User Panel
Posted: 4/25/2021 9:01:40 AM EDT
I need a bullet weight and shape recommendation.
I have put off ordering a few thousand 9mm projectiles, and I see the long wait times. I had better get going now. I will be shooting in a Shield, a couple Glock clones, and an AR PCC. The Glock-ish pistols all have aftermarket barrels, presumably with conventional rifling. These loads will be used to mess around in the back yard, mostly steel targets. My goal is low cost, good function in the guns we have, reasonable accuracy, and lots of load data. I am loading single stage for now, but I have a Dillon 550 to get the cartridge conversion for. I have a lot of Unique, Bullseye, and 231. I see round nose, conical, SWC, groove-less. Is there a no-brainer choice of shape and weight for me? |
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I've used thousands of ACME bullets with great success, LGS stocked them up until now, bought out and usable to get resupply. I think they're available online.
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DG Bullets
Acme Bullet if they have them in stock. Blue Bullets Not powder coated but I've had good luck with Los Bullets I tend to like 124 grain over TiteGroup since it's cheap and usually available but other powders and weights are fine. Might want to see how they work in your guns before ordering several thousand of a particular brand and shape. |
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Blue Bullets. 125 grain RN’s is my favorite. No leading and pretty accurate. I buy in bulk and have had zero problems
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Why powder coated? They require more care in case flair and crimp to avoid lead fowling. Often recommended to use special dies.
Instead, I've been using copper plated round nose from Xtreme. Plenty of inventory, reasonably priced, immediate shipment. Just received another order. More importantly, easy to set up for loading! No special dies, no fiddling with extra case mouth flair, no concern about minimal crimp. Blue bullets look cool, and may be a bit cheaper. But my copper plated round nose were so simple to set up and load, that changing over to coated wasn't worth the hassle. Just something for you to consider... |
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The problem with many powder-coated RN bullets is that the ogive is too "blunt" and not "pointy" like FMJ and plated bullets. In guns with tight chambers (CZ, M&P's, Gen5 Glocks, Rugers, etc.) that if you load a RN PC bullet to the same COAL as an FMJ very often the round will not chamber because the barrel rifling is biting into the bullet (not enough clearance) and so you must seat the bullet deeper...in many case a LOT deeper...to get that clearance. Then you have to worry about pressure.
Save yourself the headache and go with some sort of cone bullet. One exception might be ACME's RN bullets which have been re-designed to be "pointier". Unfortunately they're perpetually OOS. |
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Quoted: Why powder coated? They require more care in case flair and crimp to avoid lead fowling. Often recommended to use special dies. Instead, I've been using copper plated round nose from Xtreme. Plenty of inventory, reasonably priced, immediate shipment. Just received another order. More importantly, easy to set up for loading! No special dies, no fiddling with extra case mouth flair, no concern about minimal crimp. Blue bullets look cool, and may be a bit cheaper. But my copper plated round nose were so simple to set up and load, that changing over to coated wasn't worth the hassle. Just something for you to consider... View Quote Given they are in stock now might be worth it if you need them now....however their prices quite frankly suck. If I'm paying over 10 cents for a 9mm projectile it better be jacketed not plated. RMR has great jacketed bullets but the wait time is pretty steep right now. I like Blue Bullets for coated but their lead times are pretty steep right now too. |
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Quoted: Why powder coated? They require more care in case flair and crimp to avoid lead fowling. Often recommended to use special dies. Instead, I've been using copper plated round nose from Xtreme. Plenty of inventory, reasonably priced, immediate shipment. Just received another order. More importantly, easy to set up for loading! No special dies, no fiddling with extra case mouth flair, no concern about minimal crimp. Blue bullets look cool, and may be a bit cheaper. But my copper plated round nose were so simple to set up and load, that changing over to coated wasn't worth the hassle. Just something for you to consider... View Quote Holy horsecrap Batman, what the hell have you been smokin'? Nothing wrong with Xtreme bullets, I've reloaded thousands, but the rest of the stuff you're spouting is just pants on head retarded dude. |
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You can shoot PC bullets in Glock barrels. I have been doing it for 6+ months.
