18 replies to this topic

[Bunchies95]

I just got my Dillon 550B delivered yesterday and have been trying to decide what my practice/local match ammo should be like.

I am debating between the coated lead bullets from Precision Bullets or Bayou Bullets and Berry's plated bullets. I am currently shooting my 9mm Springfield XDm 5.25 about 1000 rounds a month. There is about a $7/1000 difference between the three.

I know that the coatings are designed to reduce leading, but how do they compare to a plated bullet?

Any thoughts would be helpful.

[co-exprs]

I've had great luck with waxed bullets and jacketed bullets and mixed results with coated and plated. Barry's plating is kinda soft, so they are a little sensitive when loading. The coated bullets are the same way. Make sure you bell the case and then make sure the bullet goes into the case nice and straight as it feeds into the die. If the bullet is crooked as it goes in, it will straighten itself out, but can get scraped as it goes in. The Barry's will gather soft copper round the case rim and the coating on the Precisions can get cut, exposing the soft lead under. No mater how carefull you are, the Precision coating will build up in your bore. If you have a carbon barrel, there is no easy way to get the coating out of the grooves. The build up is easier to clean out of stainless barrels and there is a technique on thier website for this. I don't recommend using Precision Black bullets in a carbon barrel. I know they are cost effective, but I consider plated and coated bullets to be for advanced reloaders and those with the patience to work out the very precise reloading techniques required to get good consistent results.

If you are shooing 9mm, you are in luck though. You can get Montana Gold 124gr FMJ bullets for about the same price as Barry's ($.085ea). Montana's are great bullets and jacketed is easier to work with overall than plated or coated. That Montana jacketed 9mm bullet is a best buy for sure.

[calvary45]

Hard to beat bayou bullets expecially for the price,availibility,accuracy and the same smoke as WWB. Give donnie a call and get a sample pack you wont be disappointed.

[blaster113]

I would only buy plated bullets if you can get a real good deal on them, otherwise they are the same price as regular jacketed bullets and not worth it. I use Precision coated bullets for practice/local matches in .40 major with good results. used to use BBI bullets in 180 grain in my other Limited gun. yes, the coated bullets will leave a little of the moly in the barrel but a couple of swipes with a bore brush will take the bulk of it out. the residue doesnt seem to effect accuracy as my Limited guns would shoot under 2" at 20 yds off hand. coated bullets have less smoke and clean up alot easier than straight lead bullets. just be careful about which powder you use. on the Precision and BBI websites there are recommended powders. Powders like Titegroup will create alot of smoke with coated bullets.

[TBeazlie]

I have used Montana Gold as jacketed and they arean excellent bullet. I prefer coated bullets of the Precision or Bayou variety. Either is a good product at a cheaper alternative to jacketed. I am currently shooting the Bayou in both 9 mm and 40S&W. The Bayou is cleaner to handle and I like the green color. I would not shoot the Precision with Titegroup, but there is no smoke to speak off using it with the Bayou even indoors. There is a bit of a funny smell with the Bayou and Titegroup however.

[BBBB]

I've used all 4, including the MG in 9mm and for me they stack up like this:

#1 - MG - best overall performance. Very easy to load, good accuracy. If you choose a style with an enclosed base it will be very low smoke and keep the gun the cleanest. Price is decent if you order by the case. Lead time is very good as well. I tend to use these for shooting indoors. If price were not object I would use these for everything.

#2 Bayou - About $50 less than MG in case quantities. I find the coating on these to be tougher than either other coated bullets or plated bullets. The bore seems to stay very clean with these. There is slightly more smoke than jacketed (titegroup powder) and there is a slight smell that some people don't like. I use these for all my outdoor shooting. When I shoot indoors I use MG mainly out of consideration for others who are sensitive to the smell. Donnie is great to work with, by the way.

#3 Plated (berry's). As long as I am careful in seating and crimping (so the plating isn't damaged) and don't get crazy in how hard I push them these have worked ok for me. The main issue I have with them is that everywhere I see them offered for sale they are the same price as the MG by the case or sometimes even more. Given that I'll take the MG every time since the jacket is so much tougher than the plating.

