New for 2000, Triton Cartridge has released a full line of ammo for their .40 Super caliber. This hot bottlenecked cartridge is the first caliber designed and developed by the Empire State ammo maker, famous for Quick-Shok ammo and the .45 Super caliber. The .40 Super, announced at the 1999 S.H.O.T. show, is the latest cartridge to be released on a .45-caliber case.

Don't confuse the .40 Super with the .400 Cor-Bon. The .400 Cor-Bon is to the .40 Super as the .45 ACP is to the .45 Win Mag! The .400 Cor-Bon operates at 29,000 psi. The .40 Super operates at 37,000 psi.

As a caliber comparison, the .40 S&W is a wimp compared to the .40 Super.

Triton did not simply switch from .45 Super case to trimmed .45 Winchester Magnum cases for their .40 Super. They replaced the large primer pocket in the .45 Win. Mag. with a small primer pocket and increased the thickness of the case wall from the web area to the shoulder. The result is an extremely strong case. Triton loads the .40 Super to 37,000 psi, which is well below the case strength rating of 50,000 psi.

The .40 Super 200-grain JHP also uses a Hornady-built bullet. This load penetrates 17.5 inches, expands completely to a .65-caliber mushroom and makes an excellent hunting load. The auto pistol-fired .40 Super 200-grain JHP exactly equals the ballistics of the revolver fired .44 Magnum 240-grain JHP.

The .40 Super 155-grain Quik-Shok has a Fuller Index of 98 percent One Shot Stops. This is the highest rating ever given for a handgun load. … Also with an awesome 98 percent Fuller Index is the .40 Super 165-grain JHP.

Conversion kits for the .40 Super include a reamed barrel and the correct recoil spring. These kits are available for the S&W 4506, the H&K USP, the Sigarms P220, the Glock 21 and 30 and all the variants of the Colt Government Model. Existing .45 ACP magazines can be used with no modifications. Handguns already set up for the .45 Super need only a barrel swap.

The .40-Super Kit, (which consists of barrel, spring and bushing), is available from Storm Lake Machine Ask for "B.J." at (423) 988-8933. Located in the legendary gun-state of Tennessee, Storm Lake makes a raft of drop-in barrels and convertion kits. The above magazine article lists, on page 36, ten places that supposedly sell the kits. Take their list with at least a dram of salt! I found it fraught with errors, bad phone numbers and company's, that when I called said, "Hell no. We don't make that thing!". The barrel, I received for less than $200 COD from Storm Lake, was of exceptional quality and workmanship. When dropped into my near-new stainless Springfield this little example of precision machining fit like it was lapped, and shoots like a dream. For possibly more accurate information, you may want to visit Triton's .40 Super page.

Wear eye protection while assembling this machine!   Putting a 24LB spring in your old warhorse is a little like shoving a recalcitrant cobra up a hemorrhoid-ridden tiger's backside.

Consider reloading! Due in part to the newness and limited availability of this round, you may want to reload. At the time of this web page these little jewels, shipped from Triton Ammo, to the Left-Coast, for about $1.17 each. Dies are currently available from RCBS, and will fit Dillon as well as most other reloaders. Reload Info, by Tony Rumore, can be found on This Page of Triton's web site. Brass is available for about 13 cents from Starline, and of course, everybody and their dog makes .40 lead.

135-gr JHP & 155-gr Quick-Shok, (Triton's product numbers TR40SQSB & TR40SQSC respectively), both work very well in my conversion. The magazine article claims a 25% increase in recoil, over a standard .45, but I felt no appreciable difference from a 200-gr .45 round. Getting the sight picture back from shot-to-shot is no more difficult than any large-bore autoloader. If you're not much of a shot, don't worry! If the projectile doesn't get em' the muzzle blast and accompanying thunderclap surly will.
Wear your best hearing protection with this nuclear-bomb!

Converting my .45 Springfield: This has been an interesting process, and is continuing as we speak. The .40-Super kit came with no new barrel link, so I first used the one that came with the Springfield. Wrong! The stock link was way too short and caused the breach to open early. This of course, caused the weapon to throw the brass almost as far as the bullet. I installed a longer link, (.288 inch), now the brass, from my hot loads, lands about 8-feet away. Not perfect, but I can live with it. I'll probibly try .290 or .299 links in the near future.

