New question, bullet weights:)

Radtekk

Radtekk

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New question in post 16, thanks:)

I'm gathering components. I want to make my life simple, so I plan to stick with one brand whenever possible. The question here is what brand of bullets should I buy? I've looked at Extreme, Berry's, Hornady... Is one better than the others?

To answer questions about my specific needs... 45 230grn and 9mm 115grn, fmj only, not shooting competitively. Maybe JHP, maybe not, I have plenty of defensive ammo for now. I'll be adding 380 and 357 at some point.
 
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It depends. Do you want jacketed or plated? Berry's and Xtreme are plated, Hornady is jacketed. Not the same by any means.
 
Sounds like you're only doing pistol... Buy whatever you can get cheaply and load it appropriately. Inside 25 yards, I'd be surprised if you can tell a difference. Or better yet - start casting your own!

If you are pinching MOA at 300+ yards with rifle, Hornady makes very good bullets for that.
 
As was said, at 7-25 yards it won't make a difference. Cheaper is good. I've gone downhill from very expensive jacketed to cheap plated and have no regrets. I just shoot more.
 
jpm said:
It depends. Do you want jacketed or plated? Berry's and Xtreme are plated, Hornady is jacketed. Not the same by any means.
Click to expand...
Apparently A) There's a difference and B) I have no idea what it is...

asp said:
Sounds like you're only doing pistol... Buy whatever you can get cheaply and load it appropriately. Inside 25 yards, I'd be surprised if you can tell a difference. Or better yet - start casting your own!

If you are pinching MOA at 300+ yards with rifle, Hornady makes very good bullets for that.
Click to expand...
Pistol only for now, pistol caller carbine also if that matters. My concern isn't so much accuracy at handgun distance as it is potential damage to the gun. Mosin and WASR both get steel-cased, marlin 30-06 doesn't have the glass (or good enough eyes) to worry about sub moa at 300 yards. My club only goes out 100 anyway...
 
Radtekk said:
Apparently A) There's a difference and B) I have no idea what it is...
Click to expand...

Jacketed are likely to be more accurate than plated. It is harder to keep a consistent thickness with plated bullets.

I was shooting Berry's for years, but just started shooting 147 grn JHP Zero bullets, and I've found them to be much more accurate in my Glock 34 than the 9mm 124gr Berry's that I was shooting before. YMMV.
 
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Buy the ones that always hit the brain stem [wink]

For those pistol rounds pretty much anything FMJ you buy will be good within 50yds.
 
I would use poly coated bullets. cleaner than FMJ, very accurate. I have been using Ibejihead bullets for a year and 1/2 and they have been excellent
 
Like the man said, cheaper is better. I buy em cheap and shoot em up. The more you shoot the more accurate you will be.

I would be hard pressed to determine any advantage in accuracy up to 25yrds regardless of the bullet.
 
since your just starting out by a little of each locally and see what you/gun likes.
I recieved the 45 cal 185gn HP from hornady on the free bullet offer with purchase of LNL press. They for me anyway grouped better than the 230 FMJ RN I was loading before......that said the price difference is not worth the gain for me.
I have pretty much gone to casting my own for pistol/range fun plinking.
 
In plated bullets, I like Berry's and have been shooting them for about 10 years now with great results. In 9mm, I'd recommend the 124gr or 147gr rather than the 115gr so you can keep the velocity under 1200 fps. I believe your supposed to keep the velocity under 1200 fps in plated bullets to keep the copper coating from separating from the lead. I have no experience with this personally, but that's what I've read. If you want jacketed bullets, you can't go wrong with Montana Gold or Zero brand. I prefer Montana Gold myself if I'm going jacketed, but they are both good, and relatively cheap for jacketed ammo.

-Cuz.
 
Many thanks to those who replied, and especially to Rutilate who gave me a guided tour of his setup:) Since I'm not planning on doing any kind of competetive/uber accurate shooting, sounds like plated is going to be just as good as jacketed, and a bit cheaper. I'll dig deeper in to the cost of various brands and start there, see what my guns like, and adjust as needed.

