Originally Posted by
revchuck38
Update: I've loaded those bullets and have gone through about 300 of them so far. I loaded the first 100 with 6.2 grains of CFE-P, Hodgdon's max standard pressure load for that powder. It wasn't a happy combination, resulting in smoked cases and okay accuracy. CFE-P works really well in .40 S&W, I guess it just needs more pressure. Then I tried 4.8 grains of HP-38, again Hodgdon's max standard pressure load, and this worked much better. It burns pretty cleanly, gives good accuracy, and chronographs right at 800 fps, which is about what the 130-grain factory hardball does. 100 rounds in a range session is no big deal. I've got most of a .30 cal ammo can of it left.
I just got a thousand of their 125-grain RNFPs to see if they work differently. I'm going to use the same powder and charge but add some more crimp to see if I can get it to burn more cleanly. I'm going to finish that pound of HP-38 and then open the new eight-pound jug of BE-86 and see how that works out.