[ParaDocs]

Hey from East Tn.
I'm an IPSC shooter; usually shoot the Para P-16 in Limited and, I'm fairly new to reloading.
Does anyone know of (or know where I can find) loads for a 230gr lead bullet in .40 caliber? I seem to shoot best the heavier the bullet and, I've seen that 230gr bullet sold on the Internet, but, nobody seems to know anything about loading them!
I generally load my 40's with V-N350, Win 231 or Win Superfield. Any suggestions?

 

[CWPINST]

A 230gr. bullet in a 40?????? Surely this must be a mistake. You must mean a 45. N350 will give you some of the highest velocity loads in the 45. There are a number of websites for powder companies that have loading data. Since you are new in loading, I would advise to get a couple of loading manuals and stick to the recipes exactly. DO NOT try to extrapolate. Loads for a 230gr lead bullet, a 230gr FMJ bullet, and a 230gr jacketed hollowpoint are likely to be quite different. Different brand primers can result in different pressures also.

 

[ParaDocs]

Wait. My mistake. It's a 220gr bullet hard cast lead RN, But, it is in .40 caliber.

 

[CWPINST]

I have never seen any loading data for anything heavier than a 200gr. In a 40, a 220gr bullet would be begging for a KB, IMHO. Why in the world would you want to shoot something that heavy. You could probably launch it at only about 600fps. Most people who load the 40 don't even like to load the 180gr bullets. I do though.

 

[PK]

220s will work(though they will make the gun feel slow). Most of your IPSC 40 shooters have moved to 180s. I would try searching for Jeff Maass loading data. Most of it's gonna be going between 750-800 fps I would imagine. You might find the data with a faster powder than what your acustomed to using(N-320 and Clays come imediately to mind). Don't worry about kbs, it's been done before. Just watch your data and cases and you'll be fine.

 

[pingun.45]

I tried all the .40 ipsc bullet combos last year, esp. the 220gr one. My load was 3.5gr W2321 with an OAL of 1.180+/-.005(shooting the load in STI 1911 format) Very accurate, yet splits suck when compared to 200gr and current 180gr loads. LaserCast came out with a 185gr lrn type bullet just for ipsc. Shoot whatever bullet you want, the 220s are probably going pretty cheap right now since the fad now is the 180ish gr loads. Just be careful with a heavy bullet and fast powder and too short of OAL. The .40 can be tricky to load for some. Have a good one, DC

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front sight is good, front sight is good!

 

[Patrick Sweeney]

The 220's are probably better used in a 10mm loaded for pins. There, you can easily push them the 890 fps you'd need.

A 220 in a .40 doesn't leave a lot of case volume, and as mentioned, the split times suffer compared to lighter bullets.