Maybe someone can help me, I have been reloading .45 ACP with win 231 and have had very good results. I just bought a S&W .40 M&P and was wanting a good powder for this load. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks

I use Rainier 180gr JHP with 4.4grs Titegroup and CCI small pistol primers--the COL is 1.125". Average velocity is 908fps with a standard deviation of 11 and this load is very accurate out of my M&P 40.

CCI primers have to be seated pretty firmly to avoid FTFs (at least that's been my experience with CCIs).

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drridgway
NRA Member
MOA club member
Have guns, ammo and food, will survive.

Thanks for the info, Ill give it a try

I use Unique for my 40 S&W. I also use it in my 9mm and 45 acp reloads. Seems to be a good powder, although I think it burns a little dirty.

in high pressure cartridges ive found Power pistol to about the best

I used my spare time this weekend working up a self-defense load for my M&P 40.

In the image below, the pair of bullets on the right are Rainier 180gr JHP using the load that I posted previously. The right Rainier bullet was recovered from wet topsoil behind my target.

The pair of bullets on the left are Speer 155gr Gold Dots--guess which one was recovered from the same wet topsoil?

I used 5.9grs of Titegroup and Winchester small pistol primers (WSP) with the 155gr Gold Dots. The average velocity for ten shots was 1117fps, at six feet from the muzzle, which gives 429 lbs energy and the efficacy is 54.


Some say that reloads should not be used for self-defense and others say that you should use reloads ... As of today, this load will be in my CCW M&P 40.

Attached Thumbnails

 

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drridgway
NRA Member
MOA club member
Have guns, ammo and food, will survive.

yea I dont think raniers jhp's were actually designed to expand but more intended to give similar flight characteristics of your more expensive JHP bullets. In other words offer an inexpensive practice bullet thats flies the same as an expensive gold dot HP.

If you're not into some "game" and just want to shoot and get decent accuracy, 145-155gn bullets are great. One of the best powders (don't load to max though) is AA5. Stunningly accurate in a several .40s. For full power loads, Silhouette is great.
I shoot 145-175gn cast lead bullets and see no need for jacketed or those plated imitation-jacketed bullets.
Unless you are into some "game," stay away from the very fast powders (like TiteGroup and such) and stick with something in the AA5-True Blue range. The .40 is very temperamental and really "bites the hand that feeds it" over any loading errors.