plainsman,
I liked the pre-groove X's too--though not until around the mid-1990s. Before then the accuracy was pretty iffy in several rifles I tried them in. Sometimes a decent group (which I define as around an inch, 3-shot at 100) would turn up, but the next group, with the same load, might be 2". This is still sufficient for most big game hunting at "normal" ranges, but then sometimes a flier would show up as well.
This started to get better in the late 90s, at least in my experience--and I was getting samples frequently. First got consistent inch groups with the blue-coated model (XLC?) in SOME batches, most notably the 100-grain in a .257 Ackley Improved I had back then, an Ultra Light Arms rifle. Then in the late 90s more and more X's started shooting not just well, but VERY well.
As I got to know Randy better, discovered this was because he was getting more consistent batches of copper, which meant diameters were becoming more consistent--and they'd also learned more about consistent production. The two I used most were the 120 in a very accurate Ruger Mark II 6.5x55, and the 250 9.3mm in two rifles, a CZ 550 9.x62 and a my Remington 700 9.3 Barsness-Sisk. ALL would regularly group three in around 1/2" at 100--but the fouling problem persisted, which the XLC's didn't totally solve in some barrels.
Then the TSX came along, and took care of both the inconsistent accuracy and fouling problem. We used them the first year they appeared--Eileen in her NULA .270 Winchester. In fact Eileen was the first hunter to give Coni an elk-kill field report for the TSX--which also killed a coyote quite well on the same hunt.
But we also had erratic expansion with some of the early TSX's, especially one batch of 100-grain .25s. But that was totally solved by the introduction of the Tipped TSX a couple years later--which has worked very well in several rifles since then.
