Low volume powders for .40S&W

trykillthis

trykillthis

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Like the title says, what are some good low volume powders for the 40?

I was planning to load 180gr JHP. My first choice was Titegroup but cannot find any locally, so I am looking for some suggestions. Looking at my manual, it says useful case capacity is .69cc but some of the loads start at close to .69cc. Tight powder loads give me the creeps and I would rather avoid it. Being a powder that meters well is also a big plus.

Some I have data for are:

Accurate #5 (.37cc start load)
Accurate #2 (.43cc start load)
Clays (.44cc Start load)

The #5 seems like a good place to start, anybody have any experience with it or any of the other 2?

I guess it comes down to what I can get locally, I would rather not have to order it as 1lb is about enough for a 1000 rounds.

Thanks for your opinions.
 
Most people load for the properties of the power
pressure
velocity
how the powder drops from there measure
use fullness (usable in more than one caliber)
clean burning

I did a quick check picked 2 powders that would make major in 40
the difference was 1g
if you were to load 1 lb of powder A and count the rounds then
load 1 lb of powder B and count the rounds.

the difference is 46 rounds not enough to worry about
or not enough to pick/ use the wrong powder that could be dirty burning and cause you a malfunction

Different powders could give you different results
 
I'm using accurate #2 with a 180 gr bullet. Wonderful ball powder that meters extremely well. I note you show 0.43cc as a starting load. I have loaded a few hundred with 0.40cc which weighs out to 4.8gr and is a fairly stout load. I would not start with 0.43cc. I'd start lower for safety and work up from there. I'm currently plinking with 0.37cc which weighs in at 4.2gr and is nice to shoot (not that "nice" is any criteria for ipsc major!)
 
Thanks for the input. I was gonna weigh the charges not just go by volume, just using it to get an idea of how much of the case it would fill.

But looking at my manual it says start load is 5.0gr of accurate #2 (.43cc) to 5.6gr max.

Thanks for the heads up, looks like I should start with 4.5gr and see how that goes. I am looking for a full power load, but nothing spectacular, I can only go by feel as I have no chrono.

I'll do some diggin around on bullseye too, but #2 sounds pretty good right now.
 
Are you loading hot loads, or for major?

If so, then pass on Clays unless you can load long, meaning much longer than spec (1.20+). Otherwise you will have a load that FAR exceeds max pressure. I used to load major and long with Clays, but was uncomfortable with the extremely high pressures and switched to Titegroup to lower pressures.
 
I think it was clays that I used before, and it gave me the creeps when I would look into the case and see how much room was left over for the bullet. My roommate used to leave the room for the first couple of every batch because he was a little explosion shy.

Just looking to load full power rounds for plinking, no competitions for me. As long as it cycles the glock reliably is my only concern.
 
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I've used 4.5 grains of 231 with a 180 gr cast and it works great. As does the 4.5 of Accurate No. 2. I haven't chrono'd it, but it feels 100 percent like the two brands of factory ammo I am also shooting. It is not a mild load.

4.2 gr of accurate no. 2 is just slightly tamer and certainly cycles the action.
 
I finally found a powder in stock and got the win 231. I'll start with 4.5gr and see how that feels. My book says max is 5gr so it should be a good starting point. Lots of good suggestions and I guess it comes down to what I can actually get but I am glad I could find some 231 as I kinda overlooked it as another low volume powder.

Thanks everyone.
 
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