4-14-2021 Important edit: I talked to Scott Pace, owner of Reloadable Shells. I asked him to Verify the powder he was using and upon further questions, the correct powder is TITEGROUP.  I will edit my posts below and hopefully he edits his site to reflect the correct powder. I am glad this was brought to my attention because I would have used the wrong powder, and the other, even though similar in name, is faster burning. I believe this would had caused problems since it would have developed a lot higher pressure. End of edit.



On the site “reloadable shells”, their 40mm’s are offered in two base choices. The XD pro and the 45 acp. I am specifically looking at these in the “judgement day” and the “tri cannon”. Both of these shells are used for buck shot. I did read each base plate reloading instructions and both seem straight forward.

It looks like 20 grains of bullseye in the XD pro base would have some knockdown to it, but how much powder will a 45 acp blank hold?

I’m not looking for simplicity, more for power. Which base would deliver higher FPS of buckshot?
Has anyone used both bases?

Next I would like to discuss the pros and cons of each. It looks like the 45 acp would be the simplest to “reload” but if it only has 1/2 the power/FPS then I’m not really interested.

I have not found a lot on the web about these. Grogs website was useful but I cannot  read his forums because I’m not a member and he’s not accepting new members. I haven’t found any where else these have been discussed on this forum.

Please educate me.
Thanks.

First, stick under 16gr of bullseye. Anything more can turn out very bad. That happens to be the capacity of the 45 ACP case. I have both and like both. Great taste or less filling. Really up to you.

Now as far as payload. Buckshot sucks. Big, sweaty donkey nuts. It patterns for shit out of the tri-barrel cannon rounds. I specifically tested it for an article on 40mm ammo I published in Impact Journal of Tactical Ammunition.

What you seek is muzzleloader balls. I sent 6x 233gr muzzleloader balls out at 935fps average that patterned at about 8in at 10 yards. Saw it open up to about 16inches at 100. 28ga field slugs are a great loading as well. 00 buck is best avoided.

Grab one of Scot's 12ga adapters as well. With a 3.5in Federal 00 buck round, it is awesome and what I keep mine loaded with. Much more practical than other options. It came in second in my shootout behind the tri-barrel with lead balls.

I've been waiting for his 12ga adapters to go back in stock. Haven't checked lately though

What about the “judgement day”? Stay away since it’s .410 wads and uses buckshot?

So on the tri barrel, if loaded with 16 grains of powder, both bases perform the same?

Never got good results with .410 hornets nest regardless of loading. The Judgement Day wasn't available then but I'd have to play with it. Maybe with a stack of Buckshot pellets single stack.

I initially tested with the original base but saw identical results with the 45 base since.

Pro tip: when decorating cakes with 40mm sprinkles, 5gr is about the sweet spot. Using a full 15-16gr charge propelled the candy sprinkles through the cake, through the cardboard backer, through the plastic tray, and embedded themselves in the plastic folding table from around 5 yards away.

Confetti and glitter rounds make great party poppers.

What size lead balls for the tri barrel were you using? Did you use a wad or just stuff two balls with a cotton patch down each bore?
You aren’t making it easy to decide on what base. I can load either base at home. I won’t be re loading them in the field. Sounds like they perform the same from your experience. On the website it makes it sound like the XD pro base is more robust so higher velocities are obtainable.
On grogs website, he said he tested the tri barrel with 20 grains of bullseye and that was needed for good velocity but he said don’t go over 22 grains and at 23 grains it could ruin your m203 link
. I think I read Scott shot the judgement day with 20 grains of TITEGROUP  and the round balls were screaming at 1300 FPS.

What kind of launcher are you using? M79 is a lot stronger than m203

54 cal. When I talked with Scot initially, he said to stay under 16gr with either, so that's where I kept things for safety reasons during testing with my 203. For my testing with the tri-barrel cannon, I just put a 28ga wad, two balls, and a cork top wad. If further testing since has proven you can step it out faster, I encourage you to examine the rounds after each shot to watch for cracking of the aluminum body when working with that weight and larger charges.

Here's the text of my article, minus the pics. I have the article in hard copy, but it's packed up in my moving stuff at the moment.

40mm Ammo Test

Sgt fish,
I’m using a LMT m203

Edit: I repeat, do not use Titewad.  This is the wrong powder.
Use TITEGROUP, this is the correct powder.




I received my blank crimp die in the mail and a lb of titewad. I tried to compress 18 grains in a 45 acp blank and it’s a no go. The most I could get in the 45 acp brass was 14 grains and it was spilling out as I crimped it. So maybe 13.5 grains is actually inside the  crimped brass.  That’s absolute max.
(Edit: this turned out to be the saving factor please read explanation a few posts below).

That answers my questions on which base to get. I’ll buy the XD pro base for the tri barrel and judgement day for maximum fps of rounds balls and maximum knockdown power.  I think 18-19 grains will be a good load but I’ll work my way up to be safe.

I’ll use the 45 acp shell bases loaded with 5 grains for chalk rounds.

With a 45 case and copper burst disk, you can get 15 or 16gr of bullseye in there.

Where did you order the blank crimp wad from?

I bought the Hornady crimp two set die from midwayusa. Looks like they are still in stock. A tile more expensive than other places but all others were back ordered.

I talked to Scott on the phone yesterday. He was helpful and I had several questions. I am glad I did because a question came up about the type of powder to use he has listed on his website. I emailed him about removing the powder titewad from his website and replace it with the correct powder TITEGROUP. This will eliminate confusion because I think the other powder will create a spike in pressure quickly and will be dangerous. Even though the name is similar, the burn rate is different.

I’ll post the email where he verified the correct powder to use is TITEGROUP.

Email that says to use titegroup
https://imgur.com/a/JXVkRu5


Edit:
The saving grace was when Scott and I were talking  on the phone and I asked for some load data and which base he would recommend. He said he had great results with 19 grains of titewad compressed in the 45 acp case and that the XD pro could handle a little more powder.
I told him there was no way I could compress 19 grains of titewad into the 45 acp case and asked how he was doing it.  That’s when I said there was another powder called titegroup which then he said at that point he wasn’t sure the correct powder and would double check and get back with me.
I am glad that amount of the wrong powder didn’t fit into the case because I would have never questioned if it was the correct powder. I’m not a fan of being the Guinea pig.

So just to clarify with everyone here and to make sure they use the correct powder, Scott’s recommended max load is 18-19 grains of TITEGROUP with the judgement day and tri cannon when loaded with the 45 acp base.