Post by jc91087 on Feb 28, 2016 18:37:20 GMT -7
In my pursuit of finding a bullet that is accurate enough for NRA Action Pistol but doesn't cost a fortune, I ordered a 150gr Semi wadcutter 9mm bullet from BayouBullets.com. I have been using Hornady's 115 grain XTP bullet for big matches but they cost me $300 to load a thousand rounds. With how much I've been shooting lately I've been trying to cut costs where I can. Hence Bayou Bullets. The bullets are coated with the Hi-Tek coating and you get to pick from three different colors: red, yellow, or green. While I've had these bullets for some time now, today was the first time that I actually got to shoot them.
I worked up my loads based on data from Winchester and my Lyman reloading manual. I used Starline brass with a Winchester primer and WSF for my powder. I started with the minimum load of 3.4 and went up to 4 grains of WSF and kept the O.A.L. at 1.140. I shot the loads prone at 25 yards on an AP-1 target using my Glock 34 with a KKM barrel.
With the XTPs I have been getting getting groups under one inch at 25 yards and at 50 yards, if the stars and the planets aline, I can get around one inch. These bullets have spoiled me so I have high expectations when it comes to accuracy. The x-ring in NRA AP is 4 inches, so if the bullet can hold that at 50 yards I'll be pleased. At 25 yards, I like to see groups at two inches or less. With Bayou's bullet it wasn't until 4 grains of WSF that I started to see groups like that.
Attachment Deleted
After that I took it out to 50 yards. I've found that sometimes bullets will look pretty good at 25 yards but fall apart at 50 yards. Unfortunately, this was one of those times.
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While it is certainly possible that those two fliers were me, I don't think that it was. Also, you'll notice that they grouped almost five inches higher than what they did at 25 yards. I haven't seen that before and I was using the same aiming point as before so I'm not sure why that's happening. I'll have to do some more 50 yard shooting to make sure that they do that every time.
I randomly weighed ten of the bullets before I loaded them. They varied between 147.4 and 148.3 grains. While this may not seem like a big deal but they are advertised as 150 grain bullets so I'm not sure why they just don't label them 147 grain bullets. I also wonder if the variance in the bullet weight might play a small part in the loss of accuracy at 50 yards. In comparison to the gold standard of bullets, Hornady's XTP, they only varied by .1 grain if it even deviated at all from its listed weight.
So while they are decent at 25 yards, I think that these will end up being a no-go for Action Pistol. They might, however, be great for bowling pins so I'll have to give them a try there.
I worked up my loads based on data from Winchester and my Lyman reloading manual. I used Starline brass with a Winchester primer and WSF for my powder. I started with the minimum load of 3.4 and went up to 4 grains of WSF and kept the O.A.L. at 1.140. I shot the loads prone at 25 yards on an AP-1 target using my Glock 34 with a KKM barrel.
With the XTPs I have been getting getting groups under one inch at 25 yards and at 50 yards, if the stars and the planets aline, I can get around one inch. These bullets have spoiled me so I have high expectations when it comes to accuracy. The x-ring in NRA AP is 4 inches, so if the bullet can hold that at 50 yards I'll be pleased. At 25 yards, I like to see groups at two inches or less. With Bayou's bullet it wasn't until 4 grains of WSF that I started to see groups like that.
Attachment Deleted
After that I took it out to 50 yards. I've found that sometimes bullets will look pretty good at 25 yards but fall apart at 50 yards. Unfortunately, this was one of those times.
Attachment Deleted
While it is certainly possible that those two fliers were me, I don't think that it was. Also, you'll notice that they grouped almost five inches higher than what they did at 25 yards. I haven't seen that before and I was using the same aiming point as before so I'm not sure why that's happening. I'll have to do some more 50 yard shooting to make sure that they do that every time.
I randomly weighed ten of the bullets before I loaded them. They varied between 147.4 and 148.3 grains. While this may not seem like a big deal but they are advertised as 150 grain bullets so I'm not sure why they just don't label them 147 grain bullets. I also wonder if the variance in the bullet weight might play a small part in the loss of accuracy at 50 yards. In comparison to the gold standard of bullets, Hornady's XTP, they only varied by .1 grain if it even deviated at all from its listed weight.
So while they are decent at 25 yards, I think that these will end up being a no-go for Action Pistol. They might, however, be great for bowling pins so I'll have to give them a try there.
