Bayou 160 gr with WST Ransom Rest Test in 9mm

[Darrell]

Today I decided to test some 160 bayou bullets Donnie gave me to try out. I shot them at 25 yards with my Ransom Rest out of my Dan Wesson PM9 with new Kart Barrel. I wanted to try WST powder also so I have attached a pdf file with all the chrono and accuracy data. I did 10 round groups but since my first shot is usually low with the first round hand cycled, I also included best 9 of ten. The cluster with 3.1 and 3.2 were about the same so if I were loading this load I'd use 3.1 gr. Even the min power factor was above 131. I left out the chrono data for 3.3 somehow, but I wouldn't go that high again anyway.

Bayou 160 WST.pdf

Edited February 21, 2013 by Darrell

[njl]

I assume they shot really soft (softer than 147gr 9mm)?

I ran into someone shooting some Bayou bullets for the first time today and he gave me one to disassemble/examine. At first glance, the coating seems very different from BBI and Precision. The look and feel is more like the bullets have been coated with nail polish.

Your groups with the reloads were not even as good as factory ammo. That seems kind of disappointing. One of the things you often hear about reloading is you'll get more consistent, more accurate ammo. What happened?

[Darrell]

I assume they shot really soft (softer than 147gr 9mm)?

I ran into someone shooting some Bayou bullets for the first time today and he gave me one to disassemble/examine. At first glance, the coating seems very different from BBI and Precision. The look and feel is more like the bullets have been coated with nail polish.

Your groups with the reloads were not even as good as factory ammo. That seems kind of disappointing. One of the things you often hear about reloading is you'll get more consistent, more accurate ammo. What happened?

I've never gotten good accuracy with WST in 9mm. Best accuracy has always been with N340, Blue Dot, and Power Pistol. I used WST at the request of another shooter.

[njl]

I've never gotten good accuracy with WST in 9mm. Best accuracy has always been with N340, Blue Dot, and Power Pistol. I used WST at the request of another shooter.

Ah. Do you have similar data for the 160s with those other powders? Do they shoot noticeably softer than 147gr? 147gr in the 880-900fps range is already so soft, it's hard to imagine a 9mm shooting much softer.

[practical_man]

Darrell

Thanks for sharing your data. It always includes the important factor - accuracy. I always look forward to your posts.

-John

[ProGunGuy]

i have been experimenting with 158gr molys with wst and ramshot comp. 3.6 wst got me about 875 and 3.3 ramshot comp got me about the same. More than enough for PF.

After i did my chronoing, i shot off hand at 20 yard at the head of an iDPA target. I got about 3 inch groups from both loads. this was out of my G34 and MP9, both with stock barrels

[LoLeft]

Thanks for sharing your info Darrell

[superdude]

Thanks for sharing. But it would be interesting to see why they didn't group so well. It's too bad you didn't try a couple of other powders at the same time to determine if accuracy is due to the bullet or the gunpowder.

[Darrell]

Thanks for sharing. But it would be interesting to see why they didn't group so well. It's too bad you didn't try a couple of other powders at the same time to determine if accuracy is due to the bullet or the gunpowder.

I only had 60 bullets to try out, and a buddy wanted me to test with WST. I'll do a more thorough test with other powders when Donnie has more bullets for me. I just loaded up some 135's today with N340, WST, and AA5 to test Monday. I'm using my Dan Wesson with new Kart barrel now for my test in the Ransom rest, I hadn't checked it out with my most accurate load yet but my test from previous barrel before the change with known factory loads did produce a 23% reduction in group size. The Kart has a shorter lead than the factory barrel. WST hasn't been a good powder for accuracy in 9mm in any bullets I tested so far. N340 and Power Pistol has been my best powders for accuracy.

[9X23Guy]

So how did the test go?

[Darrell]

I tested the 160's today with 3.1 gr of N320, I think the load I'll use will be 3.0 grs with this bullet. Others had recommended 2.7 to 2.8, but in my Shadow, I had to bump to 3.0 to get above 130 PF which is what I load my uspsa match loads to. Elevation, temp, and humidity here in Louisiana is different so my data is for my guns here.

[9X23Guy]

Did you test any 135s with WST?

[9X23Guy]

Sorry, didn't see what you posted today. Thanks for sharing. That's alot of work.

Edited March 24, 2013 by 9X23Guy

[RH45]

I'm really jealous. 65 degrees, when we were below 0 with wind chills!

I'm surprised the Zero bullets did so poorly. In most of my pistols, Zero jhps will be more accurate than any factory loads, but, every bbl is different.

Thanks for sharing!