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Bullet Mixed Bag?

F

firestorm1284

Sergeant
Full Member
Minuteman
Jun 19, 2010
286
0
40
Wisconsin
#1
Hey guys, new to the forum, not new to reloading. I have a question for all you avid reloaders.

I find that when I want to develop a load for a new rifle, I end up buying a whole bunch of different kinds of bullets to work up a load. Different brands, weights, and types. The problem is, you normally can tell after a few groups which bullets work the best, and then you have a bunch of leftover bullets that you can "shoot up", but aren't the best performers in your gun. That is a waste of money IMO.

The question is: Does anyone know if somebody makes a "grab bag" of sorts, with maybe 10-15 bullets each of a wide variety of different bullets, for a specific caliber? Obviously this wouldn't be practical for obscure rounds, but I feel like this would be very beneficial for common rounds. (I want to work up a load in .223 Rem right now)
 
#2
Re: Bullet Mixed Bag?

I do not know of any, since most retailers purchase them in the same packaging that you and I purchase. This is a great idea though. Since you have all of them left over, you could start making up bags of 100 with 5 types of 20 bullets. Call it a ladder pack.

Hmmmm, if you dont, I will.
 
#3
Re: Bullet Mixed Bag?

Roggom - that is sort of what I was thinking. I was pretty sure nobody was doing it, but you never know. I thought possibly a hide member? Anyway, if someone doesn't currently do it, they should. If I had the capital, I'd do it myself. It would be worth paying a small amount more per bullet, to not have to buy a whole box.

I haven't saved any up from the past, I just shot them. The whole time I was shooting I was thinking "This is great practice, but I feel like this is a waste of money, since I know this gun can shoot better!"
 
#4
Re: Bullet Mixed Bag?

Not too hard to sell partial boxes of bullets here in the classifieds...just price 'em right.

That said I saw a bullet swap thread somewhere on another site...worked pretty good IIRC. You pay it forward type thing.

Once you've gained some experience though, it isn't too tough to know what bullet you want to do what job, and cut out all the experimental guess work.
 
#5
Re: Bullet Mixed Bag?

Hey thanks for the info Tripwire. I'm thinking about putting a feeler out on the group buy page. If I could get enough interest in a few main calibers I could purchase bullets in bulk, and then separate them.

Like I said in the beginning here, I am fairly new to this forum. If memory serves, you need 100 posts to put something in the classifieds? Would that also apply to putting a "I'd like to see how much interest there would be" type post up?

I know I could easily get the 100 posts, but I don't want to throw a bunch of crap on this site. I only post when I have a good question, or something important to tell someone else.
 
#7
Re: Bullet Mixed Bag?

Wow... that really would be awesome. NO cost load testing. I wonder if other companies would do that too... I'll check into that and post back here the response.

I still think it would be ideal to have samples from all the major manufacturers. The top bullets from Sierra, Nosler, Hornady, Speer, Berger, and Barnes. I'm sure I'm missing a few, but you get the idea.
 
#9
Re: Bullet Mixed Bag?

IMO just do your reading.

Application and distance should be your primary consideration.

If its only short range work, but on larger game, chose a projectile thats good for game, easy to load up, easy to acquire and is easy on the wallet. Theres PLENTY to choose from in the side of things.

If its a match projectile well then thats ever easier. The main contenders here as Sierra, Hornady, Lapua and Berger. Have I missed anyone here... anyway those are all you need for match rounds, however there are other little brands as well that make good stuff, like the JLK range.

If your after long range game killing performance then your limiting yourself. Obviously, for long range work you want a ballistic advantage BUT you also want proven performance on game. Berger really stands out in this regard.

There are people (me included) that use match projectiles on game under the train of thought that shot placement is key.

Up to you what you go with the end of the day, but if you think about your application first and then availability, its not too hard to nail it down to a small few. Many before you have done this, which is why certain types of bullets have high volumes of sales.
 
#10
Re: Bullet Mixed Bag?

Maybe I didn't make my initial post clear. This is for target shooting only. The idea is to develop the most accurate load for a particular rifle. Everyone knows who the good match bullet makers are, you named most of them (I have also had excellent luck with Nosler and Speer).

The problem is that they are not all equivalent in a particular gun. One gun may LOVE the 69 grain SMK's, while another favors the 70 grain Bergers, or the 50 grain Hornady. There is just absolutely no way to tell which bullets will perform best in an individual rifle until you try them. Barrel twist will put you in a range of bullet weights, but that is about it.

Unless someone has come up with some magic formula to determine exactly what will work best, the only solution is to try them all. That is where I have the problem: I don't need 100 or even 50 bullets to know that bullet "A" isn't grouping as well as bullet "B".

As far as I can tell, particularly with very commercially available rounds (such as .223, which is the one I want to work up right now) I can only narrow it down to about 25 GOOD choices for target shooting alone. My 1:9 twist will allow me to shoot anything from 50 grain to 70 grain. There are bullets at 50, 52, 55, 60, 62, 64, 69 and 70 grains made by each bullet manufacturer (not all manufacturers make ALL of those bullet weights, but you get the idea). Although trying them all isn't necessary, I would like to try a good sampling of maybe 3 different bullets from each manufacturer.

Am I making sense?
 
#14
Re: Bullet Mixed Bag?

I just got off the phone with Nosler. It turns out that they do not do that... YET. However, they will be starting to do it around August of this year. The guy said that bullets will come in packages of 12, and they will call the program "Bullet Proof". Pretty clever.
 
#15
Re: Bullet Mixed Bag?

Also tried calling Sierra and Berger. Sierra apparently used to send out samples, but they no longer do. Berger is actually sending me some samples of a few different bullets, but only 5 of each. Not sure if that will really be enough to tell how good they are, but hey, it's something. I didn't sound like this is something that Berger usually does.

I'm going to post a "feeler" on the group buy page. I tried calling that sample bullets site a few times, but nobody answered the phone.
 
#16
Re: Bullet Mixed Bag?

Well I guess the group buy is off. There was some pretty good interest, but too many people wanted to pick and choose which bullets they would receive - which doesn't really work, since I'd be stuck with a whole bunch of extras I'd have to pay for.
 
#17
Re: Bullet Mixed Bag?

Also, I DID receive the samples from Berger. I got 6 each of the different bullets I wanted to test. 6 is pretty much the bare minimum to get any idea of what works in your gun - buy hey - it was free!
 
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