by Hoot » Sat Jan 03, 2015 8:49 am
Welcome aboard TD.
I have loaded COP 185gr bullets, but despite having good luck with several different 200gr bullets, the 185s had multiple performance issues. I believe they were mainly the result of the poor quality control COP had in its early days. The bullets varied significantly in diameter, down to as low as .4486. Still, they shot better than the COP 160gr ones by leaps and bounds. My experience with Hornady has been that their quality control is much better and that is the foundation of successful reloading experimentation. Unfortunately for your particular question, I have not experimented with the 185gr XTP. I have however experimented with other weight XTPs. In the case of the 185, the blessing is the curse. Their lighter weight will enable them to reach impressive velocities, but that velocity may make them self-destruct because they are operating outside their design parameters. The Mag version of the XTPs has a thicker jacket and hence, are more structurally rugged. There is the theoretical and the practical worlds and occasionally they intersect (see my sig). Many people agonize over bullets coming apart as a function of RPM, myself included. However, I've never had that happen yet, for all the calibers that I reload for. Heaven knows the 185 XTPs are at a great price point. I'd say buy the smallest lot you can get your hands on or mooch a handful from a friend and give them a try.
Hoot
In Theory, there is no difference between theory and practice. In Practice, there is.