[SA 1911 Loaded]

I am wondering how safe a .40 major is compared to a .45 major,in reviewing various loadings,it appears that a 180 grain .40 needs to be loaded to 944 fps for a PF of 170,this is an near maximum load for the .40,the .45 acp,200 grain bullet needs to be at 850 fps to make 170,which is a midrange load.

The guns I'd be using are the XDm .40 or a 1911 A1 in .45,I'm not worried about the 1911's lesser magazine capacity opposed to the XDm's,what I am concerned about is safety,and the least amount of wear and tear on the weapons.
I have read reports of .40 major loads blowing case heads,cases,and in some cases,the guns,this concerns me.
I would be using a medium burn rate powder in the .40,and a fast powder in the .45 for major PF loads.

[Jman]

.40 S&W is a high pressure round compared to the 45 ACP. But if you practice safe, accepted reloading techniques, no worries, you'll be fine. It doesn't matter much the caliber if your not adhering to them. Search around this forum. Much to learn.

[Al Capizzo]

Assuming the usual safe loading practices (don't double charge, watch overall length, etc) .40 major is not a problem, though you can make it one.
Literally millions of these rounds go down range every year without issue. Check the loading data, here and on the manufacturer's sites, and you'll be fine.

[raz-0]

.45 is well within it's comfort zone making major. Personally I aim for about 175pf, and the .45 still has a fair amount of headroom at that level. .40 is much closer to its limits at that power factor, but I'm leaning towards the opinion that the only real extra risk is that of reusing a case too many times and getting a case head separation.

Major .45 and major 40 are both doable within pressure specs for the cartridge. Blowing up guns is usually a matter of making a mistake, and all the mistakes you can make with one, you can make with the other. With a fast, compact powder like titegroup in .45, it is honestly hard to tell the difference between a single charge and a double charge due to case volume, which is probably your biggest risk with both.

If you are concerned about safety and want to go .40, universal clays under a 180gr bullet is pretty hard to screw up. It's a very bulky powder, and is lighter in color, so a double charge leaves you with a pretty full case, and is very easy to see. Adhering to the max load from hogdon, it makes 188pf. IIRC I was getting borderline major at 5.5gr with berry's plated.

[SA 1911 Loaded]

Thanks for the replies! I was curious,yes,safe reloading practices are of the utmost importance. I've been reloading .40 S&W since mid 1992,and .45 ACP since early 1979,and have not had any problems with either one. It was just some of the .40 kabooms I've read about and actually seen happen at our range during competition that had me a bit concerned,thanks again!

[Joe4d]

almost all factory .40 ammo is well above major pf. Most is 180pf or so in a 5 inch barrel. The lightest generally available factory ammo I have found is American Eagle 165 gr, which gets 1050 fps from my 5 inch gun. The round was specifically designed to shoot a 180 gr bullet at 980fps from a 4" barrel. Major power factor reloaded ammo is actually reduced power loads.

[GrumpyOne]

Alliant Power Pistol is a good powder to work with (and relatively cheap!). Light and fluffy, virtually impossible to double charge a case. After 16 lbs of powder, 20,000+ rounds of .40, no kabooms, no squibs, using a Dillon 550. Try 6.7 grains over a 180 grn trn cn bullet. I have, in the past, loaded as much as 7.6 grains of it in a .40, very, very bright flash, lots of recoil, showed a few signs of pressure (primer flattening just a bit), but still no kaboom.

[justforfun]

I have run a lot of 40 with titegroup and 185gr precision bullets. My major load was 4.1, 4.2 is the starting load and 4.7 max listed for 180 jacketed in the Hodgdon manual. This is the closest comparable data I had to the 185 precision. This load chronos at about 915 from my G35 with Lone Wolf barrel. I think there several other powders that will get to major without going above mid range loads. Keep your loads safe and give due attention to safe loading practices and you should have no issues loading 40 to major.

[TonyT]

The W-W 14th Edition Reloading Manual lists the following data for 180 gr. JHP in 40 S&W:
5.0 gr. WSF = 860 fps = 22900 psi
5.6 gr. WSF = 950 fps = 28300 psi
6.2 gr. WSF = 1090 fps = 33200 psi
I have used the 5.6 gr. WSF load and it chronos at ca 920 in my pistols.
You can safely achieve major power factor at lower pressures with a 45 ACP than a 40 S&W.

SA 1911 Loaded, on Jul 31 2009, 10:29 AM, said:

I am wondering how safe a .40 major is compared to a .45 major,in reviewing various loadings,it appears that a 180 grain .40 needs to be loaded to 944 fps for a PF of 170,this is an near maximum load for the .40,the .45 acp,200 grain bullet needs to be at 850 fps to make 170,which is a midrange load.

The guns I'd be using are the XDm .40 or a 1911 A1 in .45,I'm not worried about the 1911's lesser magazine capacity opposed to the XDm's,what I am concerned about is safety,and the least amount of wear and tear on the weapons.
I have read reports of .40 major loads blowing case heads,cases,and in some cases,the guns,this concerns me.
I would be using a medium burn rate powder in the .40,and a fast powder in the .45 for major PF loads.

[SA 1911 Loaded]

Thanks a million everybody for the replies! I have loaded the .40 to near maximum loads taken from my reloading manuals,and from the appropriate powder manufacturer's sites,and have not had any problems,but I don't do this very often,reason being is where we shoot competition,the competition is very informal,the loads aren't chronographed for power factor,so we run the lightest loads that will still function the pistol...ie I run 3.7 grains of Bullseye under a 165 grain lead bullet,so I have become a bit of a whimp from these loads,but now I'm wanting to get into shooting in a full fledged competition event.
Somehow I got this crazy idea in my head that .40 major was dangerous (please don't ask me how!! lol!!) eventhough I have loaded them to near maximum and had no problems (my load then was 6.1 grains WSF under a 180 grain bullet),at any rate,thanks all for helping answer my question and concerns.

This post has been edited by SA 1911 Loaded: 01 August 2009 - 03:37 PM

[Justsomeguy]

I think if you stick with the "medium speed" powders... say from about 231 on up to VV340 (would include powders like Zip, International, Unique, Silhouette, Power Pistol, HS-6 etc.) you will have no problems making major and beyond with perfectly safe pressure peaks. If you get into shooting minor with the .40, then the fast powders would become more necessary. I am not a fan of the fast powders at major PF though plenty of people do that.

[Graham Smith]

One of the popular powders for .40 Limited is VV N320. The max load for a 180gr bullet on their web site gives you a 174+ power factor. And given that manufacturers data tends to be a bit conservative, I'd say I'm pretty safe with my 165+ PF.

--Graham