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Coated bullets not created equally...


two shoes

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So I decided I wanted to give some coated bullets a try. I ordered samples from 2 different outfits. I had read in order to properly load I had to:

1. Ensure bell is wide enough not to scrape sides when seating

2. Reduce crimp so that no score/wipe was present when looking at puled bullets

 

I've loaded with jacketed Zero bullets and have been using MG HPs for a little while now with no real issues with case gauge, (MGs just a little proud) feeding or just running in general. 

 

The first coated bullet (red) worked really well, I could crimp them to .378 all of them gauged well, were completely coated with no signs of flaking/exposed lead. I could dent the bullet but not scrape off the coating with .377" crimp. The second set of bullets didn't pass visual inspection with the lube ring not coated, the tips flaking off and a really "thin" look to the coating. The bases looked questionable as far as coating is concerned. I contacted the manufacturer and said that I wasn't impressed. He explained that the missing coating at the lube ring and the flaking at the nose wasn't a concern as there is no contact with the barrel. I went ahead and started my die setup. I found I could load these as long as my mags could handle due to shape, but had to back the crimp off to .380" to get them not to scratch/scrape when pulled. They wont pass the case gauge either, not like others. All will plunk and turn freely so they will run, I'm just questioning the overall quality of the black ones.

 

Pretty sure I'll just run the major players/mfgrs after this. I'm not likely going to waste time with the "no-name" brands. PB, Bayou, Blue, SnS (in no particular order) will get my business. 

 

I know there are brand fanbois, and that is cool. I'm just looking for a good deal on a quality product.

 

And who doesn't like pics...

 

 

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42 minutes ago, kamber said:

Care to share the names of the "2 outfits"?

Not sure I want to "bash" a business... so I'll not publicly name the black ones... I haven't found them mentioned on here though (did a search on the whole site), so not a major player in any way. I hope to shoot them today or tomorrow. 

 

The red ones that loaded well and shot as accurately as I can tell are BadmanBullets. The coating seemed tough, but I didn't do a hammer or melt test. 

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Good topic.

 

Today I tested  J-Ames Bullets 135 https://jamesbullets.com/product/9-38-rnfpbb-crb-135gr-new/ and RMR 124 JHP in multiple guns.

 

I trapped the bullets to check for coating and distortion and what I found was this:

 

Chrono'ed at 10' from  Tanfoglio S2, Tanfoglio Limited Pro, Glock 19 Gen 5 and Glock 19 after market std. rifled barrel.

Bullet J-Ames 135 FP .356 3.45 grains Sport Pistol, OAL 1.125

 

Tanfoglio S2 average PF 128

Tanfoglio LP 130 PF

Glock 19 Gen 5 PF 126

Glock 19 After Market Barrel PF 126

 

In general the coating remained intact on all the guns, however I find in std rifled barrels there is always more coating erosion than poly. What I did observe in J-Ames bullets is more distortion from the trap (my trap uses ground rubber from tires, playground mulch) compared to Blues, ACME, Precision, and SnS coated lead. I suspect the manufacturer uses a softer lead alloy.

 

I was also surprised to see I did not gain any velocity with 3.45 grains J-Ames coated 135s compared to my 147 Precision Delta FMJs. 

 

I am most impressed with the RMR 124 JHP .355 bullets. Loaded at 1.08. They are easy to load, and at 3.8 grains of Sport Pistol made 138 PF. 

 

After this test my bullet preferences are:

 

 

9MM Pistol (minor PF) is still the same:

Precision Delta 147 FMJRN OAL 1.14. 3.45 grains SP.

147 FP Coated .356 from both ACME and Precision Bullet (Precision's coating is a bit more robust than ACME) OAL 1.13, 3.2+ grains SP.

 

9MM PCC:

124 RMR JHP

 

40SW:

180 RNFP Blue Bullets

 

45ACP:

230 RN Blue Bullets

 

For the $ the J-Ames bullets are a very good value. If you buy in bulk (10K) ACME and Precision Bullets are equal in value (around 6 cents each).

 

Hope this helps someone.

Edited by HesedTech
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If you’re just looking for cheap bullets IV found Everglades plated to be a great bullet and a great price. I think I got them for around $0.072/bullet when buying 3k at a time or something. That is cheaper than most of the big coated bullet brands. IV also found these to be much easier to load than the coated, as I’m sure you know after loading FMJ bullets. Although IV had decent luck with blues (only ran about a hundred or so) and literally just tried SNS for the first time without any incidents, but both of those are also more expensive as I’m sure you’ve seen.


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Completely unscientific perspective; after shooting tens of thousands of Acme and Gallant, I have found that the coated bullets from Precision Bullets are more accurate.  Significantly less number of ‘flyers’.

 

YMMV

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Another vote for Precision out of Kemp.  They are swaged from  industrial lead alloy.  Not cast from random scrap that was  ‘cheapest this week’.  I did a comparison on weight consistency of several coated Bullet manufacturers, and 2 jacketed.   PM me if you want a copy of the spreadsheet.   

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1 hour ago, Intheshaw1 said:

I'm no expert reloader but the pictures on the precision bullets show chipped coatings. I've only loaded acme so far since they are local but the coating looked a lot better.

The black bullets I posted ARE NOT Precision. They are an off brand that has yet to be mentioned on this site. 

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15 hours ago, mvmojo said:

I've loaded and shot 10's of thousands of Bayou Bullets without any problems.  

I'll second that! I've used them in 9mm, .38 Spl and .45 ACP. Their 9mm 120 grain TCG is one of the most accurate 9mm bullets I've used... and that includes accuracy testing a lot of factory loads. Bayou works for me!

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50 minutes ago, two shoes said:

The black bullets I posted ARE NOT Precision. They are an off brand that has yet to be mentioned on this site. 

I'm not saying you were, I was just going off the pictures on precisionbullets.com. the pictures show a pretty poor quality of coating

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15 minutes ago, two shoes said:

Ok, understood. I didn't want to misrepresent their product.

I'm sure their product is good, most are. Just kinda shocked those were the pictures they decided to use.

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I'm sure their product is good, most are. Just kinda shocked those were the pictures they decided to use.

I agree. IV looked at their site many times as so many people say they like their bullets, but every time I see those pictures I decide to spend my money elsewhere because I don’t really want to be buying bullets that look like that.


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Great post.  I’ve been using coated bullets from Acme & Bayou the past several years.  Just picked up 16k recently.   Both are very good.   I agree with GOF, the 120gr Bayou are crazy accurate.   Never using them before, I picked up 1k rounds to try in my 38 Super and took second Master at a PPC match.  I shot 16 rounds as a test just a few days before the match.   

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