Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Handguns 40 S&W.....WOW!

I love the .40 caliber and own a "few" shooters chambered in that caliber.

As a reloader I have tended more toward using Power Pistol to fuel my loads but do have an interest in the Long Shot powder. I am pushing 155 g out of various Sigs and Glocks at a whisper under or at 1300fps and pushing the 180g at 1175fps and loving the accuracy. This is using shooters from Sig P226 to G27 with a KKM barrel in it.

I guess my philosophy, which is working for me, is the combination of speed and accuracy that is maximized. Some of those 40 loads are equal to or a wee bit more than many factory 10mm loads and have dampened my interest in picking up a 10mm but if I reloaded for the 10mm happiness would return.

I did pick up a bunch of 180g HST pulled bullets from RMR bullets and didn't notice any crimp grooves in any of them. Perhaps there is a generation difference between what I bought and what you were given.

The HST menu of calibers comes out looking pretty good in testing for accuracy, expansion, penetration and weight retention and apparently some LE outfits are using their bullets in the .40 they have. I have high regard for the way that HST bullet performs in my reloads as far as accuracy and velocity. I did shoot a medium sized mule deer with those bullets in a Sig P226 and it was a two shot deal and I was not able to find either bullet to see how it performed. That is the end of my field testing and I now carry the HST bullet line in all of my EDC which covers a "few" calibers. Solid bullet.

Good info, Thanks Redhill, you're stepping on the gas nicely with the 180's at 1175, glad to hear they shoot well for you, the factory democrat, read weak, most 10mm loads are a joke, 200's at a solid 1200 fps are what it's all about for good 10mm loads imho, I've been gone for a few days but hope to shoot the four mags of 180gr HST's in my p226 for accuracy check, raining like hell here right now.

I really like the 180gr HST's at 1K fps, very comfortable, next to nil front sight rise.

gunner - maybe you've seen it, but Hodgdon's online data lists ~1150 fps for a 180gr 40 S&W with Longshot; it seems to stand a good 100 fps taller than other powders in that data set if I remember clearly. Depending on the barrel, your 1200 fps may be a little warm but still in the ballpark.

Redhill - don't judge the 10mm by those weak "10mm lite" factory loads; those are intentionally loaded to 40 S&W levels and are 10mm in name only. Full power 10mm loads are head and shoulders above anything the 40 can do, obviously, since the primary difference between the two is case capacity.

Yondering

Bingo on the Buffalo Bore and Corban loadings for all calibers.

I would imagine that their loads for the 10mm are crazy. It would be fun to work up some reloads for a 10mm that are like the BB loadings. One of our sons has a Glock 10mm and I have loaded some 180 HST loads for his shooter but haven't run them across the chrony yet and since I don't have a 10mm I have forgotten the loading that I came up with.

If I want to go heavy heavy its a Ruger Old Vaquero Bisley stainless 44 Mag with a 300g cast with H110 that goes over my chrony at an average of 1377fps. Amazingly effective but after about 5-6 shots the fun disappears.

I know some guys around here in Idaho will use a G20 loaded with the BB 180-200 g. for a lot of fire power in a relatively lighter package when either on horseback or hiking.

Based on what - your imagination?

Boutique ammo makers spend a lot of money on pressure testing - something the typical forum expert does not.

Yondering, yes, Hogdon's website is where I started at 6.5 grs Lonshot, shock at the chrono quickly followed, the 1212 fps with the 180 HST is the reason for this thread, I like lead and copper defense bullets around 1000 fps, a mono is a different story, here's a few examples of what I load for pistol and revolver.

38 Super, 115 Lehigh penetrators, 1400 fps, 125gr Barnes, 1326 fps.
357 mag, 125gr Barnes, 1459 fps, 140gr Barnes, 1400 fps, 158gr hard cast 1396 fps. [hunting]
40 S&W, 140gr Barnes, 1250 fps, 180gr HST, 1000 fps, 200gr XTP, 1031 fps [hunting]
10mm, 140gr Lehigh penetrator, 1564 fps, 200gr XTP, 1200 fps, [defense/hunting]
45 ACP, 185gr Barnes, 1141 fps, 200gr XTP, 1000 fps, 230gr Gold Dot, 966 fps.

I'll still bet the 180 HST's at 1K will hold their shape and penetrate deeper 'with' plenty of expansion than possible overdriven at 1200 fps.

Gunner, I suspect you're right.

Perhaps you missed my meaning in the choice of the word CRAZY. It is also used to indicate amazing, awesome, spectacular, among others.

Based on my imagination? Nope swing and a miss ....again. Based on shooting some of their products and seeing the results over my chronograph.

Typical forum expert ? Nope another swing and miss....you seem to miss a lot. I believe that is 3 strikes and regrettably you are out!!! Bad eyesight or poor comprehension? My "expertise" comes from my background of experience and research. Again Simple.....for most.

I have pulled down some 180 HST 40 caliber ammo in the past to try it in my 10mm. I used a starting load of LONGSHOT since I didn't want to overdrive the bullet. But even the start load is 1225 FPS. I suspect you guys are right about the rings being for weight retention but it's worth mentioning that when I took the 180 HST's down, those grooves were filled with a black tar that I took to be a water proofing solution and maybe to prevent bullet setback as well since it was quite sticky.

I would love someone to give me 1000 rounds of HST, that is a good friend.

Interesting on the groove fill Disseminator, these are clean as a pin, LOL, I'm glad my old Bud got tired of handloading and gave me those bullets too, he's just going to shoot factory ammunition in his hand guns from here on out.