke, how dirty that is unburned powder, etc.

This is not a criticism of what you are currently doing but for future reference I think AA#2 is a bit fast for heavier bullets in the 40 S&W. It certainly will work and is not in anyway a bad load. But I would suggest as you get to the bottom of your pound you consider a bit slower powder. I like and use AA#5 which I think might be worth considering for your next powder.

 

[a1racer]

Well I got some hs-6 powder from bass pro tonight. so I will try a few loads of each powder.I have been thinking about loading up some 135 or 145 grain fmj. so if the powder is better suited for a lighter bullet I will use it for that since I got 2 pounds. Thanks for the help I will not have the primers until the end of the week. so i will post up this weekend if the loads work as planed or not.

 

[oldRoger]

Good Luck, be extra careful, if something looks wrong, stop and ask, someone will be glad to help.

 

[a1racer]

well the primers came in early so it looks like i will do some loading tomorrow. i have already sized and decaped all the brass i have so tonight i will put the expander die in and get the rounds ready for tomorrow i will do a batch of like 20 rounds using both powders and report back what happens to go from there.oldroger you have been a big help thanks

 

[BSkerj]

Don't forget a bullet puller. I am sure you will make mistakes along the way and will want to salvage the bullet and brass . Buy a inertia puller. Most reloading places have them and alot of them are sized for different calibers. They look like a plastic hammer..they work great and are a valuable asset to reloading. They cost around 15.00 to 20.00. Good Luck

 

[a1racer]

yeah i have been picking stuff up at bass pros they have them for about that price. i will get one next time out i forgot it when i saw the powder and bought that instead of what i went for a powder doper i have been thinking about going with the lee pro auto disk type or something similar so i dont have to hand dump every load at a time

 

[a1racer]

i mad my first 10 loads tonight half with 7.2 grains of hs6 and the other half with 7.4 hs6 all ten where 165 grain fmjrn bullets from reniger lead safe i am going to shot some tomorrow so i will see how they shoot and report back

 

[kennyb]

Read the book. Then Read it again!
You can reload any brass you have that is in good condition (no bulges, splits, etc).
When you decide on powder & bullets to load, post your decision here so people can give you advise.
A good basic load would be a 150 grain lead bullet with 6.5 grains of Accurate Arms #5. Post what you plan to do here before buying powder.
You need small pistol primers, start looking for them now.
The only way you have to measure powder is with a dipper. This isn’t good enough in my opinion. I would think that very few people here use a dipper for their handloads. It can be done, I have done it, but do not recommend it.
In any case you need to have a scale specifically made for weighing powder, the powder you will use weighs a very small amount, like dust on a scale.
At first you need to check every powder charge. If you find that using your dipper you can come very close, then weigh every other charge.

The Lee factory crimp die will just help keep you out of trouble. You can pull the barrel out of your pistol and use it to check that your loads fit but it’s a PITA.

all good advice! +1

 

[a1racer]

ok i shot my 10 loads today. and they where pretty accurate a little better then the factory stuff i had. the 7.2 burned a tad cleaner then the 7.4 grain loads. they where just a little cleaner after firing. but both loads had about the same recoil as the federal rounds i was shooting. all fired no jams and all where on target. so i will make some more to fire this weekend and report back again.

 

[oldRoger]

That is great, glad to hear it, you should have a feeling of accomplishment!

I really don’t like the Lee Auto Disk much. Others here probably would disagree, if it were me I would probably get a Lyman #55. I used one for many years with everything from .38spl to 30-06. I think that it makes a good starting powder measure.

I would also think that you should load your AA#2 as you had planned. In the range you planned it should be a good load. It’s only when you start to push for velocity as some of us do that you should have a slower powder.

With your #2 at about 5.8 grains I think you might have a winner, after all you have a bunch of it. But work your way up there as you had planned.

An inertial bullet puller is a good investment, right now the only way you can get them apart is shoot them. If you see a case gauge, it also can save you a lot of problems with your auto loader. A puller and gauge both are cheap. I don’t know if you have a loading block or two but they are also cheap, get ones that fit

 

[a1racer]

yeah i am pretty happy they worked makes me feel all warm and fuzzy. i am going to load about 50 or so before this weekend and shoot some more. i will pick up the bullet puller and lee factory crimp die in about a week or so when i get some more funds together. i will look into some powder drops soon as well because that would make it a lot quicker for me to bang out more ammo.

 

[oldRoger]

Actually weighing powder the way you are is a good method to start. Be sure to look in the case after you have added powder, you want to get a feel for what say X grains of AA#2 looks like in the case. When using a powder measure you will want to do a check of your cases just before you insert the bullets. Not much point in checking if you don’t know what you are looking at.
This is also a good time to try different loads. You don’t have to reset anything to change the charge.

When you get all set-up its sort of a pain to run off a few with different charges or change powder.

Just remember to NEVER have more than one powder can open or even around the bench at a time when you are loading. Also MARK your reloads, many save old ammo boxes, labels are cheap.

 

[a1racer]

Yeah I have been saving the boxes. so I can put my loads in them and write how many grains I used. and what lenght they are and what not. This way I don't have to mark every case when loading 50 rounds at a time.

 

[a1racer]

well i shot 50 rounds of the accurate arms #2 powder loads with good success. the shots where consistent and groups where good. i did not get to shot the 50 rounds of hogdon hs6 i loaded. i will shoot those next week. but i am pretty happy with the loads so far thanks for all who helped me.

 

[BigRich315]

Great thread guys!

Great thread guys!

I'm going to be in the same shoes in about a month and all of this info really helped. I've been discovering that lurking around these threads is a great way to find some test loads, as well as already proven ones.

I'm kinda excited now!

 

[a1racer]

what are you going to be loading. is it the 40s&w or some thing differante. i got a lot of good info on here as well by looking first. once i started collecting stuff i started asking more questions. i will make one sugestion get a kit dont piece it togather like i did. the kit is a lot cheaper and easier to get. i would start with a lee 1000 kit in what ever die size you need that way you get everything at one time.

 

[BigRich315]

I plan to get to everything from .32ACP to .44 Mag and some rifle loads, but I'll start with .40 or .38spcl. I have my eye on a Lyman T-Mag Expert Deluxe kit, so I should have a pretty easy start with plenty of room to grow.

Equipment aside, I'm starting to get as much info together as I can and everything said here is right in line with what I'm finding out. I don't have a set starting load yet, but I'd be ahead of myself if I did.