10mm Loading - Lehigh Defense Xtreme Penetrator - Like Underwood 140g commercial rounds anyone loading these?

Helocat · Aug 18, 2019

Picked up a G20 for a woods gun, so time to start loading 10mm for the first time. I have been loading for 30yrs, 1k's of 40SW and 10'Ks 9mm loaded. Just never any 10mm.

Plan is to load my own Penetrator rounds for woods (bear) rounds like the commercial Underwood brand rounds. I have a 1k of nickel plated Star-line brass, 150 Lehigh Defense 140g Extreme Penetrator Bullets, 900 rounds of Hornady 180g XTP rounds all in bound. Why spend $1.8 per round when I can load them for $0.70! The 180's are for target/general use plans. Really only going to use the 10mm for a woods gun.

Using existing 40SW dies, have two sets so will set up a new die plate for the 10mm. Dillon 1050. (I knew I would need that extra plate I have had!)

Anyone loading 10mm any issue or things to watch out with this round?

Did not realize it was large pistol primer! Sheesh only caliber I load for that uses that. One more thing to stock. At least I have a dedicated large primer machine so I dont have to swap primer systems.

Anyone load their own Lehigh Penetrator rounds? Underwood claims 1500FPS with the 140g bullet.
Max load from Lehigh puts them at 1300 FPS. Lehigh Defense Load Data Library

If Underwood can safely get 1500, that's the target for me. Plan is to do the usual work and walk the load up to the 1500 goal watching for signs of over pressure. Anyone else having success for this load? I am guessing I am going to put 40-50 into the backstop at the range to get the load dialed in.

gmerkt · Aug 19, 2019

I've got all kinds of 10mm bullets stacked away: Cast, frangible, pure zinc, 200 gr., plated, FMJ, some kind of fancy Federal hollow point, but I'm not sure if I have any Lehigh product in 10mm. I know I have some Lehigh bullets in several other calibers. The only ones I've loaded thus far are some .308's. I've been buying some bullets made of alternative materials in case the day comes along when lead in centerfire cartridges is outlawed. Hence the Lehigh bullet falls into this category. Not to mention its performance advantages. I just took a look at the Lehigh load data library you linked, interesting stuff. I see they list a Tight Group load for the 140 gr. bullet. Only in the last year have I discovered how versatile this propellant is, and performs well while using smaller charges. I've also found through working up loads on my chrono that even though its a lower density powder (and therefore gives a lower case fill), it's pretty consistent from shot to shot.

Helocat · Aug 19, 2019

gmerkt said:
I've got all kinds of 10mm bullets stacked away: Cast, frangible, pure zinc, 200 gr., plated, FMJ, some kind of fancy Federal hollow point, but I'm not sure if I have any Lehigh product in 10mm. I know I have some Lehigh bullets in several other calibers. The only ones I've loaded thus far are some .308's. I've been buying some bullets made of alternative materials in case the day comes along when lead in centerfire cartridges is outlawed. Hence the Lehigh bullet falls into this category. Not to mention its performance advantages. I just took a look at the Lehigh load data library you linked, interesting stuff. I see they list a Tight Group load for the 140 gr. bullet. Only in the last year have I discovered how versatile this propellant is, and performs well while using smaller charges. I've also found through working up loads on my chrono that even though its a lower density powder (and therefore gives a lower case fill), it's pretty consistent from shot to shot.

Agreed on the lead concern. Not a bad idea to be stocking alternatives now. If it ever goes that way and they become hard to get, I will just buy a small CNC chucker lathe and machine my own brass/bronze/copper bullets. A simple program and a bar feeder and i can have it run lights out making me as many projectiles as I want.

The plan is the Accurate #7 I have 8lbs of it coming in. I will work the load to start from there. TiteGroup has been a great powder I have been using for 9mm. Stuffing the 165g Extream FMRN into a 9mm case you need all the powder room you can get. 3.0g under that 165 is working beautifully as my go too Sub loads. I will move to TiteGroup if I end up not having enough room for the extra bit of #7 to start pushing 1500FPS.

Helocat · Aug 19, 2019

I showed my 82yr old father the Lehigh bullets = Dad says "your loading Philips screwdriver tips in bullets?" He was joking but ya they look like that in the photo.

gmerkt · Aug 19, 2019

Good for dad, his sense of humor sounds about like mine. When it comes down to it, a #2 Phillips probably works well in close combat.

I've got a good many pistol powders. The fact that the manufacturers have come out with so many new ones in recent years hasn't helped. I like to try them out, some work out, others don't. I've used AA#7 in 10mm loaded with 155 gr. pure zinc bullets. Zinc bullets have a greater mass for their weight and want a less bulky powder in 10mm. The 155 gr. zinc bullets are longer than a jacketed 200 gr. I don't load for top velocity anyway. Depending on the bullet, I'm usually 15% or 20% over .40 S&W.

Coated lead bullets, I did not mention those. I've tried some, superior to lubed lead I suppose but the coating adds a little to their size. I wonder if the companies that make them take this into consideration. I've had some tight rounds when loaded with coated lead bullets, won't be using any more of them no matter how good the idea is. Reliability takes front seat with me. The ones that wouldn't chamber in one of my 1911 autos I saved for my Smith 610 and it gobbled them up. As to economy, for my purposes plated bullets are superior to cast and don't cost all that much more.

I don't have a lathe. One of the goofy cartridges I load is Austrian 8x56R. Years ago when components were scarce, I met a guy who had a rifle in that cartridge, plus his reloading stuff and he just wanted to liquidate. So I bought the stuff very reasonably. In that lot were some fancy Nosler blue Teflon coated .338 bullets that he'd turned down on a lathe to .330. Solid copper bullets, he did good work. I wondered about how tedious it must've been to do the work.

Helocat · Aug 19, 2019

Have stayed out of the coated cast bullets. I continue to have great performance from plated. Fit issue for size of the platting so far has not be a problem. The 165g 9mm jobs are extra long so seated to the spec for max OCL causes some extra thick cases to bulge. (S&B, RP are a few)

Powder wise I have been using the TiteGroup the most for 9mm.

I don't currently have a lathe either, just if it gets bad for projectiles I do know how to program a CNC and the chucker lathes are not that costly. I used to have a few manual lathes at my business but needed the real estate and was not using them that much so off they went.

Yikes holding an existing bullet to turn down would be the challenge. (Biggest issue for most machining is how to hold the part to cut it) You would have to flip it around and hold it from the other end to finish it. (Or drill a center hole, thread it and thread in a stud to hold. But then you have a threaded hole in the back of your bullet!) Think it would be easier to just cut a new one from bar stock.

oremike · Sep 4, 2019

One thing to watch out for when using range brass for the 10mm is base swelling , Lee makes a adapter to turn their factory crimp die into a push through final sizer.

osprey · Sep 4, 2019

For a woods load I like a 200gr wfn hardcast going 1250!fps out of my glock 20. Pretty easy to get there using 800x powder. Have to weigh each charge as it meters like fecal matter but the results speak for themselves.