gigamortis

I use 135gr Bayous pushed by Titegroup and smoke is so minimal that it's not even an issue. On the other hand, Titegroup with moly/poly coatings smokes like a choo-choo.

Why would you compute those per match, do you only shoot one match a year? I am lucky enough to live in a geographic area that allows me to shoot either USPSA or IDPA at least every Saturday of a month. So, my monthly round count is about 400-500 rounds. I offered my per match ammo cost analysis for those that may be on the fence between shooting minor or shooting major. If shooting major only costs $3.50 extra for the match day, some folks may view the extra $3.50 as trivial up against the typical $15.00 match entry fee to shoot a local match. Sure, when you look at the cost difference when figuring a 1k plus reloading components order, the difference does look more intimidating that way. The cost difference in reload components between minor and major actually ends up a much smaller percentage of the total costs of our shooting hobby than what one would suspect when you factor in how many match entry fees you will spend as you consume those components.

Instead of looking at ammo costs in terms of 1k to 3k count, try computing your cost difference per match. Around here, our Saturday matches are usually about 125 rounds or less. So, I sat down one day and figured out that it cost me an extra $3.50 to shoot .45ACP vs. 9mm on a typical 125 round match day. I'll gladly give up the extra $3.50 for major scoring and a round that runs the most reliably in the 1911 platform.

I use Bayou Bullets in both 9mm and .45. Very low smoke, if you notice any at all. Much less smoke than the other moly/poly offerings I have tried. My barrels are much cleaner with the Bayous, too. Lead load data is pretty much spot on for the Bayous. I even use Titegroup behind the 9mm Bayous and I don't even notice any smoke. Titegroup behind other moly/poly bullets I have tried smoked like a choo-choo!

I have heard of some folks using powdered Kool-Aid mix in with their media. Supposedly, the citric acid is supposed to help with cleaning? I haven't tried it for myself, though.

For the same velocities and bullet weights, I notice a softer recoil impulse with the lead bullets. In 9mm, lead load data runs roughly .2 to .3 grains of powder less than jacketed data for the same velocities. That means less gas blast pushing back on the barrel end of the gun after the bullet leaves. Barrel life will be better, too.

I use Bayou Bullets 230gr RN with 3.7gr Clays @ 1.240" for 170pf. My load data is pretty much identical to yours.

I noticed when loading 9mm in the past that I could get some setback with FC, Blazer, CCI, *I*, and Speer brass. Win, RP, PMC, and CBC headstamps would all hold pretty well in comparison, though. Of course, this was with my Hornady carbide sizer die. Out of curiosity, I tried a Lee carbide sizer and I noticed that the brass was getting sized a little smaller than the Hornady die did. The Lee die didn't totally eliminate setback tendencies in the looser holding headstamps, but it was definitely a noticeable improvement. When I switched to Bayou Bullets, I did some more setback effort testing on all headstamps listed above. Amazingly, I couldn't get any setback to occur with the Bayous loaded in any headstamp brass. Bayou bullets all the way for me now!

Give the Checkmate Magazines with the hybrid feed lips a try. The top round exits from the magazine at more of a nose higher angle than what you would observe out of your typical wadcutter style parallel feed lipped magazine. If you can get your rounds to initially hit a little higher on the feed ramp before jumping in the chamber, you may reduce or eliminate your setback issues.

The problem with a heavier crimp is that the bullet is not as elastic as the brass casing. If you crimp heavy, the bullet gets squeezed smaller and it stays at that dimension while the brass casing will spring back somewhat. If you have problems with neck tension, try a different brand sizing die and/or a different brand expander hoping to see if your case mouths get sized a little smaller. That way you can use the elasticity of the brass to your favor to hold the bullet with more force. With the .45 ACP being a straight-walled case, the sizing ring in the sizing die is very short in length and at the bottom of the die, so running the brass up further in the die won't shrink your case necks any more because the case mouth will already be up well past the sizing ring. Another note worth considering is that a 185gr bullet is on the short side for .45 ACP. The shorter bullet doesn't have as much contact with the case walls as a longer 230gr bullet does. More contact between the bearing surface of the bullet and the case wall = more resistance to setback.

