165gr. or 180gr. in YOUR cm40

[NFRAMED]

I'm thinking of picking up a cm40 to go along with my cm9. What shoots best in YOUR cm40, 165gr. or 180gr.? I handload, and with limited availability of components, when something is available, I want to get enough to last me a while. I also want to practice with the same weight that I would carry for self defense.

[muggsy]

Shoot what your gun likes. If it likes both, shoot what you like. In a .40 either will do nicely.

[Glock23]

Not sure which load my CM40 prefers, as it eats them both just fine, but I tend to shoot better with the 180gr.

[bigdave622]

Liberty Civil Defense or 165 Buffalo Bore for carry

[b4uqzme]

when it came time to experiment with 40sw cartridges, I found that the BRAND made the most difference to felt recoil compared to bullet weight. And as long as it is brass cased, feeding isn't a problem with any round...

good luck and good choice.

[scosgt]

Do you really think 15gr makes a difference?

[robert3409]

For practice I shoot Winchester white box 180gr FMJ. For carry I load it with Winchester Ranger T Series 180gr JHP. 100% success with both.

[TucsonMTB]

Please allow me to suggest that you not overlook the 135 grain loads in .40 S&W.

Easy to control. Feeds great. Fun to shoot.

Oh, and the Winchester Ranger 40S&W 135gr JHP (#Q4368) will definitely spoil a bad guy's whole day.

[sigtrovert]

Every gun has its own individual preferences

for manufacturer, bullet weight, etc.....which is why it's good to not buy over 50 rds of any brand/type until your gun shows you what it likes to eat! Of course this is more relevant when ammo returns to some sort of reasonable availability! While breaking in with such tight chambers, better to use lightest load you can find, then follow above!

[hardluk1]

I use a 155gr GD bullet

[wyntrout]

I initially chose the 165-grain rounds because I saw a Speer chart that showed the 165-gr Gold Dots went the furthest, but their Short Barrel GD's are only available in 180-grain size, so I switched to 180-grain for all .40. there's a big difference in the SB bullets... most visible in the 230-gr .45 and .40 ammo. In the larger bullets, the cavities are shallower and wider at the bottom... more "ashtray-like". Those bullets and the powder used are designed to perform out of the shorter-barreled pistols and give the same performance... with bonded bullets, so I use those in my Kahrs where available. I use +P GD's by Buffalo Bore or Underwood for the P380... impressive stuff!

Wynn