INTRODUCTION INTRODUCTION

In your hand(or on your screen), is Bcomprehensive collection of

reloading data for plated bulletT. " year ago, we set out to create the First Edition
of the X-Treme Bullets Reloading Guide, XIJDI would include a recommended
load for every projectile currently in our catalogue. X-Treme Bullets are the best
performing plated projectiles on the market, so we felt the pressure of living up to
that reputation with PVSMPBEEBUB. It was not a quick or easy task by any means.
Creating this manual took an immense amount of planning, procurement,
loading, testing, and retesting. Without the hard work, dedication and support of
PVSUFDIOJDBMUFBN, this project would have never come to fruition. 8FBSF
incredibly proud of the results that this team produced, with each member of the
project team contributJOH their unique skills and backgroundT toward the
common goal of creating this guide.

All pressures and velocities have been captured using SAAMI Specifica-
tion processes, equipment, and barrel lengths. All of the data contained within
these pages was observed, verified, and then function tested through a firearm by
our Ballistics Team in our climate controlled, underground laboratory. However,
please understand that you will see some variation based on the normal
differences between production lots of powder, primers, bullets, and cases.
Additionally, you’re likeMZ to see some variation based on your exact barrel length
and firearm. 8hat XFBSFtrying to say is that if you’re looking for an exact
velocity, please be sure to use a chronograph and verify the velocity to your
particular circumstance. Our loads areOPUa “Min/Max” these cartridge lengths,
powder charges, and associated data is what BSF recommended by our trained
ballistics technicians for the best overall performance. As stated, while minor
variations are expected, major adjustments to the data should not be performed
without VTJOHcalibrated ballistic equipment.

All Data Listed Falls Under These Units of Measure

Charge: Grains
Accuracy: Inches
Velocity: Feet Per Second
Pressure: PSI
TABLE OF CONTENTS

INFO

CONTENTS
01. Tools
04. Bullet Types
06. Primers
13. Powder
15. Pressure Indications

LOADS
18. 380 Auto
19. 9mm Luger
24. 38 Super
357 Sig
40 S&W
31. 10mm Auto
33. 45 Auto
35. 357 Magnum
37. 38 Special
44 Special
44 Magnum
45 Colt
50 Action
Express
458 Socom
223 Remington
TOOLS OF THE TRADE
TOOLS OF THE TRADE
Stepping into the hobby, or as some would say, obsession, of reloading can
be daunting. Recipes are seemingly endless, as are opinions on various components
and equipment. While no one can decide the absolute best recipe of components
for your application except for you, it is easy to explain the basic equipment you
need to assemble case, powder, primer, and bullet into a complete cartridge.
While this is certainly not an all inclusive list of the various types of dies, presses,
BOE scales you may encounter in your new hobby, it has all of the basic equipment
you need to take the first steps.
Reloading Press:
The first and most important piece of equipment you’re going to need is
a reloading press. Most novice reloaders start out with a single stage press, which
works just about like it sounds. You’ll be handling one piece of brass at a time, and
completing one operation in the loading process each time. Since thereBSF 3-4
operations to make a complete round of ammunition, you generally want to
complete each step in batches to avoid changing the reloading die over and over
again.Many manufacturers offer a kit, which includes a press, and all of the other
needed equipment, sans the proper dies and shell holders. As your production
needs grow, you can step-up to a progressive press, where multiple operations are
being completed with each pull of the handle and speeds are greatly increased.

Dies and Shell Holder:

The next most important thing you’re going to need are proper dies and
shell holders for the cartridges you’re planning to reload. Most sets of pistol caliber
dies are comprised of 3 or 4 different dies, each doing a specific operation. Gener-
ally speaking, these dies are:

01 RELOADING GUIDE
TOOLS OF THE TRADE
Decapping/Sizing die:
This die removes the old primer and sizes the case back the proper di-
mensions. It’s critical that your sizing die is set-up correctly to ensure that you
have both proper bullet hold and you don’t experience any failures to chamber
because the case won’t fit into the chamber. Dies for pistol calibers are most often
carbide, whereas rifle dies are mostly steel. In both cases, XF find it better to lube
the cases before running them through the re-size. Case lube isn’t required with
most carbide dies however it is a must when using steel dies.

Loading Fact: 8F find the best way to setup your sizing die is UPplace a piece of
paper on the shell holder, and screw the die down until you’re barely able to pull
the sheet out from in between the die and shell holder when the press is at its
range of motion. A sheet of paper is about .003 thick To if you set your die up
with this method, you ensure that you’re getting the sizing die all the way to the
base of the case, without any contact between the shell holder and diewhich can
damage the die.
Expansion/Belling Die:

This operation will “flare” or “bell” the mouth of the case

so that a bullet can be inserted. This is an especially critical step when loading
plat-ed bullets, as they are more susceptible to accuracy issues if the case is not
belled QSPQFSMZ.

Seating/Crimp Die:
In a standard 3 die set, this operation will seat the bullet to the proper
depth in the case, and crimp the case mouth back to its proper spec for feeding
and chambering. In contrast, a 4 die set will seat the bullet in one operation, and
crimp the case mouth in another. 8F believe that seating and crimping in
separate operations is far superior to the combination die. Seating and crimping
in a single step can lead to a variety of issues, the biggest of which is scraping
copper off the bullet as it squeezes the case mouth and pushes the bullet into the
case simultaneously.
Loading Fact: If you can’t find a 4 die set, you can use a 3 die set as a 4 die set by
simply backing the die body out until the case doesn’t contact the crimping ring
with the seating plug screwed down to get the proper depth. After you have all of
the bullets seated, you can remove the seating plug, and screw the die down until
you reach the proper crimp.
Powder Measure:

The powder measure can take several forms, but the purpose is always
the same, get the desired amount of powder into the case, every time. For most
applications, iths not OFDFTTBSZ to measure each individual charge, as any quality
powder measure is accurate to within .1-2 grains.

RELOADING GUIDE 02
Scale:
TOOLS OF THE TRADE Since powder weights are measured in grains, you’re going to need a
GBJSMZ accurate scale. Most major brands of reloading equipment offer both digital
and balance beam scales.

Calipers:
Correct cartridge OAL is critical to producing quality ammunition. A
good set of calipers that can measure down to .001 will be needed to complete your
ammo.

Bullet Puller:

Even the best of us can make mistakes. Having a kinetic bullet puller
will allow you to disassemble any bad rounds and salvage some components.

And that’s all that’s needed to begin reloading. There are many more tools that are
available to make your life a little easier at each step of the process, but for the
most part, these are purely optional. Based on PVS experience, XFhighly
recommended getting your feet wet in reloading before purchasing a lot of
equipment.

03 RELOADING GUIDE
PLATED, JACKETED, & HARD CAST BULLETS...

BULLET TYPES
WHAT GIVES?

Jacketed, Plated, Hard Cast? What does it all mean? Aren’t all bullets lead
anyway? Well, there are some differences between different bullet types, and what
they might be appropriate for.

Let’s start with the basicT, Hard Cast Lead.

Cast bullets are made just like they sound. A lead alloy, generally contain-
ing 3-6% antimony to increase hardness, is melted down and poured into a mold
to cast the molten metal into a bullet. They are then sized to the correct diameter,
lubed, and ready to load. Hard Cast bullets are generally the least expensive to
manufacture therefore the cheapest option for basic target shooting. Hard cast
bullets with even higher hardness ratings are also a popular choice for handgun
hunters looking for good external ballistic performance on thick skinned animals
such as bears. Downsides to cast bullets include additional exposure to lead, more
smoke while firing, and increased leading in your barrel, especially at higher veloc-
ities.
Jacketed Bullets

Jacketed bullets came about to solve the problem of increased leading

and accuracy problems as powder technology improved, and velocities increased.
Jacketed bullets can be shaped much more precisely than hard cast, creating a
much more uniform and higher performance product. The manufacturing process
begins by swaging a bullet core from lead wire, while using another punch press to
form a jacket cup from a harder metal, generally copper gilding metal.

* The cores and cups for 55 grain FMJ-BT’s 223 Remington ready to go into the
press.

RELOADING GUIDE 04
Bullet core and jacket are then united in another transfer press opera-
BULLET TYPES tion before being washed, polished and sent to the next happy customer.
Jacketed bullets by nature are very consistent and hard, but this also makes
them the most expensive to manufacture.
This leads us to the specialty of X-Treme Bullets, plated projectiles.

Plated bullets combine the best of both worlds. You get the reduced
smoke and leading of jacketed bullets, with a much lower cost of manufactur-
ing. Making plated bullets starts out very similar to jacketed, in which the core
is swaged from lead wire. After that, it very quickly starts to look like a custom
bumper shop, as the process of plating copper onto lead to is very similar to
chrome plating a part for your custom hot rod.

