Lead or jacketed now?

[GrumpyOne]

If you are anywhere near Florida's space coast, look up Space Coast Bullets. Last time I bought from them, I think I paid $36 per 500 180grn .40 S&W trn cn leads. It is a bit smoky from the wax they use for lube, but I've put dang near 20,000 through my .40's with no ill effects. They are in Melbourne, FL.

[G-ManBart]

Not sure why but at 1.165 OAL 4.5 grs tight group barely makes 165 and thats with all matched once fired brass.

Hornady HAPS. 180 fmj hollowpoint. My all time favorite bullet. weight was right on the money, very accurate, easy to load and make pf all day long with 4.3 grs of Tight Group. Any one know where I can buy some ?

It's because of the profile. The HAP (and most any hollow point) will use more case volume at the same OAL, which boost pressures and velocities. So, you'll normally need a couple tenths when switching from JHP to FMJ and the PD profile probably makes the difference more pronounced. R,

[DJM3808]

I'm going back to cast bullets in .40 / 180 grn for a while as soon as the Montana Gold are used up. I used to use D&J 180 grn TC before they went away, 4.8 grains of WST will make major PF under a cast bullet compared to 5.2 with the MG jacketed. I'm looking at Missouri Bullet, there about 1/2 the cost of jacketed and I'll see if they lead up the barrel or smoke too much.

[mike4045]

I am using Bulletworks in my 40 and shooting up all the old stock I had loaded. I just got in some Precision black bullets for my production gun. I also loaded up the last of my zero bullets. I have some MG 9mm stocked up. I am shooting whatever is cheapest right now. Hopefully the prices will come down before I have to order again. I am leaning towards Black bullets Intl from Tom Drazy when I do order more.

Mike

[megathumpzilla]

If you are anywhere near Florida's space coast, look up Space Coast Bullets. Last time I bought from them, I think I paid $36 per 500 180grn .40 S&W trn cn leads. It is a bit smoky from the wax they use for lube, but I've put dang near 20,000 through my .40's with no ill effects. They are in Melbourne, FL.

I got some from them recently, they feel better to me than some others I have used, besides the great prices

[Bongo Boy]

For me, cost is the factor. The choices were: Shoot lead...or quit shooting.

A no-brainer for me.

I'd have to take that one step further and said the choices were cast my own...or quit shooting. At the prices cited above for bullets, my ammo cost would more than double. I'd like to get the price per round down to about what you're seeing for bullets alone. To do that, I'd have to get brass cheaper than I am right now...recovery of my own brass is at maybe 50% or so, even at the indoor range.

I'm at about .15/rd right now for .45 ACP, and with just 500 rds of cast bullets thru the Sig, I can see no going back. I'd like to figure out the smoke problem, but I think it can be reduced significantly by experimenting with bullet lubes a little bit.

Sorry for the slight divert of the thread, but I hadn't expressed an opinion on anything yet today.

[GunslingerDK]

Jacketed bullets have become quite expensive in Denmark the last few years. You can't hardly find any jacketed under .20 a pop, plated are about .10! I'm a student and shoot 3-400 rounds a week on average. So for me this was also quite simple, quit shooting or start casting (and no, shooting less is not an option)! After I started casting I started LOVING casting! I also shoot a lot of revolver, preferably my Freedom Arms Model 83 in .357. I use 180gr bullets for this one. Hornady 180gr XTP now cost 70 CENTS, and a mold is $125 so you do the math!

Shooting cast in an automatic can be somewhat of a challenge. When exchanging a jacket bullet with a cast one you throw a lot of variables into the equation, alloy composition, alloy hardness and lube, and then of course there are the usual such as powder, primers etc. But once you've figured out what your gun likes you actually can shoot lead without leading your barrel. Many people don't believe this. The reason for this is that if they once in their lives bought commercial cast and it leaded their barrel thay think lead doesn't work period... this is not true. Commercial cast is usually sized to fit the majority bore sizes, and it is usually very soft. But if you for instance, as I, have a barrel that measures .356 then a .355 or a .356 cast bullet will be to small thus causing gasses to blow by the bullets and melting the sides. You need to size 001" over bore diameter in order to get it to seal properly. And you will need a fairly hard bullet to reach major and in some guns also minor, depends on the gun.

I use 3 3-cavity molds simultaniously and put out about 2000 bullets in 4 hours, and I can size 600 bullets per hour. And that is not a lot of work considering that commercial ammo is about $14-16 per 50 rounds and I make the same 50 rounds for $3! Once you have a mold you don't have to worry about your favorite bullet going out of stock or out of production.

Oh... and as far as accuracy goes.... lead is just as accurate as jacketed. Lead vs. barrel is a lot let friction than jacketed vs. barrel, so shooting lead doesn't wear the barrel as much as jacketed. Due to the less friction you can push the bullets to equal velocity using less powder. But I can see how smoke from the lube can cause problems in the summer...

