I have recently purchased some uncoated Barnes X Bullets to try in various firearms. Specifically I have purchased the following:

115 Grain X for the .25-06
150 Grain XBT for the .30-06
180 Grain XBT for the .300 Weatherby

My understanding is that you have to load the X bullets differently than you would a conventional bullet due to their long for weight length and construction. I have heard you have to use lighter powder charges and longer bullet jumps (.050") than conventional bullets. Any insight you guys can provide on these and other considerations would be great. Also I would like to know about your personal experiences with these bullets and your opinions on the coated versus non-coated bullets. Thanks for your time and replies!

[ 02-19-2003, 06:15: Message edited by: Mule Skinner ]

The uncoated bullets do tend to jump pressures some, faster. But normal velocites can be achieved. They reach peak velocities with slightly different powders than conventional bullets do. The coated XLC's take more powder and can get a tad, 50-100 fps., more velocity. I like them because the barrel cleans up faster.
I have used 4 different bullets in 4 different rifles. All of them produce excellent accuracy, just off the lands. Powder charges varied from 1-3 grs. under max. for best accuracy.
You don't need to use standard weights with them. For instance, I use the 120 gr. .284 bullet, instead of the 160 gr. E

Eremicus,

When you say the XLC takes different powders, could you give me an example? I'm thinking of trying the 140 gr. XLC in my 260 Remington. Would a slower burning powder be better suited for the XLC??

I've got a .8" 3 shot group in my 7mm Rem Mag with 130 gr. XBT, .050" off the lands, and with a copper-free barrel. This was a fairly mild load of RL19, 2975 fps or so.

Have fun finding them. I waited a month and called it quits.

Let me know how it works out. I might give it another chance down the road.

Any additional comments are appreciated. Thanks.

Mule Skinner, in my experience, when they say a clean barrel, they mean clean. Not just cleaned, CLEAN! If you don't have any Sweets or CR10, get some, and some RCBS case brushes to use with it.

Second, in my experience, X-bullets like pressure. Lots of it.

Third, don't worry about getting close to the lands. I've jumped them nearly a quarter inch in my 7mag, and they still shot under 1.5". The unexpected flyers seem to disappear with the long jumps.

Finally, you may "foul out" earlier than with regular bullets. Some barrels just don't shoot more than a few without needing cleaning. Some of my barrels can shoot them forever, so you never know. HTH, Dutch.

Usually Barnes suggests to go a weight lower than you normally want to shoot. If you want to shoot 140 grain standard bullets in a 260, for example, they suggest a 120. It has to do with the length of the bullet I believe and the penetration you should get.

Bob257

Thanks for the info guys. Please keep it coming!

Skinner,
I'm with Bob257 in that I feel the real beuty of the barnes Xs are that they allow you to go lighter.. 20- 30 grains and still get heavy bullet results. Now they do take some speriminting to get em to shoot. Ive been posting this all over and soon people are gonna start hollering but they are capable of groups like this and better out of two different 300WSMs

I know its not a very hot load but It'll do a number on the deer....

[ 02-19-2003, 21:56: Message edited by: Dave Jenkins ]

Mule skinner the reason for the differece in the powder charge is the length of the bullet vs the weight. A 115 gr 25 cal is going to be longer that most 115 grain lead based bullets. This make the bearing surface longer hence the higher pressure. I have had great success with the 150 grain X in the 30/06 with mag primers and IMR 4831 and similar buring rate powders. In the 25/06 I had the 115 grain and it worked OK. 115 X bullet 51.0 IMR 4831 3149fps I had better luck with the 90 X boat tail. The coated 100 grain didn't work well for me or got the higher velocities. (more infor here http://www.serveroptions.com/ubb/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=25;t=000311 )I learned a few tricks on the board for those. The Weatherby I don't own but I do have a 300 Winchester Mag. The 165 grain has been good in that mag.

The bigger jump to the land is good advice. The OAL for my best X loads are much short than most bullets. I have never had a problem with the fouling. I don't shoot tons of them through the barrel as they are too expensive. I just have run regular Hoppe's for most shooting and Sweet's if it was a long session. Standard procedure for me with any bullets.

As for performace X bullets will have deeper peneratraion than a standard bullet. It will be similar to a Partition. My 25/06 loads are great deer medicine. I think that the X works great with speed. The more the better. You can usually go down a bullet size in a caliber.

Boilerroom

Where were you trying to get you XLC from? Graf's web site says they have them in stock.

Have fun

Hcliff

I agree with the lighter bullet approach, too. The 6x6 elk I shot with the 140 gr. X from my 7mag was very, very impressed.....

The last one I shot was with a 130 gr. GScustom, and it sailed clear through, as well.

Mule deer are also very impressed with 140 gr. bullets at 3300 fps! FWIW, Dutch.