reloads jamming in XD45

[buenhec]

I just tried my first 70 reloads.

Half were in my Sig 220 with no problems whatsoever, the other 35 in my new XD45 Tactical, with the XD I had failures to feed, 1- stove pipe, 1 dblfeed, and several failure to go into battery. I then ran a whole box of new Magtech ammo thru my XD with no malfunctions.

I am using new .45 Winchester brass, 5.2 of HP38, Winchester primers and Berrys FMJ 200 Plated crayola points. I think the XD did not like the Berrys bullets. The magtech's I used were 230 FMC round nose.

Any suggestions on where to start?

 

[dmftoy1]

Do you have a picture of the bullets? Are they a SWC design? If so then I think you'll be out of luck as far as getting reliable feeding. The best I could get was with a 1.245 - 1.250 COL. Those were running about 97-100 when the gun was clean . . .if it got dirty then they would start to jam quite a bit more often. Look under the sharp edge of the feed ramp . .if you see bullet shavings building up there then it will just get progressively worse until you clean it. I've got to RN and RNFP profile bullets with no problem. I suspect a Keith style SWC would be ok.

Regards,
Dave

 

[buenhec]

dmftoy1, in fact yes you are right. They are SWC. I have attached a pic. What RN do you recomend. What about the Molly coated lead bullets I mentioned in my other post. They are $10/100. Or should I stick to copper?

 

[dmftoy1]

I've had good luck with any LRN bullet. The Rainer 200 Grain Truncated Cone HP's feed pretty good as well. I think you can get them for $75-$80 per 1000 from Midway.

I'm in on a group buy on http://castboolits.gunloads.com for a 215 grain RN FP mold that I think will shoot really well and then I'll probably never buy another bullet for my XD.

 

[Lennyjoe]

You might have to adjust the OAL with them type of bullets. I used them for a spell and had to adjust the OAL in order for them to feed in my Kimber. They worked fine in my Son's Springer Mil Spec but were finicky in the bull barreled Kimber.

 

[Walkalong]

Try 1.260 to 1.265 O.A.L. with that 200 Gr. SWC. I have had good success with the 200 Gr.Ranier SWC and the Hornady 200 Gr. FMJ-CT (SWC) bullets at that overall length.

 

[ReloaderFred]

The XD is a Service pistol, and as such, it's designed to shoot round nose and hollowpoint bullets. I finally gave up trying to get SWC bullets to feed through mine. I now load the Berry's 185 grain Hollow Base Round Nose bullet, which is the exact same profile as military ball. I also use Winchester 230 grain JHP bullets. The .45 acp XD loves these two bullets, but hates SWC designs.

Hope this helps.

Fred

 

[Zeke Menuar]

There are numerous threads at the XD/HS2000 forums about XD45's choking on SWC.

I use plated 230gr bullets and have not had a malfunction.

ZM

 

[nitesite]

Originally posted by Zeke Menuar
There are numerous threads at the XD/HS2000 forums about XD45's choking on SWC.

Originally posted by ReloaderFred
The .45 acp XD loves these two bullets, but hates SWC designs.

Yep, after buying my XD-45 Service Pistol I have consistently heard the same observations from handloaders. That's why I have stayed with bullet designs other than the SWC. I've never had a problem out of any of my reloads, regardless of whatever OAL I was experimenting with.

 

[The-Fly]

Also an XD 45 owner, and SWC's do not work for squat in it. Stick to RN or bullets that are pretty close to RN in shape.

 

[evan price]

I use Rainier 230-gr round nose plated; the SWCs as said before won't feed for crap in the XD.

 

[shadowalker]

I shoot medium power loads with Berrys 200 grain FP with an OAL of 1.25 in my 45 ACP XD, I haven't had any feed problems.

 

[philbo]

The only problems I ever had in my XD45 were with SWC bullets. Like you have discovered, the XD just doesn't seem to like them. Never a problem with any other design/weight though. I personally have grown fond of Berry's 185 HBRN for plinking. Inexpensive, reliable, accurate. Just try a different design and your problems will likely disappear. Good luck!

 

[davinci]

I use a 230 grain Truncated Cone in an XD45 without issue. I don't know about those semi-wadcutter looking things you're using, haven't tried them.

 

[CZ57]

Had a similar problem with my Ruger P-345. Solved it by loading a little shorter. 1/32" is the old rule of thumb for the amount of driving band you want exposed beyond the casemouth. That can be adjusted depending on the length of the bullet used.

As mentioned, 200 gr. RNFPs will feed similar to jacketed bullet designs at around the same length you'd use for a 185 gr. or 200 gr. JHP. 1.210" is what I use. I bought a good supply of molycoated 200 gr. RNFPs from Norteastern when they were available. They work great!

 

[swingpress]

I load my XD45 to 1.255 OAL with LRN - completely reliable.

The same LRN gave me fits with shorter OAL.

 

[CZ57]

buenhec, try loading the 200 gr. plated SWCs at 1.230", or 1.225" if it will still leave some driving band above the casemouth. It was the cure for my Ruger.

 

[Silverback32]

My XD-45 loves 230 gr Gold Dot HP- 1.20 col ( with 5.6 gr Unique) cci primer, speer case.

Always use care when reloading - this may not work for you.

 

[Steve C]

I've found I get the best feeding with WC's when seated like this:

 

[RexDart]

My XD-40 does not feed SWCs reliably either. Adjusting the seating depth seems to have no effect. Typically, one misfeed per mag.

Truncated cone bullets work just dandy. I'll be using those from now on.

 

[CZ57]

That pic is a nice addition, Steve C. buenhec, compare it to yours and you can see that your load can be shortened. I think it will help. Just load about ten test rounds for comparison.

 

[buenhec]

Ok, I will try that, otherwise I will probably stick to RN. Thanks All.

 

[ninja45]

Roundnose = reliable feeding. Other bullet configuration might work, but if roundnose always does, why mess with success?

Even HP are now more rounded than truncated. It is good that you tested what your gun will shoot reliably.

 

[CZ57]

I don't know about you, but if I have a quantity of bullets, I don't want them sitting around collecting dust. They can be made to work. This problem is most often associated with .45s that have chamberblock barrel designs. If 1.230" won't work, 1.225 or 1.220 will. I like the RNFP design and use it, but I also like that nicely cut round hole a SWC will provide!

 

[Guncrazy45]

I also had trouble with this type of bullet--Speer 185gr SWC, for me. They were the first bullets I ever tried to reload with. The salesguy, knowing this, should never have allowed me to purchase them. I quickly switched to 230gr RN, and then to Hornady 230gr FMJ-FP (flat point).

However, I did make a few rounds using the SWCs last weekend and successfully fired them all. I used an OAL of 1.19". I'm going to finish off that box of Speers this weekend, probably, and I'll let you all know how it went.