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Posted: 7/29/2020 10:06:47 AM EDT
[Last Edit: AWZ1287][Edited]
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Looking to reload coated bullets in 9mm. What are your guys preferred companies? Acme, blue, bbi, sns, bayou, Missouri bullet company? They all seem to be priced around the same. Acme, and Missouri are slightly better priced with discount codes. Missouri specifies a bhn of 18, while the others are 16 or 17. Not sure if that matters? All of them are listed at .356 except Blue is .355 Added a poll, but can you also reply with why you chose them. |
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Originally Posted By -Obsessed-: Gallant. They are cheaper, at least last time I bought. I've shot about 6k of them in 9mm and another 4k in 300 BLK. They work just fine. I just shoot steel with it. I will check them out, haven't heard of them. Thanks |
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i’ve used all the ones on your list except acme also precision in tx they are all very nice i usually go with whoever’s in stock and cheapest people are panic buying, so most or all of them are backordered . |
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SNS is local, and has been great quality for me. Prices are deecent if you buy the bulk boxes. I've also kinda recently used Brazos with success. It was a bummer when they stopped doing free shipping for orders at or over 4 boxes. More competetive price than SNS, and less selection. They also use slightly softer lead than SNS, if that is a concern for your needs. |
| I use Bear Creek supply for my .45acp.. my next order will include 9mm. I’ve gone through 1K of the 45 and have zero complaints. Their website isn’t the most modern, but good service and good products. |
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Blue Bullets are Amazing. Had good luck with Acme and Missouri Bullet too though. Blue Bullets does offer .356" 9mm, it's the "special profiles" tab. |
"The two things men never get to old to play with, electric trains and boobies." - substandard
"It ain't what you don't know that gets you into trouble. It's what you know for sure that just ain't so." - Mark Twain
"It ain't what you don't know that gets you into trouble. It's what you know for sure that just ain't so." - Mark Twain
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Originally Posted By -Obsessed-: Gallant. They are cheaper, at least last time I bought. I've shot about 6k of them in 9mm and another 4k in 300 BLK. They work just fine. I just shoot steel with it. I went with them for 9 and 300 black also, I have a pending order from early June, just so you know you will have a wait... I know they were slammed when I ordered and am just gonna be patient |
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Originally Posted By snowman357: Eggelston munitions, choose your color but more important usually come in 3 different size variations. I have never used any myself, I just ordered some in 9mm. They also give load data. Isn't eagleston the brand that the coating was getting gooey when used with titegroup. when guys would pull a bullet, the bullet base was gooey, from reacting to the powder. there was a big thread on it a while back. . |
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Originally Posted By Derek45: Isn't eagleston the brand that the coating was getting gooey when used with titegroup. when guys would pull a bullet, the bullet base was gooey, from reacting to the powder. there was a big thread on it a while back. .  This HF powder coating is GTG after more than a year. The gas check was removed on this scrap bullet used for the test. After that thread you mentioned, I started my own little test. |
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Shop by whichever price works for you. Ordered some BBI 230gr .45 that shipped and arrived quick. Ordered couple thousand MO bullets at the same time for the 9mm and they were shipping a few weeks behind due to demand. The 230gr RN BBI bullets in .45ACP seem to shoot well. I threw a bullet in the vibratory tumbler with walnut hull for over 20 minutes and it held up fine. I checked this as I will tumble loaded rounds for about 10 minutes to get the case lube off. For weight consistency I got the following: Total measured:21 Average:230.152381 SD:0.40546158 High:230.6 Low:229.1 ES:1.5 Got some MO coated bullets for 9mm in 124 and 147 and will post on them when they get in. At the time I ordered both on the same day. BBI shipped the next day, MO stated 3-4 weeks. I've got a few other brands I'm planning on trying as well in the coming months. ETA: One nice thing of the lead (coated or plain) or the plated rounds is that you can shoot steel close without the splash-back and spalling that traditional jacketed rounds have. With jacketed the larger fragments tend to be the jacket which can be quite large and sharp. Key thing too is flat steel. No bolt heads, chains, or anything on the front of the target that will redirect the spalling back up-range. |
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Try the smash test on any coated bullet you want to use. Below are MBC, ACME, Blue Bullets, and Berry's (for reference).  Note the coating flaking off of one of the bullets. Here is what a new barrel looks like when you run a few hundred of those bullets with the flaking coating down it. And this wasn't specific to this one barrel. It's done this in any barrel I've tried these in.  This is a silencer baffle after shooting a bunch of those same bullets through it. It got to the point that a bullet couldn't go through without rubbing the buildup. I was fortunate in that I stopped before I put one through the side of the tube.  I haven't had those same issues with the other bullets from the squish test above. And I've loaded them the same way, same powders (Win 231 and WSF), and same crimp settings. I've pulled bullets to ensure I wasn't cutting the coating when crimping. Crimp is generally only enough to take the flare out of the end of the case anyway. Get a hammer or a vice and do your own squish test. It's enlightening. |
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Originally Posted By GarrettJ: Try the smash test on any coated bullet you want to use. Below are MBC, ACME, Blue Bullets, and Berry's (for reference). https://i.imgur.com/wHT8INsh.jpg Note the coating flaking off of one of the bullets. Here is what a new barrel looks like when you run a few hundred of those bullets with the flaking coating down it. And this wasn't specific to this one barrel. It's done this in any barrel I've tried these in. https://i.imgur.com/Axejlb6h.png This is a silencer baffle after shooting a bunch of those same bullets through it. It got to the point that a bullet couldn't go through without rubbing the buildup. I was fortunate in that I stopped before I put one through the side of the tube. https://i.imgur.com/xzPPWsPh.jpg I haven't had those same issues with the other bullets from the squish test above. And I've loaded them the same way, same powders (Win 231 and WSF), and same crimp settings. I've pulled bullets to ensure I wasn't cutting the coating when crimping. Crimp is generally only enough to take the flare out of the end of the case anyway. Get a hammer or a vice and do your own squish test. It's enlightening. Thanks, this is very helpful. It seems that Missouri bullet company and blue bullets held up the best. I wonder why Acme flaked so much? Maybe the coating is thinner, or maybe because MBC is harder cast (18 vs 16)? |