I shot limited minor for a while with my CZ-75 and it was fun. Minor scoring really had me slowing down and looking at my sights to try to get all "A"s, though. Eventually, my shooting ability progressed enough to where I didn't have to devote so much mental capacity to the shooting part and I could devote more mental capacity towards stage breakdown. At that point I figured why not try SS major for a real test of my newfound spare mental capacity. It has been a blast so far and I haven't had to do any standing reloads yet. It sure is nice to not have to concentrate so hard on the "A" zones as much as I was when shooting minor. After a few matches of SS major, lo and behold, my overall match percentages are about the same as they were when I was shooting limited minor. Apparently, scoring major mixed with double the mag changes seems to be pretty much equal to my minor scoring in limited with half the mag changes. Go figure! I'm having so much fun in SS now that my CZ will probably just be my steel challenge gun.

You forgot to mention that the CZ Mag is also short. My Shadow will go about 1.160 with the 135gr Bayou, well not all CZ's are created equally. To be honest I have not Cronoed my 135gr Bayou's but I know they are plenty too hot at 3.6gr of N320, set at 1.145 steel drops like a rock. I much prefer N320 over TiteGroup, even if it hurts my a@@ for the extra wallet bite. I won a bunch of TiteGroup, sold off most of it, now what to do with the rest of it. Maybe I'll load up some at 3.2 behind some Bayou 135gr and shoot it up, just have to get more Brake Cleaner to wash it out. What kind of accuracy are you getting with those bullets?? I haven't gotten a chance to do any group size testing with this load yet on paper, but I am pretty much 100% on the plate rack at 20 yards with this load. When the weather around here cools off some, I will put my CZ on a rest to see what this load is capable of on accuracy.

You forgot to mention that the CZ Mag is also short. My Shadow will go about 1.160 with the 135gr Bayou, well not all CZ's are created equally. To be honest I have not Cronoed my 135gr Bayou's but I know they are plenty too hot at 3.6gr of N320, set at 1.145 steel drops like a rock. I much prefer N320 over TiteGroup, even if it hurts my a@@ for the extra wallet bite. I won a bunch of TiteGroup, sold off most of it, now what to do with the rest of it. Maybe I'll load up some at 3.2 behind some Bayou 135gr and shoot it up, just have to get more Brake Cleaner to wash it out. Yeah, I do get the Titegroup trademark powder residue after a match, but at least I don't have to whip out the chore boy pads anymore since the Bayous don't lead or smear their coating in the barrel. With the BBIs and Precisions, chore boy was a necessity after a 100+ round local match to be clean to my satisfaction.

3.2gr Titegroup @ 1.085". This load runs 935 fps out of my CZ75. 925 fps makes minor with the 135gr bullet. The 1.085" length is just .010" shy of the rifling in my CZ barrel. CZ barrels are known for their rifling starting earlier than other makes. Even at this short length, there is still .356" of bullet diameter present at my case mouth. Nice feel to the load with very little smoke despite the hot burning Titegroup powder. These Bayou Bullets are a winner for me. They are the only coated cast bullest that leaves both my CZ and 1911 barrels absolutely free of fouling.

This is a very interesting thread. As far as a front sight goes, I tried fiber optics at first and while quite functional in outdoor lighting, they were pretty much effectively "black" for our indoor matches. I wanted something that would work in most all lighting conditions without me having to adjust back and forth between two different front sight strategies. I then tried a gold bead up front. The gold was great for a wide spectrum of lighting conditions, but when the sun got down low in the afternoon, one side of the bead was "louder" than the other side. This caused me some misses on some long distance poppers, with all misses in the exact same spot just off the edge. The "louder" side of the gold bead was getting centered in the rear notch instead of the full diameter of the bead itself. I then went to a white bead up front. So far, this has been the ticket for me for shooting the same gun indoors and outdoors. I found some solid white round styrene rod at Hobbytown USA. You can get it in .040, .060, and .080 diameters. It melts and installs just like fiber optic. Since it doesn't gather or amplify light like a fiber optic, it is not near as "loud" as fiber in the daylight, but visible enough for finding the front sight in dim light. The melted domed end will reflect available light like the gold bead, but in a much more even, subtler way. I have found that the domed white bead is much more functional than typical concave factory white dots which are prone to shadowing over in dim light. The visible remainder of my front sight blade is serrated, which seems to make for a sharper outline for lining up the top of the blade with the rear for the long shots. The front sight serrations are also visibly distinctive as compared to my plain black Warren Tactical .150" notch rear sight. Even in our lights out indoor flashlight shoots, the white bead is easy to pick up without getting overbearing. During outdoor shooting, I can find that white bead just fine without the "in your face" attention diverting intensity of a fiber optic. If I was only shooting outdoors in the daylight, I would most probably give the narrow all black serrated front sight a try. A few master class shooters I have observed around here shoot with that setup. There's no doubt there is something advantageous to it if it is working for those guys. Of course, the IDPA blood that runs through my veins makes me stay with something that works for me in all lighting conditions.

