[nytehawk]

Like some of you, I've noticed the relative lack of reloading data for the Rainier and Berry's plated handgun bullets. Yesterday I fired my first 40S&W reloads and wanted to share the results in case they may be useful to others. (See my previous post at http://glocktalk.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1143325 for 9mm range results.)

Weapon: Walther P99c QA (3.5" barrel)
Brass: Federal 40S&W, first reload
Primers: CCI Small Pistol (500)
Powder: Hodgdon TiteGroup
Bullets: Rainier plated 165gr flat-pointed round nose
Overall Length: 1.130" +/- 0.005"
Press: Lee Classic Turret with Factory Crimp Die

Powder qty thrown by Lee Pro Auto-Disk was measured at least 3 times during the reloading of each group: start, midway through, and end. Powder measurements taken using RCBS 505 beam scale, calibrated against a high-accuracy scale that I have access to at work.

Factory Group 1: Remington 165gr JFP
10 rounds fired, 9 recorded on chrono
Average: 999 fps
Std Deviation: 13 fps
Spread (max - min): 46 fps

Factory Group 2: Federal 180 gr JFRN (flat-tipped round-nose)
(Just for comparison, because I was interested to see how much slower the 180 gr was compared to the 165 gr.)
5 rounds fired, 5 recorded on chrono
Average: 915 fps
Std Deviation: 6 fps
Spread (max - min): 16 fps

Reload Group A: 4.2 grains TiteGroup (Lee Pro Auto-Disk .37cc)
10 rounds fired, 9 recorded on chrono
Average: 820 fps
Std Deviation: 29 fps
Spread (max - min): 75 fps
No malfunctions or failures to cycle

Reload Group B: 4.6 grains TiteGroup (Lee Pro Auto-Disk .40cc)
10 rounds fired, all 10 recorded on chrono
Average: 895 fps
Std Deviation: 18 fps
Spread (max - min): 56 fps
No malfunctions or failures to cycle

Reload Group C: 5.1 grains TiteGroup (Lee Pro Auto-Disk .43cc)
5 rounds fired, all 5 recorded on chrono
Average: 959 fps
Std Deviation: 13 fps
Spread (max - min): 35 fps
No malfunctions or failures to cycle

I only loaded five rounds at 5.1 grains because based on TiteGroup data from Hodgdon's website, I expected those loads to equal or possibly exceed factory velocity. As may be seen above, however, 5.1 grains is still slightly below the factory loads. Since my primary purpose for these reloads is target practice, I will probably use 4.6 grains for most loads.

Comments, suggestions, and critiques are welcome!

[lkd]

This is interesting. I'm about to load .40 S&W for the first time using TiteGroup and Rainier bullets (I've got 155gr though) on a shiny new Lee Classic Turret.

Looks like I would do fine with a 4.6-5.0 load then. I don't have a chrony (yet), so your data is extremely helpful.

[nytehawk]

Originally Posted by lkd

This is interesting. I'm about to load .40 S&W for the first time using TiteGroup and Rainier bullets (I've got 155gr though) on a shiny new Lee Classic Turret.

Looks like I would do fine with a 4.6-5.0 load then. I don't have a chrony (yet), so your data is extremely helpful.

Yep, either of those loads should work just fine with your Rainier 155's assuming relatively similar barrel length. If you were planning to use a heavier bullet than mine, I would advise you to be cautious with the 5.0 grain load. Let me know how it goes!