#4 Moly coated bullets (precision). I didn't care for these. I thought they were dirty to handle, smokey to shoot and the coating was probably the most fragile of any of the bullets I tried. I didn't shoot enough to get much of a buildup but I understand that can happen especially if you damage the coating during the loading process.

If you are a new reloader jacketed bullets might be a good place to start as they tend to be easier to get working well. Once you are satisfied with your ability to produce safe, quality ammunition with them you can always move on to one of the other types.

[MarkCO]

In 9mm, for practice, not a whole heck of a lot of difference. I've been doing a lot of testing and chrono work the last few months, specifically in 9mm. Here are a few selected musings...

First, I don't want exposed lead at the base. So a plated, coated, CMJ or JHP are the choices, no FMJs. Next, I like to bell the case mouth as little as possible, for several reasons. This tends to peel away platings and coatings whereas jacketed, no worries. The Zero JHPs with the undersized base are a dream on the press. The Precision bullet has to be flared pretty wide to keep from shearing off the plating, the Berry and Bayou both less.

When I collected bullets, the Precision and Berrys had some exposed lead due to the rifling cutting through the coating, on some, actual sections where the coating had peeled away. The Bayou did not.

The barrel build-up of material was most pronounced with the Precisions. For an equal powder charge, the Bayous resulted in the highest velocity of the plated and coated.

Of the coated bullets, the Bayous are the hardest, then precision and then Berry's. In an auto-loader, the softer the slug, the more likely there are to be feeding problems.

I'll not make a recomendation because I am certainly not done with my testing, but these are some areas I was interested in that may help you make a choices.

[mpeltier]

I much prefer mg jacketed for most things. If and when I use plated it is Frontier as they have the thickest plating I have found on a fully plated bullet. In fact when loaded they even look as smooth and perfect as a jacketed bullet. I did a test with them by purposely over crimping and underflaring then pulling them to inspect for abnormalities. I could not expose the lead and they looked just like jacketed.

[hbchuey]

Bayou Bullets are great. Very consistent in weight and very accurate. And like others have said, Donnie is a great guy to deal with.

[unionman]

Bayou Bullets are great. Very consistent in weight and very accurate. And like others have said, Donnie is a great guy to deal with.

Agree with bayou. They are GreAt. And the green color is a plus. I loaded over 1000 without any gloves and no lead on my hands.

[kcinnick]

Bayou bullets are much better than precision bullets and much more user friendly, besides Donnie is a great guy if you ever get a chance to meet him.

I would stay away from any moly coated bullet (lubricant precision uses), Bayou doesn't use moly and the smell is actually the carrier, not the lubricant, and I have only smelled it with hot, high pressure loads. Moly has all kinds of issues, from attracting moisture to leaving excessive deposits, to coming off on your hands, coating not bonding to the bullet (Probably has more to due with the carrier used rather than dry moly lubricant).

[John Wayne]

I've used coated and didn't like them for the reasons stated above. I do like lead with a wax lube in my 1911's in .38 super and .45 I load fairly light, so leading is not a problem.

[blueeyedme]

Another vote for Donnie and Bayou Bullets!! I run through 2-3k per month in my .45 & 9mm. I know he is a bit backed up right now so order in quantity - I have yet to hear of anyone disappointed in his product.

[DarthMuffin]

I've used all 4, including the MG in 9mm and for me they stack up like this:

#1 - MG - best overall performance. Very easy to load, good accuracy. If you choose a style with an enclosed base it will be very low smoke and keep the gun the cleanest. Price is decent if you order by the case. Lead time is very good as well. I tend to use these for shooting indoors. If price were not object I would use these for everything.

