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Old June 28, 2010, 05:41 AM   #1
engineermike
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Bullet Manufacturers

It seems like every other day I am reading about another bullet manufacturer and the list keeps growing. I have only loaded the FMJ bullets, as I took advantage of the Hornady "Get Loaded" progam, but I am looking into reloading lead bullets as a way to save money. As it took me 8 months to settle on a press and die I will be spending a lot of time looking into bullets and which ones to purchase next. I find the Hornady bullets to be a very good quality but a little pricey. (I know, you get what you pay for) I also notice that lead bullets seem to sized a thousandth larger. (I guess thousandth is right) (S&W 40 400-401) Why is that?

My so-called free supply of bullets will be running out soon and I am going to have to restock. Anyway, would anyone be willing to list the bullet manufacturers they order bulk bullets from and why? I guess I should add that I am reloading 9mm, S&W 40, and 38 Spl.

Mike
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Old June 28, 2010, 05:48 AM   #2
Sport45
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In no particular order...

Montana Gold Bullet (Good stuff)

Roze Distribution (Zero Bullets, jacketed and swaged. Cast bullets are a little more expensive here)

Rocky Mountain Reloading (Member here, sells Montana Gold too)

MidwayUSA (Watch for their blemished bullet sales about once a year.)

Graf's (Good folks to deal with)

Natchez Shooters Supply, etc, etc, etc. There are many others that a Google search of reloading supplies may turn up. If you have a question about a particular supplier just ask here and we'll let you know if we've had good or bad experiences with them.
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Last edited by Sport45; June 28, 2010 at 06:08 AM.
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Old June 28, 2010, 06:40 AM   #3
hornady
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You ask about lead, but another option would be plated bullets such as Berry, they are a little more than lead, But lead presents problems unique to them, Lead bullets should be .001 above your bore diameter, I cast for all my hand guns except for a Glock, I shoot plated bullets in it, as I said with the cast, I cast in 3 different hand gun calibers but size these bullets to that particular gun, most commercial cast bullets will be .001 over the jacketed bullet of the same caliber, Shooting an under sized bullet will promote leading and poor accuracy, Another option would be Precision hard molly coated bullets, they too are relatively cheap. I have also shot these in my Glock 40 S&W factory barrel without any ill effects.
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Old June 28, 2010, 10:21 PM   #4
Uncle Buck
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I use Missouri Bullet Co. for my .38 Special and .45 Colt loads. I have never had a problem with them. I recieved my bullets two days after ordering them.
http://www.missouribullet.com/index.php

Check out their technical page, where it talks about bullet hardness. It has saved me a lot of time by not having to scrub as much lead.

http://www.missouribullet.com/technical.php
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Old June 28, 2010, 10:42 PM   #5
Citywaterman
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precisiondelta

I have ordered from both of these two companies. I completely satisfied with the quality of both companies products and customer service.

http://www.precisiondelta.com/
Both lead and FMJ bullets. Shipping is included. Minimun order 2000.

http://berrysmfg.com/
Plated bullets. <1200 FPS. Free Shipping with orders over $50.00

Percision Delta:
I paid $74.00 per 1000, 9mm, 124gr, RN, FMJ bullets

Berry's MFG.
I paid $82.56 per 1000, 9mm, 124gr, RN, Plated bullets

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Old June 28, 2010, 11:30 PM   #6
Sevens
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I'm currently ordering bulks slugs from:
www.dardascastbullets.com
http://berrysmfg.com/
http://precisiondelta.com/

Dardas is a small caster in Michigan -- good people, quick shipping, great product and competitive prices. I shoot his 9mm 125gr slugs, .38 158gr LSWC and .45 cal 200gr LSWC.

Berry's provides great plated bullets and free shipping. I also love their plastic flip-top boxes and I think they are the best and I've used most every brand on the market. In bullets, I use a lot of their 100gr FB .380 bullets, 125gr 9mm, .38 158gr Pl-FP, and their .45 cal 200gr Pl-SWC. My favorite Berry's bullet is their .30 Carb 110gr plated slug which I send out of my Ruger Blackhawk.

Precision Delta beats most anyone's prices on jacketed bullets, but their selection is quite slim and they are slow to produce and ship. I bought a bunch of .40 cal slugs that I'm currently using in 10mm. They seem to load and shoot well but these are (BY FAR!) the ugliest jacketed bullets I've ever seen.

I'm thinking I'd like to try some of the offerings from Penn Bullets.
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Old June 28, 2010, 11:54 PM   #7
qualfang
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.40 bullets

I load nosler 135gr in .40 because they are the lightest and expand like crazy. I get them from midway, but haven't done so for a few years- i stocked up and slowed down on shooting. They are light, and loaded lightly are very gentle on the wrist.

for 155, 180, and 200gr in .40 i use Hornady XTP- the tapered hole expands more reliably than noslers tapered/cylindrical hole, and the bullets hold together better. Plus the 200gr really makes the .40 a serious backwoods backup if handloaded properly.

JHP's are not cheap, but if you load them well, you have roughly equivalent to a .357.

Midway used to have some copper plated 140gr round nosed leads for practice, they work very well but i never liked them.
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Old June 29, 2010, 08:08 AM   #8
Travis Two
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www.pennbullets.com The best cast lead bullets you will ever use.
Check out the reloading tips section a lot of great info there.
Give Bob a call. He's a great guy that will spend as much time with you as you need to get it right. His service is spot on and he gets most orders out in a few days to about 1-2 weeks max.
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Old June 29, 2010, 12:44 PM   #9
willr
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I don't kow why X-treme bullets isn't listed. Their plated bullets are excellent--I have been using them for over 10 years with great success. Both their plated and cast are top notch. Prices are competitive and all come with free shipping

http://www.xtremebullets.com/


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