Penn Bullets - Report your RECENT experience

Hi All,

I just wanted to report on my latest purchase from Penn Bullets.

I ordered 1000 38 158gr SWCBB "Target Grade" from Penn on September 7th, and they arrived today, Oct 26th. Penn Bullets lead time tends to be long, so I was not surprised or upset by this.

The bullets weighed (I weighed ten bullets) between ~164 and ~165 grains each according to my (cheap) scale. I believe that the target grade is a denser alloy than usual, which accounts for the weight difference to my satisfaction (plus a grain for the lube).

The lube appears to have been applied with somewhat more care than has been usual for Penn (or their competitors - Everybody seems to get a little fast-and-loose at lube time), with the lube neatly filling the lube groove, and only very rarely appearing as decoration elsewhere on the bullets. I hope the neater lubing is a new feature, and I hope it encourages the other casters to look more carefully at their lubing.

The bullets are unusually shiny. I was rather surprised when I opened the box - I don't know what to attribute this to, but it looks nice. There are very light mold lines on the bullets, and the bases are exceptionally flat, with a neat round bright spot where the sprue was sheared off.

I do not want to suggest that these bullets look like handmade, but they look rather better than most of the bullets I've bought this year.

I think it is a VERY good thing that there are several quality low-priced bullet casters, and I think that the vigorous (if sometimes excessively so) competition means that we get better bullets. Competition means the casters have to tread a fine line between satisfying buyers and keeping expenses down. If we were all willing to pay $200/thousand for bullets they would, I'm sure, look like little jewels. Earlier in the year I bought bullets from Penn that had lube slopped all over them, and Bob said he would clean up his act, and HE DID.

Because I started this thread, I will feel responsible if people use it as an opportunity to drill Bob a new one, so if you had a bad experience please be civil and take the time to explain clearly what went wrong. And please try to avoid steering the discussion to another bullet caster. Start another thread with a similar title using the name of the other caster.

I am not a shill for Penn Bullets and I've said equally good things about other caster's bullets. If I had a better scale and a really good ball mic' I'd report better weight and dimensional info. If you want to give me a scale or a mic', or any old HE's you have lying around and aren't using, PM me and I'll give you my address ;^)

Though Penn Bullets may have had some quality/delivery issues in the past , (good help is hard to find) , Bob has always stood by his product. I used to see him at VF gunshow years ago and buy his 230gr .45 TCBB , and after accumulating several dozen partially formed or lubed bullets , I showed them to him at a later show. I wasn't angry , or asking for anything in recompence. He apologized , and handed me another box of 500 , no charge , no attitude.

I buy my cast bullets locally to save on shipping , but if Penn still was at the shows , I would still buy from him.

He is still the only one I know that casts the heavyweight SSK bullets , especially the 295gr .41 mag.

I have had fantastic success with Penn Bullets. The consistency in bullet weight bullet to bullet is within a grain on his standard grade and that's measured on a digital scale. Leading is the lowest I've seen in many years; virtually none. A friend turned me on to Bob years ago and he's now my only supplier. You just cant beat the craftsmanship of his experienced employees and Bob's experience in the industry. I've also never had a more helpful supplier; Bob knows his stuff. And I say this with NO personal interest in Penn Bullets but for the benefit of buying their product. Sometimes their lead time is a bit longer than others, hey he's popular among competitive shooters, but your inventory control can make that a non issue; just don't order your bullets just before you need them...it's well worth the wait.

I only had to wait more than 2 weeks on one order from Penn and that was for some .44 caliber 240gr. TCBB bullets. I am very satisfied with the price/quality. Great accuracy with 158gr Target Grade TCBB for .38 Special/.357 Magnum and 200gr LSWC in .45.

One thing I really appreciate is the up front and clear "Order Processing Info": Order Processing Info

Another great thing is Bob's advice. On my first order, he recommended a different bullet from what I thought I wanted. When I expressed uncertainty, he volunteered to include 50 of the bullets I originally intended to order so that I could compare them. He was right about which bullets were more accurate in that specific gun. You'd expect that from a bullet maker, but he also gave me a chance to prove it to myself.