#2 Bayou - About $50 less than MG in case quantities. I find the coating on these to be tougher than either other coated bullets or plated bullets. The bore seems to stay very clean with these. There is slightly more smoke than jacketed (titegroup powder) and there is a slight smell that some people don't like. I use these for all my outdoor shooting. When I shoot indoors I use MG mainly out of consideration for others who are sensitive to the smell. Donnie is great to work with, by the way.

#3 Plated (berry's). As long as I am careful in seating and crimping (so the plating isn't damaged) and don't get crazy in how hard I push them these have worked ok for me. The main issue I have with them is that everywhere I see them offered for sale they are the same price as the MG by the case or sometimes even more. Given that I'll take the MG every time since the jacket is so much tougher than the plating.

#4 Moly coated bullets (precision). I didn't care for these. I thought they were dirty to handle, smokey to shoot and the coating was probably the most fragile of any of the bullets I tried. I didn't shoot enough to get much of a buildup but I understand that can happen especially if you damage the coating during the loading process.

If you are a new reloader jacketed bullets might be a good place to start as they tend to be easier to get working well. Once you are satisfied with your ability to produce safe, quality ammunition with them you can always move on to one of the other types.

+1 on everything BBBB said! Saved me a lot of typing :-) I might add that the MG gold bullets tend to take a bit more powder than others to meet PF. I haven't noticed a recoil difference there, but theoretically there should be a very slight one. Also, I have not noticed any smoke with Bayou Bullets and VV N320 powder. If I looked hard there's some I'm sure, but not that I notice.

With the Rainier plated bullets I used, they sometimes had tumbling/accuracy issues. It seemed to happen more out of guns with conventional rifling, in polygonal barrels (Glock, HK, Tanfo) they worked fine.

I just finished up a big batch of MG bullets and am switching to Bayou. So far no reason at all to switch back.

[area51]

I've had good luck with Bear Creek. I'll have to try Donnie's stuff soon.

[sroe3]

I've loaded and shot Precision moly, Bear Creek moly, and Rainier plated. The plated are cleaner to load and shoot but the moly are cheaper. All are reasonably accurate and functioned well through the press and gun. I continue to load Bear Creek.

[kalebg]

I just got my Dillon 550B delivered yesterday and have been trying to decide what my practice/local match ammo should be like.

I am debating between the coated lead bullets from Precision Bullets or Bayou Bullets and Berry's plated bullets. I am currently shooting my 9mm Springfield XDm 5.25 about 1000 rounds a month. There is about a $7/1000 difference between the three.

I know that the coatings are designed to reduce leading, but how do they compare to a plated bullet?

Any thoughts would be helpful.

Leading is an issue everyone talks about but is never an problem with a high quality cast bullet. If you only shoot a good cast bullet, don't worry about it. If you shoot a combination of cast and jacketed, scrub the barrel before you run any jacketed through it. But, even if you forget, it's typically not a problem. You just end up cleaning the barrel without the elbow grease.

I have at least 10k through my shadow and have never cleaned the barrel. I scrub the chamber to ensure consistent feeding...no more. Yes, it's polygonal rifling. Yes, they smoke. If there's a breath of wind you'll never notice. No, I have never seen a decrease in accuracy due to not cleaning the barrel.

I have videos posted here: YouTube.com/kalebg35 and even in a hot, humid climate like Arkansas, smoke was not a problem except for two targets on "the door" stage.

Practice or matches, I only shoot cast bullets and I get them here: shooterready.biz

Hope this helps.

[GeraldMeharry]

High quality cast bullets, a more then lead but cheaper in the long run.

[Scootertheshooter]

I guess I'm in the minority here but I shoot moly out of my Trogan . Plated do shoot a bit cleaner but I think the powder you use is directly related to how moly bullets burn. I use solo 1000 with 147 Percision , they burn pretty clean. I have shot thousands of them . On another note I use them in my .45 as well with no problems. I have even shot them out of a G34 with a stock barrel . Some say you can't but I went and shot 300 and had no pressure issues and when cleaned wasn't anyone dirty than plates bullets. When I had to pull a round the coating wasn't broken either . Perhaps I just had better luck