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.40 S&W
yearofspider
Member Posts: 1,657 ✭✭
I have a Ruger P944 .40 S&W. I've shot all kinds of factory ammo through it and I've noticed that the heavier the bullet the better it shot. 180 gr. better than the rest. I have dies and will be reloading Hornady 200 gr. XTP bullets for it. Just want to know if anyone has tried these and what kind of results they got.[:D]
"It's better to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it."
"It's better to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it."
Comments
The 200 XTP is an excellent bullet, I have killed deer with it, and find it very accurate, but would leave it for the 10mm's if I were you.
Stick with the 180's.
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You will get pretty anemic performance at best. I shoot 200's exclusively out of my 40's, but they have been throated to take OAL's of over 1.25", and use magazines suitable for 10mm ammo which is 1.26" long. When seating the 200's to standard length of 1.12", you lose much of your internal case capacity, which forces you to lower your powder charges to keep pressure in check. Many times the 200's will "bulge" the case with the heel of the bullet causing them to not feed properly.
The 200 XTP is an excellent bullet, I have killed deer with it, and find it very accurate, but would leave it for the 10mm's if I were you.
Stick with the 180's.
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First off, I'd like to thank you for your input on this. I've been working with the 200 gr. XTp bullets in My P944 just to see what I could get. I did get one load to shoot a half inch group at 12 yards(just where the pistol target is set up at my place in WV)using Bluedot(6.6grs.), Winchester cases, and Remington 1 1/2 small pistol primers. Bulging was minor and I didn't have any problem with the cases not feeding. However, I am interested in what you mean by "throating" to accept longer length. MOst of the rounds I loaded were between 1.24" and 1.29". No feeding problems. I know I may not be able to make it work with this model, but if I were to get a different one that would accept a 10mm mag, what would I need to do. Any help with this would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!!
"It's better to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it."
"It's better to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it."
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Something is wrong if you are able to load 1.24" long ammo into your ruger's magazine. if you said. 1.15 I would say Ok, but anything longer, I thing you need to recheck your measurements. reloading is about precision. To load over 1.15 you need a different gun, something based on a 10mm or 45 frame to start with.
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Oops! I left a 1 out of my measurements. I meant to say 1.124" - 1.129". Sorry about that[:p]
"It's better to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it."