I would like to hear what others have found when specing out the new box of bullets you might get?? When a company says they're bullets are Match quality or better, what does that really mean? Is each bullet from the same box expected to be less than +/_ a few thousands on length, width, weight, ogive, etc? And if so where are these specs to be found?
Getting a new box of bullets from your favorite store...
- Thread starter Nick Danger
- Start date
I would go off of personal experience from someone else or myself before believing what it says. Sometimes a bullet manufacturers website says what's involved making their 'Match' bullet, but then those words might be marketing hype. I've had good experience with Berger and Sierra. Some of the Hornady bullets too. I'm sure there are others but I stick with the ones I mentioned.
Match is a relative term. Match as opposed to FMJ bulk is meaningful. Match as opposed to something else is meaningless. Most premium bullets are pretty consistent where it counts nowadays.
And that brings up another question about factory seconds... even if they say that they are Match with just a cosmetic issue
???
Majority of the time, just cosmetic and no appreciable dimensional difference.
Occasionally there is an issue.
There is no one size fits all answer or a 100% of time answer.
Dies wear out, differences between form dies that swage core into cup yield differences in bearing surface length and / or ogive length. Lot#s are usually tied to new die as well as lot # of materials used.
Buy enough of a single lot # of bullets to wear out your barrel.
Some lot #s are better than others even if dimensionally everything measures out the same. Maybe test to see what lot # works best and then buy a barrels worth of that lot #.
Some of the standbys are Sierra matchking, Hornady amax/eldm/atip, various forms of Bergers(vld, hybrids, etc). And then you have the more “custom” solids. These are only some examples, there are plenty of others. Keep in mind your intended range you plan on shooting, caliber, twist rate, and if you plan on hunting with this ammo or not. A lot of variables involved. Give us a little more imfo about your setup And what you plan on doing and we can help narrow down some good options for you.
Cosmetic differences aside, factory seconds could be a mix of different lots of the same bullet with bto measurements all over the place. They may not shoot to your standards.
Then there’s the type of match: Benchrest? PRS? In the former you want the tightest tolerances. In the latter it doesn’t matter as much.
I have gone through dozens of lots of SMK over the years and in almost every case there are two different bullets mixed in there, at about 80/20 ratio. Match grade? I have never seen that with Berger.
Hornady A-Tips are prolly the most dimensionally consistent conventional bullets on the market right now. But they cost a lot more.
You talking about shooters pro shop? That’s where I get all my bullets. They shoot great, I can’t tell a difference other than I’m only spending 20 cents per bullet.
I got some Hornady seconds from mid south and they shot poorly but the barrel I tried them in has ended up being a turd regardless so I’m less inclined to blame the bullets now.
Big fan of Nosler "blems" from Shooter's Pro Shop for years. No issues ever with 223, 308, or 6mm projectiles.
I have had Nosler blems from SPS that wouldn't shoot for shit. I have had hornady blems from Midway that wouldn't shoot for shit. I have also had a bunch that were fine.
Similar threads
