Which bullet and why

[TBeazlie]

There is much talk about bullets in the forums, but since I am trying to simplify my shooting life I'm limiting myself to the 45 acp for the foreseeable future. I'm shooting Precision 200SWC in the single stack 1911. I am thinking about revolver also but understand 230 rn is the way to go. Precision's 230 is rnfp. The other molycoated suppliers are back ordered. I can cast my own for practice, but too much smoke for match or indoor use. I read bad things about plated in the reloading section and jacketed is in cost. Thought I would see what the revolver gurus think.

Thanks.

[cas]

I've been shooting plated, Berry's. I bought some Berry's because I got tired of aiming at the center of the smoke cloud with the lead bullets I was using. This was in my SIG P220. About that time I started having jams with my SIG P220, something that's never happened with the 3 I've owned. After ruining a few matches with the crash and burn jams, I tracked it down to setback from lack of crimp / neck tension on the Berry's, due to their inconsistent sizes. Sooo.. they got stuck away.

When I started shooting the revolver it dawned on me... "Hey dummy... there's no feed ramp for them to crash into, use them up." They've worked great for me in the 625 and I have no complaints as far as accuracy goes. I found my reloads were faster for with them, for a few reasons. They're slicker, my ammo is slicker (cleaner, lube free) and my gun stayed clean through out the match, and more willing to swallow the throw moon clips. I don't doubt I COULD keep my ammo/gun just as slick, smooth, clean with lead... but it would take more effort on my part, more effort that's just not going to happen.

I am where you are now though, as the last of the Berry's are about to run out. (At the time I swore I'd never buy them again, and won't for the semi auto. But they are working well for the revolver... but they're not "cheap" anymore.

Edited September 14, 2008 by cas

[Greg Q]

Plated are only bad when you are pushing more than 1100fps. Zero FMJ bullets are the way to go and are cheaper than the plated I have found. They are very consistant.

[vrmn1]

Try different lubes with you cast bullets.

What lube are you using for the bullets you cast?

I am using Whites Label Lube for mine and the smoke is much reduced but I am going to try one of their other lubes that is supposed to make less smoke.

I shoot my own cast bullets almost exclusively. Indoor and out. Yeah folks fuss a bit but they get over it. But I don't really have any problem with smoke preventing my from seeing targets.

I use the Lyman 230gr rn bullet for th emost part now but the Lee truncated cone bullet works great as well. I have shot about 20000 of them.

And since I don't clean my guns or care how dirty they are that is not a problem either.

Really I brush the bore and clean under the ejector from time to time.

They only time I use jacketed or plated bullets is for big matches and I am starting to rethink that.

Edited September 14, 2008 by vrmn1

[Toolguy]

If you cast your own, the White Label bullet lubes with Carnuba wax are the best I know of. They keep the bore very clean and

are very low smoke when shooting.

[Carmoney]

I used Rainier plated bullets for several years with good results--but after an incident at the Summer Blast where one came apart in my barrel, spraying several close targets with a thousand little pieces of shrapnel--I'm done with plated bullets for good. Jacketed bullets are no more expensive than plated bullets these days. So now I'm using cast 230s for local matches and jacketed (currently Zero brand) bullets for big matches.

Edited September 14, 2008 by Carmoney

[Bwana Six-Gun]

I'm no expert, but I have used a variety of bullets over the last six years in my revolvers. Accuracy and function was fine with all of them, but cost became a factor. For all my local matches, I use Billybullets 230 moly coated. They have a nice pointy nose since they are cast rather than swaged like the Precision and don't have the flat point. I probably never would have tried them, but Dave was so back-ordered a couple of years ago I had to go elsewhere. For the big matches, I use Precision Delta 230 FMJ. Having said all that, I looked at some bullets at Tulsa during the LPR Nationals from Bulletworks that are cast 230 RN, but used a lube rather than moly coating. The price is good enough that I could be switching if they shoot well and the smoke is not too excessive.

