A mix of old and new.........

[Ben]

When the .40 S&W came on the scene years ago, I loaded for it and fired the cartridge out of several different automatic pistols.

I currently have a Ruger P 94 in .40 S&W.
I've tried all types of cast bullets in the .40 throughout the years.
The one that most impresses me is the Lyman 40143.
I talked Buckshot , 20 years ago , into HPing this mould for me.
It drops with WW's at around .4032 "
I size to .402 " with great accuracy and zero leading.
With lube and ready to load it weighs 165 grs.
I'm currently loading 5.3 grs. of Russian Unique behind the bullet.
A potent load but a safe load in my particular pistol.
The load is 100% reliable in my particular pistol.
I'm not recommending this load, if you have the powder and choose to use this load , it would be at your own risk. Obviously relying on data from individuals on the internet is risky at the least !

The 40143 was a " turn of the century mould designed for the 38/40, but it certainly works well in the modern .40 S&W.

A marriage of old and new !

Ben

This was fired into a 5 gallon bucket of wet sand with the load I described above :

 

[Spindrift]

Beautiful HP-bullets, and perfect expansion too. Cool tha a more than 100 year old design for the 38/40 works so well in a modern pistol!

 

[Ben]

Yes, very cool.

 

[Missionary]

Great looking sitting there with its open mouth.

 

[Petrol & Powder]

That's a good job of adapting old tech to new tech.

The flat point/ round nose profile looks very similar to the profile of many modern jacketed hollow points. And the addition of the hollow point pin to the mold brings the final weight of the bullet to a very useful range. You ended up with a bullet that feeds well, expands well and is in the ideal weight range. Good Job !

On a side note - Three Cheers for that early model Ruger P-series ! Those pistols are real sleepers in terms of value. Those guns are strong, reliable and durable pistols. They get overlooked sometimes but they perform well and are excellent values.

 

[Matt]

The versatility of the various modern and vintage 40
caliber bullet molds is pretty amazing. I use the Lee .401 TL 175 gr SWC (tumbled lubed and unsized) in my Winchester M92 .38/40 because it’s the most accurate bullet in that rifle. Conversely the best bullet in my 10mm Ruger 1911 are the 180 gr RN Flat Points cast from an original Winchester mold.

Lyman seems to have copied that design for its 401043 mold, at least in the version of my DC Lyman.

My 92 and a 50 yard/50 shot group using the Lee TL bullet.

 

[Ben]

Impressive ! !

 

[CWLONGSHOT]

Odd as for me the LEE TL was aweful inconsistent and not very accurate in almost a dozen different 40 guns/barrels!! BUT the conventional lube bullet is great!!

I also like the Lyman 180g RNFP. Its quite simular to yours Ben only a small FP instead of a hp.

CW

 

[Glaciers]

Ben Hows the trigger on the P 94? And did you change it up?

 

[Ben]

The trigger in single action pull is much better than a lot of revolvers.
I bought the gun used.
The trigger greatly influenced me.
Not all factory guns have a trigger like this one.

No, I've not been inside the gun.

Ben

 

[CZ93X62]

Yep--two old designs (30/32 Remington-base brass, 38/40 bullets) blended into the 10mm Auto c. 1983 (LTC Jeff Cooper's development) which morphed into the small-primered 40 Short & weak around 1989 or so. There was a pre-cursor caliber c. 1975 publicized in Guns & Ammo Magazine, at which LTC Cooper worked. It used cut-off 224 Weatherby brass (!) and 38/40 bullets to form what they called the 40 G&A Magnum. I forget what pistol this monster was chambered in, possibly 1911A1s. I also forget its ballistics, but they were an uptick from 45 ACP and its 185 grain bullets at 950 FPS. Autopistols that fed JHPs or even SWC castings usually involved gunsmithing gymnastics and modifications back in those days.

Those Ruger P-series pistols are definite 'sleepers'. I have a P-89X, the 9mm hi-cap full-sized version. Its box includes a 30 Luger swap barrel and a lighter-gauge recoil spring captive on its guide rod. The 9mm rod and spring are not captive. You just KNEW I would try running 30 Luger loads souped up a bit to make the 9mm recoil spring work like it is supposed to. 1500 FPS to 86 grain Hornady JSPs does exactly that, as does 1550 FPS to Lyman #311419. Both produce jackrabbit parts to 75 yards, almost like a one-handed 22-250.

The P-89 in 9mm gives up nothing to my SIG P-226. Accuracy is about a dead heat, and the Ruger is better with castings. Triggers are comparable in pull weights (both modes).

 

[Rockydoc]

"Russian Unique"? I have never heard of that. I have some Hercules and some Alliant, but Russian? Tell me about that.

 

[Ben]

About 18 - 20 yrs. ago ( maybe longer than that ? ? ? ) . Pat's Surplus Powders sold some Russian Salute Powder ( Commonly known as Russian Unique ) . I paid $9.43 per lb. delivered to my door in 5 lb. containers. I'm down to four 5 pounders now, wish I had bought a ton of it .

For me, it has worked out well. I use Alliant Unique data and have never experienced a problem.

Here it is being fired in my Marlin , CBC , 38 Special :

Ben

 

[JWFilips]

That sure is a nice bullet!

