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Old November 5, 2010, 10:01 AM   #1
Jimmy10mm
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10mm bullet recommendations ?

Been a long time since I've reloaded. Ranges around town don't allow reloads and I have to go 50 to 60 miles either north or south to be able to shoot reloaded ammo. Due to the paucity of 10mm ammo in my neck of the woods I'm unpacking my rock chucker and have ordered 500 cases from Starline. I'm looking at Penn's 165 grain PCBB here. Any recommendations for jacketed bullets, Hornady, Remington, Winchester .... others ? Also powder recommendations would be appreciated. I've got to get up to speed on current manuals.
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Old November 5, 2010, 10:14 AM   #2
kalevatom
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I use Montana Gold jacketed 40cal/10mm bullets. About $110-$112 per 1000. Cheaper if you buy more.
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Old November 5, 2010, 10:34 AM   #3
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If you can get Hornady XTP's on sale I don't think you can find a better projectile in it's price range. I shoot .40 S&W 155g,165g,180g and 200g are all fantastic. I also shoot them in 9mm 90g,115g,124g and when I can find them 147g. I have been on a search for a great all around accurate bullet and XTP's are consistently at the top of the list!
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Old November 5, 2010, 11:00 AM   #4
Sevens
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sorry for the length...

All I wanted out of a 10mm bullet was one that was between 150 and 180 grains and jacketed, at a price that wouldn't break the bank. I use a TON of plated in many calibers, mostly all Berry's, but because of the pressure and speed I load for in 10mm, I didn't want plated for this role.

I launch them from a Glock 29 and a S&W 1006, typically powered by Alliant Power Pistol. My purpose for these loads? Just paper punching and plinking, but at full power as the G29 is my EDC and I want to always shoot it with the kind of blast, recoil and flip that I'm getting from my carry load. Anything else would be a lousy idea for my EDC, in my opinion.

I started with Nosler 150gr JHPs and those were very pretty little bullets that shot well. BUT... I found that they were ever so slightly on the slim side. I don't actually own a micrometer (I need one!) and you can't tell the difference with a dial caliper, but you can tell the difference when you seat the Nosler bullets that they are just a tiny bit slimmer than I like and they don't give you the case mouth tension quite as tight as I want/need/DEMAND from a semi-auto round that is going to be shucked violently in to the action by a pistol. The fact that they were 150 grains and thus a bit shorter didn't help.

In combination with R-P brass (even more so in nickel), I didn't have reliable or safe mouth tension. This is not something I wanted to try and band-aid with a "factory crimp" die, this was just a poor mix of components that left unchecked could certainly lead to unintended setback and possible KB situation.

So after 750 of these Noslers, I moved on. I still like those bullets and if I could find them for a decent price, I'd use 'em again, but they aren't cheap. I don't know of any source that can get them for less than about $30-$35 for the 250-count box. That's expensive for bulk bullets. But then again... I suppose the pretty Noslers are NOT bulk bullets!

I next tried Precision Delta and their 180gr FMJ-FPs. These guys are a little different to deal with... the smallest lot they sell is 1,000 bullets and they ship free but you must order at least 2,000 bullets. So to simply "try" them, you've got to make a significant dollar investment and you get a lot of bullets. So I bought a thousand of the 180 grainers and a thousand of 9mm slugs to bring my order to the 2,000 floor.

Well, apparently, Precision Delta is habitually behind on 9mm slugs... so these things delayed my shipment quite a bit. But I did get them and I immediately went to work with the 180 grain .400" FMJs.

They shoot great, they feed perfectly, they load in to ALL my brass with no hassle, no fuss, and no muss. I don't have any odd ones, all seem to be quite uniform and they are nicely accurate from both of my 10mm pistols.

But... (you knew there would be a but...) They must be the single ugliest jacketed bullet I've ever laid eyes on. That doesn't seem to matter when it comes to loading or shooting them, they perform for me. But they are an eyesore. I mean ULGY. They are dull, goofy looking and just entirely uninspiring.

I'll be buying more of them unless I can find something else that hits a similar price point. When I bought 'em, they were $106/1000 and are up only to $110 per thousand last I checked.
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Old November 5, 2010, 11:08 AM   #5
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What's the target? If it's paper, I use "black bullets" from either Precision or Bear Creek Supply. They're essentially a conventional cast or swaged lead bullet encapsulated in a polymer coating. They don't lead the barrel, or leave a bunch of lead and lube shavings like cast bullets, and they're cheaper than jacketed. I've been loading them in the 1000-1100fps range with a variety of powders, and unless I need something special on the receiving end, for hunting or self-defense, probably won't use any other kind of bullet.
180s are $77/k from Bear Creek.
I've been looking for a load that will drive 200s at about 1050fps, and while I'd hoped to use something fast-burning to save money, found most of the faster powders that work well in .45 just won't get it done. I'm going with Power Pistol for now, as I get the velocities I want, and near the middle of the recommended load range. For full-power loads, I've used AA #7 and Ramshot Enforcer, and both are good.
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Old November 5, 2010, 11:17 AM   #6
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I'm a huge fan of Lee's 180gr truncated cone (hand cast). Feeds my .40 S&W for about 3 cents a pop and shoots beautifully over 4.4gr. Red Dot. It would mean learning how to cast bullets if you don't already--but believe it when I tell you the cost savings are unmistakable if you shoot a lot.

Lee Mold---$20
Push-through sizer w/ lube---$20
Camp stove---$20
Cast iron dutch oven at a thrift store or garage sale---$20
Wheel Weight ingots to start with until you get into smelting your own---$1/lb.
(That's about what I sell 'em for+shipping for a FRB) Lets say 20+$4.95 to ship.

