Puzzled

[Ktwebb33]

18” barrel, 1/8 twist, 6.5cm on a 110 action.
I had 120eldm’s and 127lrx’s loaded…
All of them .030 off the lands…

20 rounds each, with 5 rounds at each load. Middle of the road loads per book range.

I shot 1 round of factory 140 just to double check I was on paper (top left square). It was within an inch of my POA so I moved on to the first batch of 127’s….terrible…

Shot a second factory 140 back at the same top left square for POA. About an inch from the first 140 I shot. So I knew the gun/scope checked out.

I then shot 4 of the 5 next load of 127’s
A total of 9x 127’s…minute of truck door!

Drove to the target and they all look like they tumbled…

I then shot 5 of the 120eldms, (quicker than I normally would cause I just had to know!) and they’re what I would hope for for a first batch of 5 during load development.

Anybody have experience with anything similar? What little I’ve found, these Barnes LRX’s may like a lot more jump, but that still wouldn't make up the difference of what was a terrible showing from the 9 rounds I fired. And it still wouldn’t explain what appears to be rounds tumbling/not stabilizing.

The 120eldm results tell me that my barrel is capable of running these lighter bullets, but so far, not the 127LRX’s!!

Pics for better clarity.
Clean cardboard with yellow tape was the 120eldm’s shot after the 127’s

Any thoughts?

 

[Sinistram]

Hmm...in examining the evidence you posted, it might just be as simple as the rifle not liking the LRX's. The fact you can switch back and forth between the ELD's with a good group and the LRX with a bad one is pretty telling. In my (and many others') experience, Barnes thrive on big jumps to the lands and max velocity. The most accurate load in all of my so-loaded rifles has been right at or next to the max.

Another possibility is the fact you're fouling the barrel with gilding copper bullets before shooting the monos. The common lore is for Barnes bullets to shoot their best, you need to clean the barrel down to bare metal, getting rid of fouling from anything else. Personally, I've never experienced this (edging into BS territory ), but it might be worth a shot.

You could work up to that and see if things improve. If they do, great. If not, the LRX just isn't simpatico with your combination.

 

[jzeblaz]

What powder(s) are you using?

 

[Ktwebb33]

I was using IMR4895, which I understand won’t yield me the highest velocities. But I have a pile of it I’m wanting to use up, and I’m running an 18” barrel, so I’m clearly not chasing max velocities.

I talked to a guy from Barnes this morning, and the conclusion was it’s likely just a combination of powder choice + barrel length. Simply just too slow (fps) of a combo.

I walked away from the convo with the idea of possibly switching powders and/or dropping down to their 120ttsx.

I’m not sure I’ll continue messing with them or not.

So there may be just >2 boxes 127LRX’s listed here for a discounted price soon if I decide to go another direction. Lol

 

[Sinistram]

Per the Barnes reloading manual:

 

[SloppyJ]

Why are you on the LRX train so hard? Plenty of better options out there if you are forced to shoot copper.

 

[Ktwebb33]

I’m not on any train really…just experimenting with different stuff..enjoying the process.
This was a new one for me. Just wanting to load something 120-130 range bullets and I had these.
I’ll continue on with the 120eldm’s because I have some on hand, but I’m open (and able) to try anything.

 

[Ktwebb33]

Per the Barnes reloading manual:

View attachment 947855

This if funny! You sound like a couple of buddies of mine who are always only me about shorter barrels and slower speeds!

 

[hoooogan]

What kind of velocity are you seeing?

I ran a ladder of LRX with H4350 from mid 2400-low 2600fps out of my 18" X-Bolt with 0.090" jump. Everything was 0.5-0.9" 3 shot groups. Bolt was a touch sticky at 2625fps (41.0gr) with Norma brass.

Either way, not the best bullet for a short barrel. She's under 2000fps by 300 yards.

 

[Ktwebb33]

What kind of velocity are you seeing?

I ran a ladder of LRX with H4350 from mid 2400-low 2600fps out of my 18" X-Bolt with 0.090" jump. Everything was 0.5-0.9" 3 shot groups. Bolt was a touch sticky at 2625fps (41.0gr) with Norma brass.

Either way, not the best bullet for a short barrel. She's under 2000fps by 300 yards.

I agree, maybe not the best bullet depending on your goals. I don’t hunt long range, so speed usually isn’t even on my radar.

Any critter I would ever shoot will be within the range of likely any bullet’s terminal performance limit.

In fact, I don’t even own my own chronograph, so to answer your question, I have no idea what the velocities were.