My Springfield has an extended ejector. This long ejector, coupled with the longer .40-Super case, causes the brass to start its exit journey a little early, and beats the brass up a bit. I'll be replacing the ejector with a shorter one in the near future.

Hand Loading the .40-Super: Since this is a new round (some call it a wildcat) , there is little reload information available. The only load-tables, I have found so far, are from Triton. I'm not too happy with Triton's tables. I have tested their Hodgdon 110 load and found it about 300 fps slower than their table predicts, and the large amount of powder required (20gr.) filled the case to CRUNCH levels. With this large amount of powder the muzzle flash blinded my chronograph, when used at an indoor range, (not to mention that after about 50 rounds my gun looked like I'd been burning coal in it.)

It looks as if the Triton reload-tables were calculated, but not shot! For each 50fps there is exactly 0.8gr. increase in powder. That's very unlikely! I am currently working-up some loads with Alliant Unique and Hodgdon HS-6 powders. More to come...

Click Here for some hand loads, I'm working up for this firearm.

I had an old (circa 1943) 1911 frame made by Union Signal for the war. Someone had converted it to a .22, which was a disaster. This old frame languished in my junk locker for many decades, until I recently rediscovered it. Time, in improper storage, had left it a pile of rusted junk. I sent it off to Geoff Beneze, a master 1911 gunsmith in AZ. He did a wonderful job of restoring and refinishing that poor old workhorse. Thanks Geoff!

The original plan for this old frame was to be the lower for my .45-carbine, but thanks to the communist leadership here in Kalifornia, my carbine is now illegal. Having a gun I can't take out in public makes little sense, so I've decided a far better second-life for this old warhorse would be as a .40-Super. The following are a few photos and text about this new project:

Slide & Frame Photos do not do justice to the finish. .............................................. The finish on the slide exactly matched the grand finish Geoff Beneze did for my frame. It's matte-black (with a hint of dark-green) This finish seems very hard and should hold up quite well. The Essex Arms slide (P/N: 285-150-100) is a round-top GI style with a lowered and flared ejection port, and dovetailed front and rear sight mounts.

The lowered rear sight requires the use of a "Trimmed" or cut-down firing pin stop for proper clearance. Some fitting of the stop required.

The Kit .............................................. The .40-Super Kit, (which consists of barrel, spring, bushing, and heavy firing pin spring), is available from Storm Lake Machine Ask for "B.J." at (423) 988-8933.

Note: The kit comes with no barrel link or pin. I found my existing link (in my Springfield) to be too short and the chamber-lockup released too early, throwing the spent brass 20 feet. A short link could also cause shearing of the barrel lugs, or slide damage. In this old frame & new slide I have found that the .273 link, (standard size, that was too short in the Springfield), is way too long for proper battery. I'll be ordering a selection of short links, and do more fitting. I recommend you have a selection of various length links on hand, and take care in the proper selection for your particular gun.

Other Parts .............................................. Ed Brown two-piece guide rod (P/N: 087-045-889) Wilson Heavy-Duty Extractor (P/N: 965-101-070) STI Titanium Firing pin (P/N: 791-104-145) Firing pin stop (P/N: 791-112-145) Long Aluminum Trigger (P/N: 487-301-001) McCormick hammer & sear (P/N: 207-870-110 & 207-800-120) Ed Brown Disconnector (P/N: 087-811-000) Wilson Extended beavertail (P/N: 965-429-100)

Pachmayr rubber covered mainspring housing (P/N: 692-703-002). Hogue grip (P/N: 408-602-145). Titanium hammer strut (P/N: 791-105-100). Main spring, Sear spring, and the assorted pins.

Some think a guide-rod has no place in a 1911, but I've found it to be a great help when inserting the big spring in this thing.

By the way, if you are interested in the "Pachmayr rubber covered mainspring housing", (which I have on most of my .45s), order them soon. Brownells tells me they are going to discontinue them.

If any who read this page know how to get the above kit, or something like it, I'm all ears. Please Email Me.

Several folks have emailed me about this project and .40-Super loads. At least two of them had improper reply addresses, and my email back to them bounced. For those who may think I have snubbed them, I haven't! Please check your "Reply To" address and resend your comments to me, so I can properly respond to you. Thanks -J.R.