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Light 40 S&W Bullets at a Great Price

2K views 13 replies 5 participants last post by  RexipusRex 
#1 ·
https://www.midwayusa.com/product/1022694643?pid=891762

Found 135gr lead free bullets at a great price, unless they’re total crap. Have no idea how to load these, but desperate times call for trying new things. Generally load 9mm, but bought a new Springfield EMP 40 S&W a few months ago, so have a good reason to increase my 40 S&W loading.

$75 for 1000 bullets, I had to jump on it. Even with shipping and tax I’m under 9 cents each.

Anyone have a published recipe for 135gr 40 S&W? I normally load 155gr and 165gr.
 
#2 · (Edited)
Yes, almost bought some myself. These are Frangible bullets. There’s a video on line by the company owner demonstrating them. They seem to be especially useful on steel at close range - no ricochets since the bullets are compressed copper/zine powder. They behaved like FMJ in ballistic gel but turn to dust on steel. I wasn’t sure how to handle the loading of these as they seemed more like “soft” lead bullets, so passed on them. Like you said, these times may demand re-visit.

For 135/40SW, I’ve use Bullseye and CPE-Pistol successfully. Load data is in Hodgdon, Lee, Nosler and Lymans loading manuals. Using my chronograph, I get an average of 1345fps out of my Sig P239 with CFE-P.
 
#4 ·
That is good and timely advice. Should have thought of that myself. Bell removal is all I aim for, but I just haven’t gotten the knack of setting my .40 S&W crimp die. I’m sure I’m over crimping as the cases POP out of the die. I need almost no pressure to raise the ram, but I need to use quick force to lift the handle and lower the round out of the die. Only caliber this happens.
 
#5 ·
First ladder test shots:

Okay, so I checked out all of the load data I could find for Sinterfire bullets. The two 40 S&W bullets with load data are 105gr and 125gr...nothing for 135gr. The data lists Universal w/125gr Sinterfire bullets, starting 4.7gr and up to 5.3gr. COL of 1.125”

I started my loads at 4.3gr, and 1.140” COL, loading 10 rds and moving up 0.1gr increments to finish at 4.6gr, just under the starting load for the 125gr Sinterfire. However, this is a really long bullet, and seating to 1.125” puts the ogive below the case mouth. I loaded to keep the smallest bit of bearing surface to the case mouth. Pulling these rounds apart can only be done with an impact bullet puller as there is no surface for a cam lock puller to grab. Still, I had 40 rounds loaded for this trial.

The chamber of my SA EMP lets me load these bullets out to 1.155” if needed, and still cycle flawlessly (dummy rounds), so I knew that 1.140” would be fine. But it really wasn’t, at least not at these charges.
No chrony, so I’m loading for accuracy and cycling, not velocity.

4.3gr - SA EMP doesn’t cycle, most cases fail to exit the firearm. Softer than a mouse fart. I had to manually eject the 1st round, and numerous whole, unburned kernels of Universal fell of the case.

4.4gr - Slight increase in slide action, a few cases ejected, and a few chambered the next round...still feeling mouse farts.

4.5gr - Some rounds fully cycle, some rounds fail to eject...sorta a gerbil fart, counting on 4.6gr to become actual starting load.

4.6gr - nope, this isn’t the base load either. Most rounds fully cycled, cases appear clean, most accurate load, and best cycling of the ladder, but still not a reliably functioning load. I’m thinking of starting at this charge weight, laddering up to 5.0gr and doing two ladders - one at 1.140” as shot today, and another seated to 1.135”, knowing that the bearing surface may be wholly inside the case. If this is so, I may need a bit more crimp to ensure there isn’t an edge at the case mouth.

Stay tuned.
 
#6 ·
My first trial loads for these bullets with Universal proved interesting. I started with the load for 125gr bullets and stepped down. 4.3gr to 4.6gr at 1.140” shot well, but none of them cycled my Springfield EMP 3”, though the 4.6gr load came close.

This time I increased the ladder, starting with 4.6gr, working up to 5.1gr, with an additional 5 rounds of 4.6gr seated to 1.135”. The original 4.6gr load still failed to cycle, but all higher loads cycled well, as did the 5 shorter 4.6gr rounds.

I’d previously conjectured that proper functioning would occur at 4.8gr. This was true, though the 4.6gr, 1.135” load also functioned well. Nonetheless, the 5.1gr load was awesome.
Any of these rounds would serve my needs, but I could use the 5.1gr load for carry. I’ll load more and test for accuracy, though these bullets fly true.
 