I load the Precision Bullet 230gr RNFP to 1.200". That length still leaves me with .452" of bullet diameter present at the case mouth. I can shoot this length in just about any .45 barrel and not have to worry about the blunt RN ogive getting stuck in the rifling.

I had some lead streaking starting at the chamber and lessening on down the barrel with the Missouri bullets in 18BHN, too. I did slug my barrel and found it to be .452". The Missouri bullets measured .452". I get a little less leading out of the chamber with the Precision Bullet offering at .452", as they are swaged and softer with a dished base, but still get some leading. As far as I can tell, in our usual ~125 round matches starting with a clean barrel, accuracy doesn't noticeably degrade enough to worry about it at USPSA and IDPA shooting distances. Chore boy wrapped around an old bore brush cleans the barrel right up with about 50 strokes. I did eventually make the switch to Bayou Bullets. All I can say is WOW! Even though they are .452" sized, I get no leading at all. It's like shooting jacketed as far as smoke and barrel cleanliness go, but I can step down to lead load data for an even softer hit. Even in my CZ 9mm barrel, I was getting lead streaking with BBI and Precision Bullets due to its slightly oversize .3565" bore. The Bayou Bullets I got for it are sized .356" and leave a clean barrel, too.

I don't know about the 200s, but I load my Bayou 230s to 1.240". The 230s have a small shoulder that defines the front end of the driving band, sort of like a semi-wadcutter, but more subtle. I have this shoulder about .020" to .030" above the case mouth. Take a look at your 200s to see if they are cast in the same manner.

Sometimes flush bottom 8 rounders take a good bit of force to seat them into a gun with the slide forward. This also requires a harder press on the mag release button to drop it back out. Do you have the same problem if you load and then unload your 8 round mag with the slide locked back? I just recently switched to Checkmate's extended tube magazines. When topped off with 8 rounds, they are very easy to seat in the gun with the slide still in battery and easy to drop back out. I got tired of having to really slam my old ACT mags into the gun during a slide forward reload and sometimes still ending up with an unlatched mag. No problem at all with the extended tube Checkmates. The extended tube has more room for the mag spring and follower to compress without running into coil bind.

I finally shot a match today with some newly worked up 135gr lrn Bayou Bullets out of my CZ75B. After 100+ rounds fired, no leading was found in the barrel at all. On top of that, no noticeable smoke at all, despite being propelled by Titegroup. All other brand moly/poly coated cast bullets so far have left some lead streaking in the last half of the barrel in my CZ, and smoked like a freight train with Titegroup. I have slugged the barrel in this CZ before and it measured out to be .3565". That is a little loose for the typical .356" diameter lead cast bullet common for 9mm use, so I had always assumed my loose tolerance barrel was the cause of the leading with the other bullets. But, the Bayous measure out to .356" just like all the other coated cast bullets I have tried, but apparently the proprietary green coating is the real deal. This green coating takes care of the smoke and the leading issues. For those of you that are interested in my particular Bayou load, here it is: 135gr lrn Bayou bullet, 3.2gr Titegroup @ 1.085", 938 fps for a 6 shot average (925 fps needed for minor pf). I had to seat at this length due to the early start of the rifling in the CZ barrel. Length for this bullet touching the rifling is 1.095", so I went shorter by .010" for a little reliability cushion. Feeding and extraction was flawless. This new 135gr Bayou load with 3.2gr Titegroup is noticeably softer shooting than my previous load of 124gr Berrys plated with 3.9 Titegroup that just does squeak by for minor pf. Donnie at Bayou Bullets has been excellent at answering all my questions concerning my previous leading concerns in my CZ. He recommended trying the .356" sizing to see what happens, and if I still had leading, he offered to size a batch to .357" if needed. Looks like I won't have to bother him at all for the special sizing. If anyone is sitting on the fence about trying the Bayou Bullets, I say go for it. The green coating has solved all my issues I was looking to correct when shooting lead out of my CZ. Next, I will have to work up a 230gr Bayou Bullet load for my .45!