My .02. YMMV

[David Sinko]

Years ago I loaded some ammo (at least 200, I think) for a friend who had a Dan Wesson .445 SuperMag. They were either Rainier or Berry plated 300 gr. something or other and I know I loaded them at full throttle. Back then I didn't realize you weren't supposed to do that with plated bullets. To the best of my knowledge, none of them came apart before they hit the target and all was well, despite that SuperMag's being one of the poorest quality revolvers I have ever seen.

Dave Sinko

[colbyjack]

+1 on the white label lube, im runnin the BAC from him, just switched to the carnuba red from him. great guy, excellent service and top quality lube below "other" dealer cost. -chris

[vrmn1]

+1 on the white label lube, im runnin the BAC from him, just switched to the carnuba red from him. great guy, excellent service and top quality lube below "other" dealer cost. -chris

I am using BAC now myself but I think I am going to try the Carnauba as it is supposed to make less smoke.

The BAC ain't bad.

[underlug]

There is much talk about bullets in the forums, but since I am trying to simplify my shooting life I'm limiting myself to the 45 acp for the foreseeable future. I'm shooting Precision 200SWC in the single stack 1911. I am thinking about revolver also but understand 230 rn is the way to go. Precision's 230 is rnfp. The other molycoated suppliers are back ordered. I can cast my own for practice, but too much smoke for match or indoor use. I read bad things about plated in the reloading section and jacketed is in cost. Thought I would see what the revolver gurus think.

Thanks.

"The other molycoated suppliers are back ordered"

I just ordered from revolver shooter and match sponsor Rudy Warren at BillyBullets last week and have my bullets.

[EEH]

10-4 on zero bullets love them have been shooting them for several years..

[colbyjack]

cant tell a diference but the red you will need a heater. and the red isnt as sticky for storage. i like them both. i run clays for powder not to bad. -chris

[Revopop]

I've used Berry's and Rainier plated with good results, but I got 1000 Precision Delta FMJs to try out and they worked just as well. I got in on a group with a few other local guys, and they cost $25 less for 1000 than Rainiers from Midway. I never had a problem with the plated, but FMJs make me a little less nervous and hell, they're cheaper!

I think the next ones I'm going to try are the 230gr. Billy Bullets.

Edited September 15, 2008 by Glockopop

[Round_Gun_Shooter]

There is much talk about bullets in the forums, but since I am trying to simplify my shooting life I'm limiting myself to the 45 acp for the foreseeable future. I'm shooting Precision 200SWC in the single stack 1911. I am thinking about revolver also but understand 230 rn is the way to go. Precision's 230 is rnfp. The other molycoated suppliers are back ordered. I can cast my own for practice, but too much smoke for match or indoor use. I read bad things about plated in the reloading section and jacketed is in cost. Thought I would see what the revolver gurus think.

Thanks.

Not a guru JAFRS I use Precision bullets with Clays powder to keep the smoke and the cost down. If shooting IDPA Low light, I have a Montana Gold bullet load for low flash and low smoke

[TBeazlie]

Not a guru JAFRS I use Precision bullets with Clays powder to keep the smoke and the cost down. If shooting IDPA Low light, I have a Montana Gold bullet load for low flash and low smoke

So threre is no problem with the flat point causing any hang ups on the reloads? In a previous life I used the 185 rnfp in 40 s&w from precision and thought they were great but, I was put off by the flat point for revolcers for the above mentioned concern.

[Carmoney]

Back when I shot my 646 more, I messed with several different bullet shapes, and I can tell you that nothing else reloads as consistently as a true round-nose bullet profile. Hollowpoints and flat-points will give you trouble on reloads, at least on occasion.

That's one of the real downsides of shooting a 10mm/.40 revolver, in my view--there are so few choices out there when you're looking for a round-nose bullet.

[Round_Gun_Shooter]

I really don't know why they describe their bullet as round nose flat point. The flat is the very tip of the bullet. Sides are as close to round nose as they can be and to directly answer your question, I have had no problem with these bullets on reloads.