5IF"OPEF(in this case copper) is attached to a power source which draws an

electron from the material and deposits it into the cathode (in this case, the lead
bullet cores). This makes for positively charged copper, and negatively charged lead
cores, which are submerged in Btank with a cyanide solution that breaks down the
copper, allowing it to flow freely and build up on the lead cores. In most cases, it
takes between 8-14 hours for that process to be completed Xith quality checks
throughout theprocess. After a quick wash to remove the plating solution, and B
trip through adryer, X-Treme Bullets undergo a full re-strike operation to ensure
absolute consistency in final diameter and shape. This allows us to have absolute
control over thefinished product to ensure you see the best results possible.
Another advantage ofplated bullets is that they are completely clad in copper,
whereas most traditionaljacketed pistol bullets still have an exposed lead base,
which can create additionalsmoke during firing, and lead exposure when Iand
loading.
Now, that’s the technical explanation, but what does it all mean for the shooter? In
the course of B career a professional competitive shooterNBZ personally handload
or shoPt over 1,000,000 rounds of ammo, mostly using jacketed or plated bullets.
0VSexperience is that a properly made plated bullet is extremely consistent in
respect to overall dimensional, weight, and diameter. This consistency leads to
better accuracy, and more consistent velocity, which is reassuring when you head to
the chronograph station at a world championship. Yes, there are certain factors
you need to pay closer attention to when loading plated over jacketed bullets, such
as powder burn speed, and especially crimp, but XF would hope you’re paying
careful attention to all of the factors of your match ammunitioO
In PVS opinion, plated bullets, made using current technology, production tech-
niques, and quality systems are superior in almost every way to a jacketed bullet for
use in pistol ammunition.

05 RELOADING GUIDE
WHAT ABOUT PRIMERS?

WHAT ABOUT PRIMERS?

Overall, very little reliable information on the exact factors that effect
primer ignition and performance has ever been published. 1rimer manufacturing
is both BOart and a lot of science, and very few want to talk out of school. While
most talk about primers in terms of “hard” or “soft”, there is a whole lot more to
the story.

Before we get too far into the components of primers, let’s talk about the
most common factor for misfires, or “light strikes”, and that is seating depth. /PU
FWFSZQSJNJOHUPPMVTFECZUIFIPCCZTIPPUFSBOESFMPBEJOHBSFDSFBUFEFRVBM
The goal is to seat the anvil firmly against the bottom of the primer pocket in the
shell case, which in most cases ends up being about .002-.004 below flush with the
case head. If the anvil isn’t against the bottom of of the primer pocket, it will not
be able to crush correctly when struck by the firing pin. Since not all head tools
are creatFE equal, it’s recommended to use a bench mounted priming device, or a
system integrated into your press to get the maximum leverage.

Now, beyond proper fit and seating within the shellcase, the two most important
aspects of primers are Sensitivity and Ignition characteristics.

Sensitivity is defined as the susceptibility or resistance to initiation (initiation

being the point where the chemical reaction in the primer begins, whereas
ignition involves the powder charge), resulting from a centered firing pin impact
upon the primer. Too little sensitivity can produce misfires. Too much sensitivity
can result in unwanted initiation such as slam fires. Either of those extremes can
be a safety hazard depending on the situation. Primers are constructed to fit in the
relatively narrow band of acceptable sensitivity.

All commercial primer manufacturers and the U.S. Military assess primer sensitiv-
ity with a Ball-Drop tester. Primed shellcases are placed into a steel fixture, under
a steel ball of a specified weight. The ball is dropped from incrementally greater
heights until values are established for heights in which no primers fire, and all
primers fire. Those heights are designated respectively as the “No Fire” height and
the “All Fire” height. The “Average Height” or “H-Bar” can be then be calculated
to establish the height at which half of the primers are expected to fire, and the
other half are expected to misfire.

RELOADING GUIDE 06
All aspects of the testing such as the shellcase fixture chamber, ball weight,
WHAT ABOUT PRIMERS? firing pin weight and tip configuration are tightly specified to ensure repeatable results.
The Sporting Arms and Ammunition Manufacturers Institute (SAAMI) and Depart-
ment of Defense (DoD) use different standards and specifications but the concepts are
identical.
Typical Ball Drop Test Data
NUMBERS PRIMER/LEVEL 25 PRODUCT: Small Pistol Primer
DROP INCREMENT 1.0” LOT No: ____________
THIS LOT ALL-FIRE HEIGHT 6.0”
THIS LOT NO-FIRE HEIGHT 3.0 LOT SIZE: ____________
BALL: 1.94 oz
DROP NUMBER NUMBER FIRING PIN: SAAMI 0.100” DIAM
HEIGHT FIRED MISSED
2 _ _ H-BAR 4.18”
3 0 25 SIGMA 0.63”
4 11 14 H-BAR -2 2.83”
5 22 3 H-BAR -3 2.15”
6 25 0 H-BAR +3 6.21”
7 _ _ H-BAR +4 6.89”
8 _ _ SKEWNESS 0.556”
KURTOSIS 0.456”
S.E. H-BAR 0.1187
S.E. SIGMA 0.0598

07 RELOADING GUIDE
SAAMI Recommended Primer PockeU Configurations

WHAT ABOUT PRIMERS?

Pistol Rifle
Primer component factors that affect sensitivity:
The primer cup itself is Vsually brass and frequently nickel-plated for ap-
pearance and oxidation protection. Many shotshell primers incorporate steel cups
but steel is rarely used for pistol or rifle primer cups.
The cup bottom thickness definitely affects sensitivity as most people would
suspect. The hardness of brass primer cups, however, does not affect sensitivity as
many well designed experiments have documented. Specifying cup bottom thick-
ness is a delicate engineering trade-off between ensuring adequate sensitivity and
simultaneously resistant to pierced primers.
Anvil height and shape are also significant factors in sensitivity. The height deter-
mines the space between the cup and anvil and is known as Bridge Thickness. Like
so many other aspects of primers and their manufacture, there is only a narrow
band of bridge thickness acceptability with respect to sensitivity.
Modern primer mix ingredients:

Aluminum Powder (Fuel), Antimony Sulfide (Fuel), Barium Nitrate (Oxidizer),

Calcium Silicide (Initiator), Diazodinitrophenol (Initiator), Glass Powder (Sensi-
tizer), Gum Arabic (Glue), Lead Dioxide (Oxidizer), Lead Styphnate (Initiator),
Smokeless Gun Powder (Fuel), Potassium Nitrate (Oxidizer), Pentaerythrite
Tetranitrate (Fuel & 2nd Explosive), Strontium Nitrate (Oxidizer) and Tetrazine
(Sensitizer).

While published primer mix formulas are readily available on the internet and
elsewhere, it is exceedingly dangerous to attempt to create them at home. The
safety rules promulgated over the past 165 years were all written in blood, attempt-
ing to warn future chemists what not to do. In other words, there’s probably not a
primer factory in the whole XPSMEthat hasn’t had an incident involving serious
bodily injury or death.

RELOADING GUIDE 08
WHAT ABOUT PRIMERS? Chemical aspects of Ignition:
The basic purpose of primers is to ignite propellant powder within
ammunition cartridges reliably, while maintaining structural, gas-tight integrity.
Powder ignition is more difficult than one might expect, depending upon tempera-
tures, load densities and powder positioning within the cartridge.
Most propellant powders are coated with flame resistBOUchemicals known as
“Deterrents” to slow flame propagation as the first particles begin to burn. It’s well
known that cold temperatures slow almost all chemical reactions. Igniting and
burning smokeless powder is not an exception. Under extreme cold temperatures
and with certain primer mixes, the powder combustion can actually stop and leave
a bullet stuck in the bore. Because of this, the military tests primer and powder
compatibility at -65° F. Hot temperature tests are conducted at 125° F, as well as
the normal ambient temperature of 72° F.

Engineering trade-offs are frequently necessary in primer design. Some primer

mix components that are beneficial to ignition are detrimental to sensitivity and
vice versa. As outlined in the ingredient listing above, each material has a specific
purpose that encompasses the range of primary initiator, sensitizers, fuels, oxidiz-
ers, secondary explosives and glue to hold the ingredients together. Most manu-
factures also add a lacquer based sealant that may be colored for identification and
other purposes.
The relative percent of each ingredient can greatly affect the primer performance
in terms of both sensitivity and ignition characteristics. The resulting primer mix
is a generally considered a mixture, rather than a truly new compound. Generally
speaking, smaller particle sizes, and a well-mixed, homogenous batch create better
and more consistent results.
Mechanical aspects of ignition:
The quantity of primer mix in each primer is obviously a major contrib-
utor to propellant ignition. More is generally better but is restricted to the rather
small space within a primer. Too little is very undesirable and can produce inad-
equate ignition, causing a variety of issues. Uniformity is the key to satisfactory
internal ballistic performance.
The shellcase flash hole size also greatly affects ignition characteristics. Generally,
smaller is preferable to larger, creating a more focused path of ignition, but there
is a limit with respect to smaller diameters when removing the fired primers to
reload the shellcases.

