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200 gr bullets tumbling?


dsu96

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Anyone pushing 200 gr .40 plated bullets (Xtreme) through their XDM 5.25?  I'm seeing random tumbles on targets at medium-to-long distances.  Checked crimp -- doesn't appear to be an issue.  Using 4.3 gr of WST to make major PF (haven't chrono'd yet -- but should be 168-ish PF based on other chrono'd loads).

 

Thinking that twist rate of barrel plus a "slow" and heavy bullet, and the bullet isn't spinning fast enough to stabilize.  Thoughts?

 

I bought 100 rounds of factory (WWB 165 gr) and will put the 165's up head-to-head against the 200's.  If I get tumbling with the 165's, something is up with the gun.  If only the 200's tumble -- then something is up with my load recipe.

 

Anything I'm missing?

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I don't think it is your load recipe, I think it is related to the crimp you are applying. It is possible the some of the Xtremes are having a slightly thicker coating then your previous bullets have had, or some are just naturally thicker. The easiest test is to lighten your crimp and them test it. 165's will not tell you much unless the barrel is shot out, which takes a boat load of rounds. The next test would be to try a different bullet in 200 grains, such as a coated round. 

 

XDm barrels can be finicky as I have found out with lead bullets and Unique powder. A sudden change indicates something has changed in the physical makeup of the round, if the pistol is still accurate, I am betting its the crimp.

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I've only ever shot the 200 gr Xtreme's out of this particular XDm.  I had previously used moly-coated bullets in a different gun, but a combination of either size (.401) or nose profile prevented me from using the moly's in this particular XDm.  I switched to plated, .400 vs .401, and was able to run without feeding issues.

 

I was overcrimping (crimp was .419) and when I pulled bullets, could definitely see a crimp ring.  I've now set the crimp as light as I can (.421) while still passing the plunk/spin test.  Bullets crimped at .421 show no crimp marks and there's no bullet setback....so crimp now seems to be perfect.

 

Barrel is not leaded up (only shot plated through it) and there's probably 1500-2000 rounds through it....so it shouldn't be wore out (anything's possible I guess).  I've read that plated bullets are more susceptible to tumbling.  I know others who use this same bullet through their guns (not XDm) with no issues...so I'm guessing the gun just doesn't like the bullet?  Want to stay away from coated if possible (personal preference)...but I do have a sample pack of 200 gr Blues that I'm going to load up and see what they do as well.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Was able to make it out to the range last weekend to do some testing:

 

* 200 gr Xtreme's avg 850 fps (10 shot sample).  Avg PF 170.3.  Noticed some suspected tumbling out of the rest of the 100-round group I shot

* 165 gr WWB avg 1050 fps (10 shot sample).  Avg PF 173.6.  No indication of tumbling out of the rest of the 100-round group I shot

* 200 gr Blue Bullets avg 900 fps (10 shot sample).  Avg PF 180.3.  No indication of tumbling out of the rest of the 100-round group I shot

 

Blues and Xtreme's were loaded with the same powder charge (4.3 gr WST) and set to the same OAL (1.140").  I didn't notice any signs of over pressure with the Blues (was a little concerned since the Blue bullet profile is significantly longer than the Xtreme...so case space became worrying).

 

Next test will be to increase the powder charge behind the Xtreme's to get velocity up to 900-ish FPS to see if the tumbling goes away.  Also, I want to back the Blues down to 850-ish FPS to see if I can induce tumbling.

 

My personal preference would be to stick with plated because they're cleaner to load and shoot.  But, it does seem like the gun liked the Blues the best in terms of accuracy.  Are there any coated bullets that are "cleaner" than others?

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3 hours ago, dsu96 said:

 

My personal preference would be to stick with plated because they're cleaner to load and shoot.  But, it does seem like the gun liked the Blues the best in terms of accuracy.  Are there any coated bullets that are "cleaner" than others?

 

Cleaner in which respect? Shooting or loading? I've shot many different coated bullets, all of them have left the barrel pretty well spotless. Loading, only Blues have a "messy" coating of which I am aware. Though to be clear, I have a bullet feeder and wear latex gloves when loading to keep lead & what not off my hands.

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Both.  I too wear gloves while loading.  However, at matches I don't while loading mags, and experienced that plated are better than coated in that respect.  Also, after testing coated (Blues) at the range this past weekend, there was a great deal of soot deposited on the end of my gun.  Not sure if it's entirely from the coated or not, but the gun was definitely dirtier after this range session than others.

 

Just my observations.

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