If I needs bullets, I cast them. No ordering for me anymore. |
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Quoted: The problem with many powder-coated RN bullets is that the ogive is too "blunt" and not "pointy" like FMJ and plated bullets. In guns with tight chambers (CZ, M&P's, Gen5 Glocks, Rugers, etc.) that if you load a RN PC bullet to the same COAL as an FMJ very often the round will not chamber because the barrel rifling is biting into the bullet (not enough clearance) and so you must seat the bullet deeper...in many case a LOT deeper...to get that clearance. Then you have to worry about pressure. Save yourself the headache and go with some sort of cone bullet. One exception might be ACME's RN bullets which have been re-designed to be "pointier". Unfortunately they're perpetually OOS. View Quote Did you mess with the few I gave you? Thoughts? |
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Quoted: The problem with many powder-coated RN bullets is that the ogive is too "blunt" and not "pointy" like FMJ and plated bullets. In guns with tight chambers (CZ, M&P's, Gen5 Glocks, Rugers, etc.) that if you load a RN PC bullet to the same COAL as an FMJ very often the round will not chamber because the barrel rifling is biting into the bullet (not enough clearance) and so you must seat the bullet deeper...in many case a LOT deeper...to get that clearance. Then you have to worry about pressure. Save yourself the headache and go with some sort of cone bullet. One exception might be ACME's RN bullets which have been re-designed to be "pointier". Unfortunately they're perpetually OOS. View Quote this true stuff |
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Try these Bullets . In stock and shipping.
I’ve shot thousands of the 125’s and 147’s in all manner of pistols and PCCs. Attached File |
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Quoted: The problem with many powder-coated RN bullets is that the ogive is too "blunt" and not "pointy" like FMJ and plated bullets. In guns with tight chambers (CZ, M&P's, Gen5 Glocks, Rugers, etc.) that if you load a RN PC bullet to the same COAL as an FMJ very often the round will not chamber because the barrel rifling is biting into the bullet (not enough clearance) and so you must seat the bullet deeper...in many case a LOT deeper...to get that clearance. Then you have to worry about pressure. Save yourself the headache and go with some sort of cone bullet. One exception might be ACME's RN bullets which have been re-designed to be "pointier". Unfortunately they're perpetually OOS. View Quote I found this out today, now I need to seat 2400 of them deeper to function correctly compared to say a 124gr Berry's HBRN bullet. Attached File |
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Quoted: Holy horsecrap Batman, what the hell have you been smokin'? Nothing wrong with Xtreme bullets, I've reloaded thousands, but the rest of the stuff you're spouting is just pants on head retarded dude. View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted: Quoted: Why powder coated? They require more care in case flair and crimp to avoid lead fowling. Often recommended to use special dies. Instead, I've been using copper plated round nose from Xtreme. Plenty of inventory, reasonably priced, immediate shipment. Just received another order. More importantly, easy to set up for loading! No special dies, no fiddling with extra case mouth flair, no concern about minimal crimp. Blue bullets look cool, and may be a bit cheaper. But my copper plated round nose were so simple to set up and load, that changing over to coated wasn't worth the hassle. Just something for you to consider... Holy horsecrap Batman, what the hell have you been smokin'? Nothing wrong with Xtreme bullets, I've reloaded thousands, but the rest of the stuff you're spouting is just pants on head retarded dude. |
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I like The Blue Bullets 125gr truncated cone and it's all I use in 9mm.
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just got my order from Bayou that i placed Dec 2;
worth the wait from the first ones i loaded (90gr RN in .380) |
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I just got a Lee 356-120-TC bullet mold. From what I read here it sounds like it should be good for powder coating because it is a truncated cone design. I haven't had a chance to use it yet, but I am looking forward to it. I'm new to bullet casting, but it should be a lot of fun.
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These guys come up in the reloading discord as in stock all the time. I have no experience with them.
