Generic "Remchester" bullets-what do you think??

Poodleshooter · January 26, 2001, 01:22 PM

Lets hear some experience with the various Remington and Winchester bulk bullets as sold by Midway, Cabelas, and others. These often offer a significant discount over Hornady/Sierra/Speer/Nosler bullets. Have you made some accurate rifle or pistol loads with them? Opinions on their quality?

Paul B. · January 26, 2001, 01:45 PM

I can't say anything about the remington generic bullets, but I bought several hundred each of Winchester's 150 gr. 7MM bullets and a similar amount of 150 gr. .30 caliber bullets. I can describe them in one word. CRAP! The 7's won't stay inside 3 inches in 3 different 7x57MM rifles, and none of my .30 cal.s will do any better. All I can figure is they're Big W's rejects.
Paul B.

RugerNo3 · January 26, 2001, 02:00 PM

I have excellent results with the Remington Core-Lokts. They don't look purty but they shoot accurately. Caveat Emptor! 180gr 357, 150gr 308, 300gr 458.Used with excellent results.

WalterGAII · January 26, 2001, 04:42 PM

I get great results with both Win. and Rem. bulk pistol bullets. So-so, with either's bulk rifle bullets. Best bulk .223 fmj's that I use are IMI's, which I get from Widener's.

Hot Core · January 26, 2001, 05:45 PM

A very long time ago I remember Layne Simpson lamenting that Remington had decided not to continue selling their PLated Hollow Points(PLHPs) to the market. At the time he said it had "Match bullet accuracy at bulk bullet cost."(or something like that)

Well, a couple of years ago, Remington once again made them available to handloaders. Just happened to remember Layne's article, so I ordered 500 of the 0.224" 50gr Rem PLHPs when Midway had them on sale. I use a whole lot of 0.224" bullets, so getting even "good" accuracy at a decent cost interested me.

I've been using them in a 223Rem that is capable of shooting in the 4s consistently and in the 3s enough to make me smile with Match Grade bullets. The 50gr Rem PLHPs consistently shoot in the 6s-8s using "random picked" bullets from the 500 count Lot. They impressed me enough that I ordered another 1000 the next time they went on sale.

Remington also makes them in a 0.224" 55gr size and a 0.243" 80gr size. I met a retired Winchester Rep at the range one day and he mentioned that he was shooting the 80gr Rem PLHPs in his 243Win. He said it was the best bullet "for the money" he had found for his 243Win.

Midway will be running them on sale in Feb. But, each rifle is a world of it's own and I'd still recommend you only buy 100-200 to try out before getting something your rifle might just not like.

Good hunting and clean 1-shot kills, Hot Core

Poodleshooter · January 26, 2001, 05:53 PM

The only one's I've shot so far are the 55gr Win FMJ's. My first test with those was on a windy day, in Malaysian cases over 25-26grains of WW748. I didn't crimp at all. Repeated feeding of test rounds through my AR seemed to indicate no setback. Nevertheless accuracy was TERRIBLE even at 100yds! I haven't given up yet, but the first showing wasn't too great.

Southla1 · January 26, 2001, 09:20 PM

I bought 100 bulk .257 120 grain Corlokt Remingtons some time back and they were extremely accurate .......... just like the factory loads in this particular bullet. .75 or so.

Airborne · January 26, 2001, 10:51 PM

I've had pretty good luck with the aforementioned bullets in pistol rounds. Comparing them to commercially packaged 100 round boxes of more expensive ammo, there is a difference, but it may not matter all that much for target shooting, etc. in a particular gun.

For instance, checking bulk W or R bullets with a .00005" micrometer reveals a variety of sizes, varying degrees of out-of-roundness, and taper. It also shows some very good bullets with respect to size as well. Mind you, the extreme spread rarely gets over .001" total, which really isn't too bad IMO. Batching will usually net some nice ones.

Measuring a Hornady XTP on the other hand will generally show less than a .0002" total deviation in the whole box on the one's I've troubled to measure, which is excellent I think. You get what you pay for when it comes to size consistency anyway.

How much this size variation from brand cheap to brand not-so-cheap plays on accuracy using, for instance, a slightly out-of-round bullet that is slammed down a guns rifling is anybody's guess, but I think an accurate gun will still be accurate all other things being equal.

Whether or not a cheaper jacketing material is used on these lower grade bullets I cannot say, but I tend to doubt it, unless you’re talking about the really high end stuff.

Consistency seems to be the one big thing that's really given up when buying bulk bullets over more expensive one's, and the importance of that is entirely up to the user. I know I'll keep buying them in quantity...I can't afford not to!

