cheers
- Thread starter Cpt.Flan
- Start date
Hi!
I loaded 100 rounds of .40 cal last week. I followed a recipe many guys I know use for competition in their 1911.
New pistol. 1 mag...For now...
The bullets I made where too long and did not fit in the mag.
I loaded them at 1.190" The recipe was actually at 1.200" and even 1.250"
The long loads feed my pistol perfectly up to 1.200".
Now the question...
Tripp Research mag company suggested me to get 10mm mags for hand loads longer then 1.120"/1.140". Apparently this is a common thing to do for .40cal pistol. I am new reloading this caliber so I don't know.
Good or a bad thing?
The SAAMI specification for 40 S&W calls for a length of 1.135" while 10mm is 1.260".
1911 style pistols are often based on the 45 ACP cartridge which has a specified length of 1.275".
This is one of several reasons why some 40 S&W loads intended for use in 1911/2011 style pistols use a longer overall length than the SAAMI specification.
In recommending the 10mm magazines Tripp and others are allowing for enough space to hold the longer rounds.
So probably a good thing.
Other good things to keep in mind are (a) that overall length, bullet type, powder type and charge can all affect pressure, and (b) a load the feeds and fires safely and reliably in one firearm may not do so in another.
For example, I load 40 S&W to 1.180" for use in my STI 2011 and it works fine. But I do not use these round in my Glock 22 - they may or may not work but the additional length is not needed, tested or intended for this pistol.
Snapshot
