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Author Topic: OAL on .40 Reloads  (Read 3778 times)

Offline thirtydaZe

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OAL on .40 Reloads
« on: February 20, 2014, 09:00:17 PM »
On a quick search it looks like the standards are:

Quote
The SAAMI minimum/maximum cartridge OAL for 40 S&W is 1.085"/1.135".

Seem about right to yhe experts here?  This is on 180 gr btw.

Anyhow, im not reloading, but had purchased some a while back, and decided to hit them up with the calipers.

Everthing so far is falling in that spec, mostly 1.128-1.133, but a few 1.139 have turned up.

Should i be concerned with these slightly longer rounds?

Anything else you can add is much appreciated.

Offline shooter

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Re: OAL on .40 Reloads
« Reply #1 on: February 20, 2014, 09:21:06 PM »
 you should be fine, as long as they fit in your magazine
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Offline thirtydaZe

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Re: OAL on .40 Reloads
« Reply #2 on: February 20, 2014, 09:36:29 PM »
Right on, thanks.  Now, hopefully i can find time to put thhem down the range tomorrow!

Offline SemperFiGuy

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Re: OAL on .40 Reloads
« Reply #3 on: February 20, 2014, 09:41:53 PM »
Echo Shooter.

Load a magazine or two, aim at your sand bucket or water softener salt bags, and hand cycle the rounds through.   Without firing, of course.   (The sand and/or salt is for just in case.....)

If they hand-cycle through OK, then you'll be OK.   Too long OAL is generally OK, provided the rounds smoothly cycle.   (And let's not load them up to the maximum powder grain level just yet, either.)

However, if they were 0.006in too short by the specs, you would have considerably more concern.


Here's tonight's reloader reading material for your consideration:
CALIBERS -- Why the 180gr Bullet is a Bad Choice for .40 S&W
www.greent.com/40Page/ammo/40/180gr.htm


sfg
« Last Edit: February 21, 2014, 05:22:13 AM by SemperFiGuy »
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Offline thirtydaZe

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Re: OAL on .40 Reloads
« Reply #4 on: February 20, 2014, 09:52:00 PM »
I actually have that article saved at work.  I havent made a point to read it yet, but will tomorrow morning now, since youve referenced it too now.

I wish i hadnt purchased these dang rounds, but have about 1200 i gotta get rid of now.

Well, glad i read that!
« Last Edit: February 20, 2014, 10:14:54 PM by thirtydaZe »

Offline unfy

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Re: OAL on .40 Reloads
« Reply #5 on: February 20, 2014, 10:44:16 PM »
While I generally wouldn't be happy with .004 over in hand loads, it shouldn't be a problem.

As long as the rounds fit in the mag, and things cycle, you should be fine.

I'll go a step further than SFG and suggest picking out a bunch of the long rounds and filling a magazine with them - and then cycling them.

Afterwards, pay attention to the nose of the bullets to see if they're butting up against the rifling of the barrel.  While I don't imagine there will be any problems if they are... rifle rounds that are jammed into the grooves can cause pressure problems.  40s&w should be fine though.

hoppe's #9 is not the end all be all woman catching pheramone people make it out to be ... cause i smell of it 2 or 3 times a week but remain single  >:D

Offline SemperFiGuy

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Re: OAL on .40 Reloads
« Reply #6 on: February 21, 2014, 05:34:42 AM »
[quote]I wish i hadnt purchased these dang rounds, but have about 1200 i gotta get rid of now[/quote]

Many of your reloading colleagues on this Forum no doubt share this same experience with you in some way or the other.   Makes us all Brothers.

So what the heck:   You now have lots of information about this particular load and can get more by just searching around.

I'd say just go ahead and load 'em up right and proper and then go to the range and shoot 'em.
    No doubt several millions of this load combo have already made "BOOM" safely, gone down the range, and counted for score.   Or just made nice holes in paper, whatever.

One last little point:   IF some--but not all--of your rounds a bit long-ish, might be a good idea to be sure that you are down-stroking the press handle all the way to a good solid stop each time.   If you get tired and quit early before bottoming out, such shortstroke would make a lonnnnnnnnnnnggg cartridge.

Keep on Crankin'.


sfg
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Offline thirtydaZe

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Re: OAL on .40 Reloads
« Reply #7 on: February 21, 2014, 10:18:53 AM »
SFG,

I actually didn't load these rounds myself (was still waiting on your course in the future before i jump in).  It's actually American Quality Ammo I had purchased.  Once i had 1500 rounds in hand, it was then i realized that what i had were 3 boxes of reloads (that was me jumping on a price without reading the description).

On the smith&wesson forum there are a couple .40 Shields that have recently gone kaboom, so me being me, i got paranoid.  I was actually checking for setback.

I think, i'm going to run this 180gr stuff through my Pro Core, and use the 165 in the Shield.

Anyhow, keep us posted on your reload course!


