reloads work fine in my cw40 but not so good in pm40

[rago]

could it be because the loads are not hot enough, win 231 4.9g 1.125 oal they do not go all the way into battery like they are a little too long, but I checked them oal is good , the oal of 1.125 is the max that I can seat them is that right ? when I shoot them I never have any problem with them cycling in my cw40

[Bob T]

What bullet are you using?

I recently shot some 180 FMJ with 4.4g of 231. OAL of 1.115. Worked fine in my K40.

I've loaded the 180 FMJ from 1.115 to 1.125 without issue. 1.120 seems to work best.

[rago]

berrys plated 165g flat nose if I run under what they recommend which would be 1.125 col then would I need to lower the powder to prevent pressure problems as 1.115 is lower then recomended

[Bob T]

berrys plated 165g flat nose if I run under what they recommend which would be 1.125 col then would I need to lower the powder to prevent pressure problems as 1.115 is lower then recomended

True..but 4.4g of 231 is a very conservative load

My latest Lyman manual lists 1.120 for a 165g FMJ bullet. I also just measured some factory 165 FMJ ammo, and it measures at 1.120 also.
Combine that with 4.9g of 231, which is pretty conservative according to my books, and maybe you're correct about being under powered.

[rago]

thanks , just trying to get another opinion , maybe work up some more powerful loads see what happens

[muggsy]

Did you give your reloads the plunk test in the PM40 barrel? If not you should. The OAL measurement determines whether or not the bullets will fit in the magazine, but not necessarily in the chamber. You could try seating the bullets a little deeper without having to worry about pressure problems. Remember too, that the cartridges head space on the case mouth and not the bullet. I generally seat my pistol bullets .010 to .020 under the specified OAL.

[Bawanna]

I second the plunk test. If they don't easily drop in and fall out after a little push with a finger, the bullets is out too far.

Chamber might be a tad on the short side.

[Ikeo74]

Flat nose bullets need to be seated shorter than round nose bullets. Do the drop in test into the barrel when it is out of the gun. If it doesn't drop in (all the way) and fall back out when you turn the barred chamber down, then you need to shorten the oal until they do fall out with their own weight..

[garyb]

That PM40 is a good, reliable gun, but it has very tight specs. Reloads that I can use without problems in my S&W M&PPro40, may not be reliable in my PM40 because the PM is much tighter gun (due partly to its size). Muggsy gave you great advice.... Remove your barrel and plunk test every single reload prior to taking those loads to the range. I consider this test as mandatory with reloads for my PM40. I have found that reloads using brass from unsupported Glock barrels will have a slight bulge at the base that causes FTFs. They create HARD jams. This will be readily detected during your plunk test. Secondly, you may have too light a load. From your post, it is apparent that you know how to reload. However, If your objective is to develop a nice light range load, I suggest that you decrease your test loads to the point that you begin to note FTEs and FTFs, then increase your load .03-.05gr or more. This will ensure a reliable light load for that particular recoil sping assy. If it is a used or older PM40, perhaps you have a bad recoil assembly or spring. Check this out and replace it if necessary. As your recoil assembly changes over time, your borderline light loads may no longer be as reliable. If the gun was getting filthy, light loads also can develop problems for you. That PM40 will fire reloads just fine once you sort the issue out. I shoot all sorts of varying reloads from my PM40 regularly. Good luck and please let us know what cure you found.

[AIRret]

The "plunk" test is a must!!!!!!

We check the all the barrels (in whatever caliber) of the guns that we plan to shoot our reloads out of….then we choose the pickiest barrel to do the "plunk" test. If that is good…we are good to shoot those reloads through all of those guns.

Safety first!!

[muggsy]

And Jocko keeps saying I'm dumb.

[100percent]

I reloaded lead bullets in my glock for years. when I got my PM40 I found out that it had a lot tighter chamber. Oops.

Now I reload them to fit the PM40, anything that doesn't fit I use in the glock or hipoint carbine.

I would agree that chamber length is an issue. My std load is a 175 grain Lee TC bullet that I load to the shoulder.

Here is the bullet.

[AIRret]

I reloaded lead bullets in my glock for years. when I got my PM40 I found out that it had a lot tighter chamber. Oops.

Now I reload them to fit the PM40, anything that doesn't fit I use in the glock or hipoint carbine.

I would agree that chamber length is an issue. My std load is a 175 grain Lee TC bullet that I load to the shoulder.

Here is the bullet.

Funny looking bullets!

[AIRret]

www.bayoubullets.com

They look nicer and the coating is great!!

[100percent]

www.bayoubullets.com

They look nicer and the coating is great!!

I use the Hi-Tec Coating that Donnie Miculek of Bayou bullets (.net) sells. He makes great bullets

Mine are a BHN of about 12. I size them to .401" after coating them. I like the wide meplat that these bullets have. There are a few culs in my batch but they still shoot good. I use less than 2 cents of lead and coating per bullet.