jman93 Posted February 24, 2015 Share Posted February 24, 2015 BBI all the way. Chandler is a great guy to deal with and the quality is excellent. I switched over from MG and have never looked back. I load 200gr and 180gr in 40 and 135gr in 9mm. They are all very accurate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zzt Posted February 28, 2015 Share Posted February 28, 2015 Well, based on the glowing reports in this thread, I ordered some BBI bullets to try. I ordered 500 180s and 100 ea of the 165s and 200s. I haven't done anything yet except load some up for chrono testing. I did examine them and weigh them. I must say I'm not very impressed. There were a few spots (very small) of bare lead showing through and a couple of instances when the coating was very thin. The weight consistency is terrible. The supposedly 200gr bullets varied between 195gr and 203gr. If a 195gr bullet got pulled and used as the weight for PF testing at a match, that would drop your 170PF down to 165PF. The 180s varied by 3gr, but I didn't weigh nearly as many. These are the first poly coated bullets I've bought. Maybe this is typical. I'll shoot them and see, but I have to say this batch is not as consistent as I'm used to with the 165 Xtremes, or 175 and 180 lubed lead bullets. Geez, the lead only varies by 1.5gr. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zzt Posted February 28, 2015 Share Posted February 28, 2015 I just got back from the range. I didn't chrono any of the loads, because it was 27 deg. I found the 165gr to be very accurate, and a touch more accurate than the 165 Xtreme HP. The 180gr were very accurate; about the same as 180 lead. The 200gr were not so accurate. I don't know why, because this pistol get more accurate as you go up in weight (at least up to 180). I'll try a couple more. I'll tell you what I will NOT be doing again- shooting them in a semi enclosed range. The BBIs stink, literally. The smell when fired is awful and the taste is the same. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cslafrain Posted February 28, 2015 Share Posted February 28, 2015 Zzt, I looked into the variation that you were see on the 200gr bullet and found a mold issue. That mold out of our set of 8 has been taken out of service and is being replaced. What kind of powder are you using? I personally use both clays and wst in 40 and haven't found them to stink like you reference. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zzt Posted February 28, 2015 Share Posted February 28, 2015 (edited) Chandler, I'm using e3 for 40sw. When I use it with the Xtreme plated I get no smoke and no smell. With lead I get a little smoke and the only smell is the smoke. I got almost no smoke with your bullets, but, as I said, the smell was awful. It wasn't just me, either. A shooter two lanes down also smelled it and wondered what the heck it was. If you are shooting outdoors with a little breeze it may not smell (or at least not as much). Semi-enclosed, it is ghastly. Just to see if it was excess friction in the bore, I thoroughly cleaned the pistol, including the bore when I got home. Then I did a quicky 10-minute bore lapping using JB bore compound. I cleaned it all out and the bore is super shiny and spotless. I'll try a couple again tomorrow to see if that made any difference. Added later: I don't know if this helps, but the PFs were 140, 150 & 160 for the 165, 180 and 200gr, respectively. Edited February 28, 2015 by zzt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BiggMike Posted March 1, 2015 Share Posted March 1, 2015 (edited) Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk BBI is the one I use exclusively now, I switched from X-Treme. I haven't noticed a real difference in smoke between the two. BBI is a better value and my groups were tighter.Are you using them in your Tanfos?Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Yes I am. I shoot limited in USPSA and I'm running about 180pf with them. It feels like I'm shooting a 9mm. Edited March 1, 2015 by BiggMike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeRush Posted March 3, 2015 Share Posted March 3, 2015 I'm surprised about the smell. I shoot the BBIs with E3 or WST indoors all the time and have never noticed it. I've also haven't had issues with consistency of weight. It would make sense that a mold issue could cause that. When I used bear creeks the 200s would range from about 193 to 205. I've got a friend who sorts his bear creeks by weight and batches them together. Too much work for me. If you got the bore bare I bet you will find its really easy to keep clean. I used to cast and shoot cast but I found the barrel would take forever to clean. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