Best,
SM

Sub MOA · January 27, 2001, 04:59 AM

The .223 WIN FMJ/BT is very inexpensive (I paid $35 for my last thousand). I have loaded thousands of rounds with these bullets. I have found they can be extremely accurate (frequent 1/2" groups in my favorite toy

) if you find the right case, powder, primer combination. One problem, however, is that these bullets can vary greatly in ogive/nose shape which leads to greater variation in seating depth. If you're loading for accuracy you've got to keep your eye on this variation in seating depth when using these bullets. Also, weight variances are greater from bullet to bullet with these inexpensive Wins. For casual plinking, just load 'em up and blast away for pennies a pop. For greater accuracy, experiment a lot with components and try to be as meticulous as possible with weights and dimensions. These bullets work well for either use based on my experiences.

Sub

TEXAS LAWMAN · January 27, 2001, 05:57 PM

Have had good results with WW 52 gr .223 bullets (HP & soft nose) and Remington .308 (M1 Garand, 1917 Enfield) (80 soft nose) bullets purchased from Midway.

Johnny Guest · January 27, 2001, 06:52 PM

Poodleshooter--
I was skeptical until a friend ordered a thousand Remington .308, 165 gr. PSPCL (Pointed Soft Point Core Lokt) bullets from Midway several years ago. These are a flat based semi-spitzer, and they shot so well that they became our standard bullets in .30-06 and .308. I believe we also loaded some up in .300 Win Mag.

When we REALLY got down on the bench and tried our utmost, we THOUGHT we could detect a little difference--that these bullets were not quite as accurate as Sierra and Hornady match bullets. But, since we were both using mostly sporter-weight rifles with modest-power scopes (my son was using iron sights in a Springfield sporter,) it seemed to make little difference. So we used the moderately priced bullets to take a LOT of deer over the ensuing several years.

We had so much good luck with the 165 gr. PSPCLs that we reordered these, and also got a thousand on the bulk Remington .308 150 gr. Core Lokt RNSP for, I think, three or four .30-30s. We didn't test these for accuracy so much, as we were using them mostly in peep-sighted lever carbines. They worked fine on a few deer and one feral hog.

I've also used Remington 9 mm 116 gr and .45auto 230 gr, FMJRN bulk packed bullets with perfect satisfaction.

I've taken to buying my bulk bullets at Dallas Market Hall Gun Show from Blue Star Reloading Supplies. They are from Arkansas and set up at most of the big shows in this part of the country. If you want to try out a few, they'll sell in small lots. The more you buy, the cheaper the per-bullet cost becomes, and you can comparison shop. Also--it is not near so much hassle as mail order, AND, they have already paid the shipping. I'm sure there are other suppliers who will make you just as good a deal, but Blue Star has given me low prices and excellent service for many years. They also have great prices on cast bullets, and have a vast array of brass, both new and used.

Best regards,
Johnny

MOLON LABE!

swampyMO · January 28, 2001, 08:25 AM

Poodle Shooter,

I've used the 55 fmj Remington bullet, shot 4-500 of them so far. About the best I can do with it is 2-1/4 to 2-1/2 inch groups at 100. I'v tried a handful of the Winchester 55 fmj and jury is still out. Results are similar.

My best results have come from Sierra & Hornady 52 gr BTHP match bullets. I've shot a lot of the Sierras. Groups average down in the 1-1/4 inch range and my best ever (with any rifle, sight, scope, caliber, etc.) 5 shot 100 yd. group was with an AR (iron sights) and the Sierra 52 match over AA2200. Measured .625 inch, center to center.

Wish I could do that all the time.

Later,
Swampy

Nukem · January 28, 2001, 09:23 AM

I use the bulk Winchester 230gr JHP .45s, 115gr JHP in 9mm and the 55gr FMJBT in .223 by the thousands. No problems.
BTW, Midways prices aren't very good on these items latley. Try Widners.

Johnny Guest · January 28, 2001, 03:11 PM

I agree with SwampyMO about the Hornady and Sierra .223 match bullets--I've had VERY good results with both with W-748 powder. And I've used a lot of the Hornadys that I purchased in bulk from the Blue Star people.

I have not tried the Remington FMJs in .223 for loading. I WAS very gratified at the groups I shot with their factory loaded .223, both in the UMC yellow box and the regular Remington packaging. This is with both the 55 FMJ and the 55 SP. Groups not quite as good as my best handloaded efforts, but still quite good.

Nukem--My experience matches yours: Wider's has better prices. Also, a pretty wide selection of stuff that Midway doesn't carry.