#7 ·
I’m ready to move on to other powders for these 135gr Sinterfire projectiles. Got out and shot my latest proof rounds with Universal shooting 4.8gr at 1.135” COL, and 5.0gr at 1.140” COL, both with CCI 500 primers.

Based on previous testing using 4.8gr Universal at 1.140”, recoil and full cycling weren’t quite there. Seating .005” deeper made a significant difference with solid performance, and a good recoil, and clean ejection and lock back. Still, I’m not comfortable seating these projectiles past the ogive, thus the purpose for 5.0gr Universal at 1.140”. All of the positive comments remain true, with just a slighter increase in felt recoil.

I started tonight’s shooting running 165gr JHP RN from Everglades Ammo, over 7.3gr of CFE-Pistol, seated to 1.125”. It was harsh, quite an unpleasant load. I’m not sure what lead me to select this recipe...it was an unnecessary test of 40 S&W power that I hope to never repeat. I’ll have to try those rounds in my Beretta PX4 Storm to see if a longer barrel can tame the load, otherwise, I’ll be pulling out my Hornady Cam Loc Bullet Puller for the second time this month.
 
#9 ·
These Sinterfire bullets are crazy long. The lightest I had to compare was Berry's 155gr CPFP. They are .103" longer than Hornady 155gr XTPs as shown in the attachment. Consequently, load data is most similar to 180gr projectiles. I'd imagine that if I seated them to 1.125", far too short IMO, they'd have a pretty strong punch.

One day I'll have a chrony to check these against. Until then it's purely subjective felt recoil...and accuracy of course.

In comparison, I am really feeling the toll of shooting 165gr JHP with 7.3gr of 3N37. I have no idea what compelled me to increase the charge from 7.0gr that I've shot previously...I shot about 30 rounds and quit that...I should have quit at 2. I suppose heavier bullets are fine if one uses a sensible load...and I sure didn't.
 

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#10 ·
Yikes those bullets do look really long. I guess lower density material combined with less than 100% volume fill of the sintered powder will do that.

I'm curious, Universal's fine and I love that powder for its versatility, but if you're trying to find a good light load with a bullet of that weight, have you tried a slightly faster powder like Titegroup or Bullseye? You might get a little better combustion and consistency.

I went to the website for these bullets and watched their videos. If Midway had these in .45 caliber or 9mm at similar prices I'd probably pick some up to try out. I've only got 1 .40 S&W gun, though, and it's a tiny carry gun that's so snappy to shoot that I haven't actually shot it in several years, and I've got quite a few .40 caliber bullets cast for it. These bullets would be wasted on me, so I'll defer to anyone else.
 
#11 ·
I'm curious, Universal's fine and I love that powder for its versatility, but if you're trying to find a good light load with a bullet of that weight, have you tried a slightly faster powder like Titegroup or Bullseye? You might get a little better combustion and consistency.
Actually, the main reason that I started with Universal is because the Western Powders did testing and published data for 125gr Sinterfire Projectiles. I'm exchanging data on another forum with folks that have tested HP-38, Bullseye, and Blue Dot, as well as validating my loads. I don't have Tightgroup or Bullseye.
What's encouraging is that all of the tested loads line up nearly perfectly with standard 180gr loads. This provides an entry point and load range for 2 dozen powders. I have a few on the list, but only HP-38 sits higher on burn rate chart. However, I'm considering giving VV N320 a try. It loads just a bit lighter than HP-38 with similar performance and a bit cleaner.
 
#12 ·
I've never tried HP-38 or any of the Vihta Vuori powders.

It's interesting that these 135gr bullet loads would line up with 180gr loads. If that's the case, it's likely because of the increased bearing surface of these long 135gr bullets and the reduced case capacity as compared to a jacketed or lead 135gr bullet causing a steeper pressure rise and hence increased burn rate. I don't know if I would have predicted that.

I'd be interested in trying out some of these sintered bullets in .45 ACP or 9mm.
 
#13 ·
Yeah...take a look at this. Considering how deep these go into the case...and I’m loading them .015” long at 1.140”. Not a lot of room left for powder.

At 7.5 cents each I couldn’t pass them up. I’d love to find ANY pistol projectile at this price. Ordinarily, these frangibles go for triple that...but if someone decides to clear our 9mm or 45ACP frangibles, I’ll be all over that too! Very fun project.
 

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#14 ·
Yeah, if those hadn't been .40 S&W I'd have jumped on it. With having to buy lead for casting my lead bullets aren't "free" anymore, and though they're still less than 7.5 cents each, the difference in cost vs. the time savings of not casting & coating my own bullets might be worth it. And holy cow those things really are long. I'd be really curious to see how light a bullet in .45 caliber would be to be about the same length as, say, a 230gr LRN or FMJ.
 
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