Offline SemperFiGuy

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Re: OAL on .40 Reloads
« Reply #8 on: February 21, 2014, 04:43:43 PM »
Quote
so me being me, i got paranoid.

Clearly, You already have the basic mindset and qualifications to be a Good Reloader.

unfy is getting set up in his new domicile.   Once he settles in, he and I will schedule a reloading event.[/size]
BTW, if your cartridges are too long, you can run them through your seating die set to shorten them just a skoosh.

If they are too short, well..........................too bad.   Yeah, I know you can konk them w/the inertial puller hammer, but one konk too many and the bullet falls out, powder all over, the usual reloading mess.   

Gotta be Mess-Tolerant if you're gonna reload.


sfg[/b]
Certified Instructor:  NE CHP & NRA-Rifle, Pistol, Shotgun, Personal Protection Inside/Outside Home, Home Firearm Safety, RTBAV, Metallic Cartridge & Shotshell Reloading.  NRA Chief RSO, IDPA Safety Officer, USPSA Range Officer.  NRA RangeTechTeamAdvisor.  NE Hunter Education (F&B).   Glock Armorer

Offline thirtydaZe

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Re: OAL on .40 Reloads
« Reply #9 on: February 21, 2014, 05:48:24 PM »
SFG,

Reccomend me a GOOD quality reloader, something thatll cover a lot of bases (calibers).  While you're at it, a preference as far as scale is concerned.  Just as well hit the ground running....

Offline unfy

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Re: OAL on .40 Reloads
« Reply #10 on: February 21, 2014, 06:52:40 PM »
Suggesting a reloading press can be quite difficult.

I happen to own progressives and single stage presses and they both have their benefit and place.

Hard to argue with a rock chucker.  Granted, I'm a fan of big iron :D

If you're only planning on pistol rounds, or not doing any benchrest shooting, a progressive might be a proper place to start.

But the most important thing is what are YOU comfortable with using.  There is a lot going on during a true progressive press - which you might not be comfortable with at first.  etc etc etc.
There are plenty of threads in the hand loaded ammo thing that discuss press options, do some reading.

Watch a bunch of youtube videos.

Edumicate uresalf
hoppe's #9 is not the end all be all woman catching pheramone people make it out to be ... cause i smell of it 2 or 3 times a week but remain single  >:D

Offline SemperFiGuy

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Re: OAL on .40 Reloads
« Reply #11 on: February 21, 2014, 08:13:03 PM »
Quote
Reccomend me a GOOD quality reloader

Guess I'd recommend unfy.   He's Pretty Good.


All right.   Settle down.   Actually, I'd recommend starting with a single stage press.    Because it helps the Newby Reloader to get a feel for the reloading process, stage-by-stage, before going on strong with a progressive.   Having made that statement, nevertheless I know that a number of guys on this Forum have bought progressives as their starter reloading devices and survived.

Single-Stage:

Let's start here.   You can reload a ton of ammo on a single stage press.   Actually, a reloading press doesn't have to be a Monster to work well for you.   For example, the dinky little aluminum body Lee #90045 Reloading Press ($27 @ Midway) will grind out a lot of reloads for you.   Or you can go to the RCBS Rock Chucker Supreme for about $130.    (I've owned and used both; prefer the latter.   But it's nice to have the Lee press mounted at the end of the reloading table as an auxiliary device.)

And that's just the press.   A new reloader needs a ton of other stuff to go with the press.   And never quits buying just one more reloading thing because the market is always coming out with just One More Reloading Thing.

And which extras?   Depends.   For example, there are at least three major ways to polish brass.   And if you use a vibratory tumbler for cleaning and polishing, should you use walnut or corncob media?    Or a mixture of both?   Or stainless steel rods?   Should you use an additive in the media for supershine?    Which one?

Progressives:
Now there's a whole dissertation for you.   Dillon 550s and 650s.   Hornady Lock 'N Loads.   Lee Progressive 1000s.   On and on.   Best thing when you are considering a progressive press is to spend 6 months Googling each press and reading the pros and cons.   Plenty of pros and cons for each progressive press on the market.    Good idea to buddy up to someone or several someones with progressive presses and watch them use theirs.   And maybe load some of your own stuff on them.

Some folks swear by and most folks swear at some aspect of their progressive presses.   All progressives require extensive tinkering and tweaking to keep them running smoothly.

In The End
You will have at least $500-1000 or more invested in your never-ending reloading setup.   And when you compute the cost of reloading you will ignore that equipment investment and also the cost of your time.   Otherwise, you would realize that you don't really save money when you reload; you just shoot a whole lot more rounds downrange and make a lot more noise.

And learn a great deal about cartridge powders and reloading components.

And then you may take up trapshooting and shotshell reloading.   Hardly any of your metallic cartridge equipment can be used for shotshell reloading.   So you have to buy all new reloading stuff.   Plus you can make some Really Big Messes with shot, which is round and spills in large quantities and rolls all over the reloading area into dark areas and under all the stuff that's Too Big to Move.

