ES13Raven Posted August 31, 2015 Share Posted August 31, 2015 Besides lower cost, do coated bullets (Bayou, BBI, IbejiHeads etc.) have any advantages over plated or HPCB bullets? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve RA Posted August 31, 2015 Share Posted August 31, 2015 More accurate, in some guns. A little more difficult to load properly - for some people. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mahlsan Posted August 31, 2015 Share Posted August 31, 2015 I have found that with coated I need less powder to make power factor. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mahlsan Posted August 31, 2015 Share Posted August 31, 2015 I have found that with coated I need less powder to make power factor. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nwhpfan Posted August 31, 2015 Share Posted August 31, 2015 For me, coated was as accurate but needed less powder. I prefer coated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dave33 Posted August 31, 2015 Share Posted August 31, 2015 (edited) I agree with the above that you need less powder to get to the same velocity, and in many cases they are more accurate. I also like coated more because most manufactures have a sizing option available. Makes it easier to slug your barrel and order the appropriate size. Probably what makes them more accurate. Edited August 31, 2015 by dave33 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greg2648 Posted August 31, 2015 Share Posted August 31, 2015 SnS 147gr coated. 3.3gr N320. Clean and no smoke. Very accurate. Under an 1" at 15yds. Never looked back. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moonman16 Posted August 31, 2015 Share Posted August 31, 2015 greg2648, In what firearm? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trouble Posted August 31, 2015 Share Posted August 31, 2015 After running Xtreme plated for 2 years, I gave coated bullets a try. Groups tighted up quite a bit and barrels are just as clean. Not going back to plated anytime soon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mdm3 Posted August 31, 2015 Share Posted August 31, 2015 I switched to coated bullets from the Blue Bullets a couple years ago and haven't looked back. The new groove-less 180s with either N320 or WST is my main load for my 2011. Clean and accurate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bowenbuilt Posted August 31, 2015 Share Posted August 31, 2015 I switched to ACME's coated bullets last February and in most of my guns I am getting groups as good and in some cases better than jacketed. I am not going back to plated or jacketed as long as they are in business. Less powder, more accurate and just as clean shooting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MilkMyDuds Posted August 31, 2015 Share Posted August 31, 2015 Less powder usually means less felt recoil. I have tried MG, PD (both FMJ/CMJ), Xtreme, Berrys (both plated) and Bayou (coated). Now I only shoot Bayou 147gr FP. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greg2648 Posted September 1, 2015 Share Posted September 1, 2015 greg2648, In what firearm? This particular gun in an XDm 5.25. I tried several loads before settling on this load. Believe it or not, during testing I went 1/10gr at a time. 8 shot groups off a bench. Very soft and very accurate. Good luck. Greg. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AJE Posted September 1, 2015 Share Posted September 1, 2015 I get just as good accuracy with coated as I do full metal jacket in my factory Glock barrels. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rev1911 Posted September 1, 2015 Share Posted September 1, 2015 If you shoot indoors, the smell from coated bullets can be a bit annoying. Some are worse than others. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alaskapopo Posted September 1, 2015 Share Posted September 1, 2015 Besides lower cost, do coated bullets (Bayou, BBI, IbejiHeads etc.) have any advantages over plated or HPCB bullets? I hate plated bullets due to poor and inconsistent accuracy in my experience. Bayou bullets on the other hand are cast bullets with a hard coating that don't smoke. Whats not to like. More accurate and cheaper. I would rather shoot cast lead than plated. Pat Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ferg34 Posted September 1, 2015 Share Posted September 1, 2015 I started out using berrys plated but wasn't thrilled with the accuracy. Started following some of bowenbuilts posts and tried both acme and blue bullets (aje turned me on to those after seeing him tear up some stages). Right now through trial and error I'm set on blue bullets in 147 gr 9mm and 180 gr in 40, both using vvn320. For 124 gr I actually prefer the acme lipstick bullets over titegroup. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LeviSS Posted September 1, 2015 Share Posted September 1, 2015 (edited) I'm using plated right now. The coated are very appealing because of the price and less powder usage. How do you come up with load data? I've seen no coated loads in loading manuals. I've heard people say that they can be harder to load. What precautions need to be taken with coated? Why do bayou bullets have a groove? From what I understand, you don't use lube. Does it affect anything? Edited September 1, 2015 by LeviSS Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MilkMyDuds Posted September 1, 2015 Share Posted September 1, 2015 I am curious about the groove too. Bayou does offer 135 and 160 without groove. I am guessing the 147 mold was working so well for the customers and they don't want to change something that works flawlessly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dave33 Posted September 1, 2015 Share Posted September 1, 2015 I'm using plated right now. The coated are very appealing because of the price and less powder usage. How do you come up with load data? I've seen no coated loads in loading manuals. I've heard people say that they can be harder to load. What precautions need to be taken with coated? Why do bayou bullets have a groove? From what I understand, you don't use lube. Does it affect anything? Use cast lead load data, after all that is what you are shooting, cast lead with a thin layer of lube all around it instead of a groove full of it. Coated lead usually runs just a tick slower than straight lead so sometimes you need an extra tenth of a grain of powder to get the same velocity of straight lead. You load them just like cast lead, a little extra bell on the case mouth so you dont shave the coating, no crimp, just remove the flair. The coated lead with lube grooves is simply a case of the bullet manufacturer using a mold designed for traditional lube, it doesnt really affect anything load wise. The newer designs that dont have a groove are really to benefit the guys doing the coating. They have less angles to work around and are therefore easier to coat. I use both groove and groove-less designs, both with excellant results. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AzShooter Posted September 2, 2015 Share Posted September 2, 2015 With so many companies to choose from you can get just about any color you want. I find this easy to control what loads I'm using just by looking at the rounds. Eggleston munitions has the most colors. Bayou shoot great, along with Blue Bullets. Xtreme makes a find jacketed round and Acme makes a decent red color (LIPSTICK) bullet. I'm sure there are more companies out there. The biggest difference is the cost of shipping. After doing alot of testing I've found coated bullets have less smoke than lead and shoot better than the jacketed bullets I've been trying. They seem to grab the rifling better. Also, my barrel is much cleaner with no leading in it at the velocities I'm using ( usually making minor) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robport Posted September 2, 2015 Share Posted September 2, 2015 Maybe it's the gun. Mine has a very tight chamber and the best I've shot through it so far have been the Xtreme plated. No smell...no smoke. I've heard about accuracy problems, but my testing hasn't shown that at all. One small benefit is that I can reuse them if I have to pull them and I haven't been able to with coated. That hasn't been much of an issue since I switched presses though. The Xtreme and coated all shoot pretty much the same out of my gun, at least within my capability to shoot them (not counting some problems I had with one brand). I'm willing to switch for greater than 10% price shipped though, if they aren't objectionable to me...so right now, it's Lucky 13 powder coated (approx. 20%). A local gunsmith told me he could get me precision slightly cheaper in quantities of 3000, so I might check them out when I get close to running out. I'm not sponsored, so I have no reason to be brand loyal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iGun Posted September 2, 2015 Share Posted September 2, 2015 SnS 147gr coated. 3.3gr N320. Clean and no smoke. Very accurate. Under an 1" at 15yds. Never looked back. This is exactly the load I worked up for my G34. I found the 147s to be more accurate than the 125s. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alaskapopo Posted September 3, 2015 Share Posted September 3, 2015 I'm using plated right now. The coated are very appealing because of the price and less powder usage. How do you come up with load data? I've seen no coated loads in loading manuals. I've heard people say that they can be harder to load. What precautions need to be taken with coated? Why do bayou bullets have a groove? From what I understand, you don't use lube. Does it affect anything? Just use cast bullet loading data. As for why they have a groove they are just molds from cast bullets so older shapes are retained. Not needed but it does not hurt anything either. Pat Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mannparks Posted January 28, 2016 Share Posted January 28, 2016 This is my home brew's first attempt . Shake & bake. 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