.40 lite

Make Right With a ".40 Lite"
Accuracy: With my three test pistols, every one of the loads listed below provided more than adequate accuracy for action-pistol shooting, training and plinking. Of course, "adequate" is a relative term that depends upon what the shooter expects of a particular handgun/cartridge combination. In my case, shooting offhand I was able to keep all rounds fired inside of the A-zone of an IPSC target at 25 yards.


The author and his Glock 35 in USPSA's Production Division. Can you shoot the .40 Lite fast? Note that one steel popper is down, a second is falling, and the author has just hit the third one.

Reliability: This proved to be the most challenging area. As you might expect, as bullet velocity decreased, reliability--especially with the 155-grain bullets--deteriorated. In the case of the Glock 35 and Para 16-40, it was necessary to install lighter recoil springs with several of the loads. Depending on the load, to ensure reliable functioning in the Glock 35 I used Wolff recoil springs ranging from 12 to 16 pounds, while the Para required springs ranging from 13 to 16 pounds. Surprisingly, the Glock 22 functioned perfectly with every load I ran through it with the factory recoil spring. I am not listing which springs I used with particular loads, as I believe it is better for the individual shooter to determine this by good old-fashioned trial and error.

Power Factors: After all, this was the whole point of this exercise. As can be seen by the chart, while all of these loads made Minor PF, some only did so by the skin of their teeth. As a number of factors can affect bullet velocity, it would behoove anyone using these loads as a starting point in their experimentation to chronograph them out of their particular pistol. And while I was attempting to get as low a PF as possible while still ensuring reliability, I will readily admit that I did not feel comfortable with too low a power factor. For that reason, when shooting competitively I do not use any load with a PF lower than 130.

Since perfecting several of these loads, I can now use my Glock 35 to shoot USPSA Production matches without being at a handicap competing against people with light-recoiling 9mm pistols. When loaded with .40 Lite ammo, the Para 16.40 has proven itself to be one of the most accurate pistols I have ever shot and is a premier candidate for those "ringy-dingy" steel matches where power factors are not a major part of the equation but recoil is.

I realize there are a lot of shooters out there who own .40 pistols; have friends, wives and/or children whom they'd like to teach to shoot the aforementioned .40 pistols; like your humble author, don't enjoy recoil; and don't shoot competitively.

If you fit into any of the above categories, the "Lite .40" will allow you to practice extensively without the downsides presented by recoil. These loads are perfect for introducing new or recoil-shy shooters to .40-caliber pistols. Because of their lower levels of recoil, they produce less wear and tear on your pistol, lengthening its service life.

For the cost-conscious among us, these light loads use 20 to 30 percent less propellant. Reloaders will be glad to know that most of these loads deposited the spent cases in a neat pile about two feet to my right--and they're fun to shoot.