I only have experience casting for 9mm, .38 special and .357 mag. Many of the rules here also apply to .40 and so on. But really, experimentation is the key!!

[G-ManBart]

Oh... and as far as accuracy goes.... lead is just as accurate as jacketed. Lead vs. barrel is a lot let friction than jacketed vs. barrel, so shooting lead doesn't wear the barrel as much as jacketed. Due to the less friction you can push the bullets to equal velocity using less powder. But I can see how smoke from the lube can cause problems in the summer...

I'd have to disagree with what I've seen in my guns and what the very best are using for matches that require the most accuracy. Lead can be pretty darned good, but it doesn't normally equal the best jacketed bullets in autos with barrels designed for jacketed bullets. I've shot a ton of lead in .38 Super and even the best I could get weren't as good as even Rem/Win .356" 130gr FMJs.

Bullet to bore friction causes very little barrel wear and it doesn't cause the type that's the major factor in accuracy loss. Hot, expanding gases are what cause the bad kind of barrel wear. Barrels should be rated in pounds of powder burned rather than rounds fired, because that's really what makes a difference. Lead bullets usually obturate quicker and seal to the bore better so you get less gas blowby and that will slow the wear rate somewhat, but more likely it's that folks aren't usually pushing lead bullets very fast, so they're not using large quantities of slow powders. R,

[kevin c]

I shoot plated in practice at a cost of about $30 a thousand.

Of course, that's through the .22 conversion

If I had the budget, I'd shoot my match MG loads in practice. But since I have other needs for the money, it's the .22, and whatever bullets I have around for practice. That used to be lead, but that got too messy for me. Now, if I load practice centerfire ammo, it's moly.

[The Antichrome]

I've been spoiled by using MG JHP's.

But I'm considering switching to plated. $71 per 1k

But dang, the hard cast lead are so cheap from http://www.thebulletworks.net/default.asp

[G-ManBart]

I've been spoiled by using MG JHP's.

But I'm considering switching to plated. $71 per 1k

But dang, the hard cast lead are so cheap from http://www.thebulletworks.net/default.asp

Where are you getting them for $71/k? The cheapest I've seen for any of the brands mentioned was $80/K for a 115grFP.

[The Antichrome]

I've been spoiled by using MG JHP's.

But I'm considering switching to plated. $71 per 1k

But dang, the hard cast lead are so cheap from http://www.thebulletworks.net/default.asp

Where are you getting them for $71/k? The cheapest I've seen for any of the brands mentioned was $80/K for a 115grFP.

http://www.thebulletworks.net/09-124-PL-RN...4%20pl%20rn.htm

[bkeeler]

I've been spoiled by using MG JHP's.

But I'm considering switching to plated. $71 per 1k

But dang, the hard cast lead are so cheap from http://www.thebulletworks.net/default.asp

Where are you getting them for $71/k? The cheapest I've seen for any of the brands mentioned was $80/K for a 115grFP.

http://www.thebulletworks.net/09-124-PL-RN...4%20pl%20rn.htm

MGB 9mm 124gr CMJ $78.70 per 1000 purchased by the case of 3750 and $80.00 per thousand purchased by the case for JHP. $8.00 difference per 1000 for a better bullet. I would not waste my time with plated. JMO.

BK

[SA Friday]

Shooting load and loads of coated lead.

Black Bullets International

Ditto.

[G-ManBart]

I've been spoiled by using MG JHP's.

But I'm considering switching to plated. $71 per 1k

But dang, the hard cast lead are so cheap from http://www.thebulletworks.net/default.asp

Where are you getting them for $71/k? The cheapest I've seen for any of the brands mentioned was $80/K for a 115grFP.

http://www.thebulletworks.net/09-124-PL-RN...4%20pl%20rn.htm

MGB 9mm 124gr CMJ $78.70 per 1000 purchased by the case of 3750 and $80.00 per thousand purchased by the case for JHP. $8.00 difference per 1000 for a better bullet. I would not waste my time with plated. JMO.

BK

Yeah, even if you shoot 20K in a year you're only looking at $160 and if someone is tight on bucks they probably aren't shooting 385 rounds a month, so they're not even going to save that much.

[Pro2AInPA]

I shoot nothing but lead bullets in my handguns.

[marmax]

I shoot cast in 40 and 45 and fmj in 9mm. I will most likely change to lead in 9mm as soon as I get a new barrel in my g-34. I save over 40$ per k in 40's alone from a local bullet caster.

[JimmyZip]

I shoot bullets that I know a good load for that are the least expensive and available at the moment. I shoot moly coated lead from BBI and Bear Creek. If I get a good deal on something jacketed, I'll take it. Right know the Bear Creeks are just down the street. No shipping usually makes them cheaper. But if I found jacketed for a good price that was available too, well you can be I'd be all over that.

What I can, when I can.