Win. Silvertips. Dropping?

[MichaelStrick9]

I recently picked up a Kel Tec P11. I ran about 50 rounds of Federal plinkin' ammo through it, and 20 rounds of Winchester Silvertip 115 grain. The Federal shoots fine, but the Silvertips are all shooting low. About 2 feet low from 50 feet out. I don't think the problem is me, as my buddy was experiencing the same thing.

Anyone else have any reports of Silvertips shooting low? I wouldn't expect 84 cents a round ammo to have troupble.

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[Gunner3456]

You don't say what the weight of your Federal rounds bullets are, nor do we know the velocities of the two rounds. As an over-generalization, a heavier bullet travels slower and leaves the barrel later. That gives more time and more impetus for "barrel flip" which can cause the point of impact to be higher.

I don't even know how to say this, technically, but a heavy, slow bullet will simply remain in the barrel longer, and barrel rise begins almost at the moment of ignition.

While two feet is a ton, and makes me wonder, you should expect a very noticeable change in point of impact with different bullet weights.

Also, you might want to be sure you are grasping the gun very firmly. I mean really firmly with both hands. You also must hold the grip as high as possible to reduce the gun's leverage against you. My only guess, and others will surely have other ideas, is that you are getting substantial muzzle flip from heavier Federal bullets, but again, I don't even know the weight of them.

If bullet weights are the same but bullet speed is different, you will also change your point of impact.

Start first with a high, very firm grip, and see if that changes anything. After that, don't expect different weight bullets to have the same point of impact.

 

[MichaelStrick9]

Thanks for your response.

Weights of both types in question are 115 grain.

While I'm hardly an expert, I am certainly no longer a novice. I do know how to grip and shoot. I am doing nothing differently in my grip or stance between the two types. I don't notice a difference in recoil, so if by chance this lot of Winchesters are under powered, it's not by much. Would a somewhat-experienced shooter be able to tell a difference in charges that would equate to a 2 foot drop at 50 feet?

If anything, I would expect the cheapo plinkin' stuff to give me trouble, not the expensive hollow points.

 

[Gunner3456]

Thanks for your response.

Weights of both types in question are 115 grain.

While I'm hardly an expert, I am certainly no longer a novice. I do know how to grip and shoot. I am doing nothing differently in my grip or stance between the two types. I don't notice a difference in recoil, so if by chance this lot of Winchesters are under powered, it's not by much. Would a somewhat-experienced shooter be able to tell a difference in charges that would equate to a 2 foot drop at 50 feet?

If anything, I would expect the cheapo plinkin' stuff to give me trouble, not the expensive hollow points.

Well then, with your answer, I don't know what the problem is. My next move would be to try a third batch/brand of ammo in a quality HP. I have bought (and embarrassed to say reloaded) ammo that is undercharged. No, I couldn't "feel" just by shooting it that it was.

As I said, two feet is a ton, and I don't know what's causing it.

Good luck with this.

 

[deadshot2]

Even though the bullets weigh the same, the speeds can be different due to the manufacturers loading. The Winchester Silvertips are over 100 fps faster than the Federal "Plinking" ammo. Different speeds, different characteristics. This is why you always hear "my pistol prefers "xxxxx" brand of ammo over all others. Besides feeding and reliability, hitting the point of aim is usually the reason.

 

[MichaelStrick9]

Just to update everyone, in addition to the Silvertips, I've since tried Ranger SXT 147 grain and Speer Gold Dot 124 grain. They were landing in about the same spot as the Silvertips, low and to the right, while the Wallyworld plinking stuff is still only to the right, but pretty much right on vertically. So it looks like a case where the Wallyworld stuff is the oddball. I'll dink with the sights before my next session. Looks like I can order different heights of sights from Kel Tec, and looking at the rear sight, it is a bit scootched to the right.

So nothing wrong with any batches of Silvertips. In fact, they cycled the best in this gun, so I'll stick with those. The Rangers and Gold Dots are a bit blunted/squared on the front where the copper wraps around, so first round off the top would occasionally get stuck on the steep ramp if I didn't rack the slide in just the right way.

 

[MarkAd]

you need to do a fluff and buff on your feed ramp.
<broken link removed>

 

[MichaelStrick9]

Thanks for the heads up there. I'll give that a go. I've also found that Hornady XTP's cycle better than the other types of hollow points I've tried. The projectiles are smaller and don't stick out as far. I can be a little haphazard in my racking of the slide and they chamber up just fine.

 

[deadshot2]

Polish the feed ramp to a mirror finish and the feed problems will go away. Otherwise you'll have issues with any HP with a large cavity and any exposed lead.

Kel-Tec doesn't polish anything beyond "tumble finishing". Take some 2,000 grit wet/dry sandpaper and a small dowel. Work out all the remaining machine marks from the feed ramp and then polish using some jewelers rouge on a dremel tool polishing "bob". When the surface is mirror smooth you'll have a firearm that will reliably feed hollowpoints, especially the silvertips.