Truncated cone is another story.

[Tom E]

I'm on my 5th case of Precision's bullets. All I've been shooting lately except for JHP's for pins. The RNF's don't drop in quite as consistently as the Remington 230 FMJ's I still have some of, but plenty good for as well as I usually shoot. I haven't seen any buildup of the coating, in the barrel, or forcing cone, or anywhere else as another poster opined. I clean the cylinder before every match and the barrel about once a year.

[needknees]

I've used Berry's and Rainier plated with good results, but I got 1000 Precision Delta FMJs to try out and they worked just as well. I got in on a group with a few other local guys, and they cost $25 less for 1000 than Rainiers from Midway. I never had a problem with the plated, but FMJs make me a little less nervous and hell, they're cheaper!

I think the next ones I'm going to try are the 230gr. Billy Bullets.

I don't think I'm going to use Precision Delta bullets again. They were fairly cheap on that group buy *but* both the 9mm and .45s I got have not been very consistent. The .45s are substantially better than the 9s but I was getting pretty big variations in COL when loading with them. It took awhile to narrow it down but I found out the bullets had HUGELY different profiles and lengths. Not great for consistency. They do shoot well though.

Next time I buy FMJs for match loads I'm going to go with either Montana Golds or Zero bullets if I can find them. One thing I've noticed about the MG bullets is they seem to run slower than other brands - probably not the greatest thing when I'm already pushing pressure limits with Clays (Carmoney - I chrono'd some more match loads with 4.1gr Clays at 1.260" COL and got 172PF, but I was getting the slightest hint of primer flattening. Not worried *yet* but it's getting up there.) However, all the Montana Gold bullets I've shot have been extremely consistent. And they're "reasonable"... but what FMJ bullet is reasonably priced these days?

For steel loads and most of my other shooting I'm running a 230gr lead round nose from Missouri Bullet Co. They're pretty dang nice for lead bullets and are very decently priced.

[Bill Sahlberg]

There is much talk about bullets in the forums, but since I am trying to simplify my shooting life I'm limiting myself to the 45 acp for the foreseeable future. I'm shooting Precision 200SWC in the single stack 1911. I am thinking about revolver also but understand 230 rn is the way to go. Precision's 230 is rnfp. The other molycoated suppliers are back ordered. I can cast my own for practice, but too much smoke for match or indoor use. I read bad things about plated in the reloading section and jacketed is in cost. Thought I would see what the revolver gurus think.

Thanks.

I have shot Montana Gold bullets since 1994 with no problems as others described on this Forum. I just shot the Area 1 very poorly, however, I won the Standards shooting a .38 Colt Short with 130 gr .356 RN at 1100 fps in minor. Accuracy and speed are part of the game, I am just weak on the power portion. I shoot these because I can purchase almost twice as many as I can the 45 acp 230 gr RN. Overall, Montana Gold may cost a few bucks more per case than the competition but their accuracy is second to none and they support the shooting sports like no other.

I find it odd that we put so much money into guns, gear, and traveling to matches but want the cheapest piece of lead that we can buy? This is likened to a 3,000 HP dragster wanting to break 300MPH but the nitro-metane alcohal costs too much so they just buy unleaded with 10% ethanol. Now they start complaining that they cannot reach 300MPH, what do you think needs to change in this analogy?

[TBeazlie]

I just received my order from Billy Bullets for the 230gr rn. He must have mailed them before he even got my check. Shot some yesterday and they seem fine. I can't believe how slippery they are. They keep slipping out of my fingers.

[dwarren9]

thats how he is I shoot his 160 RN 38s ICORE 230RN 45s USPSA . They shoot great though both of my rev.

[the Cod Father]

At th moment I'm shooting a lead 230gn RN that I cast myself and still use the liquid alox lube . The only time I had any smoke issues was when I was using up some older Win 231 powder . I was glad the wind was across the range and not down or I would have never made a second shot on target.