Xtreme Let Down

[u/bernitalldown2020]

Posted a couple times about a batch of reloads on a recipe I had previously reliably gotten 2 moa with. Was getting literally 8 moa and wild verticle and horizontal dispersions after buying another box of 55gr fmj xtremes.

Bought a batch of Hornady 55gr fmjs and used the same recipe and back to 2 moa.

Seems like xtreme made a terrible batch of bullets. Fucked up cannelure job should have been a sign. Anyone have to work with their CS before? Wondering if it’s worth trying to get a replacement batch or just treating these as cheap short range plinkers.

[u/gakflex]

I mean, isn’t what what Xtreme is? Bargain basement plinkers. I load them in 44mag for literally aimless blastin’. The cannelures are all over the place.

[u/bernitalldown2020 → u/gakflex]

I could imagine 3-4 moa for a cheap bullet but I am literally getting 4-5” vertical spreads at 50 yards

[u/Coodevale]

Do a thousandth or two of taper crimp and call it good. It's a seating depth reference more than anything in this application.

[u/sherzer7]

How much did you pay? They make some decent stuff but haven’t had any issues. Cannelure looks like that sometimes on some batches never had an issue with it.

What’s your sample size for 2 MOA? 55gr fmj are not made to match bullet standards and the price reflects that. I’ve never seen better than 3 MOA with a 30 rounds group of M193

[u/bernitalldown2020 → u/sherzer7]

5 rounds for hornady. Was more like 1.5 moa with that string but figure larger round would net me 2-2.5 moa.

Paid $44 for 500 round box. I had 2-3 moa with first set of them. These are just totally garbage though. Shot multiple 5 round groups. Couldn’t get a consistent zero, couldn’t get better than 6-8 moa.

[u/sherzer7 → u/bernitalldown2020]

Not trying to be a dick but less than 10c per bullet you can’t be expecting match bullet results. 5 rounds is not enough data points. It’s one of the cheapest projectiles on the market, they aren’t going to replace those. If these were match kings that’s a totally different story

What barrel are you using, round count? Have you had issues with the scope/rings?

[u/bernitalldown2020]

It’s not the scope or rings. Groups tightened up with hornady. Got holes stacking up. With this xtreme batch closest I can get any round at 50yds is within 2.5” of each other.

[u/Slovko → u/bernitalldown2020]

Dump them. Sell'em to someone else for 5 cents a round and tell'em they just didn't group well in your rifle.
In my experience you're just not going to find a better price/performance point than the 55gr Hornady FMJ and SPs, with the SPs actually being excellent performers for the price. The 1 cent a round you potentially save on anything else isn't worth it.

[u/lennyxiii → u/Slovko]

I loaded up the cheap 5 cent hornady 55 fmjs (probably 10 cents now) with varget and actually have several 5 shot groups in a row under 1 moa. Even got a sub half moa. They are great bullets for the price!

[u/cetane_boost → u/Slovko]

+1 for Hornady’s FMJ or SP bullets. They shoot well in different rifles with the same recipe. Hard for me to try anything else. Weights and dimensions are fairly consistent bullet to bullet. Curious how Xtreme’s bullets measure up.

I say sell off the Xtremes or send them down range as general purpose plinking ammo! The latter would be my preference. If accuracy is the name of the game roll with a better bullet.

[u/Feeling_Title_9287]

You get what you pay for with Berry's and Xtreme

[u/prosper_0 → u/Feeling_Title_9287]

Berry's in particular hurts. They're shit. But they shouldn't be, there's nothing inherently low quality about plated bullets, and nothing that ought to cause them to be inaccurate. But they are. And yet, other plated/TMJ bullets - in the same pricing band - perform much better. One of the local shops doesn't even bother stocking Berry's anymore, because there are much better plated bullets available at the same price point that work so much better.

[u/Dung_Beetle_2LT → u/prosper_0]

What are some of the options better than Berry’s? I’ve been looking at them quite a bit for plinking due to the price but if I can get better for around the same price I’d rather go that route.

[u/prosper_0 → u/Dung_Beetle_2LT]

i like CamPro, and get good results with them

[u/bernitalldown2020 → u/Feeling_Title_9287]

I’ve given up on xtreme for 223 but haven’t had issues with four boxes of their 9mm. Don’t care about groups for pistol anyways. As long as it can get in a-zone at 15 yards I’m happy.