I have used SNS 124 RN and wasn't thrilled with them. Had to seat them really deep 1.08" if I remember correctly, and they leaded my comp up pretty bad. I would be willing to try their conical nose in a gun without a comp though. However, I was able to get several thousand Berry's around 8 cents each, so that's what I'm loading for now. |
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I'm at 4 months awaiting on Bayou to send my order. They had not trouble taking my money.
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Quoted: I'm at 4 months awaiting on Bayou to send my order. They had not trouble taking my money. View Quote Ya that is what they are saying with lead times. Most people don't understand that most credit card processors will only hold an authorization for a week otherwise it expires. Now I can't say if their website said this when you ordered but it's not uncommon practice at all. "I understand that my credit card will be charged when my order is placed." Highlighted in yellow right on the homepage. |
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Quoted: I found this out today, now I need to seat 2400 of them deeper to function correctly compared to say a 124gr Berry's HBRN bullet. https://www.ar15.com/media/mediaFiles/152407/20210425_182739_jpg-1919228.JPG View Quote I have some from Missouri bullets that have that same profile. Not only did I need to seat them deeper than needed, they leaded in about everything too. I also tried that Lee 124gr tc back when I was still using Lee lube on them. I never had much luck. So I have a bunch that I powder coated which I'll try again. |
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I cast and powdercoat my own bullets using a Lee 124grn RN mold and Titegroup powder. These loads run great in everything I've feed it to.
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Quoted: The problem with many powder-coated RN bullets is that the ogive is too "blunt" and not "pointy" like FMJ and plated bullets. In guns with tight chambers (CZ, M&P's, Gen5 Glocks, Rugers, etc.) that if you load a RN PC bullet to the same COAL as an FMJ very often the round will not chamber because the barrel rifling is biting into the bullet (not enough clearance) and so you must seat the bullet deeper...in many case a LOT deeper...to get that clearance. Then you have to worry about pressure. Save yourself the headache and go with some sort of cone bullet. One exception might be ACME's RN bullets which have been re-designed to be "pointier". Unfortunately they're perpetually OOS. View Quote Hmm interesting. I have been loading 115gr. RN from Blue Bullets, ACME, Bayou and never had an issue with any of my Gen 3, 4 or 5 Glocks, or any other handgun for that matter. |
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Quoted: Why powder coated? They require more care in case flair and crimp to avoid lead fowling. Often recommended to use special dies. Instead, I've been using copper plated round nose from Xtreme. Plenty of inventory, reasonably priced, immediate shipment. Just received another order. More importantly, easy to set up for loading! No special dies, no fiddling with extra case mouth flair, no concern about minimal crimp. Blue bullets look cool, and may be a bit cheaper. But my copper plated round nose were so simple to set up and load, that changing over to coated wasn't worth the hassle. Just something for you to consider... View Quote Just happened to me with some Eggleston 125 gn. I've got a lot of bullets to breakdown. CZ75 SPO1 |
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I got some 125 TC Blue Bullets (0.356) So far so good. They loaded easy with no need for a special expander for the Dillion. First time trying coated bullets. Was using Precision Delta 124 HPs, but too expensive for now.
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Are the blue bullet coatings still giving smurf fingers or have they figured that out? Thats the reason I switched to BBI and have been happy.
