dave33 Posted July 27, 2015 Share Posted July 27, 2015 Let me say this, Ive ordered a lot of bullets from a lot of different places but Ive never seen bullets shipped like this before. My order consisted of 3 sample packs, two in 9mm one in .40, in three different colors. I opened the first box to see this cover page on top of the bullets, and yes the two holes in the logo are test fired bullet holes: Lots of info there, but the crazy part was what was underneath. They ship their bullets out in plastic tubes, 11-15 bullets per tube depending on the size bullet. Looks like this: The bullets themselves arrived in good shape. My guess is they sit them all upright and use an electrostatic sprayer to powder coat them as the bottoms are not coated. That is total speculation though. Anyway the bullets are 124gr CN and 147gr FP in 9mm, and 170gr FP in .40 and look like this: All three sample pack boxes had the same type cover sheet listing the bullet specific info and had test fired holes in them. I can only assume these guys are really serious about getting their bullets to you in really good condition. I cant imagine how long it takes to stuff bullets into tubes, maybe they have a process that is more efficient than what I'm envisioning. Anyway I plan to load some up this week and hopefully shoot some on Wednesday, I will provide some results and chrono info afterward. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkCO Posted July 27, 2015 Share Posted July 27, 2015 Hmm, the bases not being coated is a drawback for sure. Gas cutting and lead exposure are some of the main reasons people opt for coated bullets over plated and jacketed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pasley Posted July 27, 2015 Share Posted July 27, 2015 I think gas cutting of the bullet base is mostly myth. I have recovered lost of cast bullets that still had lube on the base. If the gases aren't melting beeswax they sure aren't cutting lead. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peterthefish Posted July 27, 2015 Share Posted July 27, 2015 (edited) I think gas cutting of the bullet base is mostly myth. I have recovered lost of cast bullets that still had lube on the base. If the gases aren't melting beeswax they sure aren't cutting lead.It's not. Some lead from the base vaporizes - learned that the hard way shooting FMJs out of a compensated gun.I guess the packaging explains some of the cost, but seems like a wasted effort. All the coated I've shot are hard cast and I've never seen a bullet too damaged in transit to shoot. Edited July 27, 2015 by peterthefish Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pasley Posted July 27, 2015 Share Posted July 27, 2015 I was speaking in terms of peoples belief that gas cutting causes barrel leading. Don't know about the vaporization. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corey Posted July 27, 2015 Share Posted July 27, 2015 Seems excessive to me but pretty neat I guess. I've bought bullets plated, jacketed or coated and have never had an issue with them all just being tossed into the boxes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gng4life Posted July 27, 2015 Share Posted July 27, 2015 That is the strangest packaging I've seen. I wonder if you buy in bulk if they just put it in a box or do they use the tubes also? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dale Rader Posted July 27, 2015 Share Posted July 27, 2015 I am too much of a pack rat who doesn't throw anything away. I couldn't imagine how many plastic tubes and red ends I would have laying around if I used those bullets! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sfinney Posted July 27, 2015 Share Posted July 27, 2015 I'm guessing the tubes are for the sample packs........ Surely bulk would be different? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
biglou13 Posted July 27, 2015 Share Posted July 27, 2015 packaging like that aint cheap make me think......... why? they are a bit pricey....... and your 147 grn bulllets really arent 147 grn???? 150 or more???? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishsticks Posted July 27, 2015 Share Posted July 27, 2015 and your 147 grn bulllets really arent 147 grn???? 150 or more???? Cast bullet weight is a function of alloy and mould. Add in that the weight of the coating and actual will vary from nominal. The variance isn't a big deal as long as there isn't much variability bullet to bullet and you account for it if you are loading for PF. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dave33 Posted July 28, 2015 Author Share Posted July 28, 2015 (edited) So I loaded up some of the 9mm last night, came away with a few observations. The plastic tubes are a pain in the ass to get the bullets out of, I had to squeeze and bend and shake to get them out, and that was just the 9mm, I imagine the .40's will be a bigger pain. The bullets themselves are very nice but still have the usual dings and nicks you see on any cast/coated bullets, which I imagine are part of the casting/coating process as much as the shipping process, so I am not seeing any benefit to the tubing. I would rather see them drop the tubes and the prices, and go to more usual packaging. Some of the bullets had some extra flashing around the bases on one side, most likely due to their coating process. Didnt really effect loading, hopefully it wont be enough to effect the accuracy. The actual bullet weights are spot on with the information sheets numbers so it seems they do weigh a sample of each batch. My wife really likes the purple color, if that gets her excited about shooting more I will buy more of them for that reason alone. I loaded both the 124's and 147's with titegroup, SR7625, and N320, at loads I use for other similar style bullets so it will be easy to see how they compare to what I know works well. Plan to shoot these Wednesday, if not definately over the weekend, and will post chrono and accuracy report then. Edited July 28, 2015 by dave33 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pete627 Posted July 28, 2015 Share Posted July 28, 2015 (edited) I was looking at their web site and they say they use "creative" packaging to protect their bullets because they are soft lead. Anyhow ... it shows a standing 10% discount for competitive shooters and that makes the prices (that I saw) cheaper than many other "usual" sources (despite "all the extra stuff going on"). edit: makes the >>> 40 cal <<< bullets cheaper anyhow ... (wonder why the pricing spread between 9mm and 40???) Edited July 28, 2015 by pete627 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3djedi Posted July 28, 2015 Share Posted July 28, 2015 Can't wait to hear how these shoot! But the tubing is weird. Sent from my LG-D850 using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JRM83 Posted July 29, 2015 Share Posted July 29, 2015 Prices are high, uncoated base (HUGE drawback), and ridiculous packaging. I can't see why I would want to buy these. