9mm bullet types for target accuracy

Nevada Ed

Nevada Ed

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The last big order of plated bullets that I received was 115 PRN
that had a Dia. of .355"

My last big order of lead coated bullets were 115 LRN at .356" Dia.

Both bullets had their good & bad targets with all the different OAL
and all the types of powder and range of fps that I loaded them to.

I am undecided on what way to go.
The plated seat easier but the coated are a little lower in price,
even though, there are a few "fat ones" in a box of 500.

What do your pistols prefer for light to standard "Practice" loads?
Thank you for your views.
 
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I have no use for plated bullets, but if they work for you, certainly use them. I started working with cast bullets in the 9mm cartridge more than thirty years ago when no one had much interest in such. I had some good results with my own cast bullets sized to .356", but only if I pushed them hard. Apparently they obturate somewhat at higher pressure and give decent accuracy.

What I found that worked a lot better was sizing bullets as large as could be safely chambered, usually .358" or just a hair under. These work fine in my Walther P4, Beretta 92F, and Sig P226.

I've tried at least ten powders and at least twelve bullets over many years. The best and most accurate 9mm bullet I've found to date is cast from an obsolete Lyman .38 Special mould #358212. This is a 150 grain (wheelweight alloy) round nose design that feeds perfectly in my guns. I size these in a .358" die and usually load with Bullseye powder. I seat to magazine length, about 1.16".

My loads measure well within SAAMI specs but don't chamber in a Glock or H&K - I don't know whether the cartridge diameter is too large or the OAL is too long. Since they weren't my guns and I have no interest in buying either, I didn't investigate.

Again, use the largest diameter bullet that will safely chamber. It will likely work best, should be accurate, and won't lead the bore. I think you'll find heavier bullets shoot better than lighter ones, but I haven't done enough work in this area to say that for certain.
 
I have yet to try coated lead, but I have loaded 147 grain plated in 9x19mm. Accuracy was good, at least as good as factory ammo. I have also loaded 115 grain JHP bullets, again, accuracy on par with factory ammo. 9x19 is not my favorite for reloading, tiny little cases compared to 357 Mag, 44 Mag, 10mm Auto and 45 ACP.
 
stansdds said:
I have yet to try coated lead, but I have loaded 147 grain plated in 9x19mm. Accuracy was good, at least as good as factory ammo. I have also loaded 115 grain JHP bullets, again, accuracy on par with factory ammo. 9x19 is not my favorite for reloading, tiny little cases compared to 357 Mag, 44 Mag, 10mm Auto and 45 ACP.
Click to expand...

I haven't tried coated either, but can't imagine them shooting better than a "proper" cast bullet. When the competitive accuracy champs in the Cast Bullet Association go to coated bullets, then I'll know there's something to the process and I'll switch, too. That hasn't happened.
 
When they are on $ale it is pretty hard to beat Hornady HAPs...?

Cheers!

P.S. I have pretty good results using the Berrys HBRN-TP & HBFP-TPs as well.
 
STORMINORMAN said:
When they are on $ale it is pretty hard to beat Hornady HAPs...?

Cheers!

P.S. I have pretty good results using the Berrys HBRN-TP & HBFP-TPs as well.
Click to expand...

This is 100% true but, HAP's never go on sale, here.
All the plated or coated bullets in the area are .356" Dia.

A few of my 9's prefer the .355" bullets, for tight target loads.
 
as Nevada said above, a lot depends what diameter bullet your gun needs. I hve found my 929 needs a .358 cast bullet for any kind of group, and my 92x will shoot either .357 or .358 equally good or equally poorly depending on moon phase and what I had for breakfast.

I normally shoot Missouri Bullet Co. coated bullets. But have had one good load using 135 plated bullets, but I forgot the maker.

Plated bullets and coated bullets are not the same. Plated is a thin coat of copper, while coating is a high tec lube.
 
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I have played with the 115-147 gr bullets and find I do best with 124 gr RN followed with the 124 gr truncated cone. The coned (Ly 356402) has a meplate which I like but the best groups have come from the Lyman 358242 rn. Playing with different modern lubes or powder coating shows very minimal differences.
 
I've found the Lee TL356-95-RF to shoot like a little wadcutter out of my pistols. I powder coat them and size .357 for 380, and .358 for 9mm. Some 9mm's have trouble feeding them. I sometimes load them too light to work the action. Those light loads make superb target, plinking, hunting loads. I can squirrel hunt with my 380.
 
Once I found RMR bullets, I stopped buying anybody else's jacketed 9mm bullets. They are excellent and extremely consistent - good enough for Bullseye competition.

Accuracy in my P210 is superb. Over a load of Universal, they will put 5 shots into 1" at 25 yds from a sandbag rest. Not that I can do that offhand, but knowing the gun/ammo can means I only have to work on me.

The owner of RMR is a down-to-earth regular guy. Excellent customer service, good prices and a quality product. I couldn't ask for more.
 
