Smokey Masterblaster Bullets

[stubbicatt]

Well, now I know why MasterBlasters bullets recommend a powder a little slower than Titegroup with their bullets.

The smoke cloud yesterday at the range in rapid fire was quite thick. I didn't notice any unusual fouling from the use of these coated bullets, and they shot quite well.

I guess I begin the search for VV N320 or the like if I intend to continue to use these bullets. They do have the virtuous distinction of being relatively inexpensive, sort of like your date being relatively chaste I guess...

[sfinney]

They reccommend Ramshot Competiton or N320 on their website. I think at some point in the past they use to advocate Titegroup if I remember correctly, but that seems to have changed.

[LPatterson]

Try WST or American Select both are cheaper than VV N320 and easier to find than Ramshot Competition at Least here in Montana.

[revchuck]

Try WST or American Select both are cheaper than VV N320 and easier to find than Ramshot Competition at Least here in Montana.

Careful on the American Select. I tried it with their .38 caliber 150 grain bullets in my S&W M14 and it fouled the barrel and chambers so badly that rounds didn't want to enter the chambers after about 200 rounds...and it was a 300+ round match. It took a solid hour (and a fresh .40 cal chamber brush in an electric drill) to clean the cylinder.

Lots of folks use these bullets with good results - they just don't use American Select.

[LPatterson]

Try WST or American Select both are cheaper than VV N320 and easier to find than Ramshot Competition at Least here in Montana.

Careful on the American Select. I tried it with their .38 caliber 150 grain bullets in my S&W M14 and it fouled the barrel and chambers so badly that rounds didn't want to enter the chambers after about 200 rounds...and it was a 300+ round match. It took a solid hour (and a fresh .40 cal chamber brush in an electric drill) to clean the cylinder.

Lots of folks use these bullets with good results - they just don't use American Select.

It may have been the caliber more than the American Select because during the break-in of my new 625 I went through 750 rounds without cleaning and no problem with chambering but I had so much cylinder drag that it not rotate.

[Nemo]

FWIW, I've had very good results with moly-coated bullets and Ramshot competition. I don't use MasterBlasters but I've used the powder with Billy and Precision bullets.

[boo radley]

I just bought a mini-case of .40 180gr MasterBlasters, and 1k of the 200gr .45acp MasterBlasters....

With Titegroup, they smoke like crazy. I have a lb of n320, and will try that, this weekend.

The .45's shot ahead of "Clays" were fine, vis-a-vis smokiness, at an indoor range, too.

The bullet seems accurate, and the price is right. I really want them to work. I did notice needing to be sensitive to the 'bell' in the case, from the expansion die, as these bullets are both slippery and seem a bit top-heavy.

Edited March 27, 2007 by boo radley

[walangkatapat]

Try WST or American Select both are cheaper than VV N320 and easier to find than Ramshot Competition at Least here in Montana.

There is isn't any of the Ramshot Competition here in town, so Id have to order it and pay the ridiculous hazmat fee.

Is WST really comparable to Competition?

[LPatterson]

Ramshot lists Competition as 16th on their burn rate chart with VV N320 as 15th & WST as 18th. While burn rates should never be used as a basis for reloading they can provide a general guideline. Ball park testing has shown that ejected cases loaded with TiteGroup are hotter than cases loaded with Clays.

Edited March 28, 2007 by LPatterson

[shooterbenedetto]

has anyone try IMR pwder with this bullets???

[big_kahuna]

I've tried the following powders with both moly and jacketed 180's:

titegroup

WST

WSF

Universal Clays

231

Tested in my G35 and G22 (both guns equipped with KKM barrels). COAL 1.135 and crimped to .420.

For the moly coated bullets, I like 231 best so far. At 4.5 grains with the G35 (4.6 grains with the G22), I am getting an average of 170 PF (945 fps) and excellent accuracy. This is well below book max and should be very safe (YMMV, and not everyone feels this way...). It also had the lowest SD and ES, but I'm not sure if that really matters in a practical sense. A little dirty, but definitely tolerable... slightly smokey (not nearly as smokey as TG). I've heard that 231 is somewhat temp sensitive, and will re-evaluate performance in winter and summer. More testing to follow.

For jacketed bullets, I like TG best so far. Accurate. Consistent. Soft enough. Clean enough. Meters great. Makes PF with a comfortable cushion before hitting max load.

Other powders that I plan to try: Ramshot Zip for moly, and N320 for jacketed. Lots of happy customers have posted on these powders.

Edited to clarify charge weight and velocity differences for G22 and G35. Retested and verified results today, 73 degrees F, humidity 8%, 2500 ASL elevation.

Edited April 13, 2007 by big_kahuna