Am I the only one who reloads .40?

insectguy

insectguy

Sergeant
Full Member
Minuteman
Mar 11, 2009
352
12
Chattanooga
#1
Of all the brass I've sold, I've never had a request for .40. Ever. I realize since law enforcement uses the .40, there must be a good supply of brass. But I surely thought someone would need some.

I have about 20k cases -- so I'd better get busy!
 
#3
Re: Am I the only one who reloads .40?

I reload 40, I got a 5 gallon bucket full of it from a friend, after I trashed more than half I cleaned the rest with SS media and trashed another 10%, been shooting and reloading it since, go over to BrianEnos Forums and get your required posts and they will clean you out.
 
#5
Re: Am I the only one who reloads .40?

I shoot about 15,000 of 40 a year as well......But its fairly easy to collect. I dont collect brass at matches so I usually buy a few thousand pieces a year to replenish my piles.
 
#6
Re: Am I the only one who reloads .40?

No one buys it because there is thousands of once fired cases all over the ranges to scavange. Since the LEOs use it, everyone switched to it just like they did with the 9mm stuff was in the 90s
 
#7
Re: Am I the only one who reloads .40?

I was just going in the forum to post about .40.. I have a HK .40 USP Compact and a Dillon RL550b press. I have all the dillon dies but so far I've only been using it for .223. Does anyone have any suggestions where to start with .40? What bullet and powder? Thanks so much!
 
#10
Re: Am I the only one who reloads .40?

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: deadnbrkn84</div><div class="ubbcode-body">I was just going in the forum to post about .40.. I have a HK .40 USP Compact and a Dillon RL550b press. I have all the dillon dies but so far I've only been using it for .223. Does anyone have any suggestions where to start with .40? What bullet and powder? Thanks so much! </div></div>

I would be careful with .40. Make sure you get rid of the belly on the .40 cases, especially if you shoot it out of factory Glock and H&K barrels as they have a unsupported chambers. More then one pistol has been known to KB as a result of not sizing the brass correctly.
 
#11
Re: Am I the only one who reloads .40?

Resizing and inspection is really important.I had a round chamber and it would not fire and lock the action up solid. I ended up banging the slide hard on the wood shooting bench to clear the round.Upon inspection I found a ring of brass near the rim where the die compacted the brass. I think this is what happens when resizing a Glock fired casing. Ill dig one out of the garbage can and take a picture
 
#12
Re: Am I the only one who reloads .40?

I was u er the impression an hk had a supported chamber. I the glocks don't but I thought hk's did..... Wouldn't running it through then resizing die remove this "belly"?
 
#13
Re: Am I the only one who reloads .40?

HKs do, my error.

It depends on the dies on the .40S&W, Not all of them will size all the way down to the bottom of the brass. That is why Redding makes the GRX die that resizes the whole case with a push through design. There are a few dies that can full resize the brass on initial resizing, I think Lee or Dillon was one of them that does.
 
#16
Re: Am I the only one who reloads .40?

Make sure and use the EGW U die on any range brass you pick up or purchase. After that you won't need to use it unless you shoot a Glock.

I shot Power Pistol powder for a while...LOUD and lots of FLASH. I use TiteGroup for all my pistols now and like it much better. I also used small rifle primers in the .40, as do a lot of match shooters. They handle the pressure better.

My .45's are much more fun to shoot!
 
#17
Re: Am I the only one who reloads .40?

I have run all my given to me range brass thru a Lee Buldge Buster, it works exactly the same as the Redding GRX but cost me less than half what the GRX cost, and it has a Carbide sizing ring which Redding charges extra for, all my lite 40 rounds have been 100% since, the U die still may not resize the cases far enough down to ensure 100% reliability, a push thru die like the LBB and GRX will resize the entire length of the case
 
#18
Re: Am I the only one who reloads .40?

I have been shooting a glock 35 for a couple of years. Mostly IDPA style matches. I also have a dillon 550B. I have loved the Montana Gold 165 FMJ's and Titegroup powder combo. Not a lot of smoke, consistent accuracy. I buy the bullets about 3000 at a time to save a little money. Good luck, have fun.
 
#19
Re: Am I the only one who reloads .40?

I load .40S&W for an STI Tactical 5.0, but I don't reload any brass which has been fired from a Glock (which I can determine via the firing pin indentation and the bulge on the lower portion of the case). I don't want to mess with the EGW "U" (undersize) die, the Lee factory crimp push-through sizing die or the Redding GRX sizing die.