Primer Output:
It is the combustion gas temperature, not heat or volume that ignites
smokeless powder. Electrical sparks, such as static electricity, have no heat or
volume, yet can ignite powder. The flame temperature of conventional primer
combustion gas ranges between 30000 F and 37000 F.

09 RELOADING GUIDE
WHAT ABOUT PRIMERS?
Some primer mixes also expel molten metals into the powder charge to
aid ignition. Magnum primers and military primers usually employ ‘hotter’ prim-
er mixes to ignite highly deterred spherical shaped powder granules.
Some lead-free primers utilize mixes that have excessive brisance and gas pressure
within the primer that is considerably higher than the accompanying peak cham-
ber pressure. Repeated firing with excessively brisance primers can produce peen-
ing of the firearm breach face. Such a condition can eventually restrict the firing
pin hole and restrict revolver cylinder rotation. Several ammunition manufactur-
ers have increased the shellcase flash hole diameter to relieve the primer pressure
and minimize breach peening.
Primer Misfires:
As we discussed at the beginning of the article, the most common reason for prim-
er misfires is incorrect seating depth. Other root causes include:
Primer Induced
Missing Component
1. Priming Mix
2. Anvil
Misassembled
1. Upside Down Anvil
2. Double Anvil
Ammunition Loading
1. Upside Down or Sideways Primer Insertion
Firearm Induced
1. Weak or Altered Firing Pin Spring
2. Damaged Firing Pin
3. Inadequate Firing Pin Protrusion
4. Off-Center Firing Pin
Shooter Induced
1. Contamination by lubricants or water
Misfire Analysis:
Visual (Prior to decapping)
1. Primer
a) Missing
b) Inserted Upside down or sideways
2. Firing Pin indent upon primer cup
a) Presence
b) Depth
3. How well centered (within 0.030”)
4. Misshapen due to firing pin damage
5. Cushioned because of debris
Visual (After decapping)
1. Wrong primer? (Identified by cup bottom thickness, etc.)
2. Did cartridge contain propellant?
3. Did primer fire but not ignite propellant?
4. Missing or double anvil?

RELOADING GUIDE 10
WHAT ABOUT PRIMERS? Firing Pin Indents
FIRING PIN

Unfired Cup Misfired Cup Fired Cup

The firing pin indent upon a misfired cup appears quite different from the
indent upon a fired primer cup. After primer ignition, internal pressures within the
cup force the cup firmly back into the firearm breech face and around firing pin
tip. There is enough inertia in the firing pin, plus the spring force, to momentarily
imobilize the firing pin which allows primer cup material to flow back around the
firing pin tip. At times, the primer cup material will flow further back into the
firing pin hole leaving cratered appearance on the cup.

Shellcase Considerations:
Primer Types: U.S. commercial and small caliber military shellcases are almost
universally primed with Boxer type primers that incorporate a separate anvil with-
in the primer assembly. Boxer primed shellcases are easily reloaded by replacing
the fired primer with a new primer of the same type.
Foreign military and some foreign commercial shellcases utilize the Berdan prim-
ing system. The Berdan shellcases incorporate an integral anvil within the shell-
case primer pocket. Two small flash holes are drilled adjacent to the anvil post

11 RELOADING GUIDE
WHAT ABOUT PRIMERS?
Berdan primed shellcases are very difficult to reload because there is no
easy means of removing fired primers and replacement primers are difficult to
obtain. Any brass you pick-up from the range that you suspect is foreign manufac-
tured should be examined closely before attempting to resize and decap the fired
primer, otherwise you’re very likely to damage your decapping pin. Berdan primed
shellcases can be identified using a small light aimed at the bottom interior of the
shellcases to reveal the two small flash holes rather than a single, larger flash hole.

Berdan Primimg System Boxer Priming System

RELOADING GUIDE 12
POWDER
POWDER
Modern smokeless propellant powder is a fairly straight forward subject.
Nitrocellulose, a byproduct of the wood pulping process, is the primary ingredient
of virtually all domestically produced smokeless powder intended for use in small
arms ammunition. Some foreign manufactures, such as Vihtavuori, have used
gun NBOVGBDUVSFTcotton, produced from cotton fibers, for the same purpose.
Other materials and chemicals may be added to modify burning characteristic
and for other purposes.
Such ingredients may include:
Nitroglycerin is added to give a higher energy content for a given volume, and
reduce cost. Powders containing only nitrocellulose are considered “single base”,
and powders containing both nitrocellulose and nitroglycerin are known as
“Dou-ble Based”. Pistol powders are typically double base to pack enough energy
intothe relatively small volume, whereas rifle powders can easily be either.
Deterrents are Chemical coatings applied on the powder granule surfaces to
resist easy ignition. That may seem counter intuitive but will be explained later.
Stabilizers are added to extend the shelf-life.

Flash Suppressants can be used to reduce or virtually eliminateGMBTI.

Graphite coating is needed to improve powder flow in metering equipment.

Smokeless powder is typically the most uniform component of ammuni-

tion, and has less lot to lot variation than other ammunition components due to
the very nature of how it is manufactured and finally blended.

Detailed records and samples are retained for all production lots. When
the production of a new lot of specific powder type is to be made, it is known the
percent of deterrent coated and deterrent uncoated are historically required to
achieve desired performance.

If, for instance, a particular type powder has historically required a 50/50
blend of coated and uncoated granules, one half of the new production lot will be
coated and the left uncoated. A small sample of a 50/50 mix will be blended, and
tested in a laboratory to compare to historical data. The shell cases, primers and
bullets used for testing match the historical testing as well.
The ballistic results of the new production have to be equivalent to that
of the retained “Master” sample. If not, the proportions of coated and uncoated
powder will be adjusted, and re-tested until the desired results are achieved. This
means that the final performance results are adjusted to be correct rather than just
taking changes with normal production variability.

You can think of the the powder blending process being similar to a paint
manufacturer producing pink paint. White and red paint are produced, mixed in
known proportions, and tested for color match. If the color match isn’t perfect,
more red, or white paint is mixed until the color is just right.

13 RELOADING GUIDE
POWDER
Physical granule shapes also can also affect the burn rates, because of the
surface area to volume ratios. Spherical granules have the lowest surface area per
unit volume. In some applications thJT is desirable while, in other applications it
is not. Some spherical type powders have the granules rolled to a flatter configu-
ration to change the surface area to volume ratio. The diameters and thicknessor
lengths of flake and stick shaped powder granules are designed for specific burn
rates.

Flake style are typically used in Ball powders are the least expensive
shotgun shells and fast burning to produce, and used most often in
pistol powders. Metering is typical- pistol and smaller rifle cartridges.
ly difficult through most powder Ball powders are easy to meter,
measures. and typically produce extremely
consistent results through powder
measures. Since a sphere has the
lowest surface area volume, ball
powders tend to be slightly more
temperature sensitive than other
powder types, and care should be
taken in extreme cold temperatures,
below zero degrees F.

Extruded or stick powders are

generally used in large caliber and
magnum rifle rounds to give the
best energy content and maximum
pressure to reach the velocity
needed. Since the extrusions can
be difficult to meter, many manu-
facturers offer a “short cut” version
of their most popular powders to Flat Ball Powders are ball powders
improve usability. that are simply rolled flat to adjust
burning characteristics. These are
typically used for pistol powders.

RELOADING GUIDE 14
ABNORMAL PRESSURE INDICATIONS
PRESSURE INDICATIONS
All of the loads listed in this manual have been pressure tested using the
equipment, procedures and techniques recommended by the Sporting Arms and
Ammunition Manufactures Institute (SAAMI).

However, all components can be expected to vary somewhat, even between

production lots of the same products. Components from different manufactures
can vary significantly, especially primers. Firearm chambers and environmental
conditions can vary greatly. Any particular combination of variables could raise
chamber pressures to a point of concern. Reloaders and shooters should always be
aware of the sometimes subtle indicators of either abnormally high or unexpected
low pressures. Those indicators include:

1. Difficult (sticky) shellcase extraction from rifles and revolvers.

2. “Dropped” or “Blown” primers. (Primers dislodged from shellcase by chamber
pressure)

3. Distorted, marked or enlarged shellcase head.

4. Excessively flattened primer.

5. Firearm breech face machining marks embossed upon primer cup.
6. Cratering around the firing pin indent.

7. Enlarged primer pockets evidenced by dropped primers or gas leakage.

*Note: Glock pistols have a significantly different firing pin strike than most other
pistols. That is considered normal for those pistols and is not a good guide to
chamber pressures or abnormal conditions.
The art of reading primers as a tool to estimate peak chamber pressures is unre-
liable, and difficult at best, especially cartridges with low pressure limits. Many
handgun cartridges were standardized with pressures so low that excessive pres-
sures in the guns for which they were chambered may not leave any telltale signs of
excessive pressure on either the primer or shellcase.
Reading rifle primers is somewhat more reliable but should never be used solely to
judge the safety of the ammunition in question. All ammunition should be loaded
with laboratory pressure tested data. Below are shown some general rule-of-
thumb guidance concerning what certain indicators may mean.

