Blue dot (.40cal)

[carlchevalier]

I'm trying Alliant blue dot to reload .40 cal with 180g Zero JHPs. I'm having trouble metring it precisely in my dillon 550. Loads seem to vary by
.1 to .3 grains. Is this normal?

 

[Cerdan]

i don't have a Dillon but flake powders (like the "Dot" family of powders) are notoriously difficult to meter.

 

[carlchevalier]

Crap, I thought it was the opposite. Back to VV then

Thanks for the reply

 

[Breaker61]

Ball powders are the best for metering, always within .1/grain. I have used W231, Titegroup, and HS-6 in 40, all ball powders. Accurate charges with every throw.

 

[Ganderite]

VV 340, 350 3N37 would all meter much better. Flake is not very good and won't even work in some throwers like my Redding BR.

The high energy powder that does meter well in the Dillon is Win 296. But is has issues. Does not seem to work well at less than 90% power.

 

[carlchevalier]

Problem is I only have N320 ( 6lbs) is it too fast for .40 ? I had it for my .45 but no longer have it

 

[B]

Blue Dot meters perfectly in my RCBS thrower.

 

[Got Juice?]

I'm trying Alliant blue dot to reload .40 cal with 180g Zero JHPs. I'm having trouble metring it precisely in my dillon 550. Loads seem to vary by
.1 to .3 grains. Is this normal?

Throw 10 charges in a row and weigh all 10. Then you have an average of the charges thrown per pull.

that way you can measure down to the last .01 of a grain.

Adjust the powder slide until you get the consistency in the 10 charges, and then load away.

 

[joe-nwt]

I'm trying Alliant blue dot to reload .40 cal with 180g Zero JHPs. I'm having trouble metring it precisely in my dillon 550. Loads seem to vary by
.1 to .3 grains. Is this normal?

You're loading 8 to 10 grains of blue-dot. Personally, I wouldn't worry about a .2 grain variation in this case.

 

[rdgietz]

VV N320 works for .40 cal

Problem is I only have N320 ( 6lbs) is it too fast for .40 ? I had it for my .45 but no longer have it

HI there..

I just switched to VV N320 for my 40 S&W. Its a fast powder and you have to be careful about OAL and charge but it works well... I load 200 grain lead truncated cone projectiles or 200 grain Frontier copper plated to an OAL of 1.195" and use 4.1 grains for lead and 4.3 grains for copper plated bullets.. Gives a power factor of 175 - 177.

Check out this website for information about loads for 180 grain bullets

http://www.k8nd.com/documents/hl40sw.pdf


VVN320 is a good powder for 40 S&W

RDG

 

[carlchevalier]

rdgietz,

Yep, I rolled a few with VV N320 yesterday and got really good results. I did 4.6 , 4.7, 4.8, 4.9, 5.0 and 5.1 anything above 4.7 gave very good results (as accurate as a glock can) until I get my X5 and infinity. I did try to fire the ones with blue dot but made a mistake and they wouldnt feed properly (bell)

 

[rdgietz]

rdgietz,

Yep, I rolled a few with VV N320 yesterday and got really good results. I did 4.6 , 4.7, 4.8, 4.9, 5.0 and 5.1 anything above 4.7 gave very good results (as accurate as a glock can) until I get my X5 and infinity. I did try to fire the ones with blue dot but made a mistake and they wouldnt feed properly (bell)

Good to hear it... I bet when you compare to your blue dot loads you will find that the VV N320 will give you a softer feel... Mind did..

Good shooting


RDG