3.8 inch Springfield elite loading results

[Lunder]

New to 10mm but not so much to reloading so I went diving into the discussions to see what everyone is running.  Found tons of useful data and powders to try but mainly out of longer barrels.  I decided to do some testing on my 3.8? Springfield elite to see what the actual numbers would be.  I grabbed the usual suspects for pistol powders to try out and see what I could get without going (much) over book on charge.  I was aiming for respectable speed but with a shorter barrel and personal preference towards heavier bullets did all my hand loading with 200gr xtp?s.  I included some test results for factory stuff in 200gr just to see how it stacks up.  Definitely more room to go hotter with the BE-86 and long shot but not sure it?s needed with the AA9 results.  Any suggestions for anything that might be better?  I am very happy with a 200gr xtp doing over 1150 out of a short barrel but never hurts to try something else out.  Disclaimer- I in no way endorse anyone using above manual charges/loads and will not be held responsible for any unfortunate circumstances due to following my load data.  Work your own loads up safely!

Underwood 200gr JHP advertised Velocity- 1250fps
Chronograph avg 3 shot group- 1197fps

Federal punch 200gr JHP advertised Velocity- 1100fps
Chronograph avg 3 shot group- 1049fps

Hand loads-

All new starline brass, CCI 300 primers and Hornady 200gr XTP

BE-86- no advertised loads for 200gr, worked up to 7.0 gr
Chronograph avg 3 shot group- 1074fps
No pressure signs but probably close to what any book might say is max

AA9- couldn?t really stuff any more in there! 12.5 gr
Chronograph avg 3 shot group- 1165fps!
This was my favorite of the group, shot well with impressive speed and bullet performance

Longshot- everyone seems to go way over book for this powder but I kept it reasonable at 7.6gr
Chronograph avg 3 shot group- 1087fps
It was ok but didn?t really wow me

Power Pistol- feels and looks like it should be fast, but wasn?t, hell of a fireball at 7.6gr
Chronograph avg 3 shot group- 1077fps


I took pics of the bullets after recovery so if anyone is interested I could throw them up but I?m sure that?s been done, thanks!

[RDub01]

Hey Welcome
Good job. You got pretty much got what everyone else got with the listed loads.
The XTPs are very long bullets. Can't be sure, but I'll bet they are the longest of all of them. So it's not surprising you had limited powder space.
Curious to know what kind of muzzle flash you got burning that much AA#9 in a shortish barrel?

The only other powders I would suggest are Blue Dot, AA#7, 800-X or 3N38.. If you can find them. I've had good results with all of those.
800-X is kind of a pain to work with because you really need to check/adjust each throw out of a powder measure. But the results are clean and consistent loads.

If you cared to do a pull-down on those Underwood loads, if you have any left.. Curious to see if there have been any changes...

[Kenk]

Welcome Lunder

[Alabusa]

What recoil spri g are you running? Stock or....?

Sent from my SM-G986U using Tapatalk

[Lunder]

RDub01- muzzle flash was minimal with the AA9, Power Pistol was worse.  I do have some Underwood ammo left and wasn?t happy with how the bullet looked (mangled) so I will pull one apart this weekend and report back.

Alabusa- Stock recoil spring assembly, I don?t think anyone makes any options for that model and last I heard Springfield doesn?t offer it, but not sure I would change anything out if they did.  Handles everything I?ve thrown at it just fine.

[frankt]

I can see why you were not wowed with Longshot!
All of my older data shows 9.4 of longshot with a 180gr XTP to be max.
I have always loaded my G40 with 9.0-9.2 and it has been great.

Because of the smaller handling 3.8 I loaded some down to 8.8 and it was just a bit milder but not enough to load separately for the XDM.