 

[Bret4207]

Yep--two old designs (30/32 Remington-base brass, 38/40 bullets) blended into the 10mm Auto c. 1983 (LTC Jeff Cooper's development) which morphed into the small-primered 40 Short & weak around 1989 or so. There was a pre-cursor caliber c. 1975 publicized in Guns & Ammo Magazine, at which LTC Cooper worked. It used cut-off 224 Weatherby brass (!) and 38/40 bullets to form what they called the 40 G&A Magnum. I forget what pistol this monster was chambered in, possibly 1911A1s. I also forget its ballistics, but they were an uptick from 45 ACP and its 185 grain bullets at 950 FPS. Autopistols that fed JHPs or even SWC castings usually involved gunsmithing gymnastics and modifications back in those days.

Those Ruger P-series pistols are definite 'sleepers'. I have a P-89X, the 9mm hi-cap full-sized version. Its box includes a 30 Luger swap barrel and a lighter-gauge recoil spring captive on its guide rod. The 9mm rod and spring are not captive. You just KNEW I would try running 30 Luger loads souped up a bit to make the 9mm recoil spring work like it is supposed to. 1500 FPS to 86 grain Hornady JSPs does exactly that, as does 1550 FPS to Lyman #311419. Both produce jackrabbit parts to 75 yards, almost like a one-handed 22-250.

The P-89 in 9mm gives up nothing to my SIG P-226. Accuracy is about a dead heat, and the Ruger is better with castings. Triggers are comparable in pull weights (both modes).

Good memory Al!!!

 

[CZ93X62]

Good memory Al!!!

My late Mom and Marie agreed on one thing--my mind is a storehouse of largely useless information, and once in a while that inventory produces a find. It does no harm that I was keenly interested in pistolcraft and already acquainted with LTC Cooper in the recent past.

 

[Bazoo]

That's a cool old bullet. The loaded round is very aesthetically appealing too. Not to mention that Ruger P94 is just my style, though I prefer the DC models. I had a P95DC in 9mm for a few years and I really liked it. It was very accurate too. I could dance coke cans at 50 yards with it. Not hit them all the time, but hit the ground and make them move if not actually hitting them.

I once was out with my uncle, and we were looking at some 22 rifles. We had fired at some targets at 50 yards, and he wasn't in good practice at the time, and missed. I was inclined to show off and was in daily practice at the time, so I whipped out my Ruger P95 and shot at the can. It jumped 3 or 4 feet in the air. He told everyone I could hit targets with a handgun that he couldn't hit using a rifle. True, but he was duly impressed whereas I knew it was just because he was out of practice and I wasn't.

 

[CZ93X62]

That's a cool old bullet. The loaded round is very aesthetically appealing too. Not to mention that Ruger P94 is just my style, though I prefer the DC models. I had a P95DC in 9mm for a few years and I really liked it. It was very accurate too. I could dance coke cans at 50 yards with it. Not hit them all the time, but hit the ground and make them move if not actually hitting them.

I once was out with my uncle, and we were looking at some 22 rifles. We had fired at some targets at 50 yards, and he wasn't in good practice at the time, and missed. I was inclined to show off and was in daily practice at the time, so I whipped out my Ruger P95 and shot at the can. It jumped 3 or 4 feet in the air. He told everyone I could hit targets with a handgun that he couldn't hit using a rifle. True, but he was duly impressed whereas I knew it was just because he was out of practice and I wasn't.

I say "Take the win and run with it". I had a similar occurrence with my Dad on a quail hunt c. mid 1980s. Why the ground squirrel was still out and about in October is a mystery from the dawn of time, but there he was about 50 yards off--atop a rock and chirping. The hunt sucked--birds staying away in the hundreds no matter how hard we pushed the brush. We suspended operations and elected to do some plinking, and were setting up the rifles when this squirrel started up. Annoying--and arrogant.

I was going to shoot my M1 Carbine and had filled a 15-rounder and latched it home. This was my Rock-Ola WWII surplus critter, and at 50 yards it might have been about Modified Choke in grouping potential with good bullets. I took careful aim on the offending rat and let drive--and damned it that rat didn't cartwheel from atop the rock at the shot!

I can offer no explanation for the success of this shot, other than Our Creator Above was similarly annoyed at the rat's loud arrogance so grossly out of season. It just wasn't right on so many levels. Bottom line--Dad was impressed as all get out, and I took the win--and took it as The Most Unlikely Varmint Shot Ever Attempted and Successfully Completed, AKA "Against All Odds".

That's my story, and I'm sticking to it.

 

[Bazoo]

I say "Take the win and run with it". I had a similar occurrence with my Dad on a quail hunt c. mid 1980s. Why the ground squirrel was still out and about in October is a mystery from the dawn of time, but there he was about 50 yards off--atop a rock and chirping. The hunt sucked--birds staying away in the hundreds no matter how hard we pushed the brush. We suspended operations and elected to do some plinking, and were setting up the rifles when this squirrel started up. Annoying--and arrogant.

I was going to shoot my M1 Carbine and had filled a 15-rounder and latched it home. This was my Rock-Ola WWII surplus critter, and at 50 yards it might have been about Modified Choke in grouping potential with good bullets. I took careful aim on the offending rat and let drive--and damned it that rat didn't cartwheel from atop the rock at the shot!

I can offer no explanation for the success of this shot, other than Our Creator Above was similarly annoyed at the rat's loud arrogance so grossly out of season. It just wasn't right on so many levels. Bottom line--Dad was impressed as all get out, and I took the win--and took it as The Most Unlikely Varmint Shot Ever Attempted and Successfully Completed, AKA "Against All Odds".

That's my story, and I'm sticking to it.

Awesome story, thanks for sharing it with me.