15 RELOADING GUIDE
PRESSURE INDICATIONS
The primer of the left displays normal fired primer indications. Note the
gentle radiuses around the firing pin indent and around the primer cup periphery.
The fired primer on the right, however, shows indications of high pressure, but
not necessarily above safety limits. Note the flattened primer cup with circular
breech face machining marks embossed on the primer face. It also displays a very
cratered primer which could be due to high pressure of simply too much clearance
between the firing pin and firing pin hole.

The adjacent pictured

shellcase displays several classic
signs of excessive chamber pressure.
Most notable is the ejector pin hole
displayed at the 10 O’clock position.
ThJT occurred because chamber
pressure was higher than the shell-
case yield strength and cartridge
brass flowed back into the ejector
pin hole. ThJT indicator supplies
indisputable evidence of excessive
pressure for the subject shellcase. A
flattened cup and firing pin indent
are also displayed, but are usually
not considered quite as serious.
Dropped or blown primers are the
most serious sign, occurring just
below the pressure of complete
shellcase failure.

RELOADING GUIDE 16
380 AUTO | 95/100 GRAIN

380 AUTO
380 AUTO
5IFBVUPXBTEesigned by John Browning in1912 for his series of
small, concealable pocket pistols. The ballistics of 380 Auto are superior to 25
Auto or 32 Auto, while fitting into much more compact platforms than 9mm
Luger. It is generally considered to be the minimal useful cartridge for personal
defense.
The 100 Grain RNFP is X-Treme’s most popular projectile for 380 Auto and has
long been noted for it’s accuracy.
Loading Facts: 380 Auto is also known by the names 9x17mm, 9mm Kurz, and
9mm Browning Court.

RN 95GR
Case: X-TREME® Primer: X-TREME® C.O.A.L.: 0.960”
POWDER ALLIANT HODGDON VIHTAVUORI
TYPE POWER PISTOL TITE GROUP N-320
CHARGE 4.3 3.0 3.4
ACCURACY 2.4 1.8 1.7
VELOCITY 970 961 951
PRESSURE 17,795 17,797 16,892

HP 100GR
Case: X-TREME® Primer: X-TREME® C.O.A.L.: 0.950”
POWDER ALLIANT HODGDON VIHTAVUORI
TYPE POWER PISTOL UNIVERSAL 3N38
CHARGE 4.3 3.7 5.8
ACCURACY 2.4 1.8 2.0
VELOCITY 960 945 957
PRESSURE 19,333 19,434 19,164

RNFP 100GR
Case: X-TREME® Primer: X-TREME® C.O.A.L.: 0.950”
POWDER ALLIANT HODGDON VIHTAVUORI
TYPE POWER PISTOL CFE PISTOL 3N38
CHARGE 4.2 4.1 5.7
ACCURACY 3.1 2.3 2.9
VELOCITY 963 962 925
PRESSURE 18,551 19,327 17,838

RELOADING GUIDE 18
9MM LUGER | 115 GRAIN

9MM LUGER 9ƦƦ LUGER

The 9mm Luger was designed by Georg Luger in 1902 for Germany’s
DWM Luger semi-auto pistol. It is the world’s most popular center-fire pistol
cartridge, used by many police departments and military forces around the world
since its inception. The cartridge was not particularly popular in the U.S. for the
first seven decades, however by the 1980’s, law enforcement departments were
rapidly transitioning to semi-auto pistols. These new, high capacity pistols were
almost universally chambered in the 9mm Luger cartridge. High performance
hollow-point bullets were also being developed which greatly improved 9mm
Luger terminal ballistic performance.
The most popular X-Treme Bullet for 9mm is the 115 grain RN, due to its low
cost and history of reliability. If you’re a competitive shooter, we recommend the
124 or 135 gr hollow point. These UXP particular bullets have been used to win
numerous National and World Championship UJUMFTBOE are loved by top shooters
for their accuracy and consistency.
Also known as:
9x19mm, 9mm Parabellum

RN 115GR
Case: X-TREME® Primer: X-TREME® C.O.A.L.: 1.150”
POWDER ALLIANT HODGDON VIHTAVUORI
TYPE BE-86 TITE GROuP N-320
CHARGE(Grs) 5. 4. 4.
ACCURACY 2.” 2.” 1.5”
VELOCITY 11 11 11
PRESSURE 2

HP 115GR
Case: X-TREME® Primer: X-TREME® C.O.A.L.: 1.075”
POWDER ALLIANT HODGDON VIHTAVUORI
TYPE BE-86 TITE GROuP N-320
CHARGE (Grs) 5.0 4.1 4.3
ACCURACY 0.7 1.1 1.3
VELOCITY 1111 1122 1107
PRESSURE 27,079 30,563 29,718

19 RELOADING GUIDE
9MM LUGER | 115/124 GRAIN

9MM LUGER
FMJ 115GR
Case: X-TREME® Primer: X-TREME® C.O.A.L.: 1.150”
POWDER ALLIANT HODGDON VIHTAVUORI
TYPE BE-86 TITE GROuP N-320
CHARGE (Grs) 5. 4. 4.
ACCURACY 2. 2. 1.5
VELOCITY 11 11 11
PRESSURE 2

HPCB RN 115GR
Case: X-TREME® Primer: X-TREME® C.O.A.L.: 1.150”
POWDER ALLIANT IMR VIHTAVUORI
TYPE BE-86 HI-SKOR 700 X N-330
CHARGE (Grs) 5.3 4.3 5.1
ACCURACY 1.4 1.3 1.2
VELOCITY 1113 1093 1131
PRESSURE 24,559 24,634 27,176

FP 124GR
Case: X-TREME® Primer: X-TREME® C.O.A.L.: 1.050”
POWDER ALLIANT IMR VIHTAVUORI
TYPE BE-86 HI-SKOR 700 X N-330
CHARGE (Grs) 4.8 3.9 4.5
ACCURACY 1.2 1.9 1.2
VELOCITY 1070 1044 1075
PRESSURE 27,691 26,643 30,629

RN 124GR
Case: X-TREME® Primer: X-TREME® C.O.A.L.: 1.150”
POWDER ALLIANT HODGDON VIHTAVUORI
TYPE BE-86 TITE GROuP N-320
CHARGE (Grs) 5.1 4.0 4.1
ACCURACY 1.3 1.8 1.7
VELOCITY 1075 1065 1060
PRESSURE 25,628 29,884 29,858

RELOADING GUIDE 20
9MM LUGER | 124/130 GRAIN

9MM LUGER
HP 124GR
Case: X-TREME® Primer: X-TREME® C.O.A.L.: 1.060”
POWDER ALLIANT HODGDON VIHTAVUORI
TYPE BE-86 TITE GROuP N-330
CHARGE (Grs) 4.8 3.7 4.4
ACCURACY 0.7 1.0 0.7
VELOCITY 1073 1039 1068
PRESSURE 27,505 30,659 29,795

FMJ 124GR
Case: X-TREME® Primer: X-TREME® C.O.A.L.: 1.140”
POWDER ALLIANT IMR VIHTAVUORI
TYPE BE-86 HI-SKOR 700 X 3N38
CHARGE (Grs) 5.6 4.8 7.3
ACCURACY 1.3 2.3 2.7
VELOCITY 1170 1147 1171
PRESSURE 30,604 30,248 30,753

HPCB RN 124GR
Case: X-TREME® Primer: X-TREME® C.O.A.L.: 1.150”
POWDER ALLIANT HODGDON VIHTAVUORI
TYPE BE-86 TITE GROuP N-320
CHARGE (Grs) 4.7 3.7 4.0
ACCURACY 0.6 1.1 1.1
VELOCITY 1052 1059 1070
PRESSURE 25,273 31,049 32,915

HPCB RN 130GR
Case: X-TREME® Primer: X-TREME® C.O.A.L.: 1.150”
POWDER ALLIANT HODGDON VIHTAVUORI
TYPE BE-86 TITE GROuP N-320
CHARGE (Grs) 4.5 3.6 3.8
ACCURACY 1.1 0.9 1.5
VELOCITY 991 1021 1012
PRESSURE 24,141 29,199 28,500

21 RELOADING GUIDE
9MM LUGER | 135/147 GRAIN

9MM LUGER
RNFP 135GR
Case: X-TREME® Primer: X-TREME® C.O.A.L.: 1.130”
POWDER ALLIANT HODGDON VIHTAVUORI
TYPE BE-86 TITE GROuP N-320
CHARGE (Grs) 4.5 3.7 3.7
ACCURACY 0.6 1.5 0.7
VELOCITY 993 1014 1003
PRESSURE 25,351 31,854 30,558

HP 135GR
Case: X-TREME® Primer: X-TREME® C.O.A.L.: 1.130”
POWDER ALLIANT HODGDON VIHTAVUORI
TYPE BE-86 TITE GROuP N-320
CHARGE (Grs) 4.6 3.6 3.8
ACCURACY 0.9 0.5 0.5
VELOCITY 986 991 986
PRESSURE 24369 29030 27560