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Quoted: Why powder coated? They require more care in case flair and crimp to avoid lead fowling. Often recommended to use special dies. Instead, I've been using copper plated round nose from Xtreme. Plenty of inventory, reasonably priced, immediate shipment. Just received another order. More importantly, easy to set up for loading! No special dies, no fiddling with extra case mouth flair, no concern about minimal crimp. Blue bullets look cool, and may be a bit cheaper. But my copper plated round nose were so simple to set up and load, that changing over to coated wasn't worth the hassle. Just something for you to consider... View Quote Coated bullets are significantly cheaper than Xtreme. I just priced 1000 115 gr RN bullets. From Xtreme it would cost $133 to my door. 1000 DG powder coated bullets are $76 to my door. That’s about 42% less money. That’s definitely worth whatever additional work it takes to load coated bullets for me. When I switch to a new bullet in any load I start with some dummy rounds to verify COAL. So switching from 115 FMJ to 115 coated is no different than any other change. Using an M Die isn’t required for coated bullets, but I prefer it. The savings for coated bullets are so high that buying an M Die means that first order of coated bullets + M die is still cheaper than the Xtreme bullets. Running some numbers makes it pretty clear why high volume shooters are switching to coated bullets instead of using plated. |
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Quoted: Coated bullets are significantly cheaper than Xtreme. I just priced 1000 115 gr RN bullets. From Xtreme it would cost $133 to my door. 1000 DG powder coated bullets are $76 to my door. That's about 42% less money. That's definitely worth whatever additional work it takes to load coated bullets for me. When I switch to a new bullet in any load I start with some dummy rounds to verify COAL. So switching from 115 FMJ to 115 coated is no different than any other change. Using an M Die isn't required for coated bullets, but I prefer it. The savings for coated bullets are so high that buying an M Die means that first order of coated bullets + M die is still cheaper than the Xtreme bullets. Running some numbers makes it pretty clear why high volume shooters are switching to coated bullets instead of using plated. View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted: Quoted: Why powder coated? They require more care in case flair and crimp to avoid lead fowling. Often recommended to use special dies. Instead, I've been using copper plated round nose from Xtreme. Plenty of inventory, reasonably priced, immediate shipment. Just received another order. More importantly, easy to set up for loading! No special dies, no fiddling with extra case mouth flair, no concern about minimal crimp. Blue bullets look cool, and may be a bit cheaper. But my copper plated round nose were so simple to set up and load, that changing over to coated wasn't worth the hassle. Just something for you to consider... Coated bullets are significantly cheaper than Xtreme. I just priced 1000 115 gr RN bullets. From Xtreme it would cost $133 to my door. 1000 DG powder coated bullets are $76 to my door. That's about 42% less money. That's definitely worth whatever additional work it takes to load coated bullets for me. When I switch to a new bullet in any load I start with some dummy rounds to verify COAL. So switching from 115 FMJ to 115 coated is no different than any other change. Using an M Die isn't required for coated bullets, but I prefer it. The savings for coated bullets are so high that buying an M Die means that first order of coated bullets + M die is still cheaper than the Xtreme bullets. Running some numbers makes it pretty clear why high volume shooters are switching to coated bullets instead of using plated. |
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Quoted: Are the blue bullet coatings still giving smurf fingers or have they figured that out? Thats the reason I switched to BBI and have been happy. View Quote Hands stay nice and clean now They are the only coated bullet I've had luck with....granted when I was trying out the other brands I was relatively new to reloading so it may have just been me having issues with the other brands. |
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Quoted: Yea, there is a reason they are still in stock,13 cents for a plated bullet I can get actual jacketed for 11 cents if I want to wait. View Quote RMR are like $90/k for jacketed. Before all this mess I think they were sub $80. Xtreme isn't a good deal unless you got in on one of their Black Friday sales in the past and even then coated would still be cheaper. |
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Quoted: Are the blue bullet coatings still giving smurf fingers or have they figured that out? Thats the reason I switched to BBI and have been happy. View Quote The coating handles over crimping well. In my tests to set the crimp, when I pulled a bullet nothing flaked off or looked cut with a heavy crimp. |
