Getting the Lee 452-200-RF right in my XD

[drac0nic]

That PB load should function the gun. It is slightly under the starting load but then my XD functions fine with slightly less than starting loads of other powders.

I had dropped to 4.4 gr which apparently was a bit light. 5GR seemed to do well. I regret I'm out of the stuff and they don't make it any more, it seems like a really decent powder overall. I was loading some .38 SPL up so I just left the measure. Should have set it back it seems. Oh well, it gives me something to shoot even if it slows me down at the range. At least I'll be good at clearing malfunctions.

[Divil]

Factory Missouri Bullet 200gr. RNFP is another option if you want to run a cast RNFP bullet type in your XD.

[drac0nic]

Actually made it to the range today! had 1 or 2 which gave me trouble with the Nitro 100 but overall function was pretty good with 4.4 grains. (NOT the NF variant but the old version.) Basically the max load. I have enough to load up the last of my current cast bullets probably, but need to crank at least a box out. It's certainly good enough to run with.

The load of 8.4gr of Blue Dot didn't cycle! That was kind of mind blowing to me. It's a starting load for 230gr TMJs according to my Lyman book. I didn't see any unburnt powder with it but it seemed soft and didn't even really attempt to cycle. If I'm going to be running Blue Dot I think it'll be at 10+ gr at this rate.

The 5.0gr load of PB I had mixed results and poor ignition from (I was seeing noticable unburnt powder when ejecting shell casings manually.) I think I pretty much shot up what I had though so I'm out of that realm at this point and need to focus on other powders. I had a few mags that shot well and some that didn't seem to work so well either.

I bought a box of PMC Bronze (230gr 830FPS) as a control. Worked just fine. My bullets are dropping at 215gr. I'm thinking this gun "likes" faster powder in hotter. The recoil impulse seemed soft with the PB and Blue Dot, enough so I was paranoid about getting a bullet stuck in the barrel and was putting a cleaning rod down it for the first few dozen shots. Thankfully nothing happened although I did a lot of manual slide work. I think I'm in a good enough spot to crank out another box with the Nitro 100 and see how it shoots.

[trixter]

I've been using Bullseye powder for everything I put through my XDm. I was really into 200gr hollow points from a Mihec mold and then I tried the H&G 68 clone also by Mihec, and fell in love with it. That bullet makes such pretty holes in my targets, but that is just me. I have also used the Lee H&G 68 clone and they aren't cut as sharp as the Mihec molds but work equally well. The XDm seems to really like the H&G 68 design.

[fredj338]

I run that bullet just fine in my XD45 & XD45C. Yes they have to be short as the ogive is fat, but they do run fine once you get the oal right. Make dummy rds & hand cycle them using the slide stop to release the slide. This is about how they will run when fired.
Unless you want +p loads, forget the Bluedot, not worth the effort imo.
If your Lee 200gr RNFP are dropping at 215gr, pretty close to pure lead. Using range scrap, mine drop about 207-208gr.

[bigboredad]

As for powder give Winchester wst a try it has a very soft recoil impulse burns clean and 4.2 grains has been a magical number for a number of my friends. For a 200gr mold take a look at accuratemolds.com he has quite a few that should run much better in your xd. Good luck

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[fredj338]

As for powder give Winchester wst a try it has a very soft recoil impulse burns clean and 4.2 grains has been a magical number for a number of my friends. For a 200gr mold take a look at accuratemolds.com he has quite a few that should run much better in your xd. Good luck

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I have been a WST guys for 45acp since it was 452AA. I do find the recoil impulse softer for the same vel as other powders in the same burn rate.

[welderboy44]

I also have an XD-45 that I cast and loaded the Lee .452 200 grain SWC to shoot in. Bullseye was the powder and i had terrible hangups. No hangups with the Lee 230 grain RN I cast. I just moved the 200 grain bullets over to the 45 colt. I just shoot for fun and am not what I consider a deadly accurate target shooter, but i do like making boolits.