10mm/.40 Hornady 135gr JHP's: Anyone Load them?
Has anyone loaded the 135gr Hornady JHP's in the .40 S&W M&P? Any recommended powders to start with?
I was thinking about replacing my full-size .40 with a 9mm, since it takes a lot of range time to keep my rapid strings tight with the .40 S&W. During my last course, I was able to shoot really well, even after not having trained with my .40 in a long time, so I'm holding onto it now.
I'm thinking that I can get some impressive velocities with the 135gr JHP's, with minimal snap that is common to the .40 S&W on polymer frame guns with 150gr and 180gr pills.
Just looking for die and powder recommendations. I'm currently planning on using my once-fired brass, which I have piles of. Any suggestions would be great. Thanks!
A buddy of mine loaded me some 135 grain Sierra JHP's with unique loaded a little under max. I used these to dispatch injured deer from vehicle crashes. I tried some 180 grain Winchester Ranger JHP on a huge buck hit on the Interstate. I shot this buck in the forehead with little effect so I shot him in the back of the head with not much better results. I ended up putting one through his chest and another under his ear to finally finish him off.
On every occasion where I used the 135 grain was like hitting them in the head with a sledge hammer. I got called to a crash one morning where a large doe had a broken front leg and shoulder and was laying in the ditch by the highway. I loaded the 135's and walked towards the deer, every time I tried to get closer than 30 yards she try to get up. I shot her in the forehead just above her eyes. The impact knocked her over, she kicked a couple times and was DRT. When we walked up to inspect the deer the left eye was hanging out of the socket by the optic nerve. The hydrostatic shock with this round is pretty impressive and rarely exits on head shots. The driver who was an avid deer hunter was stunned by me shooting this deer and the rounds performance.
All I could say was sight alignment and trigger control, his comment was he never wanted me shooting at him with that Glock. This load performed about the same way as the 9 MM +P+ 115 grain JHP load we previously carried and the 125 grain 357 mag JHP I carried for Local PD.
Well, sorta. I have loaded the Nosler 135's for a Glock. I used Win 231. Very good results. If they didn't cost so much I would consider buying A LOT of these.
Reason I ask is that Hornady's 9th Edition doesn't even list the 135 JHP for .40 or 10mm loads at all. Maybe it's a new bullet? Thanks.
I got some Bullseye and Blue Dot, along with Ranier 135gr plated bullets. I also have 135gr Nosler JHP's. I just want a light-recoiling target load, and maybe will work up a fast load as I go along. I have the Lee Carbide Die set. I looked at Lyman data and Handloads.com for start loads and powders for .40 S&W, since most manuals only have data for 155gr and higher.
Has anyone noticed any differences between the Winchester, Federal, Remington, Speer, and PMC brass? I just processed a bunch of all these types, and they weigh similar to each other. The PMC's sized easily, with much less resistance than the rest when running through the press.
Thanks for the replies.
