Missouri has a coated 158 grain .38 SWC with no grease grove .
Anyone shoot these in their Specials or magnums ?
I thought about trying the softer alloy in loads under 1000 FPS .
Thanks in advance.

Some of those type bullets do "Double Duty".

Some shooters use them in 9mm shooting games for pistol meets or even in their 9mm 16" or rifles, for what ever.....................

You seem to be seeing more companies producing coated bullets without the grease groove. Of course coated bullets have no need for a grease groove.

I have heard two schools of thought on the issue. Once goes that get rid of the grease groove and provide more bearing surface, the other goes leave the grease groove in as it reduces bearing surface, hence it reduces pressure (alla all copper rifle bullets)

Not sure the later argument holds with soft, slippery bullets but - -

I think as bullet molds wear out and folks move to coated bullets you will see more bullets lacking the old, familiar grease grooves.

I’m now a convert to coated Bullets. Montana Bullet Works will cast coat their Lyman bullet configurations upon special request/order.

T&B Bullets (Utah) casts and Polymer coats authentic Lyman 358429s. Great seller to deal with also.

I tried powder coat ,but at the end of the day I went back to a regular lubed bullet using LBT soft . To me the accuracy suffered a bit . You might have the opposite results. Regards Paul

I bought 1000 of the lube groove 158s and 1000 without. Couldn't tell the difference in how they shot.
While I do not think coated bullets are quite as accurate as lubed bullets, it is not significant with my shooting, and they are much cleaner to load and to shoot, so I will probably continue to buy them.

I really would like to see a good solid comparison of accuracy, done with a ransome rest and several loads and revolvers, something high quality!!

So far, I have not read a solid comparison in any of the magazines I take, including Handloader. Perhaps I just missed it, don't know!!

__________________
Richard Gillespie
FBINA 102

There are coated bullets and there are "Quality" coated bullets.

My first order of coated bullets were not the best.
They had "Seems" on their sides from the dies and the coating was dimpled and ruff.

Back then they were sprayed or dipped with different "Batters",
to go into the oven and come out and hopefully be done, just right.

They are a lot better today but I am now stocked up with lots of plated bullets so I might not ever go back to the coated, unless a company comes out with a new improved "Gota have".

I've always cast my own bullets for my revolvers with good success. Still the convenience and current quality of commercially cast bullets has bitten me and saves me a lot of time in garage casting and sizing.

I've now tried the coated bullets in the 9mm, 38 Special and the .357 Magnum (downloaded to 1,000 fps) and I'm impressed. I'll probably continue to shoot the coated bullets now and leave the casting pot on the shelf. I just looked at the Missouri Bullet web site a few days ago and noted the lack of a lube groove on a couple of their offerings. I'll probably give them a try.

__________________
Keep your powder dry.

I'm not sure about "grooveless" coated bullets other than it's a "sales gimmick". Similar the "hard cast" bullets and commercial casters casting their bullets too hard to "give the buyer (those new to cast bullet shooting) what they want". Personally I would have to see a few hundred round comparison, each in a few different calibers, between coated lube groove bullets and coated no groove bullets (and not manufacturer's hype)... .

FWIW I've PCed a bunch of bullets for my revolvers, pistols and a couple rifles and accuracy stayed pretty much the same, slight advantage to nekkid cast, velocities went up a very small percentage if at all.

I cast my own bullets and have 1 mold without the lube grooves. It's a 135 grain mold for 9mm. The biggest benefit is that the bullets just drop out of the mold without any effort. Other than that benefit while casting I can not think of any other measurable benefit. There are 100's of proven designs with lube grooves and everyone of those designs can be powder coated. Bullets without lube grooves can only be powder coated. Not a deal for someone buying all their bullets but, but could be a deal breaker for a home caster. I think the general consensus is that coated bullets aren't quite as accurate as lubed bullets but I'm guessing you'd need to be a top tier shooter to ever notice a difference.

I'm unconventional in that I started powder coating and after a couple of years found a good deal on a Lyman Lubesizer and have now mainly switched to lubed bullets. The process of coating the bullets is twice as long as just running them through the sizer. I still PC some bullets but for 45 ACP, 9mm and 38 Special (the rounds I shoot the most of) I just lube.

Anyways... I don't think you'll notice any difference from any other similar 158 SWC design.

I only order coated bullets now. Love the way they shoot; hate the way they smell (like an electrical fire). But, they are accurate and very clean, no messy hands and do not foul the barrel.

I have found zero loss in accuracy with coated bullets. I've had great success with Missouri and SNS Casting. I just recently on a suggestion from a friend tried Brazos Coated Bullets. I tried the 148gr WC and it has the little button top which I like but can't tell you why. I was really impressed with the quality and the accuracy of their bullets as well. If I don't need a bullet to expand, I can't see me ever using anything else but coated.

I've purchased several thousand coated bullets from Missouri Bullet Co. in .38, .45, and recently 9mm. All of the .38s and .45s which I purchased had the lube groove. Accuracy and consistent weight have been generally good, and typically 80% plus have been within 1.0 grains of each other. I just bought and tested some 124 grain grooved and 124 grain non-grooved RN in 9mm with 4 different powders. My sample size was small (10 of each identical load with each bullet type). I have 2 observations. First, I have to crimp far above the lube groove in order to plunk. Second, the non-grooved were the same or more accurate than grooved. My hypothothesis, in addition to the other posts is that the groove may cause a little inconsistency, albeit, very small.