.40 S&W Load Development
10/11/2004

7.2 gr Power Pistol, 165 gr Zero TCFM, Fed 100, OAL 1.350"

The objective for this load was to produce a round that would be less expensive than my defense carry ammo, the Federal 165 gr EFMJ, but would feel the same (felt recoil) to shoot.  I decided if I could reproduce the same MV with a jacketed bullet of the same weight bullet I could get close to achieving this goal. So, the first thing I did was take some chronograph readings of the Federals.  From this I determined the MV I was going to shoot for would be 1069 fps.

Chrono Readings    
-95% CL Mean +95% CL SD
1048 1069 1090 24
Date: Feb 21, 2004  
Weather: Bright sunny, 40F, 500' ASL
Load: Fed 165 gr, EFMJ, 20 rds

Bullet Selection

The bullet I choose was the  Zero 165 TCFM. I selected it because it was inexpensive, it had the desired physical characteristics, and it was available from my local supplier, The Reloaders Bench in Mount Juliet.  I did not consider a lead bullet for shooting in my stock Glock barrel.  Someday I may try some of the plated bullets like Rainer or Berry's.
No. Type Charge (gr) fill  (%) MV (fps) Pmax (psi)
1 Alliant POWER PISTOL 7.0 92 1,069 27,168
2 Vihtavuori N350 6.3 90 1,069 28,122
3 Vihtavuori 3N37 6.7 89 1,069 28,154
4 Alliant BULLSEYE 5.3 85 1,069 29,389
5 Acc.Arms No.5 7.6 79 1,069 29,433
6 Ramshot Silhouette 6.6 81 1,069 29,733
7 Winchester WAP 6.6 81 1,069 29,768
8 Winchester 540 7.2 77 1,069 29,848
9 Ramshot True Blue 7.2 77 1,069 29,864
10 Acc.Arms No.2 5.9 88 1,069 30,244
11 Vihtavuori N330 5.7 91 1,069 30,279
12 Hodgdon Universal 5.6 90 1,069 30,784

Powder Selection

The criteria used for the powder selection was to determine the lowest pressure producing load that would achieve the 1069 fps MV.  A secondary attribute was to provide a fill % that exceeded 75% so a double charge situation would overflow the case.   Quick Load was used to list predicted loads that would produce the desired MV.   Then it was easy to sort the list by chamber pressure  in ascending order.  The table to the left shows the results and you can see that Power Pistol is listed on top.

Next I double-checked Alliant's web site to see what they recommended for a similar load.  This is what they listed for a 170 gr XTP.
     • 170 XTP
Minimum OAL inches Bbl Length Primer Powder Charge Weight (grains) Velocity (fps) Chamber Pressure (psi)
1.124 4 Win. W.S.P. Power Pistol 7.3 1,105 33,300
With the powder selected I built a load table with Quick Load and MS Excel. 
# gr -2% fps fps +2% fps ft-lbs. psi %max
1 6.0 899 917 936 308 18,843 58%
2 6.1 913 932 951 318 19,529 60%
3 6.2 927 946 965 328 20,238 62%
4 6.3 942 961 980 338 20,968 64%
5 6.4 956 975 995 349 21,721 67%
6 6.5 970 990 1,010 359 22,498 69%
7 6.6 984 1,005 1,025 370 23,298 71%
8 6.7 999 1,019 1,039 380 24,123 74%
9 6.8 1,013 1,034 1,054 391 24,974 77%
10 6.9 1,027 1,048 1,069 403 25,851 79%
11 7.0 1,042 1,063 1,084 414 26,754 82%
12 7.1 1,056 1,077 1,099 425 27,686 85%
13 7.2 1,070 1,092 1,114 437 28,646 88%
14 7.3 1,085 1,107 1,129 449 29,635 91%
15 7.4 1,099 1,121 1,144 461 30,655 94%
16 7.5 1,113 1,136 1,159 473 31,706 97%

Actual Results

Loads were built up and chronographed with the following results based on 20 rd samples.  I was pleasantly surprised to see how close the QL predictions came to the actual measurements.  I decided 7.2 gr would get the MV where I wanted it to be.  
Gr QL Actual Diff % Diff V:C
6.5 990 977 13 1.3% 0.0067
6.7 1,019 998 21 2.1% 0.0067
6.9 1,048 1,028 20 1.9% 0.0067
7.1 1,077 1,050 27 2.5% 0.0068
7.3 1,107 1,087 20 1.8% 0.0067

Sat, 27 Mar 04, 55-60 F, 500' ASL 
Stock G23, Power Pistol, Zero 165 gr, Fed 100, Win brass (new)
Here is how the actual MV readings compare graphically with the Quick Load predictions. 

