IPSC Production and Standard Loads

Ammunition

AMMUNITION LOADED TO A LONGER OVERALL LENGTH IN .40 S&W CALIBRE FOR IPSC STANDARD DIVISION

The .40 S&W round was designed to operate in pistols that originally had a 9mm operating platform. The length of factory .40 S&W ammunition is generally around an overall length of 28.80 mm. While this may work OK in pistols such as the Glock and Sig, for those of you who use pistols such as STI, SVI and Para Ordnance you will probably experience failures to chamber properly with ammunition loaded to factory length. The way to overcome this problem is to reload ammunition to a longer overall length. The top IPSC Practical Pistol Competitors who use STI pistols in Standard Division on the European IPSC Match Circuit reload their ammunition to an overall length of 29.50 mm.

The ammunition was assembled using Frontier bullets and Hodgdon and Accurate powders on a Dillon 550B progressive reloading press.

The following .40 S&W calibre loads were assembled using Hodgdon Tite Group and Universal and Accurate No. 2 powders. The bullets used were Frontier .40 180 grain FMJ bullets. They were tested in a .40 STI Executive. The velocities were recorded using a CED Millennium M2 Chronograph. As well as being suitable of IPSC competition, they are also suitable for regular range days.

Before loading a large quantity of ammunition load a few rounds with an overall length of 29.50 mm without a primer and powder charge and ensure that they will chamber properly in your pistol. The minimum IPSC Power Factor for Standard Division is 170.

CALIBRE	BULLET WEIGHT GRAINS	POWDER MAKE ACCURATE	POWDER WEIGHT GRAINS	VELOCITY IN F.P.S.	IPSC POWER FACTOR
.40	180	No. 2	5.2	958	172
.40	180	No. 2	5.4	979	176
.40	180	No. 2	5.6	995	179

 

CALIBRE	BULLET WEIGHT GRAINS	POWDER MAKE HODGDON	POWDER WEIGHT GRAINS	VELOCITY IN F.P.S.	IPSC POWER FACTOR
.40	180	Tite Group	4.6	951	171
.40	180	Tite Group	4.7	995	179
.40	180	Universal	5.4	1008	182
.40	180	Universal	5.6	1045	188

LOADS USING THE 9MM 124 GRAIN FLAT POINT

FRONTIER BULLET WITH A REDUCED OVERALL LENGTH

When using Frontier 9mm 124 grain flat point bullets, the parallel sides of this bullet can contact the start of the rifling and the round may not properly chamber in the pistol if the overall length of the round is too long for your pistol. In order to get the bullet to chamber properly in some pistols the overall length of the round has to be reduced. In a CZ 75 SP01 Shadow the overall length of the round using this 124 grain flat point bullet was set at 27.30 mm to ensure reliable functioning. The velocities were recorded using a CED Millennium M2 Chronograph. As well as being suitable of IPSC competition, they are also suitable for regular range days.

Before loading a large quantity of ammunition load a few rounds with an overall length of 27.30 mm without a primer and powder charge and ensure that they will chamber properly in your pistol. You may have to adjust the overall length of the loaded round to suit your pistol.

REMEMBER

If you increase the overall length you will DECREASE the velocity and pressure.

If you decrease the overall length you will INCREASE the velocity and pressure.

The minimum IPSC Power Factor for Production Division is 125.

 

CALIBRE	BULLET WEIGHT GRAINS	POWDER MAKE HODGDON	POWDER WEIGHT GRAINS	VELOCITY IN F.P.S.	IPSC POWER FACTOR
9mm	124	Universal	4.2	1028	127
9mm	124	Universal	4.4	1088	135
9mm	124	Universal	4.6	1116	138
9mm	124	Tite Group	3.8	1042	129
9mm	124	Tite Group	4.0	1086	135
9mm	124	Tite Group	4.2	1119	139

 

CALIBRE	BULLET WEIGHT GRAINS	POWDER MAKE ACCURATE	POWDER WEIGHT GRAINS	VELOCITY IN F.P.S.	IPSC POWER FACTOR
9mm	124	No. 2	4.2	1028	127
9mm	124	No. 2	4.4	1069	133
9mm	124	No. 2	4.6	1086	135

Frontier

FRONTIER LEAD BULLET RELOADS IN 9mm AND .40 S&W

The current economic down turn has had an affect on everyone’s spending ability and those of us who participate in IPSC events are not immune to its effects. This has seen shooters return to the use of lead bullets for practicing and even for participating in club or local events to assist in keeping their financial outlay to a minimum.

