Best powder to start with..

[drew765]

Now another question does it matter the manufacturer of bullet in regards to the load data.. Or just match up the specific weight and go with it?

[Maximumbob54]

Oh goody, I get to be the stick in the mud...

If you are starting out with the .40SW then you are starting out with one of the worst cartridges to learn reloading. And by saying that don't let me make it sound worse than it is. But...

Step one, back away until you find and read at least twice a copy of "The ABC's of Reloading" and then read it a third time. The biggest stumbling block to starting to reload is getting the jargon right. You don't want to try asking a problem and people don't get what you are saying or worse either you or others misunderstand what the other is saying just because you used the wrong term. Also, and this is the next step, buy at least two other reloading manuals. I would buy three. The Lee, Lyman, Hornady, and Speer books are all good. They each have a section in the front discussing reloading. Read them. Twice. Seriously, read all this stuff. That's not to say don't ask questions, it's so you know what to ask, how to ask, and why to ask.

I always like to say to start with either the Lee Challenger kit that comes with the Safety Prime system or the Classic Turret kit. No matter what you buy to start make sure you buy a good balance scale. Learn on the balance scale first! You can buy an electric one later. Besides, you need to always have a good balance scale to at least occasionally check any electronic scale. They may come with check weights but they aren't as precise as they could/should be or they would cost more. Also, add with the kit a good kinetic bullet puller and a good set of calipers. Don't fall prey to just trying to use a loaded cartridge as a guide, that's just not how this works even if usually it's close. Reloading is very much like hand grenades and horse shoes.

Powder is hard as heck to find right now still two years later. You will be tempted to buy the first powder you can find that has loading data for your cartridge. More on the .40SW specific in a minute. Don't just slam down money for anything. First, understand that besides the different burn rates of powder there is also different types of powder. Ball, flattened ball, flake, there are several different types of powders and they can be annoying when trying to flow through a powder measure. Stick or extruded powders are notorious for clogging up most measures. Ball and flattened ball flow the best and even though flattened ball looks darn near alike as flake, it still flows so much better. You seem to have a fifty fifty chance on flake flowing well and usually it's better with a heavier amount. Unique is a bit of a problem child for this. Heavier amounts like for a .44 magnum tend to drop with ease while smaller amounts for a 9mm can drop light and cause a squib load where the bullet sticks in the bore. Bad news if that happens and you chase it with another bullet...

The .40SW... This thing isn't that hard to load if you know what you are doing but it can turn ugly fast if you slip up with only one problem.

Figure this. The .40SW is the same pressure as the 9mm which is the same pressure as the .357 magnum and the .40 and 9 both have way less case capacity and aren't always in fully supported chambers the way the .357 is in a revolver. Since the .40SW is the child of the 10mm that means it was made with heavier bullets in mind from the start. The usual is 165gr to 180gr with there being both lighter and heavier still available. Why is this important? Again, the case capacity... Powders burn at a fraction of a second but they have made modern smokeless powder that burn that fraction of a fraction more or less than the next one on the burn rate chart. I mention the .357 because it is a known higher pressure loading. But the .357 has a nice large case to be able to make use of a bulk of slower burning powder. Why is this important? Because smokeless powder isn't an explosive like Black Powder (BP) is. BP just goes boom (there are sizes of BP but I won't drone on much longer) while smokeless powder burns at a very specific rate. I'm simplifying it some here but that means the powder has a pressure curve that grows with time. Faster burning powders create the pressure faster and slower burning powders build it up slower. And as I say this, no that doesn't mean pick a faster burning powder for a shorter barrel. Guys with snub .357 magnums and chronographs have over and over shown that despite most of the powder burning outside the barrel you still get higher velocity with slower burning powders than faster. Just roll with it. Why am I rambling on about this??? Because you can load the .40SW with a pretty fast burning powder like Bullseye or Titegroup and run the risk of a weak case rupturing in the chamber. A weak case is a weak case that may rupture anyways but the risk is that much higher with the faster burning powder. Then there is bullet setback. The .40SW is almost always a stubby looking cartridge because it was shrunk down from the longer 10mm cartridge to fit in the same magazine as the 9mm does. This means the bullet in the heavier weights really eats into the case volume where the powder sets. Case volume changes with the bullet weight as heavier bullets take more space than lighter, but lighter bullets also need more powder to achieve the same velocity. The pressure stays the same for the most part but either way if your bullet is pushed back too far in the case by accident then you reduce the case volume which means the powder expands in the smaller cavity creating more pressure than intended. Kaboom. Why did I ramble all this and hopefully you still read it? The .40SW has a bit of a bad rap for bullet setback. The .40SW chamber is known to not always be so supported at the back of the case near the case web. The Gen 2 Glocks and several others are notorious for this to the point of .40's from a Glock being dubbed as Glock'ed brass. Reload that same brass and shoot it in the same gun and the risk is amplified of that case blowing out. High pressure load, fast burning powders, bullet setback, weakened brass, so on and it's easy to accidentally cause trouble.

How to pass trouble... READ THE BOOKS!!! Inspect your brass up front. Know your own gun's foibles if it has any for reloading. Ask the questions.

Heck, if I can figure it out then anyone can!!!

[drew765]

Basically from what you said I need to definitely do my homework on reloading, know my jargon, and follow manuals precisely.. But after a little forum jumping bullet weights are the main concern just as long as you stay with whatever bullet you intend on substituting. fmj for fmj of same weight and diameter is this true ?

[62chevy]

Basically from what you said I need to definitely do my homework on reloading, know my jargon, and follow manuals precisely.. But after a little forum jumping bullet weights are the main concern just as long as you stay with whatever bullet you intend on substituting. fmj for fmj of same weight and diameter is this true ?

Yup having the book and doing the research is a huge help in getting it right. Youtube is a great resource for seeing how its done with the type of press you use.

The Lee Modern Reloading tends to go by weight but the Lyman manual by brand and weight. I shoot lead and that is a whole other animal from copper jacketed.

[Maximumbob54]

Make it easy on yourself from the start and either buy some coated bullets from SNS Casting or some plated from X-Treme or Berrys. If you buy coated then use the lead load data and if you buy plated then still use the lead load data but start in the middle rather than the bottom. I would buy the 180gr for starters.

[RBHarter]

Bullet for bullet isn't always a safe bet .

Take fmj , 2 bullets 1 Hornady 1 Speer. The Speer might have a full ball single radius nose while the Hornady shares it's nose double raradius with the HP . What happens is that the bullet is longer and seated to the same o er all length it occupies more case.

I worked some 45 Colts up once with some components that are all that for getting the most out of your Blackhawk. Well loaded to my preferred lengths margin of error etc the loads just weren't hitting the numbers so I worked the overall length a little. In the comparatively huge Colts case shortening the OAL by just .05 inches resulted in a velocity jump over 200 fps with a 265 gr cast bullet. That change in length was less than the crimp groove length. That pressure jump may have blown up an old SAA (the loads are Ruger Only loads). The books caution to start your work up over if you change any component. In 12 ga shotguns changing from a Winchester 209 to a Federal 209 can jump pressures 10,000 psi just from a primer change . Combine any of these tiny little changes with a cartridge that is already at 30,000 psi and well you get the picture.

I would recommend the Lyman book because it doesn't use a single brand of components , and just to get a feel for what to expect several powder co manuals or even the cartridge specific books. There are several bullets that just don't work outside the powders that they work with.

[drew765]

I greatly appreciate your information! From everyone! Locally in gunships around me mainly carry hodgdon powder and no alliant powder what so ever. I picked up a pound of auto comp because I am going to start with my 40 sw