Most accurate .40cal bullet?

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Six Star

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What is the most accurate .40cal bullet that's available? I would prefer a jacketed bullet that would maintain its stability out of a Beretta Storm for ranges up to 100 yards.
 
ricciardelli said:
At 100 yards? None of them.
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Well, I dunno about that...I was at the range this morning with my new .40cal Storm and put some Fiocchi 180gr FMJ flat-points downrange at 100 yards using the 'iron' sights on my Storm. I got a decent 10 round group which measured about 6". This was 'off my elbows' (no sandbag rest was used) on a left-handed bench with my right elbow hanging off the edge. I have witnesses. :D
Make no mistake...the Beretta Storm is an accurate carbine and worthy of good target ammo. At 25 and 50 yards, it's deadly accurate.

gushulak:- Thanks for the recommendation......I'll pick up a box of those Hornady's.
 
Well, I don't consider a 6" group at 100 yards "accurate". My .44 Ruger carbine will do <2-1/2" for 5 at 100, and I do less than 6" for 6 at 100 yards with a Super Blackhawk.

As for 25 yards, almost anything, even a bowling ball, is "accurate".
 
ricciardelli said:
Well, I don't consider a 6" group at 100 yards "accurate". My .44 Ruger carbine will do <2-1/2" for 5 at 100, and I do less than 6" for 6 at 100 yards with a Super Blackhawk.

As for 25 yards, almost anything, even a bowling ball, is "accurate".
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With all due respect.....I didn't intend this thread to turn into pissing contest on who is/whose gun is more accurate. I asked a simple question: Is there a .40 caliber bullet that is purpose built for accuracy, not is there a more accurate caliber/gun combination than my .40 Storm. Had yesterday not been my first time out with my Storm, had I had a proper right-handed bench and shot off a rest, I too would have had tighter groups. My primary interest in my Storm was not shooting for groups at 100 yards, btw....but yesterday's outing showed me that the gun is quite capable of better accuracy than I anticpated. I know full well what is acceptable accuracy at 100 yards and what is not, thanks.....I have owned a Ruger Mini 14. ;)
 
my HK Usp(pistol) hits Fig 12 targets every time at 100 with the 155gr XTP...



Jamie Barkwell
 
Jamie: I was considering trying a lighter rather than heavier bullet than my 180gr, but opinion seems to be that heavier is better for 'long range' shooting with a pistol caliber. My local supplier does have 155gr bullets, and I'll probably try them (in my Vertec as well).
My quest here is not to drive myself insane trying for 1MOA groups at 100 yards with a Storm...I just want to see what its full potential is after putting all my rounds on a very small target under less than ideal circumstances. :)
What did take me by surprise was how flat-shooting the Storm/.40cal S&W is. It shot right to POA at all ranges up to 100yds.
 
Six Star-I'd try any weight of the Hornady XTP series bullets you could find, even the 155gr. bullets might be exceptionally accurate for you. Of any of the bullets that might give good accuracy the XTP series seems to have a good following for those who are concerned about accuracy. I'd expect the 180 and 200gr. bullets to be the best in your Storm, but who know's, maybe those 155's are what your Storm will take a liking too. Please post your results when your done, I'd be interested in hearing how you made out! Good luck.
 
All guns are different, so, buy a box of different types of ammo or bullets and try them. Don't forget to try the 165gr bullets too.

Good luck in your quest for madness.

RePete.
 
RePete said:
All guns are different, so, buy a box of different types of ammo or bullets and try them. Don't forget to try the 165gr bullets too.

Good luck in your quest for madness.

RePete.
Click to expand...

X2 Try them all!
 
Six Star said:
What did take me by surprise was how flat-shooting the Storm/.40cal S&W is. It shot right to POA at all ranges up to 100yds.
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I've noticed that shooting my XD40 as well, not much/almost no hold over required.;)
 
You're free to doubt anything and everything you wish, mate. ;) I wouldn't say that my Storm shot to point of aim FOR ME at all ranges up to 100 yards if it didn't. If anything, it shot a bit higher than POA at 100 yds. I will report back here later with my findings with different bullet weights and with optics on my Storm.
You seem to have curious objections about me wanting to see how accurate my new gun can shoot. :confused: What's that all about? :p
 
The tip of the front sight is exactly 2" above the centreline of the bore. The centre of the rear sight "LR" aperture is also 2" above the centreline of the chamber.
 
"You seem to have curious objections about me wanting to see how accurate my new gun can shoot. What's that all about?"

Well, you see, it's like this...