RN 147GR
Case: X-TREME® Primer: X-TREME® C.O.A.L.: 1.150”
POWDER ALLIANT IMR VIHTAVUORI
TYPE BE-86 HI-SKOR 700 X N-330
CHARGE (Grs) 3.9 3.3 3.7
ACCURACY 0.9 0.8 0.9
VELOCITY 907 900 922
PRESSURE 25,063 25,616 28,330

HP 147GR
Case: X-TREME® Primer: X-TREME® C.O.A.L. 1.130

POWDER ALLIANT HODGDON VIHTAVUORI

TYPE BE-86 TITE GROuP N-320
CHARGE (Grs) 4.0 3.2 3.3
ACCURACY 0.7 0.7 1.0
VELOCITY 906 910 889
PRESSURE 24,580 29,159 26,258

RELOADING GUIDE 22
9MM LUGER | 147/165 GRAIN

9MM LUGER
HPCB RN 147GR
Case: X-TREME® Primer: X-TREME® C.O.A.L.: 1.150”
POWDER ALLIANT HODGDON VIHTAVUORI
TYPE BE-86 TITE GROuP N-330
CHARGE (Grs) 3.9 3.£ 3.7
ACCURACY 0.9 1.2 0.9
VELOCITY 896 913 9ÓÓ
PRESSURE 24,056 32,089 Ón]ÎÎä

RN 165GR
Case: X-TREME® Primer: X-TREME® C.O.A.L.: 1.150”
POWDER ALLIANT HODGDON VIHTAVUORI
TYPE BE-86 TITE GROuP N-330
CHARGE (Grs) 3.{ Ó°È Î°ä
ACCURACY £°Î Ó°Ó £°n
VELOCITY 8äÇ Çn£ Çnn
PRESSURE 2È]nnn ÎÎ]Ιä Îä]Ó£ä

23 RELOADING GUIDE
38 SUPER | 115/124 GRAIN

38 SUPER
38 SUPER AUTO +P
Based on John Browning’s 38 Auto cartridge, the 38 Super Auto can
provide velocity on par with some 357 Magnum loads. It was originally designed in
1929 and designated as the .38 Super Auto to differentiate it from the older, lower
pressure version. 38 Super has been traditionally chambered in 1911 style pistols,
and became very popular with competitive shooters in the late 1980’s, but other-
wise hasnot seen mainstream popularity.

Loading Facts: While you can use any of X-Treme’s 9mm bullets for 38 Super,
you’ll see the best success with the heavy plated or hollow point profiled bullets
due to the higher velocities.

HPCB RN 115GR
Case: armscor® Primer: X-TREME® C.O.A.L.: 1.270”
POWDER ALLIANT HODGDON VIHTAVUORI
TYPE BE-86 UNIVERSAL N-105
CHARGE (Grs) 7.4 6.4 9.4
ACCURACY 2.5 1.8 1.7
VELOCITY 1366 1325 1356
PRESSURE 31,845 31,997 29,341

HP 124GR
Case: armscor® Primer: X-TREME® C.O.A.L.: 1.250”
POWDER ALLIANT HODGDON VIHTAVUORI
TYPE BE-86 ¿1 N-105
CHARGE (Grs) 6.6 12.3 8.7
ACCURACY 1.4 0.9 0.8
VELOCITY 1253 1261 1239
PRESSURE 29,941 26,960 27,119

RELOADING GUIDE 24
38 SUPER | 124/130/135 GRAIN

38 SUPER
HPCB RN 124GR
Case: armscor® Primer: X-TREME® C.O.A.L.: 1.280”
POWDER ALLIANT HODGDON VIHTAVUORI
TYPE BE-86 UNIVERSAL N-105
CHARGE (Grs) 6.6 6.0 n°Ç
ACCURACY 2.4 2.0 ՘ˆÃÌi`
VELOCITY 1242 1247 £ÓxÓ
PRESSURE 29,211 31,796 ÓÇ]£Óä

HPCB RN 130GR
Case: armscor® Primer: X-TREME® C.O.A.L.: 1.280”
POWDER ALLIANT HODGDON VIHTAVUORI
TYPE BE-86 UNIVERSAL N-105
CHARGE (Grs) 6.4 5.7 8.0
ACCURACY 3.2 3.0 2.0
VELOCITY 1221 1201 1201
PRESSURE 30,246 31,872 26,117

HP 135GR
Case: armscor® Primer: X-TREME® C.O.A.L.: 1.250”
POWDER ALLIANT HODGDON VIHTAVUORI
TYPE BE-86 ¿1 N-105
CHARGE (Grs) 6.3 11.6 8.2
ACCURACY 1.8 1.2 1.0
VELOCITY 1201 1220 1196
PRESSURE 30,807 28,009 28,387

RNFP 135GR
Case: armscor® Primer: X-TREME® C.O.A.L.: 1.250”
POWDER ALLIANT HODGDON VIHTAVUORI
TYPE BE-86 UNIVERSAL N-105
CHARGE (Grs) 6.2 5.7 8.0
ACCURACY 3.1 2.8 2.3
VELOCITY 1185 1175 1214
PRESSURE 29,806 31,096 29,767

25 RELOADING GUIDE
38 SUPER | 147 GRAIN

38 SUPER
HP 147GR
Case: armscor® Primer: X-TREME® C.O.A.L.: 1.250”
POWDER ALLIANT HODGDON VIHTAVUORI
TYPE BE-86 UNIVERSAL N-105
CHARGE (Grs) 5.8 5.6 7.6
ACCURACY 1 -/ 1 -/ 1 -/
VELOCITY 1102 1095 1104
PRESSURE 29,460 32,316 28,007

HPCB RN 147GR
Case: armscor® Primer: X-TREME® C.O.A.L.: 1.275”
POWDER ALLIANT HODGDON VIHTAVUORI
TYPE BE-86 UNIVERSAL N-105
CHARGE (Grs) 5.8 5.Î 7.Ó
ACCURACY 1 -/ Ó°Ó 1 -/
VELOCITY 110™ 109Î 1ä™4
PRESSURE 29,4ä™ 3ä]În™ 2Ç]£n7

RN 165GR
Case: armscor® Primer: X-TREME® C.O.A.L.: 1.275”
POWDER ALLIANT HODGDON VIHTAVUORI
TYPE BE-86 UNIVERSAL N-105
CHARGE (Grs) x.2 4.6 6.3
ACCURACY 1 -/ 2.9 1 -/
VELOCITY 1003 985 1008
PRESSURE Î0,040 31,309 28,507

RELOADING GUIDE 26
357 SIG | 125 GRAIN

357 SIG 357 SIG

5IF4JHXBTEesigned in 1994 at the request of Sig Sauer® to
achieve .357 Magnum level ballistic performance, in a semi-auto pistol platform.
The cartridge is based upon a 40 S&W, necked down to accept a 9mm diameter
projectile. It headspaces off the mouth, as is standard in semi auto pistols, rather
than the shoulder like many other bottle necked cartridges. Its greatest success
was with various law enforcement agencies, and saw immediate adoption by the
Secret Service, Texas Department of Public Safety and the Federal Air Marshalls.
In recent years however, the popularity has started to decline due to the cost of
ammunition, and relatively heavy recoil and muzzle blast.
Loading Facts: While the 357 Sig case can accept most standard 9mm bullets, the
nature of this cartridge demands some special design parameters. The plating
thickness, and ogive design of the X-Treme 125 gr FP are optimized specifically to
account for the needs of 357 Sig.

FP HPCB 125GR
Case: X-TREME® Primer: X-TREME® C.O.A.L.: 1.150”
POWDER ALLIANT IMR VIHTAVUORI
TYPE POWER PISTOL Hi-SKOR 800 X 3N38
CHARGE (Grs) 5.0 8.4 9.8
ACCURACY 3.9 0.4 0.4
VELOCITY 1339 1328 1337
PRESSURE 34,932 32,072 35,102

27 RELOADING GUIDE
40 S&W | 155 GRAIN

40 S&W
40 S&W
5IF48XBTEesigned by Winchester in 1989 at the request of Smith
& Wesson to produce a shorter length version of the 10mm Auto . The new
cartridge design criteria was to downsize the 10mm Auto, reducing the recoil, and
size of the pistol platforms it fit into. With its perceived ballistic improvement
over 9mm, the 40 S&W saw very, very quick adaptation in the law enforcement
community. Very few new cartridges have ever received such immediate success
and popularity. Today, the 40 S&W still sees widespread use in law enforcement
and personal defense. %VFUP improvements in bullet and powder, the gap in
terminal performance between 40 S&W, 9mm, and 45 Auto is virtually non-
existent.
Loading Facts: Since 40 S&W tends to be a high pressure cartridge, using fast
burning powders to achieve the desired velocities, special care when setting the
crimp is needed. For the best accuracy results, we recommend using powders on
the slower burning end of spectrum for this cartridge.