Krogen said:
Once I found RMR bullets, I stopped buying anybody else's jacketed 9mm bullets. They are excellent and extremely consistent - good enough for Bullseye competition.

Accuracy in my P210 is superb. Over a load of Universal, they will put 5 shots into 1" at 25 yds from a sandbag rest. Not that I can do that offhand, but knowing the gun/ammo can means I only have to work on me.

The owner of RMR is a down-to-earth regular guy. Excellent customer service, good prices and a quality product. I couldn't ask for more.
Click to expand...
Agree with everything Krogen writes. AND they kept their pricing fair and reasonable.
 
The Hornady HAP bullet has been marketed as a lower cost alternative to the XTP, and available in bulk which the XTP is not.

I believe that the RMR Flat Point Match Winner bullet was designed to mimic the shape of the XTP/HAP. I don't think anyone has ever said this, maybe it's just a grand idea in my head! :D

I have only used the 124's but I'm fixin' to order more and I'm going to grab 147's also and eventually I want to pit them against each other.

XTP's have a long and well earned reputation for accuracy but I just don't have any desire to buy my bullets 100 at a time. HAP has a reputation as well, but as mentioned above, I don't think Hornady has made their production a priority because they are a pain to find in stock anywhere.

The RMR bullet is a beauty. I cannot say if they are the equal to the XTP/HAP but they have a happy customer in me and I've loved these guys since long before they made their own product.
 
[ I have been running Bayou 120 TC behind 4 grains bullseye in the Sig X-5 with great success and running the Bayou 124 gr RN with the same load in the FM-9 PCC also with Really tight groups at 25 yards. Have experimented with N320 at 4 grains with both the Bayou Bullets with great 25 yard groups. Burns clean, not quite as nice metering as BE but a great powder with these two bullets.

Have run Berry 124 RN andTC with the same load but the Bayous offer a cost advantage with no change in accuracy.
 
Currently, I've been playing with the Lyman 356637 HP "devistator". Powder coated and seated over CFE pistol seems to want to sing in my Walther P-38.
It doesn't mean it'll work for you though.
You can comb the knowledge base for tendencies of particular bullets, and that will probably get you to a result a bit faster. But there's few guarantees
 
I had never tried plated bullets. Then, one day browsing in Cabelas, I spotted some and decided to try them. They were on sale. My mistake was buying 4 boxes of 500, each in a different caliber.

Three out of the 4 were undersized. One of the undersized provided horrible results, two were "OK", and the right-sized one was actually good.

I complained to the manufacturer, but they said 0.455 was within their spec tolerance of 0.456. (pffft)

Then, my next adventure was to try some coated boolits just to see if I wanted to add that step to my repertoire. They worked very well. I like them. Nice clean loading and a pleasant smell at the indoor range.

All said and done, comparing them all, my single best 9 mm round is a Lee 124 Round Nose Tumble Lube that I make in my own basement.
 
I like the 147gr flat point either cast or coated. Kind of looks like the old Speer 147 FMJ. Shoots good in all our 9mm. I have a stupid Glock Gen 5 17 its THE ONLY bullet it shoots accurate. My Glock won't shoot any .355 good. Combat accuracy at 15 yards. But those .356 147's shoot good . I'd like to find the same mold that dropping them at .357.
 
I started using coated bullets about 4 years ago. I bought quite a few of them from Penn Bullets in 6 calibers (9mm, 38spl, 45acp, 45Colt, 38-55, & 45-70). Since I had just gotten into 9mm once again, those were the first ones I loaded. Penn didn't carry the 124's but did have 125 grain coated RN so that is what I bought and see no perceptible difference in the 1 grain.

They seem relatively consistent, load fine and are quite accurate in my Sig P365. They have no lube on them as the Polymer itself is a lube. After chronographing them many times and judging from the powder weight I put in, the coating / "lube" seems to work quite well as no additional powder is needed (over lead projectiles) to achieve the velocity I want - that proves the "lube" is working as intended.

I still have thousands of lead bullets left in stock and after using or selling them, I will only use the coated bullets for my reloads.
 
The Hornady HAP line originated from their making bullets for a DOD effort to improve accuracy & lethality of military ball ammo in 9 mm. They discovered that the truncated cone/flat point design did both. When, for whatever reason, the DOD stuck with the 124 gr RNFMJ, they put their research to work for profit.

Adding the hollow point does do something to further increase accuracy, I once read the explanation but neither understood it nor recall it.

Just looked at Berry's website. They now produce a 124 gr. target hollow point. I may have pick up a few and give them a try. I've had no issues with their regular flat point and very acceptable accuracy.
 
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I have been reloading 9mm for 40+ years.

Sierra jacketed bullets are the best.

My favorite is a 125 LRN over 3.5 grains of Bullseye. But I used plated bullets in my Glocks.
 
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