Since I developed this load I have fired about 500 rounds without any problems and they do feel the same as the Federal EFMJ ammo.  I have noticed the muzzel flash with the hand loads is brighter then the Federals and my TiteGroup based competition hand load.  The following are results from various chrono readings I have taken under different temperatures;
-95% CL Mean fps +95% CL SD
1033 1053 1072

23

 

-90% CL Mean fps +90% CL SD
1117 1127 1136 11

 

-95% CL Mean +95% CL SD
1046 1066 1086 23

 

 Date: 13-Jul-04 
Weather: Bright sunny, 95F 
Load Info: Fed 165 gr, EFMJ, based on 6 rounds

 

Load Info: 7.2 PP, 165 gr Zero, Fed 100, once-fired brass, based on 10 rounds 

 

 

Date: 4-Apr-04 
Weather: Bright sunny, 66F 
Load Info: 7.2 PP, 165 gr Zero, Fed 100, once-fired brass, based on 20 rounds

I do not suggest hand loads for defense or defense training loads - use factory ammo.

Main Page

Tribal Knowledge from GT

Steve Koski 
I've loaded several hundred Montana Gold 165 JHPs over 7.5 gr Power Pistol at 1.135". 
A rompin' stompin' load for sure. You'll love it! 

Catbird 
For my FULL-POWER loads, I use 7.5 grains of Alliant Power Pistol powder 
with a 165 grain Remington Golden Saber bullet. 

glockandme 
5.8gr Power Pistol and 165gr Rainer. Soft and Accurate 
1.135 OAL

i use moderate loads in my stock g22 barrel (5.8 grain power pistol, 165gr rainer & berry) and usually go to 5 times and then get rid of the cases. 

grenadier 
I prefer Alliant Power Pistol for my .40's.

165 grain Rainier bullet (flat point or round shouldered)
6.6 grains Alliant Power Pistol (7.1 grains max)
Winchester standard small pistol primer
COAL = 1.130"
Crimp to 0.421" with Lee Carbide Factory Crimp Die 

To duplicate the feel of the full power Gold Dots, I would recommend the following:

165 grain Berry's, West Coast, or Rainier's plated bullet
6.7 grains Alliant Power Pistol (+/- 0.4 grains)
Any standard small pistol primer (Winchester, Federal, CCI, Remington, Fiocchi leadless)
COAL = 1.130"
Crimp to 0.421-0.422" with Lee carbide factory crimp die

At 6.3 grains, you get a plinking load that duplicates the feel of the medium velocity 165 grain Federal Hydrashok. 
At 6.7 - 7.1 grains, you get something that duplicates the feel of the full power loads

For a reduced recoil load, start with 6.2-6.3 grains of Power Pistol. For me, 6.3 grains reliably cycles my Glock 23 when using my Jarvis barrel, and I've gone down as far as 6.0 grains with the factory barrel, but at that low of a powder charge, these loads would cause misfeeds when using the non-throated Jarvis barrel. 

If you want a load that has less muzzle flash, I would recommend the following: 

5.6 grains VV N340 (+/- 0.4 grains) 
165 grain FMJ bullet 
Any standard small pistol primer 
COAL = 1.130" 
Crimp to 0.422-0.423" with Lee Carbide Factory Crimp Die 

Duncan gr / MV gr / MV
POWER PISTOL - JHP 6.2 / 1000 7.3 / 1125

MotorPsycho 
I've also loaded some 165g JHP's with 7.7g Power Pistol. 
They clock at 1,271 fps or 592 ft/lbs of energy average. (G35)