Best,
Johnny
MOLON LABE!

taco · January 29, 2001, 02:19 AM

I buy and use thousands of Remington 115gr JHP from Midway and I have had fantastic results with it. My 9mm target load is loaded with this bullet and have gotten groups under 1". I also use thousands of Winchester 230gr FMJ from Miday and they work very well too. No complaints from me.

Poodleshooter · January 29, 2001, 11:32 AM

I buy from these guys: http://www.tntreloading.com
They beat Wideners on certain prices, including the Winchester 55gr FMJ's. This company shows up at our local shows and outsells almost everyone. I shop from him almost religiously.

Gewehr98 · January 29, 2001, 02:22 PM

Good to know I'm not the only one keeping Midway in the black. To date, I've used several hundred of the Remington 8mm 185 PSPCL bulk bullets in my 8mm Mauser, and they're wonderful, although you have to work up your own load data, most commercial data jumps from the 170 to the 200 grain bullets.

The Remington .303 (.311) 180gr Round Nose is a great bullet for the .303 British, especially in a full-size SMLE. I use it for practice in my 1917 NoIMkIII, saving money for match day, when I use the Sierra 174gr MatchKings for score. The heavy bullet is not quite so much fun in a No5Mk1 Jungle Carbine, it is stout, call me a wuss.

My 6" Luger LOVES the bulk 9mm Winchester 115gr FMJ's on top of WST, it's all I shoot in it, save for a box of 115gr Silvertips for "formal" occasions.

January 26, 2001, 05:45 PM	#5
Hot Core Senior Member Join Date: November 22, 2000 Posts: 118	Rem PLHPs - Outstanding for the price! A very long time ago I remember Layne Simpson lamenting that Remington had decided not to continue selling their PLated Hollow Points(PLHPs) to the market. At the time he said it had "Match bullet accuracy at bulk bullet cost."(or something like that) Well, a couple of years ago, Remington once again made them available to handloaders. Just happened to remember Layne's article, so I ordered 500 of the 0.224" 50gr Rem PLHPs when Midway had them on sale. I use a whole lot of 0.224" bullets, so getting even "good" accuracy at a decent cost interested me. I've been using them in a 223Rem that is capable of shooting in the 4s consistently and in the 3s enough to make me smile with Match Grade bullets. The 50gr Rem PLHPs consistently shoot in the 6s-8s using "random picked" bullets from the 500 count Lot. They impressed me enough that I ordered another 1000 the next time they went on sale. Remington also makes them in a 0.224" 55gr size and a 0.243" 80gr size. I met a retired Winchester Rep at the range one day and he mentioned that he was shooting the 80gr Rem PLHPs in his 243Win. He said it was the best bullet "for the money" he had found for his 243Win. Midway will be running them on sale in Feb. But, each rifle is a world of it's own and I'd still recommend you only buy 100-200 to try out before getting something your rifle might just not like. Good hunting and clean 1-shot kills, Hot Core

January 27, 2001, 06:52 PM	#11
Johnny Guest Moderator in Memoriam Join Date: August 28, 1999 Location: North Texas Posts: 4,123	Bulk Remington Bullets Poodleshooter-- I was skeptical until a friend ordered a thousand Remington .308, 165 gr. PSPCL (Pointed Soft Point Core Lokt) bullets from Midway several years ago. These are a flat based semi-spitzer, and they shot so well that they became our standard bullets in .30-06 and .308. I believe we also loaded some up in .300 Win Mag. When we REALLY got down on the bench and tried our utmost, we THOUGHT we could detect a little difference--that these bullets were not quite as accurate as Sierra and Hornady match bullets. But, since we were both using mostly sporter-weight rifles with modest-power scopes (my son was using iron sights in a Springfield sporter,) it seemed to make little difference. So we used the moderately priced bullets to take a LOT of deer over the ensuing several years. We had so much good luck with the 165 gr. PSPCLs that we reordered these, and also got a thousand on the bulk Remington .308 150 gr. Core Lokt RNSP for, I think, three or four .30-30s. We didn't test these for accuracy so much, as we were using them mostly in peep-sighted lever carbines. They worked fine on a few deer and one feral hog. I've also used Remington 9 mm 116 gr and .45auto 230 gr, FMJRN bulk packed bullets with perfect satisfaction. I've taken to buying my bulk bullets at Dallas Market Hall Gun Show from Blue Star Reloading Supplies. They are from Arkansas and set up at most of the big shows in this part of the country. If you want to try out a few, they'll sell in small lots. The more you buy, the cheaper the per-bullet cost becomes, and you can comparison shop. Also--it is not near so much hassle as mail order, AND, they have already paid the shipping. I'm sure there are other suppliers who will make you just as good a deal, but Blue Star has given me low prices and excellent service for many years. They also have great prices on cast bullets, and have a vast array of brass, both new and used. Best regards, Johnny MOLON LABE!