But Wait, There's More...........   But you'll find all of that as you get into it.   Please note that reloading is (a) science, (b) art, and (c) a practice.    You'll have Great Times with all three.

sfg{You asked about a reloading scale.   That little MTM digital scale for about $35 Buck$ is just peachy.   But...what if you need to cross-check it for accuracy?    Gotta have a balance beam scale for about $60-80 Buck$.   Hornady, RCBS, etc. all work fine.)
[/size]
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Offline shooter

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Re: OAL on .40 Reloads
« Reply #12 on: February 21, 2014, 08:35:52 PM »
In The End
You will have at least $500-1000 or more invested in your never-ending reloading setup.   And when you compute the cost of reloading you will ignore that equipment investment and also the cost of your time.   Otherwise, you would realize that you don't really save money when you reload; you just shoot a whole lot more rounds downrange and make a lot more noise.


   $1,000. LOL now that's funny, when I get my new set of 450 marlin dies, it will be the 74th cartridge that I load. plus casting around 40 different bullets, and all shotgun sizes,  reloading is as bad a habit as drugs, every gun show, its another set of dies, in some oddball cal that I don't have,
Was mich nicht umbringt macht mich stärker
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Offline unfy

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Re: OAL on .40 Reloads
« Reply #13 on: February 21, 2014, 09:02:02 PM »
   $1,000. LOL now that's funny, when I get my new set of 450 marlin dies, it will be the 74th cartridge that I load. plus casting around 40 different bullets, and all shotgun sizes,  reloading is as bad a habit as drugs, every gun show, its another set of dies, in some oddball cal that I don't have,


ONE OF US

ONE OF US

ONE OF US

:D
hoppe's #9 is not the end all be all woman catching pheramone people make it out to be ... cause i smell of it 2 or 3 times a week but remain single  >:D

Offline SS_N_NE

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Re: OAL on .40 Reloads
« Reply #14 on: February 21, 2014, 09:05:38 PM »
Just a thought. Lee and Hornady have "breech lock" or "lock n load" features where the die is put into an adapter that allows die settings to be retained when changed in/out of the press. The adapter drops into place and locks with a slight turn making for fairly repeatable die settings one change to the next. Really saves a lot of time for batch work where dies are changed frequently. I have a Lee cast iron Classic breech lock press that is a very decent machine for the money.
In that same respect, a progressive press can have dies set up on plates that change out and the press can still be used as a single stage and is ready to go progressive anytime you are ready to step things up.

Offline thirtydaZe

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Re: OAL on .40 Reloads
« Reply #15 on: February 21, 2014, 09:21:08 PM »
Well, this gives me a bunch to digest.  I was watching some youtube a few weeks ago, i think i probably searched reloading 40 s&w.  I guess i had been looking up presses before i watched the video, the guy was using a blue press, just figured it was a dillon, however i would say that it was single stage too perhaps. 

I guess i dont know enough to say. 

Anyhow looks like a bunch of fun new toys to play with...  My wheels are spinning...



Edit:
Here is the video, whatever this guy has, i can handle, no problem
« Last Edit: February 21, 2014, 09:27:18 PM by thirtydaZe »

Offline SemperFiGuy

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Re: OAL on .40 Reloads
« Reply #16 on: February 21, 2014, 09:41:47 PM »
thirtydaZe:

Before you do Anything to start yourself toward reloading............

Please go back up and read that shooter feller's post.

Once he was like you.

Do you know that there are Reloaders whose wives leave them and they don't even know it!!?

sfg[/size]
Certified Instructor:  NE CHP & NRA-Rifle, Pistol, Shotgun, Personal Protection Inside/Outside Home, Home Firearm Safety, RTBAV, Metallic Cartridge & Shotshell Reloading.  NRA Chief RSO, IDPA Safety Officer, USPSA Range Officer.  NRA RangeTechTeamAdvisor.  NE Hunter Education (F&B).   Glock Armorer

Offline thirtydaZe

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Re: OAL on .40 Reloads
« Reply #17 on: February 21, 2014, 10:00:42 PM »
thirtydaZe:

Before you do Anything to start yourself toward reloading............

Please go back up and read that shooter feller's post.

Once he was like you.

Do you know that there are Reloaders whose wives leave them and they don't even know it!!?

sfg[/size]


LMAO.  Yeah, i double checked incase i missed something.  What can i say, i was at the range today and accidentally came home with a new Smith 442.  Not to much of an issue, a good eye rolling.  Shes well aware of my sickness as far as "toys" are concerned!

Thanks for the warning.

Offline shooter

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Re: OAL on .40 Reloads
« Reply #18 on: February 22, 2014, 10:15:13 PM »
 well I started loading back in 1975, back then you could get brass by the 55 gallon barrel from Arron Ferrers  (spelling?)  and lead by the barrel to,

    damn, was the good old days I guess
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