Post by hillbill on Dec 5, 2020 20:02:15 GMT -5
Ok, for the new guys and not so new guys:
There are some who are on the fence about what to build, first off, If you're going to hunt with it is .40 cal legal ? some states are, some not. That is the deciding factor for a lot of us, for others what are you wanting to accomplish? Mainly a long range target gun?
For me the .40 caliber kick was because Kyle decided to build .40 caliber bullets and I told him I would build a gun to help get them off the ground.
Ole Bill likes a challenge and likes to tinker, I was also intrigued by the idea of shooting a lighter higher BC bullet, several things can be accomplished by doing so, a lighter gun getting basically the same thing done as a 50 grain heavier bullet in the .45, less recoil, flatter trajectory.
Since Tn regs allow .40 it was a no brain er for me, I also hunt Ohio and Ky some and they allow it also.
In 3 hunting seasons at least 12-15 deer have been taken cleanly from 40- 370 yards, the 370 was just done tonight.
Before jumping into the .40 wagon with me and others be forewarned, it is a learning curve with ups and downs.
Am I satisfied with the performance of my guns? You bet but it has taken some time and a lot of bullets and powder burned in the process.
Right now I have 3- .40s. One is a custom one off CVA Apex break action with a Rock Creek barrel, A major PITA in itself getting the 1.550 barrel fitted to it.
It shoots a 273 Hammer @ 2800 fps very accurately, a deer killing machine!
#2 is the little gun I call bolt which has taken 4 deer so far this year, right now it is shooting the 297 Hammer @ 2900 VERY accurately. I have shot this gun out to 1000 yards and it is impressive, quite simply I'm in love with it.
#3 is my big gun which is purpose built to shoot long range, it has mostly sat in the corner collecting dust because I have spent most of my trigger time with the little gun this year, that and the whole Covid thing..........?
without going into great detail developing loads for the 24" barreled 8 lb naked gun has been interesting.
Now the .45 cal:
Most here are .45 shooters and for good reason, they are just plain easy to get to shoot. One can build a .45 be it light or heavy and almost lay down money 98 percent of them will shoot .5 or less @ 100 yards IF PROPERLY BUILT, I'm that confident in proven loads and in the guns in general.
So the question is what to build?
What is it going to be used for? strictly for hunting? weight? recoil tolerance? Lots of questions to answer.
BIG QUESTION? What is the difference between the two calibers?
with the .45 there are lots of proven load/ bullet combos, Lots.
with the .40 it's simply not the case.
For the most part the majority of .40 testing has been done in the last 3 years, I'm not talking about saboted 40 cal bullets in a .45 bore or others in a .392/-.400 bore, I'm talking sized bullets in a .400/.408 bore be it land riders or full form .4085 bullets.
for those contemplating the .45 vs .40 question here is the kicker, .40 cal load development is NOT EASY and is a continual work in progress, IF you think you will build one and plug in a load and everything will be wonderful THINK AGAIN!
I have done my fair share of hair pulling, mainly over finding a powder/bullet combo that fouls such as that one can continually fire shot strings without building fouling.
It's not an easy task, in .40 cal everything is magnified, the bores burn powder so different from a .45 they are not even in the same family.
I'm not trying to discourage anyone building a .40, by all means we need all the info we can dig up, the more shooters the better.
I guess what I'm trying to say is this, for newcomers stick with the .45 caliber, get some experience before jumping on the .40 wagon with us.
Even then be prepared to do research, a lot of testing and to spend a chunk of money on powder and bullets.
For those of us that get it figured out it sure is rewarding.
AM I done with .45s? Not by a long shot but for now I have a lot of testing and research to do with the .40 bore.