RNFP 155GR
Case: X-TREME® Primer: X-TREME® C.O.A.L.: 1.120”
POWDER ALLIANT HODGDON VIHTAVUORI
TYPE POWER PISTOL CFE PISTOL N-330
CHARGE (Grs) 7.4 7.1 6.6
ACCURACY 1.4 1.2 1.3
VELOCITY 1126 1128 1110
PRESSURE 26,418 28,274 28,463

RELOADING GUIDE 28
40 S&W | 165/180 GRAIN

40 S&W
RNFP 165GR
Case: X-TREME® Primer: X-TREME® C.O.A.L.: 1.120”
POWDER ALLIANT HODGDON VIHTAVUORI
TYPE POWER PISTOL TITE GROuP N-330
CHARGE (Grs) 6.3 4.8 5.9
ACCURACY 1.5 2.4 1.1
VELOCITY 1002 1012 1027
PRESSURE 22,347 27,926 26,137

HP 165GR
Case: X-TREME® Primer: X-TREME® C.O.A.L.: 1.120”
POWDER ALLIANT HODGDON VIHTAVUORI
TYPE POWER PISTOL TITE GROuP N-330
CHARGE (Grs) 6.3 4.7 5.7
ACCURACY 1.3 1.4 0.9
VELOCITY 1024 1017 1018
PRESSURE 24,416 29,926 27,538

RNFP 180GR
Case: X-TREME® Primer: X-TREME® C.O.A.L.: 1.120”
POWDER ALLIANT HODGDON VIHTAVUORI
TYPE BE-86 TITE GROuP N-330
CHARGE (Grs) 5.8 4.5 5.4
ACCURACY 1.0 1.1 1.0
VELOCITY 970 970 954
PRESSURE 24,718 31,093 27,366

HP 180GR
Case: X-TREME® Primer: X-TREME® C.O.A.L.: 1.120”
POWDER ALLIANT IMR VIHTAVUORI
TYPE POWER PISTOL Hi-SKOR 800 X N-340
CHARGE (Grs) 5.8 6.4 5.2
ACCURACY 1.1 1.7 1.5
VELOCITY 996 982 979
PRESSURE 27,337 26,721 31,139

29 RELOADING GUIDE
40 S&W | 200/220 GRAIN

40 S&W
RNFP 200GR
Case: X-TREME® Primer: X-TREME® C.O.A.L.: 1.120”
POWDER ALLIANT HODGDON VIHTAVUORI
TYPE POWER PISTOL TITE GROuP N-340
CHARGE (Grs) 5.0 4.0 4.8
ACCURACY 1.9 1.8 2.0
VELOCITY 856 862 876
PRESSURE 23,164 31,493 29,496

RNFP 220GR
Case: X-TREME® Primer: X-TREME® C.O.A.L.: 1.120”
POWDER ALLIANT IMR VIHTAVUORI
TYPE POWER PISTOL Hi-SKOR 800 X N-340
CHARGE (Grs) 4.2 4.9 4.0
ACCURACY 1.5 1.1 1.6
VELOCITY 771 809 776
PRESSURE 25,914 28,718 29,997

RELOADING GUIDE 30
10MM AUTO | 180 GRAIN

10MM AUTO 10ƦƦ AUTO

5IF..XBTEesigned in 1983 by Norma at the request of Dornaus &
Dixon for their Bren Ten semi-auto pistol. The 10mm Auto mimics the ballistics
of a 41 Remington Mag, fired from a 4” barrel revolver. The concept was
championed by the late Jeff Cooper, a popular gun writer at the time Colt was the
first American pistol company UPmanufacture a pistol, the Delta Elite, in 10mm.
The cartridge saw some initial popularity in law enforcement, however it was
quickly found most inexperienced shooters struggled to control the recoil and
muzzle blast of this cartridge. Today, the 10mm retains a near cult following, and
is very popular for handgun hunting.
Loading Facts: While you can use any of X-Treme’s 40 S&W bullets for 10mm,
you’ll see the best success with the heavy plated or hollow point profiled bullets
due to the higher velocities.

HP 180GR
Case: X-TREME® Primer: X-TREME® C.O.A.L.: 1.250”
POWDER ALLIANT HODGDON VIHTAVUORI
TYPE POWER PISTOL CFE PISTOL N-350
CHARGE (Grs) 7.0 7.1 7.0
ACCURACY 1.5 1.2 1.6
VELOCITY 1127 1129 1112
PRESSURE 27,511 29,687 30,444

RNFP HPCB 180GR

Case: X-TREME® Primer: X-TREME® C.O.A.L.: 1.250”
POWDER ALLIANT HODGDON VIHTAVUORI
TYPE POWER PISTOL TITE GROuP N-350
CHARGE (Grs) 7.1 7.1 7.2
ACCURACY 1.2 1.6 1.3
VELOCITY 1125 1125 1111
PRESSURE 27,084 30,176 29,219

31 RELOADING GUIDE
10MM AUTO | 200/220 GRAIN

10MM AUTO
RNFP HPCB 200GR
Case: X-TREME® Primer: X-TREME® C.O.A.L.: 1.250”
POWDER ALLIANT HODGDON VIHTAVUORI
TYPE POWER PISTOL TITE GROuP N-350
CHARGE (Grs) 5.6 4.4 5.7
ACCURACY 1.4 2.2 1.5
VELOCITY 906 896 912
PRESSURE 20,478 24,119 20,717

RNFP 220GR
Case: X-TREME® Primer: X-TREME® C.O.A.L.: 1.250”
POWDER ALLIANT HODGDON VIHTAVUORI
TYPE POWER PISTOL TITE GROuP N-350
CHARGE (Grs) 4.6 3.7 4.7
ACCURACY 1.7 1.7 1.2
VELOCITY 793 810 789
PRESSURE 19,361 25,236 19,496

RELOADING GUIDE 32
45 AUTO | 200 GRAIN

45 AUTO 45 AUTO
5IF"VUPXBTEesigned by John Browning in 1905 for Colt’s semi-
automatic pistols 5he 45 Auto’s original designation was “.45 Automatic Colt
Pistol (ACP)”. While the name was officially changed by SAAMI to “45 Auto”
many years ago, the names are generally still interchanged with no confusion. The
U.S. military adopted the cartridge in the M1911Colt pistols and designated it,
“Cartridge, Ball, Caliber 45, Model 1911”. The 45 Auto was at the time an excellent
cartridge in the early days of semi-auto pistols, and still enjoys extremely
widespread use in almost all areas of the market.
Loading Facts: In the early days, 1911 style pistols were notorious for mis-feeding
any bullet profile except for the original round nose design. Though many of those
issues have been cured by advances in firearm and magazine technology, the X-
Treme HP profile very closely mimics the RN profile for the best reliability in all
platforms.

RN 200GR
Case: X-TREME® Primer: X-TREME® C.O.A.L.: 1.260”
POWDER ALLIANT HODGDON VIHTAVUORI
TYPE POWER PISTOL TITE GROuP N-320
CHARGE (Grs) 6.5 5.1 5.9
ACCURACY 1.4 1.4 0.8
VELOCITY 861 890 863
PRESSURE 13242 15977 13392

HP 200GR
Case: X-TREME® Primer: X-TREME® C.O.A.L.: 1.230”
POWDER ALLIANT HODGDON VIHTAVUORI
TYPE POWER PISTOL TITE GROuP N-320
CHARGE (Grs) 6.5 4.8 5.7
ACCURACY 0.9 0.9 0.9
VELOCITY 873 867 868
PRESSURE 14,439 15,958 14,697

33 RELOADING GUIDE
45 AUTO | 200/230/250 GRAIN

45 AUTO
SWC 200GR
Case: X-TREME® Primer: X-TREME® C.O.A.L.: 1.245”
POWDER ALLIANT HODGDON VIHTAVUORI
TYPE POWER PISTOL TITE GROuP N-320
CHARGE (Grs) 6.4 4.7 5.5
ACCURACY 1.3 1.3 1.5
VELOCITY 877 858 860
PRESSURE 14,439 15,958 14,697

RN 230GR
Case: X-TREME® Primer: X-TREME® C.O.A.L.: 1.260”
POWDER ALLIANT HODGDON VIHTAVUORI
TYPE POWER PISTOL TITE GROuP N-320
CHARGE (Grs) 6.1 4.7 5.3
ACCURACY 1.2 1.7 2.0
VELOCITY 828 834 832
PRESSURE 15,634 18,513 16,970

HP 230GR
Case: X-TREME® Primer: X-TREME® C.O.A.L.: 1.230”
POWDER ALLIANT HODGDON VIHTAVUORI
TYPE POWER PISTOL CFE PISTOL N-320
CHARGE (Grs) 6.1 5.9 5.2
ACCURACY 1.0 1.0 1.2
VELOCITY 856 828 831
PRESSURE 17,243 16,943 18,169

RN 250GR
Case: X-TREME® Primer: X-TREME® C.O.A.L.: 1.260”
POWDER ALLIANT HODGDON VIHTAVUORI
TYPE POWER PISTOL CFE PISTOL N-320
CHARGE (Grs) 6.0 5.8 5.1
ACCURACY 2.2 1.0 1.5
VELOCITY 817 802 786
PRESSURE 17,545 17,625 17,973

RELOADING GUIDE 34
357 MAGNUM | 125 GRAIN

357 MAGNUM 357 MAGNUM

The 357 Magnum was designed by D.B. Wesson in 1935. Taking the
existing 38 S&W Special case, and adding approximately .125” to the case length,
the design by Wesson produced almost twice the pressure of its parent cartridge,
and at the time of introduction, it was the world’s most powerful pistol cartridge.
It was quickly adopted by the FBI and served law enforcement agencies well until
semi-auto pistols started to replace revolvers in the 1980s. The .357 Magnum is
by far one of the most versatile handgun cartridges, allowing for the use of mild
38 Special target loads, BTXFMMBT high pressure heavy hitting loads for medium
sized game animals and emergency protection against black bears.
Loading Facts: Due to the large case capacity, it is not recommended to use 357
Mag cases toload for target shooting. Instead, use 38 Special cases and loading
data.