Next question is this... Educate me a little on the advantages/disadvantages of heavier/lighter bullet weights. Originally I suggested I was going to be shooting 230gr in my 45s, 115 in Lady Radtekk's 9mm Glock26. My theory was that the 230gr is the same as virtually all factory ammo FMJ, although I use Hornady Critical Defense 185gr for carry ammo, Lady Radtekk uses 124gr Hydra Shok.

Since I'm reloading and I can buy whatever weight bullets I choose my thought was to stay with the 230gr I'm used to in the 45, and use a lighter weight in her 9mm to theoretically reduce felt recoil. Since I can play with loads and bullet weights, whats the best way to manage recoil for her and maintain consistency for us both? Felt recoil isn't an issue for me, I can shoot all day with no problems/discomfort with a 1911, xD, or compact 45.
 
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I have no input on 9mm but 45acp I run clays behind my 230gn rn jacketed bullets. I used hodgdons starting load data it works well and seems to have a very mild "kick" vs the federal AE I have.
 
I loaded .45acp with 230 grain round nose from Berrys and Xtreme and found no difference out to 100 yards.( as far as my club will let me shoot handgun calibers)
 
Radtekk said:
Since I'm reloading and I can buy whatever weight bullets I choose my thought was to stay with the 230gr I'm used to in the 45, and use a lighter weight in her 9mm to theoretically reduce felt recoil. Since I can play with loads and bullet weights, whats the best way to manage recoil for her and maintain consistency for us both? Felt recoil isn't an issue for me, I can shoot all day with no problems/discomfort with a 1911, xD, or compact 45.
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A lighter bullet will have more snap then a heavier bullet that is loaded to the same power factor. People usually shoot 124 or 147 in 9mm to reduce the snap

what vit powder did you get? They are all different and rumor has it, Vit is under new management and the recipes have changed and are not consistent
 
Supermoto said:
A lighter bullet will have more snap then a heavier bullet that is loaded to the same power factor. People usually shoot 124 or 147 in 9mm to reduce the snap

what vit powder did you get? They are all different and rumor has it, Vit is under new management and the recipes have changed and are not consistent
Click to expand...
Guess my theory about a lighter projectile being less snaps was wrong, although thinking about Newton I see why:) Guess I buy heavy...

The jug says N320, European style dating indicates mfg date of 23.1.2014 followed by what I assume is a lot #.

EddieCoyle said:
You might find it difficult to get your fixed sight handguns to shoot to point of aim with some bullet weights.
Click to expand...

High, low? Bullet suggestions? Or just see what happens and use Kentucky windage? Does that even apply to handguns? Will I be able to adjust the load sufficiently to compensate?
 
Radtekk said:
High, low? Bullet suggestions? Or just see what happens and use Kentucky windage? Does that even apply to handguns? Will I be able to adjust the load sufficiently to compensate?
Click to expand...

You can always apply Kentucky windage (although in this case it's more like Kentucky elevation). If you select bullet weights that shoot to POA with factory ammo, you should be able to duplicate it when you load them yourself.
 
Radtekk said:
Guess my theory about a lighter projectile being less snaps was wrong, although thinking about Newton I see why:) Guess I buy heavy...

The jug says N320, European style dating indicates mfg date of 23.1.2014 followed by what I assume is a lot #.



High, low? Bullet suggestions? Or just see what happens and use Kentucky windage? Does that even apply to handguns? Will I be able to adjust the load sufficiently to compensate?
Click to expand...

faster lighter bullets are usually lower, but you really won't know until you try.

With the new vit powder, I would start are little lower charge then normal and work your way up.
 
Glenn's reloading had a bunch of Vihtavuori powder the other week, only rifle powders were left though.

- - - Updated - - -

Kurtz said:
Berry's suggests you use 50% loads with their bullets, because they're plated, not jacketed.
Click to expand...

With the plated bullets, can you just start with cast loads and work up from there?
 
Kurtz said:
Berry's suggests you use 50% loads with their bullets, because they're plated, not jacketed.
Click to expand...
They actually say to use "low- to mid-range jacketed data" not 50%. If you were to use 50% of FMJ you'd be well below the minimum for lead (even if using the Max).
 

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