Just received my Penn Bullets

Am a newbie to reloading, and although delivery of these bullets was not within his quoted time frame that was, for me, a non-issue. Am currently trying to get a load worked up for range use. Using PMC "once fired brass" - .892 case length I have to seat bullets to a COAL of 1.183 to 1.185 to pass the "plunk test in my pistols. Will be using W-231 powder and am doing research to find a safe minimum charge before I shoot them. Don't want to damage my pistols, or worse, cause bodily harm to myself. They are 230 gr. LRN, and compared to the bullets I can purchase locally the Penn"s look like GEMS. So far I am very pleased with Penn, but just worried about the COAL due I'm sure to the profile of the bullets. I apologize if I put this info in the wrong thread.

TAROMAN said:

My latest batch (non-standard sizing) arrived in about 3 weeks.
Great bullets, but the post lady doesn't seem to agree!

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Oh yeah, my postman hates Penn Bullets!

TheTinMan said:

Oh yeah, my postman hates Penn Bullets!

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Tell him its job security.
And to think that people that pay money to go to a gym to lift weights and work out when all they have to do is come work for me and I won't even charge them for a membership.

I recently compared the performance of the Penn 38 158 SWC's with the Penn 38 148 DEWC's. Both bullets were loaded over 3.5gr Bullseye. I shot 150 of each at 25 yards, offhand, and the DEWC's shot noticeably tighter than the SWC's. Zero leading from either bullet.

I once weighed a sample of rifle bullets from Penn. The standard deviation of weight on the sample of these cast bullets was less than the standard deviation on a sample of 180 gr. Hornady BTSPs.

That speaks very well for manufacturing process controls at Penn.

His bullets are brighter and prettier than a lot of others. However, I will rely on his consistency.

I still have some Penn .358 and.429 that I purchased directly at a near-Pittsburgh, PA gun show years ago.
Fine accuracy with all power levels.

been using his bullets for years. great product and a very helpful person. he really knows his bullets.

Penn Bullets Recent Experience

Here are some facts about my recent experience with Penn Bullets:

4 Sept 2013: I ordered 9mm, 38, and 45 bullets. Penn Web site claimed 1-3 weeks typical for shipment.
4 Sept 2013: Penn charged my credit card $275
11 Nov 2013: I requested status on my order.
12 Nov 2013: Penn responded that they planned to make 9mm and 45 cal bullets that week
12 Nov 2013: I requested that they ship what they have and refund my card for the rest
12 Nov 2013: Penn responded they would ship what they could
3 Dec 2013: I requested status
4 Dec 2013: Penn responded they would ship 9mms and 45s tomorrow
17 Dec 2013: I requested status.

As of 23 Dec, 2013 no response to 17 Dec status request, no bullets, and no credit back to my card.

I have bought from Penn Bullets before. I was always happy with the product quality and delivery promptness. However, it has been a couple years since I last ordered, and this thread is about recent experience.

I will update as appropriate if status changes.

Dec 24: I got a shipping notification on my email
Dec 27: 3 of the 4 bullet types I ordered arrived priority 2-Day shipping. Bullets looked good.

TrueTonto said:

Here are some facts about my recent experience with Penn Bullets:

4 Sept 2013: I ordered 9mm, 38, and 45 bullets. Penn Web site claimed 1-3 weeks typical for shipment.
4 Sept 2013: Penn charged my credit card $275
11 Nov 2013: I requested status on my order.
12 Nov 2013: Penn responded that they planned to make 9mm and 45 cal bullets that week
12 Nov 2013: I requested that they ship what they have and refund my card for the rest
12 Nov 2013: Penn responded they would ship what they could
3 Dec 2013: I requested status
4 Dec 2013: Penn responded they would ship 9mms and 45s tomorrow
17 Dec 2013: I requested status.

As of 23 Dec, 2013 no response to 17 Dec status request, no bullets, and no credit back to my card.

I have bought from Penn Bullets before. I was always happy with the product quality and delivery promptness. However, it has been a couple years since I last ordered, and this thread is about recent experience.

I will update as appropriate if status changes.

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I cant help but notice this is your first post on this forum; curious.