FP 125GR
Case: STARLINE® Primer: X-TREME® C.O.A.L.: 1.570”
POWDER ALLIANT HODGDON VIHTAVUORI
TYPE POWER PISTOL TITE GROuP N-340
CHARGE (Grs) 8.7 7.3 8.6
ACCURACY 1.4 1.1 1.2
VELOCITY 1520 1487 1501
PRESSURE 27,148 31,414 30,752

RN 125GR
Case: STARLINE® Primer: X-TREME® C.O.A.L.: 1.570”
POWDER ALLIANT HODGDON VIHTAVUORI
TYPE POWER PISTOL TITE GROuP N-110
CHARGE (Grs) 8.6 7.5 15.6
ACCURACY 1.2 1.3 1.5
VELOCITY 1517 1505 1514
PRESSURE 26,528 31,012 23,558

HP 125GR
Case: STARLINE® Primer: X-TREME® C.O.A.L.: 1.550”
POWDER ALLIANT HODGDON VIHTAVUORI
TYPE POWER PISTOL TITE GROuP N-110
CHARGE (Grs) 8.8 7.3 15.5
ACCURACY 1.0 1.2 1.1
VELOCITY 1485 1477 1515
PRESSURE 27,519 31,219 23,892

35 RELOADING GUIDE
357 MAGNUM | 158 GRAIN

357 MAGNUM
FP 158GR
Case: STARLINE® Primer: X-TREME® C.O.A.L.: 1.568”
POWDER ALLIANT HODGDON VIHTAVUORI
TYPE POWER PISTOL CFE PISTOL N-110
CHARGE (Grs) 7.5 7.6 12.5
ACCURACY 0.8 0.7 1.0
VELOCITY 1308 1304 1301
PRESSURE 28,478 30,534 22,953

RN 158GR
Case: STARLINE® Primer: X-TREME® C.O.A.L.: 1.570”
POWDER ALLIANT HODGDON VIHTAVUORI
TYPE POWER PISTOL CFE PISTOL N-105
CHARGE (Grs) 6.7 6.7 9.5
ACCURACY 1.1 1.4 1.2
VELOCITY 1302 1296 1309
PRESSURE 27,381 28,726 25,022

RNFP 158GR
Case: STARLINE® Primer: X-TREME® C.O.A.L.: 1.570”
POWDER ALLIANT HODGDON VIHTAVUORI
TYPE POWER PISTOL CFE PISTOL N-110
CHARGE (Grs) 7.6 7.7 12.5
ACCURACY 1.9 1.3 1.6
VELOCITY 1296 1294 1295
PRESSURE 27,719 28,929 23,174

HP 158GR
Case: STARLINE® Primer: X-TREME® C.O.A.L.: 1.570”
POWDER ALLIANT HODGDON VIHTAVUORI
TYPE POWER PISTOL CFE PISTOL N-110
CHARGE (Grs) 7.6 7.6 12.5
ACCURACY 0.6 0.6 0.8
VELOCITY 1281 1289 1298
PRESSURE 28,326 29,378 23,469

RELOADING GUIDE 36
38 SPECIAL | 125 GRAIN

38 SPECIAL
Designed and introduced by Smith & Wesson in 1902 for their revolvers,
it was by far the most popular center fire handgun cartridge for over seven decades
38 SPECIAL

in the U.S.A. The .38 Special cartridge is a genuine, all-purpose cartridge that has
excelled in law enforcement, personal defense, competitive shooting, and other
forms of recreational shooting.

X-Treme Bullets most used bullet for the 38 Special is the 158 gr RNFP, offering a
combination of cleaner holes in targets, and ease of chambering the more rounded
bullet profile.
Loading Facts: Care should be taken to use slower burning, bulkier powders due to
the large case capacity of 38 Special. This will help reduce variations in velocity and
pressures.

FP 125GR
Case: STARLINE® Primer: X-TREME® C.O.A.L.: 1.440”
POWDER ALLIANT HODGDON VIHTAVUORI
TYPE POWER PISTOL TITE GROuP N-340
CHARGE (Grs) 5.9 4.3 6.0
ACCURACY 0.9 1.6 2.7
VELOCITY 1022 995 1041
PRESSURE 12,811 15,834 15,119

RN 125GR
Case: STARLINE® Primer: X-TREME® C.O.A.L.: 1.450”
POWDER ALLIANT HODGDON VIHTAVUORI
TYPE POWER PISTOL TITE GROuP N-340
CHARGE (Grs) 6.0 4.3 5.8
ACCURACY 2.7 2.7 3.0
VELOCITY 998 1010 1010
PRESSURE 13,626 15,268 14,248

37 RELOADING GUIDE
38 SPECIAL | 125/148/158 GRAIN

HP 125GR
Case: STARLINE® Primer: X-TREME® C.O.A.L.: 1.430”
POWDER ALLIANT HODGDON VIHTAVUORI
TYPE POWER PISTOL TITE GROuP N-340

38 SPECIAL
CHARGE (Grs) 6.0 4.3 5.8
ACCURACY 2.0 3.0 1.9
VELOCITY 999 993 997
PRESSURE 14,348 15,669 14,969

WC 148GR
Case: STARLINE® Primer: X-TREME® C.O.A.L.: 1.210”
POWDER ALLIANT HODGDON VIHTAVUORI
TYPE POWER PISTOL TITE GROuP N-340
CHARGE (Grs) Î°Ç Ó°n ΰx
ACCURACY £°ä £°£ £°ä
VELOCITY ÇÈÓ Ç{™ ÇxÎ
PRESSURE 1Î]Çän £x]ÈÎä 1Î]Çnx

FP 158GR
Case: STARLINE® Primer: X-TREME® C.O.A.L.: 1.440”
POWDER ALLIANT HODGDON VIHTAVUORI
TYPE POWER PISTOL 1 6 ,-å 3N38
CHARGE (Grs) 4.9 5.0 7.0
ACCURACY 2.2 1.Ó 1.5
VELOCITY 873 881 882
PRESSURE 14,533 16,150 15,824

RNFP 158GR
Case: STARLINE® Primer: X-TREME® C.O.A.L.: 1.440”
POWDER ALLIANT HODGDON VIHTAVUORI
TYPE POWER PISTOL TITE GROuP N-340
CHARGE (Grs) 5.2 3.8 5.0
ACCURACY 3.1 2.5 2.0
VELOCITY 898 877 884
PRESSURE 14,918 16,158 15,625

RELOADING GUIDE 38
44 SPECIAL | 200/240 GRAIN

44 S&W SPECIAL
Designed by Smith & Wesson for their revolvers in the early 1900s as a
44 SPECIAL

lengthened version of the 44 Russian 5he 44 Special was looking to capitalize on

the then state-of-the-art smokeless powder. As the smokeless powder technolo-
gy was refined, so was the 44 Special. Eventually, even more power was desired,
which brought on the 44 Remington Magnum, relegating the 44 Special to a niche
following.