January 28, 2001, 03:11 PM	#14
Johnny Guest Moderator in Memoriam Join Date: August 28, 1999 Location: North Texas Posts: 4,123	Bulk bullets in .223 I agree with SwampyMO about the Hornady and Sierra .223 match bullets--I've had VERY good results with both with W-748 powder. And I've used a lot of the Hornadys that I purchased in bulk from the Blue Star people. I have not tried the Remington FMJs in .223 for loading. I WAS very gratified at the groups I shot with their factory loaded .223, both in the UMC yellow box and the regular Remington packaging. This is with both the 55 FMJ and the 55 SP. Groups not quite as good as my best handloaded efforts, but still quite good. Nukem--My experience matches yours: Wider's has better prices. Also, a pretty wide selection of stuff that Midway doesn't carry. Best, Johnny MOLON LABE!

Thread Tools	Search this Thread
Show Printable Version Email this Page	Search this Thread: Advanced Search

January 26, 2001, 01:22 PM	#1
Poodleshooter Senior Member Join Date: August 7, 2000 Location: Floating down the James River in VA Posts: 2,599	Lets hear some experience with the various Remington and Winchester bulk bullets as sold by Midway, Cabelas, and others. These often offer a significant discount over Hornady/Sierra/Speer/Nosler bullets. Have you made some accurate rifle or pistol loads with them? Opinions on their quality?

January 26, 2001, 01:45 PM	#2
Paul B. Senior Member Join Date: March 28, 1999 Location: Tucson, AZ Posts: 3,800	I can't say anything about the remington generic bullets, but I bought several hundred each of Winchester's 150 gr. 7MM bullets and a similar amount of 150 gr. .30 caliber bullets. I can describe them in one word. CRAP! The 7's won't stay inside 3 inches in 3 different 7x57MM rifles, and none of my .30 cal.s will do any better. All I can figure is they're Big W's rejects. Paul B.

January 26, 2001, 02:00 PM	#3
RugerNo3 Member Join Date: December 19, 2000 Location: Salem, OH Posts: 97	I have excellent results with the Remington Core-Lokts. They don't look purty but they shoot accurately. Caveat Emptor! 180gr 357, 150gr 308, 300gr 458.Used with excellent results.

January 26, 2001, 04:42 PM	#4
WalterGAII Junior member Join Date: November 7, 1999 Posts: 1,516	I get great results with both Win. and Rem. bulk pistol bullets. So-so, with either's bulk rifle bullets. Best bulk .223 fmj's that I use are IMI's, which I get from Widener's.

January 26, 2001, 05:53 PM	#6
Poodleshooter Senior Member Join Date: August 7, 2000 Location: Floating down the James River in VA Posts: 2,599	The only one's I've shot so far are the 55gr Win FMJ's. My first test with those was on a windy day, in Malaysian cases over 25-26grains of WW748. I didn't crimp at all. Repeated feeding of test rounds through my AR seemed to indicate no setback. Nevertheless accuracy was TERRIBLE even at 100yds! I haven't given up yet, but the first showing wasn't too great.

January 26, 2001, 09:20 PM	#7
Southla1 Member In Memoriam Join Date: March 19, 2000 Location: Jeanerette, La. Near the Posts: 1,999	I bought 100 bulk .257 120 grain Corlokt Remingtons some time back and they were extremely accurate .......... just like the factory loads in this particular bullet. .75 or so.

January 26, 2001, 10:51 PM	#8
Airborne Senior Member Join Date: December 11, 1999 Posts: 229	I've had pretty good luck with the aforementioned bullets in pistol rounds. Comparing them to commercially packaged 100 round boxes of more expensive ammo, there is a difference, but it may not matter all that much for target shooting, etc. in a particular gun. For instance, checking bulk W or R bullets with a .00005" micrometer reveals a variety of sizes, varying degrees of out-of-roundness, and taper. It also shows some very good bullets with respect to size as well. Mind you, the extreme spread rarely gets over .001" total, which really isn't too bad IMO. Batching will usually net some nice ones. Measuring a Hornady XTP on the other hand will generally show less than a .0002" total deviation in the whole box on the one's I've troubled to measure, which is excellent I think. You get what you pay for when it comes to size consistency anyway. How much this size variation from brand cheap to brand not-so-cheap plays on accuracy using, for instance, a slightly out-of-round bullet that is slammed down a guns rifling is anybody's guess, but I think an accurate gun will still be accurate all other things being equal. Whether or not a cheaper jacketing material is used on these lower grade bullets I cannot say, but I tend to doubt it, unless you’re talking about the really high end stuff. Consistency seems to be the one big thing that's really given up when buying bulk bullets over more expensive one's, and the importance of that is entirely up to the user. I know I'll keep buying them in quantity...I can't afford not to! Best, SM

