9mm lead 147gr

[ampleworks]

Missouri Bullet Company 147gr 9mm, 3.8gr N330 makes around 140ish PF @ 1.129".

Out of both my 4 & 5" XDs and a P229 about every 10th round will tumble like Charlie Brown's football.

I pulled a bullet and the crimp line measured .3545. A new bullet measures .3565 above the lube line, .356 at base (before the taper).

Too much crimp? Something else funky going on? I will note that I didn't change the crimp since changing from Berry's to lead.

[Duke Nukem]

I went through the same thing with all lead 147s in general. I tried crimp, OAL , velocity. What finally stopped it was slow powder. WSF or slower does not tumble.

It cost me a lot of time and components to figure it out. This was in 6 different pistols and one carbine.

[DWFAN]

I shoot 147gr Missouri bullets over 3.5-3.6gr Solo 1K. Never had any tumbling issues. They actually shoot really accurately through my M&P and Dan Wesson PM-9. I load them to 1.135 to 1.145. Are you using a Lee Factory Crimp die ? I would try more crimp, less crimp and load longer. Changing 1 variable at a time. If those three dont fix it, try a different powder.

[Chills1994]

did you slug your barrel?

there is also a very slim chance that the bullet as cast and maybe even after going through an automated lube sizer is not perfectly circular in cross section.

said another way...it is not concentric. so measure the diameter of your boolits at least in tow directions.

just throwing this out there...maybe it will stick....maybe it won't....but most boolit casting businesses use an automated casting machine wich consists of a four, two cavity mould blocks that go through a circular pattern much like a ferris wheel....so if one in ten boolits is going sideways I bet the ratio might actually be closer to one in eight because one of the cavities in one of the mould blocks might be off.

just speculatin'....go to youtube and type in "automated bullet casting machine" and there should still be a video up that would show you better than how I can explain it.

there is a huge....HUGE! wait time or backlog still for getting in automated caster mould blocks in.

[Chills1994]

ooopss....sorry...duh!? the most obvious thing you should check for is if the barrel is getting leaded up too.

that can cause bullets to start keyholing too.

[DougCarden]

You should not be melting the base with that powder. I would completely back off the crimp so there is a sharp edge. Then adjust it in small increments until you dont have a sharp edge from the case mouth when you run your finger across it from front to back. You should not have a different measurement on the bullet when you crimp it, unless you are overcrimping it. If that doesn't work, try different bullets. .356 lfp bullets from different manufacturers shot like a laser beam in my 5in tactical, even with Titegroup....

Let us know what ends up working.....

Good luck,

DougC

[ranger]

Similar comments as above - either you are crimping too tight or the lead bullets are too small in diameter.

[SLM]

Solo 1000 was my solution to tumbling bullets in my CZ 85.

[ETexPops]

I would guess too tight a crimp as well. I shoot Missouri Bullets 147 gr lead in my XD9 tactical and have had no issues with tumbling using 3 gr TiteGroup and a light crimp. I clean the barrel after every trip to the range to insure no lead buildup.

[John Z Sr]

I've had same problem with 150 lrn in a Glock with Lone Wolf barrel. Using 3.1 of Titegroup, but pretty heavy crimp, thanks for the replys from everyone, I will now try less crimp and see if that helps, will also try slower powder. This forum is really a great place for info, thanks Brian and all who keep it running!!

[ampleworks]

I shot into a pile of firewood so I could recover a bullet and the base was as good as new looking.

I did pull the barrel on the P229 and after about 150 rounds I couldn't see any visible signs of leading.

I'll have to play around with a slower powder than N330.

Thank you guys for the advice.

[Shadowrider]

I've seen cast 147's tumble out of an M&P 9 with the factory barrel and a Lone Wolf Barrel. The same load tumbled out of a Glock with the factory barrel and a Lone Wolf barrel. This load was with Titegroup. They played with crimp, OAL, etc. Nothing worked, until they went to WST powder. All tumbling stopped.

[Brewski]

I've seen cast 147's tumble out of an M&P 9 with the factory barrel and a Lone Wolf Barrel. The same load tumbled out of a Glock with the factory barrel and a Lone Wolf barrel. This load was with Titegroup. They played with crimp, OAL, etc. Nothing worked, until they went to WST powder. All tumbling stopped.

Same for me. I was shooting lead 147's w/3.2 gns of Tightgroup out of a G34 with a Stormlake barrel and everything was fine - excellent accuracy. Then I switched to an M&P9 and the tumbling started - tried everything and nothing worked until I went to 231 - a slower powder worked for me. Now I use SOLO 1000 - cheaper, cleaner and less smokey than 231 but just as accurate and a little softer too.

One thing I did notice, but didn't follow up on was a batch of Kead 147s sized at .3565 seemed to stop the tumbling, but I only had a few hundered left and getting bullets from George had become like getting common sense from Congress - an event so rare that it was impossible to predict when it would happen - so I simply moved to a slower powder and was happy.