Pet loads for a 40 cal

I was hoping someone here has developed a nice/accurate load for either the 135gr SWCBB by Penn or the 140gr FPBB by Magnus. I have a really nice 40 that shoots tight groups but the recoil can be fatiguing (brutal) shooting the 180 gr stuff I have been shooting. It is a given that none of the re-loading books available will go with a load as low as BE shooters will drop it down to. I listed those two bullets because they are available but would welcome other options. I have quite a few 180gr L-TC here that I could probably load a lot lower also. Thanks,

Len

lets see if i can help out a bit
i like low and slow
so here is a bit of chrono data i shot thru a s&w 410
using the lee 145gr swc cast and the 175gr TL
thought i had more bullseye powder data but the Maxam CSB-1 comes really really close to Universal data #s

Description: LEE 0.401
Notes 1: LEE 0.401 401-145-SWC 145 0.545
Notes 2: 3.8gr bullseye 1.100" oal
Distance to Chrono (FT): 0.00
Ballistic Coefficient: 0.117
Bullet Weight (gr): 145.00
Temp: 56 °F
BP: 29.84 inHG
Shots
# FPS\FT-LBS
10 867\242
9 848\232
8 842\228
7 ERROR 3
6 839\227
5 870\244
4 848\232
3 871\244
2 856\236
1 808\210
Average: 849.89
StdDev: 19.76
Min: 808
Max: 871
Spread: 63
True MV: 849.89
Shots/sec: 0.43
Group Size (IN): 0.00

Description: LEE 0.401
Notes 1: LEE 0.401 TL401-175-SWC 175 0.57
Notes 2: 4.5gr Maxam csb-1. 1.135" oal
Distance to Chrono (FT): 0.00
Ballistic Coefficient: 0.141
Bullet Weight (gr): 175.00
Temp: 56 °F
BP: 29.84 inHG
Shots
# FPS\FT-LBS
9 819\261
8 879\300
7 834\270
6 853\283
5 822\263
4 837\272
3 848\279
2 831\268
1 839\274
Average: 840.22
StdDev: 18.19
Min: 819
Max: 879
Spread: 60
True MV: 840.22
Shots/sec: 0.28
Group Size (IN): 0.00

Description: LEE 0.401
Notes 1: LEE 0.401 401-145-SWC 145 0.545
Notes 2: 5.0gr Maxam csb-1 1.100" oal
Distance to Chrono (FT): 0.00
Ballistic Coefficient: 0.117
Bullet Weight (gr): 145.00
Temp: 49 °F
BP: 29.96 inHG
Shots
# FPS\FT-LBS
5 937\283
4 957\295
3 936\282
2 928\277
1 997\320
Average: 951
Min: 928
Max: 997
Spread: 69
Shots/sec: 0.08
Group Size (IN): 0.00

guncheese: those are some really small groups.
I thought the OP was talking accuracy?
Some accurate (<2" @ 25 yards) loads I have found (and work up to them) are:
Speer 135gn JHP: 8.2gn Unique and 8.6gn WSF.
Going beyond your weight range, I have:
145gn cast L-TC: 9.0-9.5gn HS7, 6.5-6.9gn Silhouette, 5.6-7.7gn Unique.
Speer 150gn JHP: 8.0gn Power Pistol
Montana Gold 155gn JHP: 8.1 Power Pistol, 8.8gn Silhouette, 6.5gn Universal.

yes my groups are always smaller than the bullet diameter  and sometimes even in the negative

I noticed the group size and was amazed . I have some really accurate loads for my 40. I just don't have any reduced loads for the 40. I was thinking about something in the 650-750 range. I have not got the bullets yet (ordered the 135's) but I suspect I will have to work up my own loads. I will probably start around 3.5 of BE or 4.5 of Power Pistol. My wife bought me a chrono for my birthday (15-20 years ago) I may have to take it out of the box and figure out how to make it work. I know sunshine is required so that might be awhile. Thanks for the input.

Len

Len,

I'm sure you already know this but with some of the chronographs you can hang a flood light above them indoors and they work good then. That is if you are shooting at an indoor range.  Outdoors your kinda stuck waiting for sunshine.


Virgil

I did not know they would work with a flood light. Since I will be testing at the pistol range which is covered I should be able to get some results before summer. I did mention I have never taken it out of the box. Oregon coast. I tried for about 5 years to have a sunny day to go to the range and finally gave up.

Len

Last time I was in Oregon on the coast it was on a Roosevelt Elk bow hunt a few Octobers ago and it was 95 degrees and sunny all week. Hope you don't have to wait 8 months for sunshine.

   


Virgil

I have some results to post. I had a beautiful sunny day to play (chrono still in box). I got the 135 gr L-SWCBB from Penn and was antsy to give them a try. I loaded 20ea 3.0, 3.2, 3.5 and 3.8 all Bullseye. I started out with the lightest 1911 spring I own ( 10 lb ) and started with the lightest load. 3.0 gr will not get the brass out of the chamber. Total failure to cycle. I was shooting 25 yds and group was 9 ring at best. I have lighter springs ordered so only fired 5 rounds. The 3.2 gr loads cleared the chamber but only cycled about 50%. The group with the 10 rounds I fired was better but not great (95-2). I then tried the 3.5 gr. The pistol cycled flawlessly but didn't quite have enough oomph to bring it back to slide lock on the last round. I fired all 20 of these and liked the recoil and had better results. Every group is printing further to the left as the power increases. I fired all of these on 1 target and it was a 195-6. Finally I tried the 3.8 gr. The pistol ran flawlessly and locked up when empty. I shot the first mag all to the left. I moved 3 clicks right and fired for effect. I was not un-happy with my very short test for function today. Last 10 shots were all 10's so I quit while I was ahead. I will load a couple hundred of them and see how it works for more than 20 rounds.

These were the most accurate [light] loads using my Lee 145 LSWC mold home cast bullets, shot through a 5" bbl:

4.2 grains TiteGroup 
4.4 BE
3.8 Clays
4.3 N320

I shot my 40 cal in a 2700 this weekend. I was shooting to get a metallic classification card so it was as good of a time as any to give it a test. The pistol cycled flawlessly for the 90 rounds using 3.8 gr of Bullseye behind the Penn 135 gr L-SWC. I struggled the entire match with the steel sights (being 65 sucks) so my lower scores were not the pistol/ammos fault. I found that the sun made a huge difference in where my shots went and played with the sights a lot. Got it dialed the last 20 shots and fired a 191 rapid. The pistol with that load held its own with the model 41 and the 45 ball gun. I want to test it now with a dot and see if/how much the score goes up.
 Thanks for posting your loads igolfat8. I will be testing hotter loads if I can't get the 3.8 to cycle.

Len

Update: I put a dot on the scope and watched my scores plummet. When I shot it with steel sights I used 3.8 gr BE but went to 4.2 when I added the dot. Initial testing on the short line was promising so I gave it a try in Portland this weekend. Bad mistake. The pistol had fliers that were out of the scoring ring. The short line was ok but impossible to make up for damage done. I will try it again with 135gr Nos JHP on the long line but appears to be a bust for now. I will keep working on the round but disappointed with results so far.

Len