[DarthNul]

I worked up a load for the X-treme plated 165 gr RNFP bullet in .40 S&W. I started with the published data that I could find for similar weight/profile jacketed bullets. I'm using Accurate #5 for this load.

I know the rule of thumb about not exceeding 1200 fps with plated bullets in pistols. And I also know about using "medium range" data for similar weight/profile jacketed bullets, but there's not really much overlap between these "rules" in .40 S&W.

The thing is, this bullet/powder combo just kept getting more accurate as the powder charge increased, and it's working best at 7.3 grains which is the max published load that I found for 165 gr jacketed bullets.

I see no signs of excessive pressure or recoil. Is there any reason not to use this load? It's the only reasonably accurate load I've found so far in my SA XD40, and it works very well in my Witness too as long as it's accurate? I would expect that if the softer (than jacketed) bullet was deforming under max load pressures it wouldn't be very accurate.