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chills1994 Posted July 29, 2015 Share Posted July 29, 2015 Yeah, the plastic tubes are weird, and overkill. When I was shipping out bullets, I would glue the bottom of the flat rate box shut with Gorilla (polyurethane) glue. Since I had a lot of empty dog food bags around, I put the bullets in the dog food bags, spun the bags around to form like a neck, and then used rebar tie wire to cinch down on the neck, and then put the bag into the flat rate box. Then I used a bunch of that 3M strapping tape on all the corners. I think the dog food bags are actually made out of tyvek, aka housewrap, so it is tough stuff. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnnyD Posted July 29, 2015 Share Posted July 29, 2015 I've bee interested to hear how these are. I cast and coat my own. My bases aren't coated and I have no leading troubles. I get a smidgen of leading in my 9 after several hundred rounds...a fraction of the amount I've gotten with commercial coated bullets. I don't believe the uncoated bases are that big of a deal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
v1911 Posted July 29, 2015 Share Posted July 29, 2015 (edited) Uncoated bases don't lead to leading. One of the benefits of coated bullets are that you can shoot them in large volumes indoors without all the lead vapor spiking your blood lead levels. The indoor matches I hoot don't permit lead cast. Coated ok. Edited July 29, 2015 by v1911 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkCO Posted July 30, 2015 Share Posted July 30, 2015 FMJ which have exposed based DO have gas cutting and WILL have lead in the expelled gases. I did extensive testing on the subject many years ago. Yes, much less lead in the bore, but still some with exposed lead on the base of the bullet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dave33 Posted July 30, 2015 Author Share Posted July 30, 2015 So yesterday I had a chance to shoot the Bullet Dudes rounds I had loaded up. I loaded up test rounds using titegroup, SR7625, N320, and one batch of the 147's using e3. When I am trying out a new load I try to keep all things as consistent as possible. The first 10 I run over the chrono to make sure the load is doing about what Im expecting, and then I fire rounds from a rest out to 25 yds to check the accuracy. I do this at my gun club, use the same bench and the same pistol rest, shooting targets stapled to the same places on the target backer, again, trying to keep things as consistent as possible short or using a Ransom Rest. Unfortunately I didnt get the results I was hoping for as far as accuracy goes. All rounds were shot out of my XDM 5.25, not a bullseye pistol but pretty accurate. The 125 gr loads were the worst, had at least double the flyers, and groups about 50% larger than usual. The 147's were better, but not as good as most other coated lead I shoot. All the 125 gr loads were loaded to mid 130's power factors, the 147's were loaded to the low 130's power factor except the e3, it was loaded to the low 140's PF range. The standard deviations were mid to upper teens, which is higher than what I usually see. For perspective, the most accurate load I have for this gun is 124 Precision Delta JHP and Hornady HAP's, off a rest they shoot just under a 2" group, almost never a flyer. The best coated lead bullets I shoot are generally 3 to 3 1/2" groups, with the occasional flyer. The best I got out of the bullet dudes with the 125's was with the SR7625 load, it was about a 5" group, with the 147's the best load was also with SR7625 at about 4". Im going to load them both a little hotter and a little softer and try again to see if things tighten up, but right now Im not too happy with them. I did have a chance to do one load with the 170 .40's. Wanted to do more but just ran out of time. It was with titegroup loaded to about a 158 power factor. My .40 cal gun is a CZ P09 and I just put a Burris FF3 on top of it. Unfortunately the Bullet Dude bullets didnt impress me in this caliber either. I made up some similar weight loads to get sighted in with using some random 180gr plated FP bullets I had lying around, Ive had them so long I dont even remember what brand they are. Anyway, after Im all sighted in, shooting less than 2" groups with the plated rounds, I shot the Bullet Dudes and got about 3 1/2 in. groups. Maybe with some more development I can get them shooting better, but right now Im not impressed. I had no trouble with leading, wasnt expecting any as I have been loading coated bullets a long time now and never have before. Did notice just a little smoke with all the loads but nothing to be concerned about. Unfortunately loads that work well with other coated bullets I use didnt work that well with the bullet dudes, maybe with more experimentation they will get there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gng4life Posted July 30, 2015 Share Posted July 30, 2015 Thanks for an excellent write-up! Sent from the range Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3djedi Posted July 31, 2015 Share Posted July 31, 2015 yep. Great write up! I hope you can get them dialed in a little better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
biglou13 Posted July 31, 2015 Share Posted July 31, 2015 (edited) Great write thanks... Thing is each bullet is going to have it sweet spot.... Powder load speed jump etc etc. I sure you'll be able to find a sweet spot. I like test for the MOA. Minute of A zone accuracy Or just ladder and shoot for groups as long as you in safe zone. I trying not to be so anal with my testing . I'll post another thread with my results my test Edited July 31, 2015 by biglou13 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bfalcon00 Posted August 1, 2015 Share Posted August 1, 2015 Thanks for the in depth write up. I know I really enjoyed the read and am willing to bet others did as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmorris Posted August 1, 2015 Share Posted August 1, 2015 I would think packaging them like that would gain customers, at least all the folks that have bullet feeders without collators. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now