Lets face it Obama is scaring the **** out of shooters and everybody is hording with every supplier. I know you know what it's like to try and purchase ammunition off the shelf; why do you expect components to be different? Plus there's the threat of the "End of this year no more lead bullets". So if you were in his shoes, how much money would you be spending on tooling up to handle THIS rush on ammunition or components? You know from every ammo manufacturer in the country, nobody's tooling up because of the threat of it all falling apart.

Penn Bullets makes great bullets and sells them cheap compared to what you get, that makes them busy.

TrueTonto said:

Here are some facts about my recent experience with Penn Bullets:

4 Sept 2013: I ordered 9mm, 38, and 45 bullets. Penn Web site claimed 1-3 weeks typical for shipment.
4 Sept 2013: Penn charged my credit card $275
11 Nov 2013: I requested status on my order.
12 Nov 2013: Penn responded that they planned to make 9mm and 45 cal bullets that week
12 Nov 2013: I requested that they ship what they have and refund my card for the rest
12 Nov 2013: Penn responded they would ship what they could
3 Dec 2013: I requested status
4 Dec 2013: Penn responded they would ship 9mms and 45s tomorrow
17 Dec 2013: I requested status.

As of 23 Dec, 2013 no response to 17 Dec status request, no bullets, and no credit back to my card.

I have bought from Penn Bullets before. I was always happy with the product quality and delivery promptness. However, it has been a couple years since I last ordered, and this thread is about recent experience.

I will update as appropriate if status changes.

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Well.... welcome to the forum...

I have never ordered from Penn, so I wont make a comment on them good or bad. But when someone joins any forum just to slam or sing praise of a manufacturer, red flags get raised.

You could be telling the complete truth, you could be lying, who knows, but I take things like this with a grain of salt on the internet. Especially since these things tend to be one sided.

Penn bullets are about the most accurate I have used. With that said I have only used the 158 gr .357 TCBB premium at magnum loads of around 1300+ fps from a 4" revolver.

While there is a large stockpile of lead for bullet casting, it is finite. The last lead mine in the United States is closing as of 31-Dec-13. Thank your tree hugging democrat environmentalist. Bullet prices will begin to clime faster and higher than they have in the past and ultimately be unavailable.
My advise, invest, yes, INVEST in casting equipment and make your own. You can even make your own lube for very little cost. Visit your local recycle yards. You usually can buy lead at economical prices.
And don't overlook cast bullets in center fire rifles either.
cbr

cbrobertson said:

While there is a large stockpile of lead for bullet casting, it is finite. The last lead mine in the United States is closing as of 31-Dec-13. Thank your tree hugging democrat environmentalist. Bullet prices will begin to clime faster and higher than they have in the past and ultimately be unavailable.
My advise, invest, yes, INVEST in casting equipment and make your own. You can even make your own lube for very little cost. Visit your local recycle yards. You usually can buy lead at economical prices.
And don't overlook cast bullets in center fire rifles either.
cbr

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This is garbage, I'm not even going to address it other than stop spreading rumors and fueling panic. Doe Run was a primary smelter, the VAST majority of our lead is recycled.


Anyway I remembered a thread in on 1911forum about Penn bullets earlier this month. There was a death in the family.

Robert Palermo- Penn Bullets - 1911Forum

My little experience....

The bullets I've gotten have been consistent, well formed and nicely lubed and seem to perform just great. They deliver quicker than they say they will and I haven't had any trouble with them getting them right out the door and to me. The lead times were so long at one point that my debit card expired, not their fault. Twice he has called me on the phone and we've gotten whatever problem straightened right out and got my bullets to me in a few days. Great to do business with. There are other very good casting outfits out there but Penn is as good as any and better than many.

BlueOvalBandit said:

This is garbage, I'm not even going to address it other than stop spreading rumors and fueling panic. Doe Run was a primary smelter, the VAST majority of our lead is recycled.


Anyway I remembered a thread in on 1911forum about Penn bullets earlier this month. There was a death in the family.

Robert Palermo- Penn Bullets - 1911Forum

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^^ This . Bullet lead is recycled lead .