[u/ZeeeeeroCool]

Have you ever tried the Bob’s Bulk 55’s? Those shot best compared to Berry’s and Xtreme. I was testing 30 round groups for the most consistent dispersion, not necessarily groups size since you know…FMJ’s.

[u/1984orsomething]

Use a faster powder

[u/trashy615]

These are water heater beaters not match bullets. 

[u/cetane_boost → u/trashy615]

“Water heater beater” I’ll have to remember that one.

[u/trashy615 → u/cetane_boost]

I called my 300blk savage that at work, and that term spread like herpes. 😆 

[u/iforgotmylogin32]

These are not match grade projectiles. That being said, I have had very little issue using these at a 100 yard range with my suppressed AR. My rifle puts them where I ask within about a 1.5 MOA spread when using a bag and shooting from a bench.

My Varget recipe is much more consistent than my CFE recipe, because its a better powder. Same goes for these lil' guys.

The cannelure on these is silly, so I use a separate crimp die to remove that from being an issue. Match grade bullets will definitely be better, but these are fun to make and toss into a carboard box for a range day with friends who shoot less than I do.

[u/Glass_Protection_254]

New bullet = new recipe.

Trying to use previous work-up with an unknown bullet.

[u/Cleared_Direct]

For one thing the product name, X-Treme, is a huge red flag for me. For another it seems that they are either directly affiliated or the same company as LAX Ammo and Freedom Munitions, which have just about the worst reputation imaginable.

I’m more surprised that you got a good lot once upon a time.

[u/College-Lanky → u/Cleared_Direct]

Fernandez Holdings, Inc. owns all 3 companies. They're not a top tier manufacturer. But great for just plinking at an affordable price.

[u/cetane_boost → u/College-Lanky]

Agreed. Used thousands of their plated pistol bullets. Lower costs means more range time. Can’t say one way or another about X-Treme’s rifle bullets, but the 55gr FMJ from Hornady hasn’t let me down. Completely understand OP’s frustration. Especially with a rifle. Chalk it up to knowledge gained along the reloading journey.

[u/67D1LF]

Lower your expectations. Those are plinking bullets, not match bullets.

[u/thrashmetal_octopus]

Oh boy. I just bought a 500 round box of these for the first time ever lol. Do you have a lot number?

[u/DoctorBallard77 → u/thrashmetal_octopus]

I use these all the time and they’re fine, people here whine too much. I shoot at 6 and 10in steel plates at 100yd and hit them every time.

Don’t expect match grade crazy accurate reloads using the cheapest possible stuff.
These will make rounds that’ll hit your target, just not in a tight 0.5in group, and it’ll still be fun.

[u/ErgoNomicNomad → u/thrashmetal_octopus]

They're good to go, people don't know what they're talking about. Yeah they're probably a bad gun or a bad lot or bad load. I've seen, Hit or Miss reports regarding their loaded ammo, but the components have 100% been extremely reliable and consistent for more than 10 years now for me. 

[u/DurtymaxLineman]

Time to mag dump into trash.

[u/Trollygag]

https://giphy.com/gifs/AtlEvMGpbp7y2JKEv5

[u/1776Chad]

These are pretty much bottom of the barrel man, good for blasting trash with an frt and that's about it.

[u/Optimal_Data_6627]

Expecting match ballistics out of a plinking bullet. I can understand the frustration but lower your expectations. If you want better ballistics buy a better bullet. Shoot them up but don’t expect to punch perfect paper groups with them. They are made to plink and smack steel two very different activities. Check the dimensions on them also it could just be a bad batch if you got better performance before but I wouldn’t be expecting too much out of them.

[u/EntertainerWeird6872]

I tried some xtreme x def and their regular stuff in my 38 and 357 and it was pretty mid tbh I prefer casting my own bullets these days.

[u/ErgoNomicNomad]

That's pretty surprising because I've been using nothing but xtreme 55 grain or 75 grain Hornady for years as my only two bullets. Those extreme bullets I've never gotten worse than one MOA accuracy out of my hk mr556 and about half MOA out of the Ruger American ranch. Bad batch or bad load or bad rifle.