motosapiens Posted March 3, 2015 Share Posted March 3, 2015 Thanks everyone I have been going back & forth just trying to decide which way to go before making a large order. if you make a sufficiently large order with xtreme (25k), the price difference may narrow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zzt Posted March 3, 2015 Share Posted March 3, 2015 Mike, I've got the bore polished down to bare metal. There isn't even any lube in it. So if they smell again, it has to be the coating. I'll let you know if this snow ever stops and I can get to the range. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mont1120 Posted March 4, 2015 Share Posted March 4, 2015 When I first tried using the BBI's the first thing I noticed at the indoor range was the smell. I'm sure it is the coating. Nothing to be concerned with, but you just may break the concentration of your competitor buddies after you light off about 35 of them in a stage........... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zzt Posted March 8, 2015 Share Posted March 8, 2015 Well, I finally got out to the range to test the BBIs again. This time it was with a perfectly clean gun and barrel. I even polished the inside of the barrel to remove any traces or lead, lube or copper. The BBIs smell bad when fired. There is no getting around that. I'll try again using N340, but I doubt it will make a difference. I'm going to load the rest up to use in outdoor plate and pin matches where you don't shoot more than ten rounds at a time. So now I'll be looking for another non-jacketed, non-plated, non-moly, non-Hi-Tek poly coated bullet to use. Any suggestions? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jhugh4 Posted March 8, 2015 Share Posted March 8, 2015 zzt, they still smell over n340. I load 5.3 gr n340, 180gr BBI at 1.1850, gives me 170 PF and they shoot awesome. They do smell but not bad enough to bother me. I'm a fan of BBI ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
b1gcountry Posted March 9, 2015 Share Posted March 9, 2015 (edited) Zzt: Can't help you. Sounds like you are just being picky. Edited March 9, 2015 by b1gcountry Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zzt Posted March 9, 2015 Share Posted March 9, 2015 Just a note to say that Chandler sent a PM telling me to send them back and he would give me a refund for what remained. Classy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cslafrain Posted March 9, 2015 Share Posted March 9, 2015 That is just how we operate for any person dissatisfied with our products. We strive to deliver products catering to competitive shooters needs. If in the shooters mind we don't deliver we try to make it right. This is an expensive sport and nobody should use something they don't feel is right for them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deerassassin22 Posted March 10, 2015 Share Posted March 10, 2015 That is just how we operate for any person dissatisfied with our products. We strive to deliver products catering to competitive shooters needs. If in the shooters mind we don't deliver we try to make it right. This is an expensive sport and nobody should use something they don't feel is right for them. 100% TRUE Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RandyLahey Posted April 23, 2015 Share Posted April 23, 2015 Just ordered some BBI 147gr 9mm and 180gr 40SW. Will compare to Xtremes and see what I think. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
accu9 Posted May 17, 2015 Share Posted May 17, 2015 It's the coating, and it's certainly not specific to BBI's (fantastic bullets by the way). I get the same smell from SNS, Bayou, Black and Blue, etc etc. ANY bullet coated with J&M Hi-Tek lube. I could not possibly care less about the smell of bullets when I'm shooting. My underarms smell 5x worse than that 3 stages into a match. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Watson Posted May 17, 2015 Share Posted May 17, 2015 Yes. Hi Tek coating stinks when shot, no way around it. I am still staying with BBI and will order more when needed. (Be a while, Chandler, I have some plated and some old "sealed moly" coated (ick) 9mm to shoot up and a good deal of wax lubed cast .45.) If you like the performance of coated but the Hi Tek smell bothers you, get a sampler of Falcon bullets, they say they have their own coating. As does Blue Bullets. BBI, Bayou, SNS, and Missouri use Hi Tek that I know of offhand. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zzt Posted May 17, 2015 Share Posted May 17, 2015 Falcon Falcoated bullets have no discernible smell when fired. I shoot a lot of them in practice and USPSA Limited major. They are sized at .401" vs .400 for the BBI, if that matters to you. Also, the bottom of the bullets is not coated, just a small ring around the edge. There is not leading or smoke; however, if you use them in an open pistol you'll probably be cleaning lead out of the comp after a while. I'm about to try it so I'll let you know. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Garmil Posted May 17, 2015 Share Posted May 17, 2015 Well, I finally got out to the range to test the BBIs again. This time it was with a perfectly clean gun and barrel. I even polished the inside of the barrel to remove any traces or lead, lube or copper. The BBIs smell bad when fired. There is no getting around that. I'll try again using N340, but I doubt it will make a difference. I'm going to load the rest up to use in outdoor plate and pin matches where you don't shoot more than ten rounds at a time. So now I'll be looking for another non-jacketed, non-plated, non-moly, non-Hi-Tek poly coated bullet to use. Any suggestions? The blue bullets Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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