IPSC competitors tend to use complete metal jacketed bullets in competition. Due to the current economic climate many competitors have also gone back to using lead to keep costs under control.

The following 9mm and .40 calibre loads were assembled using Hodgdon Tite Group and Universal and Accurate No. 2 powders. The bullets used were Frontier 9mm 125 grain round nose and .40 180 flat point lead bullets.

The overall length of the loaded cartridge is critical to both function correctly through the pistol and to maintain safe pressures. In the loads tested the overall length was as follows.

Calibre	Length ( mm )	Length ( inches )
9mm	28.50	1.123
.40	29.50	1.161

REMEMBER

If you increase the overall length you will DECREASE the velocity and pressure.

If you decrease the overall length you will INCREASE the velocity and pressure.

CALIBRE	BULLET WEIGHT GRAINS	POWDER MAKE ACCURATE	POWDER WEIGHT GRAINS	VELOCITY IN F.P.S.	IPSC POWER FACTOR
.40	180	No. 2	5.0	965	174
.40	180	No. 2	5.2	983	177
.40	180	No. 2	5.4	1009	182
CALIBRE	BULLET WEIGHT GRAINS	POWDER MAKE HODGDON	POWDER WEIGHT GRAINS	VELOCITY IN F.P.S.	IPSC POWER FACTOR
.40	180	Tite Group	4.6	959	173
.40	180	Tite Group	4.7	1027	185
.40	180	Universal	5.0	951	171
.40	180	Universal	5.6	1031	186
CALIBRE	BULLET WEIGHT GRAINS	POWDER MAKE HODGDON	POWDER WEIGHT GRAINS	VELOCITY IN F.P.S.	IPSC POWER FACTOR
9mm	125	Universal	3.8	1002	125
9mm	125	Universal	4.0	1039	130
9mm	125	Universal	4.2	1074	134
9mm	125	Tite Group	3.6	1008	126
9mm	125	Tite Group	3.8	1049	131
9mm	125	Tite Group	4.0	1169	134
CALIBRE	BULLET WEIGHT GRAINS	POWDER MAKE ACCURATE	POWDER WEIGHT GRAINS	VELOCITY IN F.P.S.	IPSC POWER FACTOR
9mm	125	No. 2	4.0	1005	126
9mm	125	No. 2	4.2	1038	130
9mm	125	No. 2	4.4	1053	132
9mm	125	No. 2	4.6	1092	137

Review

All of the above loads were assembled and tested to achieve the correct power factor ( PF ) for IPSC Production ( PF 125 plus ) and Standard ( PF 170 plus ) Divisions. Informal accuracy testing at 25 meters from a rested position produced five round groups of between 50mm to 80mm, or 2 to 3 ¼ inches. Standing using two hands unsupported at 25 meters I was able to keep five rounds inside the A Zone of an IPSC target. Talking to some ofEurope’s top Production Division shooters their reloads power factor from 130 to 135. Going below a PF of 130 can lead to functional reliability problems with some pistols and may not knock down all steel targets. Going above a PF of 135 results in an increase in recoil, which will increase you times in each stage of a match.

Frontier makes a range of 9mm and .40 calibre bullets in both lead and complete metal jacket.

Frontier Metal Processing was established in 1994 by Nico Economakis and has since grown to a successful manufacturing business of lead and complete metal jacket ( cmj ) bullets, distributing its products throughout the world.

Frontier ( www.frontierbullets.co.za ) was founded by Nico as an extension of his hobby into a business venture. He is a keen IPSC shooter who used to cast his own bullets, both for himself and for his friends. He soon started to manufacture commercially and eventually bought industrial bullet making machinery. Today Frontier is one of the leading manufacturers of complete metal jacketed bullets in the world.

Frontiers factory runs 24 hours, five days a week to keep up with demand of its products and to ensure the effectiveness of the manufacturing process. The entire management team at Frontier consist of people who are passionate about shooting.

The testing, research and development of Frontier products are done at the factory by shooters who are putting the bullets through tests for accuracy and velocity, resulting in a product for shooters tested and developed by shooters.

Practical Handgun cannot assume any liabilities for loading experiments carried out after reading this article. Practical Handgun does not have any control over your reloading practices. Consult the powder manufactures web sites for detailed information on loading data for each type of powder.