January 27, 2001, 04:59 AM	#9
Sub MOA Senior Member Join Date: June 28, 2000 Location: WA Posts: 292	The .223 WIN FMJ/BT is very inexpensive (I paid $35 for my last thousand). I have loaded thousands of rounds with these bullets. I have found they can be extremely accurate (frequent 1/2" groups in my favorite toy ) if you find the right case, powder, primer combination. One problem, however, is that these bullets can vary greatly in ogive/nose shape which leads to greater variation in seating depth. If you're loading for accuracy you've got to keep your eye on this variation in seating depth when using these bullets. Also, weight variances are greater from bullet to bullet with these inexpensive Wins. For casual plinking, just load 'em up and blast away for pennies a pop. For greater accuracy, experiment a lot with components and try to be as meticulous as possible with weights and dimensions. These bullets work well for either use based on my experiences. Sub

January 27, 2001, 05:57 PM	#10
TEXAS LAWMAN Senior Member Join Date: August 27, 1999 Posts: 304	Have had good results with WW 52 gr .223 bullets (HP & soft nose) and Remington .308 (M1 Garand, 1917 Enfield) (80 soft nose) bullets purchased from Midway.

January 28, 2001, 08:25 AM	#12
swampyMO Senior Member Join Date: December 29, 1999 Location: Missouri Posts: 327	Poodle Shooter, I've used the 55 fmj Remington bullet, shot 4-500 of them so far. About the best I can do with it is 2-1/4 to 2-1/2 inch groups at 100. I'v tried a handful of the Winchester 55 fmj and jury is still out. Results are similar. My best results have come from Sierra & Hornady 52 gr BTHP match bullets. I've shot a lot of the Sierras. Groups average down in the 1-1/4 inch range and my best ever (with any rifle, sight, scope, caliber, etc.) 5 shot 100 yd. group was with an AR (iron sights) and the Sierra 52 match over AA2200. Measured .625 inch, center to center. Wish I could do that all the time. Later, Swampy

January 28, 2001, 09:23 AM	#13
Nukem Senior Member Join Date: January 29, 2000 Posts: 709	I use the bulk Winchester 230gr JHP .45s, 115gr JHP in 9mm and the 55gr FMJBT in .223 by the thousands. No problems. BTW, Midways prices aren't very good on these items latley. Try Widners.

January 29, 2001, 02:19 AM	#15
taco Senior Member Join Date: April 28, 2000 Location: USA Posts: 936	I buy and use thousands of Remington 115gr JHP from Midway and I have had fantastic results with it. My 9mm target load is loaded with this bullet and have gotten groups under 1". I also use thousands of Winchester 230gr FMJ from Miday and they work very well too. No complaints from me.

January 29, 2001, 11:32 AM	#16
Poodleshooter Senior Member Join Date: August 7, 2000 Location: Floating down the James River in VA Posts: 2,599	I buy from these guys: http://www.tntreloading.com They beat Wideners on certain prices, including the Winchester 55gr FMJ's. This company shows up at our local shows and outsells almost everyone. I shop from him almost religiously.

January 29, 2001, 02:22 PM	#17
Gewehr98 Senior Member Join Date: June 30, 2000 Location: Token Creek, WI Posts: 4,067	Good to know I'm not the only one keeping Midway in the black. To date, I've used several hundred of the Remington 8mm 185 PSPCL bulk bullets in my 8mm Mauser, and they're wonderful, although you have to work up your own load data, most commercial data jumps from the 170 to the 200 grain bullets. The Remington .303 (.311) 180gr Round Nose is a great bullet for the .303 British, especially in a full-size SMLE. I use it for practice in my 1917 NoIMkIII, saving money for match day, when I use the Sierra 174gr MatchKings for score. The heavy bullet is not quite so much fun in a No5Mk1 Jungle Carbine, it is stout, call me a wuss. My 6" Luger LOVES the bulk 9mm Winchester 115gr FMJ's on top of WST, it's all I shoot in it, save for a box of 115gr Silvertips for "formal" occasions.