[eightmillimeter]

I need to load a couple hundred rounds for a friend to use in his XD subcompact 40. He wants 165 grain and he wants em loaded with accuracy in mind. I plan to use Sierra 165 JHP because I have never had bad luck with them, they always seem to perform. I have TiteGroup and AA7. Which should I use? Any ideas/experiences would be helpful, this is the first time I've tried to load for a 40. If it works out good for him I plan on feeding my MP40 with it, but like I said I am still under the learning curve as far as loading for the 40 goes.

 

[Dan Burwell]

Re: I have AA7 and TiteGroup and 165gr bullets, which do I u

I am still under the learning curve as far as loading for the 40 goes.

stick with the AA7 for now, it is slower burning and a little more forgiving than titegroup.

 

[coltman1985]

Titegroup is a faster burning powder, wich means case pressure! In a self defense load I would use a slower burning powder. I use Titegroup for all my "game" loads, but in reduced levels to just make power factors. If you don't have a good reloading manual, YOU MUST GO GET ONE! It will give you a wealth of information, good luck!

 

[eightmillimeter]

I've got a ton of manuals I just was looking for people who have spent some time loading this caliber. I've loaded more 38, 357, 357sig, and 9mm than I care to count but 40 will a new development. I was kinda leaning toward the AA7, thanks for the help guys.

 

[Joe S.]

I haven't loaded a huge amount for the .40 but I did do some load work for a friend with a Sig 229 and a HK USP Compact I had. AA7 was the most accurate powder I tried but gave a pretty spectacular muzzle flash. It was interesting because I've never seen a centerfire round that was so touchy about the powder used. It was literally going from 5-6" twenty five yard groups to around 2".

Unfortunately I don't recall what the other powder tried was but I believe it was a faster burning one like WW 231 (which I use a ton of in .45 acp and 9mm).

I also found that some of the brass I had bought as 'once fired' (and it looked it) tended to split along the length of the case from the case mouth back in the HK. I was told that this was likely brass that had been fired previously in a Glock and that the chambers were oversized enough to overstress the brass. I had no such problems with new Starline brass loaded twice for the HK so there may be some truth to this but I have some doubts.

Whats curious is that I have .45 acp brass that I've reloaded until the headstamps are worn off, some of which has been fired out of a MAC 10 SMG and rarely see a case split. The rounds with this 'once fired' .40 brass were splitting about 7 out of 10 rounds. It kind of makes me think the .40 case itself may be a little thinner to begin with than .45.

 

[derek45]

I like Titegroup.



(I use it alot for My STI IPSC loads.)





My M&P likes 4.2gr with a 180gr. MasterBlaster Moly bullet.



chrony average 978fps.

 

[gramps]

I haven't loaded a huge amount for the .40 but I did do some load work for a friend with a Sig 229 and a HK USP Compact I had. AA7 was the most accurate powder I tried but gave a pretty spectacular muzzle flash. It was interesting because I've never seen a centerfire round that was so touchy about the powder used. It was literally going from 5-6" twenty five yard groups to around 2".

Unfortunately I don't recall what the other powder tried was but I believe it was a faster burning one like WW 231 (which I use a ton of in .45 acp and 9mm).

I also found that some of the brass I had bought as 'once fired' (and it looked it) tended to split along the length of the case from the case mouth back in the HK. I was told that this was likely brass that had been fired previously in a Glock and that the chambers were oversized enough to overstress the brass. I had no such problems with new Starline brass loaded twice for the HK so there may be some truth to this but I have some doubts.

Whats curious is that I have .45 acp brass that I've reloaded until the headstamps are worn off, some of which has been fired out of a MAC 10 SMG and rarely see a case split. The rounds with this 'once fired' .40 brass were splitting about 7 out of 10 rounds. It kind of makes me think the .40 case itself may be a little thinner to begin with than .45.

The .40 is a much higher pressure load than the .45. This puts more stress on the brass. I have decided to reload only brass I have purchased new and have control of from start to finish. I have a resizer I run all .40 fired brass thru before reloading.

.40 pressures reach 35000 psi where .45 stay around 20000. I didn`t look up the SAMMI max for each but that is close.



Much once fired brass on the market comes from police ranges and indoor ranges so the chance of getting Glock fired brass is pretty good. That said, Glock brass is ofetn bulged a little near the base where the feed ramp intrudes. That portion of the brass is unsupported durning firing and is sometimes weakened. I do not believe brass splitting at the mouth has anything to do with Glocks. Sounds like mabe way too much crimp or way more than 1 reloading.



Curious what headstamp the split brass has? That`s all I have.