Hi All,
I am ready to get started....I have read the "ABC's" and have the Hornady two volume set. I am looking to load the .40 S&W. Are the Loadbooks USA manuals any good?

My main question however is this:
With so many powders; primers and bullet variations where does one start? It is easy to say start with a "light load." Great! Which light load? Any? It seems like every powder manufacturer and bullet manufacturer has their own load data. Pardon me, but it is a little overwhelming for the newcomer.

Also, What is the difference between 'minor' and 'major' loads..

I agree, new guys have a lot of cinfusion when it comes to which pwoder, bullet, primer, etc. Your choice of the .40s&w to start reloading w/ is probably not the best. The cartridge is a high pressure round & you need to be carefull. Having said that, pay attention to the load recipes, stay away from max. loads & you should be fine.
On to selecting powders. Faster powders rewuire less so are cheaper. The problem
is they build pressure quickly & have a low volumn in the case (easy to dbl. charge, very bad in the .40s&w). For this reason I look for med. to slow burners. In the .40s&w, that would be Unique (med.) & slower (AA#9 or BlueDot). Pick a powder that offers you the vel. you are looking for w/ your chosen bullet. http://www.alliantpowder.com/reloaders/RecipeDetail.asp...lid=1022&bulletid=64
You can get the same vel. using Bullseye vs Unique, but you use more Unique (it's lsower). This can help accuracy because the powder takes up more case space & it prevents the possability of a dbl. charge. Some powders willl give better accuracy than others, you just have to try them. If you aren't running max. loads it is usually acceptable to substitute one manuf. bullet for another as long as the wt. is the same (ie, Sierra or Hornady). It's not rocket science, just go slow & keep asking questions.

The process is really simple.

First you pick the bullet that will do the intended job.

IF I were doing a .40 S&W (which I will never be doing) I would pick a bullet for defensive purposes where layered clothing is being worn.

I would select the Speer 165 grain Gold Dot.

As for powder, I would select the powder that gives me a wide loading range, and the best accuracy and velocity obtainable. In this case it would be AA-9 From 10.8 grains to 13.0 grains and the Winchester WSP primer.

Major and minor refer to the power level of the load. Certain competitions (like IPSC) score your hits on the different areas of the target at different values depending upon how powerful a load you are running. Major load/caliber is considered equivalent to the old 45 ACP hardball load of a 230 grain bullet at like 850 fps. So if you load the 165 grain bullet to 1185 fps or so, it would be a major load. Any slower than that it would be considered a minor load.

The most flexible powder for the 40 S&W is not AA9, but Hodgdon Longshot. It gives the highest velocity with the lowest pressure for all bullets from 135 to 200 grs. Hodgdon has their 2006 reloaders data magazine out on the supermarket shelves right now, and it has good coverage of the 40.

Do NOT use once fired brass from any source but yourself to reload for the 40. Many semi autos do not fully support the case head and will yeild a soft spot in the brass that can rupture. If your pistol leaves any more than 1/16th of and inch of case unsupported measuring from the extractor groove where the feed ramp is, don't reuse you brass either unless you use only starting loads.

hey msymms glad you wunt to reload its fun its a great thang i love it its the next thing better then well you no ha ha well for your cal. lets see i my self perfer UNIQUE or UNIVERSAL and i will tell you why you can use this on 135gr, 150, 155gr. lead 155xtp. 170xtp, 180,180 lead, 180xxtp 200 200xtp you kind can play with some rounds and see which one you like i would say get you MODERN RELOADING first and secound add. later have a good one and enjoy the books are from LEE later