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Quoted: RMR are like $90/k for jacketed. Before all this mess I think they were sub $80. Xtreme isn't a good deal unless you got in on one of their Black Friday sales in the past and even then coated would still be cheaper. View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted: Quoted: Yea, there is a reason they are still in stock,13 cents for a plated bullet I can get actual jacketed for 11 cents if I want to wait. RMR are like $90/k for jacketed. Before all this mess I think they were sub $80. Xtreme isn't a good deal unless you got in on one of their Black Friday sales in the past and even then coated would still be cheaper. Everyone though I had money to burn when I was shooting Precision Delta 124 HPs for USPSA. Look at you money bags, shooting hollow points. I tell them they are only 8 cents each, they where . The one thing thing I failed to stack deep. I would only buy 2k at a time. |
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https://www.brazosprecision.com/9mm-125gr-Round-NoseBevel-BaseNo-Groove-approx-820ct-005bullet_p_73.html
This is the only coated 9mm bullet I load at the moment. Brazos does fine work. I also use their Bullets in .38/.357, .44, and .45 ACP. Even though the inventory status says “back order” go ahead and buy. They usually fill back orders within a couple weeks. Website says something like 0-6 weeks but they’re being conservative. And hey, why do we shoot coated Bullets? Because they’re CHEAP and there’s no exposed lead. The link takes you to a 5 cent bullet. This is just about the cheapest way to shoot unless you cast your own. |
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Quoted: RMR are like $90/k for jacketed. Before all this mess I think they were sub $80. Xtreme isn't a good deal unless you got in on one of their Black Friday sales in the past and even then coated would still be cheaper. View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted: Quoted: Yea, there is a reason they are still in stock,13 cents for a plated bullet I can get actual jacketed for 11 cents if I want to wait. RMR are like $90/k for jacketed. Before all this mess I think they were sub $80. Xtreme isn't a good deal unless you got in on one of their Black Friday sales in the past and even then coated would still be cheaper. My “regular” load for almost every pistol caliber I reload involves a RMR in-house jacketed bullet. I’m still loading some, but I’ve loaded almost all my stockpile and I’m starting to use coated to spell me between the multi-month wait between RMR back orders. I wish I could go back in time and buy more projectiles instead of sone of the goofy stuff I bought due to GD threads |
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Quoted: My “regular” load for almost every pistol caliber I reload involves a RMR in-house jacketed bullet. I’m still loading some, but I’ve loaded almost all my stockpile and I’m starting to use coated to spell me between the multi-month wait between RMR back orders. I wish I could go back in time and buy more projectiles instead of sone of the goofy stuff I bought due to GD threads View Quote Right I bought 12k of the 124gr RMR JHP a year and a half or so ago for just under $80k delivered...wish I would have bought double. Down to 6k and those will be loaded up soon. Probably going to switch over to Blue Bullets for awhile. |
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I ordered a thousand 145gr Acme a couple weeks ago on a Thursday, they were at my house the following Tuesday. If they're in stock, they're shipping a lot faster than some other places right now. I've seen reports of people waiting months for a lot of places to ship.
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I get Acme 125gr hitek RN bullets but I can never time getting them from Acme. They get bought up too fast. I get the Acme bullets now from Titan Reloading for the same price.
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I just got a shipment of 45 caliber bullets from Acme . A lot of them have bare lead showing and the coating can easily be scraped off with your fingernail. Easily as in just rubbing it . Poor quality control.
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Quoted: I just got a shipment of 45 caliber bullets from Acme . A lot of them have bare lead showing and the coating can easily be scraped off with your fingernail. Easily as in just rubbing it . Poor quality control. View Quote I know they have been around awhile...hopefully they'll make it right. |
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Quoted: Ya that is what they are saying with lead times. Most people don't understand that most credit card processors will only hold an authorization for a week otherwise it expires. Now I can't say if their website said this when you ordered but it's not uncommon practice at all. "I understand that my credit card will be charged when my order is placed." Highlighted in yellow right on the homepage. View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted: Quoted: I'm at 4 months awaiting on Bayou to send my order. They had not trouble taking my money. Ya that is what they are saying with lead times. Most people don't understand that most credit card processors will only hold an authorization for a week otherwise it expires. Now I can't say if their website said this when you ordered but it's not uncommon practice at all. "I understand that my credit card will be charged when my order is placed." Highlighted in yellow right on the homepage. From a security standpoint that's actually a good thing. You don't want your CC info to hang around on their servers for months at a time. OK, here's the tech content: Bayou makes some very nice bullets. |
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