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Originally Posted By Johnson184: Wow... that's actually concerning. How do you do the smash test... just a hammer smash or do you somehow apply the same consistent pressure on each bullet? What caliber/grain bullets have you tried that with?  Simple to do the smash test. I place bullet on the anvil of my vice and hit bullet with a 2 lb hammer until I get the flatness I want. Or smooth concrete, hammer. Or squish in a vice. Recover some of your bullets after shooting steel. That's the ultimate smash test. |
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| That smash test is interesting. Never would have thought to do that. I bought a 1,000 SNS 125 RN 9mm bullets and got a load worked up. My barrel didn't look leaded, but my comp had all sorts of lead flaking (not coating) build up on the ports after maybe 100 rounds. I will just shoot the rest of what I have our of non-comped guns and pay attention to the barrel. a 50/50 mixture of hydrogen peroxide and vinegar pretty much dissolved the lead off, so that was awesome. |
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Originally Posted By Johnson184: Wow... that's actually concerning. How do you do the smash test... just a hammer smash or do you somehow apply the same consistent pressure on each bullet? What caliber/grain bullets have you tried that with? As dryflash noted, you can use a hammer or just squish them with a vice. I tyically use a vice. The photo I posted above is a mix of calibers and weights. I think I have .40/180, 9mm/124, 9mm/147, and 9mm/115 in the picture. |
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Originally Posted By spyderboy03: I will just shoot the rest of what I have our of non-comped guns and pay attention to the barrel. a 50/50 mixture of hydrogen peroxide and vinegar pretty much dissolved the lead off, so that was awesome. Just be aware, the vinegar / peroxide mix (aka "the dip"), works well removing lead buildup from stainless steel but will pit carbon steel and is really not good for aluminum (and maybe titanium) parts. The resulting compound (lead acitate maybe? I'm not a chemist) is reportedly fairly toxic and can be absorbed through the skin. Wear gloves when handling it, and dispose of it properly. |
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Originally Posted By GarrettJ: Just be aware, the vinegar / peroxide mix (aka "the dip"), works well removing lead buildup from stainless steel but will pit carbon steel and is really not good for aluminum (and maybe titanium) parts. The resulting compound (lead acitate maybe? I'm not a chemist) is reportedly fairly toxic and can be absorbed through the skin. Wear gloves when handling it, and dispose of it properly. Good to know, thanks! |
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Blue probably have the most forgiving coating. However being .355 and "soft" you may not get the best accuracy, generally good enough for action games. But for the tightest groups their 38/357 bullets may be a better fit. With the Hi Tek options .356 may not fit well enough to prevent leading. Many used to offer .356-8. Have used Gallants and SNS without issue. |
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I’ve shot cases of blue bullets and have pushed their 115 gn 9mm bullet to 1500fps thru my 38 supercomp open gun with no leading I’ve picked up the flattened slug after it hit steel and the coating was intact, a buddy who cast his own bullets told me he’s melted blue bullets and had complete blue “jackets” float up Also most coated bullets uses the hytech coating, blue bullets don’t |
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Originally Posted By Alpha82: Blue probably have the most forgiving coating. However being .355 and "soft" you may not get the best accuracy, generally good enough for action games. But for the tightest groups their 38/357 bullets may be a better fit. With the Hi Tek options .356 may not fit well enough to prevent leading. Many used to offer .356-8. Have used Gallants and SNS without issue. FYI Blue does offer .356" 9mm bullets. It's under the "special order profiles" tab. It's all the same bullets just .356" instead of .355". I don't know why they even call it that. |
"The two things men never get to old to play with, electric trains and boobies." - substandard
"It ain't what you don't know that gets you into trouble. It's what you know for sure that just ain't so." - Mark Twain
"It ain't what you don't know that gets you into trouble. It's what you know for sure that just ain't so." - Mark Twain
I believe there is a ton of useful content in this thread. Thanks men!  It appears the consensus believes the differences between brands are insignificant; and I concur. In addition to the aforementioned blue and black brands, I have used these to great effect: Ibeji-Heads brand: https://www.ibejiheads.com/ |
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I've shot about 6k of the Acme 147gr 9mm without any problems but I haven't scoped the barrel. Disappointed to see the pictures here since I have 2k that I was planning on reloading for a 9mm PCC build, and eventually a suppressor. ETA - Do Blue Bullets still leave you with smurf fingers or have they changed their coating? |
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Originally Posted By Piratepast40: I've shot about 6k of the Acme 147gr 9mm without any problems but I haven't scoped the barrel. Disappointed to see the pictures here since I have 2k that I was planning on reloading for a 9mm PCC build, and eventually a suppressor. ETA - Do Blue Bullets still leave you with smurf fingers or have they changed their coating? They wash the bullets now no more smurf fingers ! |
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i have use Gallant BBI Blue Bullets Acme DG Bayou and a couple of others i can't remember The worst quality was the Acme and DG. The coating was very thin and could be scraped of with a fingernail many times. never bought them again. out of them all the most consistant in coating is blue bullets. Coating is thick and uniform. These days, if you need it right away just buy from whoever has in stock or you might be waiting for a while for bullets . |
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