RNFP 200GR
Case: STARLINE® Primer: X-TREME® C.O.A.L.: 1.400”
POWDER ALLIANT HODGDON VIHTAVUORI
TYPE POWER PISTOL TITE GROuP N-105
CHARGE (Grs) 6.5 4.9 10.9
ACCURACY 3.1 4.0 5.5
VELOCITY 899 890 890
PRESSURE 14,475 14,900 13,746

RNFP 240GR
Case: STARLINE® Primer: X-TREME® C.O.A.L.: 1.400”
POWDER ALLIANT HODGDON VIHTAVUORI
TYPE POWER PISTOL TITE GROuP N-105
CHARGE (Grs) 5.8 5.9 9.4
ACCURACY 3.5 3.9 3.7
VELOCITY 801 809 786
PRESSURE 14,389 14,702 13,731

39 RELOADING GUIDE
44 MAGNUM | 200/240 GRAIN

44 REM MAGNUM
5IF3FN.BHOVNXBTEesigned and introduced by Remington in
the 1950’s at the request of 44 Special enthusiasts called the “44 Associates,
desiring higher performance. It followed the same concept as the .357 Magnum
design wherein an extra .125” of length was added to the 44 Special case,

44 MAGNUM
allowing for higher pressures, and therefore velocity. While the most popular
use for 44 Magnum is handgun hunting, it’s most noted appearance is in the
movie Dirty Harry, in which Clint Eastwoodhs character carries a S&W Model
29.
X-Treme Bulleths 200 and 240 gr Heavy Plate RNFP bullets are some of the only
plated bullets to stand up to true 44 Magnum level pressures and velocities, so
don’t be afraid to get maximum performance.

RNFP HP )&"7:1-"5& 200GR

Case: STARLINE® Primer: X-TREME® C.O.A.L.: 1.551”
POWDER ALLIANT HODGDON VIHTAVUORI
TYPE POWER PISTOL CFE PISTOL N-105
CHARGE (Grs) 13.0 13.2 15.5
ACCURACY 3.8 4.5 3.9
VELOCITY 1445 1454 1442
PRESSURE 26,403 31,190 24,750

RNFP HP )&"7:1-"5& 240GR

Case: STARLINE® Primer: X-TREME® C.O.A.L.: 1.556”
POWDER ALLIANT IMR VIHTAVUORI
TYPE POWER PISTOL HI-SKOR 800 X N-105
CHARGE (Grs) 12.3 12.5 14.4
ACCURACY 4.9 4.2 3.7
VELOCITY 1339 1347 1334
PRESSURE 31,413 31,106 30,090

RELOADING GUIDE 40
45 COLT | 225/255 GRAIN

45 COLT
Designed in 1873 for the classic Colt Single Action Army (SAA) revolv-
er as a black powder cartridge, the 45 Colt was almost immediately adopted by
the U.S. Army. It also saw immense popularity and widespread use in the civilian
market, by lawmen and outlaws alike. An interesting design feature of the
cartridge is the smaller than typical rim diameter. This made for a smaller overall
handgun that still held 6 roundT, this design however was not without downsides.
The narrow rim was more difficult for an extractor to hold, which caused some
reliability problems in the lever action repeating rifles of the period. While
45 COLT

officially designated the “45 Colt” by SAAMI, over the years, many have taken to
calling it the 45 Long Colt to avoid confusion with the 45 Auto cartridge, which
originally was designated 45 ACP.
No matter what you call it, 45 Colt, with its 145 years of continuous production
and service, is one of the only cartridges to successfully make the transition from
black powder, to smokeless powder with very little change.
Loading Facts: Although the bullet diameter is the same as 45 Auto, most bullets
do not interchange due to the different length requirements to fit into a revolver
cylinder versus a semi auto magazine.

FP 225GR
Case: STARLINE® Primer: X-TREME® C.O.A.L.: 1.580”
POWDER ALLIANT IMR VIHTAVUORI
TYPE BULLSEYE HI-SKOR 800 X N-105
CHARGE (Grs) 7.5 10.0 15.0
ACCURACY 1.5 1.7 2.1
VELOCITY 894 903 915
PRESSURE 13,372 12,834 11,618

FP 255GR
Case: STARLINE® Primer: X-TREME® C.O.A.L.: 1.580”
POWDER ALLIANT IMR VIHTAVUORI
TYPE BULLSEYE HI-SKOR 800 X N-330
CHARGE (Grs) 6.0 7.8 8.0
ACCURACY 1.7 2.3 1.8
VELOCITY 780 798 750
PRESSURE 12,808 12,263 12,767

41 RELOADING GUIDE
50 AE | 325 GRAIN

50 ACTION EXPRESS (AE)

The 50 AE was designed for use with the Desert Eagle pistol and in-
corporates a rebated rim, the same size as 44 Magnum size to operate within the
pistols chambered for 44 Magnum by simply changing barrel and magazine. While
not the first, the Desert Eagle is the only widely sold pistol chambered for 50 AE,

50 AE
making the cartridge and the firearm almost inseparable. With its size, and rather
unique aesthetics, the Desert Eagle quickly gained a place in pop cultureIt’s
estimated that the Desert Eagle has appeared in over 500 films, video games, and
has even been featured on the cover of Playboy magazine.

Loading Facts: The COAL for 50 AE is almost BMXBZTfixed at 1.55 due to case
capacity and magazine length. While some variation in bullet weight is seen,
325gr is the universally standard weight.

RNFP 325GR
Case: STARLINE® Primer: X-TREME® C.O.A.L.: 1.xÇx”
POWDER ALLIANT HODGDON VIHTAVUORI
TYPE 2400 H110 N-110
CHARGE (Grs) 27.8 31.7 28.2
ACCURACY 0.6 1.0 0.6
VELOCITY 1360 1350 1373
PRESSURE 33,579 28,996 32,949

RELOADING GUIDE 42
458 SOCOM | 300/450 GRAIN

458 SOCOM
458 SOCIM
5IF4PDPNXBTEesigned in 2000 by Marty 5er Weeme of Teppo
Jutsu 5IJTDBSUSJEHFXBTEFWFMPQFECased on discussionT with some members for
the Military’s Special Operations Command (SOCOM) about some of the lack of
effectiveness of 5.56 NATO cartridge seen during various combat operations. The
cartridge fits into a standard AR-15 sized rifle with minimal modifications, even
using a standard 223 magazine for a 7-10 round capacity. Since it’s introduction, it
has gained a considerable following among hunters and big-bore enthusiasts.

Loading Facts: Since 458 SOCOM is not currently a SAAMI cartridge, there does
tend to be some variation in chamber dimensions, and EJGGFSFOUthoughts on
maximum safe pressures. You should take care while setting up your sizing dies, as
the shoulder is very easy to buckle during sizing, which will cause feeding issues in
most rifles.

RNFP 300GR
Case: STARLINE® Primer: X-TREME® C.O.A.L.: 1.985”
POWDER ALLIANT HODGDON VIHTAVUORI
TYPE RELOADER 7 H4198 N-133
CHARGE (Grs) 42.4 41.2 48.2
ACCURACY 0.9 1.6 1.4
VELOCITY 1803 1796 1795
PRESSURE 31,249 32,015 28,707

RNFP 450GR
Case: STARLINE® Primer: X-TREME® C.O.A.L.: 1.985”
POWDER ALLIANT HODGDON VIHTAVUORI
TYPE RELOADER 7 H4198 N-133
CHARGE (Grs) 24.0 24.7 28.5
ACCURACY 1.7 1.4 1.5
VELOCITY 998 994 1001
PRESSURE 19,919 19,733 17,975

43 RELOADING GUIDE
223 REM | 55/62 GRAIN

223 REMINGTON
5IF3FNJOHUPOXBTEesigned by Remington and submitted to
SAAMI in 1962 as the commercial counterpart of the newly introduced military

223 REM
cartridge, 5.56x45MM. While often seen as underpowered by some traditionalists,
the 223 Remington, and 5.56x45 NATO cartridges have faithfully served shooters,
hunters, and soldiers alike for almost 60 years. 5he 223 RemJOHUPOJT ideal for a
variety of uses, including hunting, personal defense, and competition *t has
become the most popular rifle cartridge in North America by a very large margin.

Loading Facts: There is no dimensional difference between the 223 Remington and
5.56x45 cartridges themselves. The difference lies in the chamber design, with 5.56
having a much longer leadF This leads to lower overall chamber pressures, which
in most cases allows 5.56 ammunition to be loaded to a higher velocity. Ammu-
nition loaded to 223 Remington specs can safely be fired through a 5.56 chamber,
however it is not recommended to fire ammunition loaded to 5.56 specs through a
SAAMI Spec 223 Remington chamber.

FMJ 55GR
Case: FEDERAL® Primer: X-TREME® C.O.A.L.: 2.215”
POWDER ALLIANT HODGDON VIHTAVUORI
TYPE RELOADER 15 CFE-223 N-540
CHARGE (Grs) ÓÈ°x ÓÈ°x ÓÈ°ä
ACCURACY 1.ä 1 -/ 䰙
VELOCITY Σ™Ç ÎÓäÈ ÎÓän
PRESSURE {™]Ó™Ó {x]n™x xä]ÇÈÓ

FMJ 62GR
Case: FEDERAL® Primer: X-TREME® C.O.A.L.: 2.244”
POWDER ALLIANT HODGDON VIHTAVUORI
TYPE RELOADER 10X CFE-223 N-140
CHARGE (Grs) ÓÓ°x ÓÈ°n ÓÈ°Î
ACCURACY 1 -/ 1 -/ 1 -/
VELOCITY ә™x ә™Ó ә™x
PRESSURE {Ç]ÈxÎ {È]{Èn {È°{{n

RELOADING GUIDE 44