20 pounds of alloy X 7000 grains per pound / by 180grs. per bullet = 770 bullets plus all the starter equipment you need to keep producing more for the same price as 1000 jacketed bullets alone. After that, it's down to the cost of lead and propane to continue producing bullets indefinitely. Just something to think about

Quote:
They don't lead the barrel, or leave a bunch of lead and lube shavings like cast bullets,
Sized, alloyed, and lubed correctly, none of my cast bullets are any more dirty to shoot than jacketed bullets---and a whole lot cheaper.
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Old November 5, 2010, 11:25 AM   #7
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Sevens,
Quote:
I next tried Precision Delta and their 180gr FMJ-FPs. These guys are a little different to deal with... the smallest lot they sell is 1,000 bullets and they ship free but you must order at least 2,000 bullets. So to simply "try" them, you've got to make a significant dollar investment and you get a lot of bullets. So I bought a thousand of the 180 grainers and a thousand of 9mm slugs to bring my order to the 2,000 floor.
I have ordered 9mm from them and I only ordered 1k of the 147g FMJ's for $88? I know what it says on the website but, I did not pay extra for shipping?

Oh and your right they are UGLY!!!! If they produced some HP in 9mm I might give them another try but, they don't return emails asking about when they will have some in stock?
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Old November 5, 2010, 02:29 PM   #8
steve4102
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Zero Brand Jacketed Bullets for less than $120/K shipped or Montana Gold for a few $$$ more.

http://www.rozedist.com/

https://secure3.mooseweb.com/montana.../pricelist.tpl
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Old November 5, 2010, 02:56 PM   #9
NWPilgrim
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I load Penn hard cast bullets in my .40S&W and they are very nice cast bullets. Very clean and consistent dimension.
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Old November 5, 2010, 03:02 PM   #10
Red_Eagle
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I've used the Hornady 155gr XTP with great success. I have some 180gr Montana Golds that still need to be loaded. I've also been eyeing the Prvi Partisan line.
In my experiance, I'd say to stay clear of plated bullets. They don't like 10mm velocities very much even at start load. My Glock 20C didnt mind them a whole lot, but my Delta Elite threw them all over the place.
For powders, I've used mostly 800X and Blue Dot.
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Old November 5, 2010, 05:59 PM   #11
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I've been using 180 grn cast bullets from Missouri Bullet Company in my 40 S&W with no problems at all. I use the IDP#5's (their terminology) located here http://www.missouribullet.com/result...5&secondary=11.

I'm loading them over 5.7 grns of Ramshot Silouette at about 950 fps (I've not crono'ed 'em but that's about right given the reload data) and haven't had any leading problems. They say the BHF is 18. They're $34.00/box of 500.
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Old November 5, 2010, 10:56 PM   #12
Sevens
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Quote:
I have ordered 9mm from them and I only ordered 1k of the 147g FMJ's for $88? I know what it says on the website but, I did not pay extra for shipping?

Oh and your right they are UGLY!!!! If they produced some HP in 9mm I might give them another try but, they don't return emails asking about when they will have some in stock?
Well, they may have changed their minimum, but I don't know. I last ordered from them in March and received them in May. I had ordered 124gr FMJ but they called me up, explained that the 9mm machine was broke and she asked if I'd be willing to take some 124gr JHP's instead. I told 'em "okay" since they were to be plinkers anyhow and what I really wanted was to get my hands on the 10mm slugs.

I've checked the site a number of times and can't find any 9mm JHPs, so I have no idea where they got the thousand they sent me. They aren't as ugly as the 10's, but they also aren't very shiny.
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Old November 6, 2010, 06:08 AM   #13
WESHOOT2
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all-around

180g bullets from Zero or Montana Gold or Winchester or Remington.

N350 for all-around performance.
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Old November 6, 2010, 08:02 AM   #14
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I use 180G FMJ from Precision Delta........100 bucks a thou delivered
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Old November 6, 2010, 10:41 AM   #15
testuser
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I'm using 180 grain plated bullets. These are Frontier brand from South Africa.
Anyway, I'm using 10.2 grains of Blue Dot for 1,200 fps through my Glock 20 with very good accuracy. Max is 11 grains in Speer 13 and 10.7 grains in the new Hornady book I bought.

I tried Accurate No.9, but was underwhelmed. It's just not an economical power. (Love it in .44 magnum, though.)

When the Frontiers are used up I'll probably go to Berry's.

Last edited by testuser; November 6, 2010 at 11:07 AM.
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Old November 7, 2010, 11:27 AM   #16
steve4102
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Quote:
I use 180G FMJ from Precision Delta........100 bucks a thou delivered
That's a good price, where are you getting these. PD web page list 180 JHP for $110 plus $5 charge for orders less that two thousand. That's $115/K direct from Delta.
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Old November 8, 2010, 06:27 PM   #17
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Billy's Bullets:
  • 180gr, RN or FN, Moly-Coated - $88/1000
http://www.billybullets.com/Bullets.aspx

Bayou Bullets (Jerry Miculek's Brother)
  • 180gr, FN, Green Moly Coated -$78/1000
http://www.bayoubullets.net/40%20cal...20TC.html.html
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Old November 9, 2010, 10:53 PM   #18
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Let the 10mm be the beast it is... Sierra 190gr. Tournaments
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Old November 10, 2010, 12:01 PM   #19
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180 grain Zeros get my vote.
A 200 grain bullet was Norma Spec if memory serves. Hornady still makes them in a couple of different types.
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