Your first question was something along the lines of what .40 caliber bullet is the most accurate out to 100-yards.

There are at least 19 different .40 diameter bullets available for the .40 S&W, and each one will act differently depending on the firearm, the powder (and the charge of that powder), the primer and the casing used. (Not even taking into consideration the difference that different lot numbers of the different components will have on the "accuracy" of your .40 S&W.)

Secondly, was your supposition that the .40 S&W is a 100-yard cartridge. It isn't. A 100-yard carbine cartridge would be in the class of the .30-30 Winchester or the .44 Remington Magnum. .40 S&W doesn't even come close to that catagory.

Then you made the statement that your .40 shoots 6" groups at 100 yards. Under no conditions is that considered "accurate" for anything coming out of a rifle barrel.

Your next statement was that it shoots exactly to the point of aim from muzzle to 100-yards. That is not true, and never will be true for ANY cartridge fired on earth. Simple high school physics proves that. Gravity causes ALL objects to fall at 32 feet per second per second.

For simplicity's sake, let's say your .40 bullet was moving at a muzzle velocity of 1000 FPS. That means that if the velocity were constant (and it sure isn't with ANY pistol bullet of that diameter) it would take a minimum of around 0.3 seconds to travel the 100 yards to the target. In that 0.3 seconds that bullet would drop several feet if launched parallel to the earth's surface.

Granted, it will not leave the barrel level to the earth, but will be placed in some sort of an arc, depending upon the height of your sights above the bore, and also the adjustment of those sights.

You then go on to say that your sights are 2" above the bore...that in itself would negate your previous statement that it shot POA all the way to 100-yards.

Code: 
Range  Velo Time of  Energy   Path    Deflection    Total  Sight correction  Target
        city  flight            to    at crosswind    drop   for setting new   lead
                                LOS    of 1.0 Mph             zero range     10 fps
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
·Yards   fps     s    ft.lbs.   in.    in.     MOA     in.   Clicks     MOA     yds ·
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
|    0  1048  0.0000    439    -1.5    0.0   -----     0.0   ------    -----    0.00
X   10  1033  0.0288    427     0.0    0.0    0.03     0.2      0.0     0.00    0.10
|   20  1020  0.0581    415    +1.2    0.0    0.07     0.6    -22.4    -5.61    0.19
|   30  1007  0.0877    405    +2.0    0.0    0.10     1.5    -25.7    -6.41    0.29
|   40   995  0.1176    395    +2.5    0.1    0.13     2.6    -24.0    -6.00    0.39
M   49   984  0.1448    387    +2.7    0.1    0.16     4.0    -20.8    -5.20    0.48
|   50   983  0.1478    386    +2.7    0.1    0.16     4.1    -20.4    -5.10    0.49
|   60   972  0.1785    377    +2.5    0.1    0.19     6.0    -15.6    -3.91    0.60
|   70   961  0.2096    369    +1.9    0.2    0.22     8.2    -10.2    -2.56    0.70
|   80   951  0.2411    361    +0.9    0.2    0.26    10.9     -4.3    -1.09    0.80
|   90   941  0.2730    354    -0.4    0.3    0.29    13.9     +1.9    +0.47    0.91
P   96   935  0.2922    349    -1.4    0.3    0.31    15.9     +5.7    +1.43    0.97
|  100   931  0.3051    346    -2.2    0.3    0.32    17.3     +8.3    +2.08    1.02
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

For the above calculations I used the Hornady 180 bullet at a muzzle velocity of 1048 FPS, and I set the sights at 1.5" above the bore.

As you can see, your bullet will drop 17" by the time it reaches 100-yards.

I have nothing at all against someone wanting to load the best ammunition to match their firearm, that is what reloading is all about.

But to make blanket statements, which are not fact and can be easily disproven, or to ask broad questions without giving any indication of the intended purpose, do not set well with me.

In addition, you could have done a little of the "scut-work" yourself before asking the question. The BC for almost every bullet is listed in the manufacturer's manual or on their website. If you had just simply looked at that data you could have decided to use the Hornady 180 grain HP/XTP bullet.

Then you could have asked something like:

"I am loading a .40 S&W for a carbine, and plan on using the Hornady 180 grain XTP bullet. Can anyone suggest a starting load? And, is this combination good for hunting medium and large game out to 100 yards, or for personal defense out to that range?"

And I wold have answered:

"Blue Dot From 7.9 grains to 8.8 grains
Winchester WSP Primer

And I would not consider that cartridge as a hunting load on any game past 25 yards, and for personal defense I would limit it to 50 yards."
 
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