I load 4.0-gr of TiteGroup under a 180-gr Berry's plated bullet, which puts me at 166 power factor from the 5" STI barrel. For light loads, I use 3.5 gr of TiteGroup, which gives me around 125 pf with recoil approximating a 9x19mm when I use a lighter recoil spring.
 
#20
Re: Am I the only one who reloads .40?

I loaded up my brother @ 2600 rounds of 40 S&W last year for his XDM. I got him the Redding GRX die for Xmas right when it came out. Now Redding has it in a carbide die now. Year later I accidently found the Lee Bulge Buster on Lee's website when I was looking around it for something else. I ordered me one of those for my S&W 625 .45 ACP revolver. I had a problem occasionally when my moonclips would stick just short of going all the way into the cylinder. The case sizer dies work like the Lee bullet sizer dies do. The case is started up into the sizer die from the bottom and the seater punch die is raised and forces the case through causing the case to size down at the base. Not all the FL size dies go all the way down and stop short of the base on the case. The Lee Bulge Buster fixed my .45 ACP cases going into my revolver for speedloads at my local clubs monthly IDPA style matches. If they are feeding in the revolver then they are definetly feeding in the 1911 no problem. My Brother has probably one if not two 5-gallon buckets of .40 S&W range brass we picked up over the years and it comes from Glocks, Sprinfields, M&Ps, and other brands of pistols so whenever I go to reloading the .40 they all will be running through a case sizer die no matter what before they go through the Dillon 550. My brother wanted his .40 light loaded and he had alot of Unique powder so he went that route. Shooting lead bullets.
 
#21
Re: Am I the only one who reloads .40?

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: rrflyer</div><div class="ubbcode-body">I shoot about 15,000 of 40 a year as well......But its fairly easy to collect. I dont collect brass at matches so I usually buy a few thousand pieces a year to replenish my piles. </div></div>

That's pretty much 'a lot'.

I've had a G-22 since late '91 and I got a Walther P99 in 40, but I don't shoot that much.

I've never had any problems reloading for the cartridge.

Chris
 
#25
Re: Am I the only one who reloads .40?

Nobody up here really reloads, especially for pistol. I pick up loads of pistol brass at the range in between volleys, while im waiting for a barrel to cool down, etc.

Got over 9,000 .40s last summer in just a few trips to the range. I suspect many others do this too.
 
#26
Re: Am I the only one who reloads .40?

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: 762nato</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Shoot a custom SVI in 40 with 200 gr. HAP and VVN320, nice recoil pulse quite accurate... </div></div>

How many grains of VVN320, what's your OAL, what's your MV and PF?
 
#28
Re: Am I the only one who reloads .40?

So I have a dillon rl550b and i've been reloading a lot of .223 and using it as a single stage for all my match .308 loads. I just picked up some stuff from a local shop to start doing the .40. I got some hsm plated 180gr hp bullets and 1lb of power pistol. I'm gonna load through the 250rnds that I bought and play with different charges etc. I was just wondering if anyone had any advice as to what are some good cheaper bullets that I can buy in bulk. You know stuff just to go shoot. With the .223 I'm using Hornady 55gr fmjbt as my bulk bullet and kinda want an equivalent for the .40. Any suggestions? I dont want something too expensive because I'm going to shoot a lot of it. Are the .40 hornady 180gr flat tip bulk bullets good? Thanks so much for all your help. You guys are great.

Also I'm shooting a HK USP if it matters
 
#29
Re: Am I the only one who reloads .40?

I tried the plated Ranier bullets midway sells for dirt cheap, but I thought they got a little too beat up during cycling, especially if it was chambered more than once. My go to "cheap" bullet has been the 150 grain Nosler jhp. I haven't priced them in a while but they used to be one of the cheapest .400" bullets available when I found them. Best part is performance is really good with them too from my experience. Ive killed several Texas hogs using these bullets and they have laid the hogs out nicely.

Nosler makes a 135 grain jhp too but even loaded light I was seeing signs of excess pressure so I tried the 150s and had great results.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

C130
Area 419 Zero Press And Reloading Info
Replies
14
Views
434
C130
C130
Y
Hornady 3-1 vs. other automated case trimmers?
Replies
11
Views
492
RabbitSlayer48
RabbitSlayer48
T
Question on components per application
Replies
7
Views
326
straightshooter1
straightshooter1
C
Pistol Reloading Issue I cant figure out
Replies
15
Views
548
zeroz
Z
B
Reloading brass
Replies
5
Views
318
FredHammer
FredHammer
Top Bottom
Back
Home
Forums
Merch
Alerts