Handloading concerns and the .40 Super

[david_m_curry]

I am totally new to pistols and I am about to begin reloading .40 Super, so I have a few questions.

1. How do I choose between using a small rifle primer versus a small magnum pistol primer? Both are recommended for the .40 Super.

2. Which scenario, if any, creates the least wear on one's pistol:
a. Small bullet, high velocity, high energy, high pressure,
b. Large bullet, medium velocity, high energy, high pressure, or
c. Large bullet, high velocity, very high energy, medium pressure? Question 3 will detail how scenario (c) is possible.

3. Hodgdon's LIL'GUN appears to give cartridges of similar bore capacity to the .40 Super about a 50-100fps advantage over any other powder and the peak pressure is incredibly low while doing this. I estimate that a 200gr. bullet at around 1350fps from a 5" barrel should be should be very acheivable and the pressure would probably not reach 32,00psi. In this case you are limited not by pressure but by powder capacity. Has anyone tried LIL'GUN yet? How about VihtaVoury N110 (it looked like it should be the equal of AA No. 9)? I am mostly concerned with the shot-to-shot standard deviation of the velocity.

4. In handguns (i.e. tiny amounts of powder), do extruded powders (like VV N110) wear barrels noticably quicker than do spherical powders?

Thanks,
David Curry

 

[TritonCartridge]

David - The choice between a small rifle primer and small magnum pistol primer is not that critical if you are not trying to load the .40 Super to full house levels. You may see some primer flow with the pistol primer if you do. We prefer the Federal brand of small rifle primers for all the loads.

Boy, you are getting into an area that is very hard to keep short enough for this format. Let me simplify the answer at the risk of sounding, well, simplistic. The wear to the barrel is going to vary depending on the burn rate of the powder you use. For instance, say you load a 165 grain bullet to 1,300 fps using two powders with two burn rates. The two powders may offer similar peak pressure levels but one may have a more abrupt spike in pressure whereas the other may have a softer pressure curve. Although both powders exhibit very close pressures, the faster powder (also the one with less flash) will burn the barrel out faster. Whether or not the powder is single base or double base also is a factor.

If you are strictly looking to minimize barrel wear, load your ammunition to less than max levels and use a slower burning powder.

We have not used LIL'GUN. We have tried N-110 with poor results. I would be curious to see how the new Hodgdon powder works.

We used to use VV brand powders in most of our loadings but found we could achieve higher velocities and less pressure with our current flake type powder.

When I get back to work I'll have the guys try out LIL'GUN.

 

[david_m_curry]

I can hardly believe that you take the time to answer questions like you do... I truely appreciate it. It's good to know that N110 is a dud before I wasted any time with it and I will eagerly await news of how LIL'GUN performs in the .40 Super. Just think, that bit of advice which saved me $40 on a 2 lb. container of N110 allows me to order 3 more boxes of 200gr. Hi-Vel in .40 Super for free (using my wife's logic)! I honestly feel good about buying your products because I feel valued as a customer. I'm glad that my local dealer (T & Sons in Denton, TX) carries your ammo. Even if they did bitch and moan a little about ordering .40 Super for me even though I prepaid in full! I hope that y'all are getting close to shipping to your distributors because I'm getting excited

Cheers,
David Curry