If you had to choose one bullet manufacturer for hand/reloading, which one would it be?

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BullHeadedGideon

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Hello guys and gals.

New loader/reloader here. Just bought myself an RCBS Supreme reloading kit recommended by a coworker.

He says, which makes sense to me, to generally stick to one bullet manufacturer for a few different reasons. Obviously, you can buy however many reloading manuals you want; & buy bullets from all different kinds of manufacturers; but I want to keep things simple in the beginning.

If you had to pick one manufacturer, which would it be?
My coworker loads with a few different manufacturers; but he says he prefers Hornady, primarily due to their wide selection bullets.

Thoughts? Advice? 2 cents? All welcomed.

Thank you in advance for your responses.

Bull.
 
Well you gave no indication of what calibers your loading. If you only buy one manual I would recommend the lyman 50th. It will give you decent loads for almost anything. If money was no option I would shoot sierra, but I'm not rich so I shoot mostly rmr or deals that they have. Picked up some nossler bullets from them for a great price. Nossler has on line data so a manual for them is just extra money spent. In the modern day I would save the money for a bunch of manuals and buy quickload.
 
I have heard wonderful things about RMR, I like MBC’s coated, and Speer makes the awe inspiring Deep Curl for my Desert Eagle. (Though every one is covered in what appears to be soot...)
But if I had to choose only one, it would be Hornady.

The others have the best one specific bullet I use, but I feel that, with all the different bullets I shoot, Hornady could be a one-stop shop.

They perform, are affordable, are consistent, clean, and make dang near every different kind of bullet you could need. Or at least one that would work.:thumbup:
 
Sticking to one of anything is no fun. I guess if you’re married, you might have to... You may start with one supplier, but how do you know that will be the best or have what you need when you need it? Bullets are just one part of the reloading process. Most of the big names are still there because they sell a lot of ammo and can make some profit on the bullets as well.
I like to reload but it takes time, effort and some $$ to work up loads so I don’t want to be doing that as much as shooting and reloading quality ammunition. I have different primary sources for each caliber I load but have backups just in case.
You’re going to get varied recommendations on bullets and then you’ll have to start a thread for powder, primers and cases.
My .02 is pick one to start and plan to change after that.
 
I ordered pulled 55gr FMJ for my .223 from RMR, and they worked well. I shoot lead out of my pistols. But, for my "premium" rifle bullets, all I use is Hornady.
 
I'd also say Hornady.

Other than sd handgun ammo which I dont handload (and not for a legal reason. I just prefer not to) I pretty much use Hornady exclusively. I like the xtp for handgun hunting better than any other bullet I've used. It performs so poorly as a HP that it penetrates better in deer sized game than anything I've found in a HP. But it also expands slightly so I prefer it to a lead slug or JHP. Perfect for 10mm-460xvr hunting IMO. Plus I used to be able to grab them at walmart but they stopped carrying them.
For rifle i prefer a Ballistic Tip. So the Hornady bullets have that covered as well. I do use Nosler a lot too but have found the Nosler BT hunting bullet and the Hornady to be pretty much interchangeable. They also make. 44 lead bullets so I'd be ok there although I've never used theirs.
 
BullHeadedGideon said:
He says, which makes sense to me, to generally stick to one bullet manufacturer for a few different reasons. Obviously, you can buy however many reloading manuals you want; & buy bullets from all different kinds of manufacturers; but I want to keep things simple in the beginning.
Click to expand...

Your friend's advice has the early lead for stupidest thing I've read today. It's only 8:47 where I am, so I don't know if the lead will hold up, but that's a strongly stupid statement.

Half the dang point of reloading is the ability to optimize your loads for what you are trying to do and what your guns like. If you have any long-range shooting intentions, it would be dumb to exclude Berger from consideration, but they don't make any handgun bullets. If you're loading self-defense or hunting pistol ammo, you might well want to use Hornady or Speer bullets... but you'll be grossly overpaying for projectiles if you're loading practice ammo.

There is no need to develop any kind of "brand loyalty" in reloading. Dies of maker X work with presses of maker Y. Powder from manufacturer A will work with brass from B, primers from C, and projectiles from D. And maybe the projectiles from D are good for one purpose but E makes others that are superior for another purpose. So you're basically sub-optimizing yourself right out of the gate by sticking to just one.

As for the notion that restricting yourself to one maker eases load data - not really. First of all, especially for new loaders, you want multiple sources of data to compare. It is foolish, IMO, to have only one manual available. You need to be cross-checking anyway. Additionally, the large quantity of manufacturer-published data (especially from the powder companies) means that coming by addition data sources is now easier (and cheaper) than ever.

Finally, you would think that the current supply chain crisis and resulting problems in getting hand sanitizer would teach people that making yourself reliant on only one source for anything is dumb as hell.
 
ATLDave said:
Your friend's advice has the early lead for stupidest thing I've read today. It's only 8:47 where I am, so I don't know if the lead will hold up, but that's a strongly stupid statement.

Half the dang point of reloading is the ability to optimize your loads for what you are trying to do and what your guns like. If you have any long-range shooting intentions, it would be dumb to exclude Berger from consideration, but they don't make any handgun bullets. If you're loading self-defense or hunting pistol ammo, you might well want to use Hornady or Speer bullets... but you'll be grossly overpaying for projectiles if you're loading practice ammo.

There is no need to develop any kind of "brand loyalty" in reloading. Dies of maker X work with presses of maker Y. Powder from manufacturer A will work with brass from B, primers from C, and projectiles from D. And maybe the projectiles from D are good for one purpose but E makes others that are superior for another purpose. So you're basically sub-optimizing yourself right out of the gate by sticking to just one.

As for the notion that restricting yourself to one maker eases load data - not really. First of all, especially for new loaders, you want multiple sources of data to compare. It is foolish, IMO, to have only one manual available. You need to be cross-checking anyway. Additionally, the large quantity of manufacturer-published data (especially from the powder companies) means that coming by addition data sources is now easier (and cheaper) than ever.

Finally, you would think that the current supply chain crisis and resulting problems in getting hand sanitizer would teach people that making yourself reliant on only one source for anything is dumb as hell.
Click to expand...

I buy from whomever has what I want or need. In .308 I like Hornady for hunting, Sierra for general shooting and Berger for long range.

For handgun, I buy jacketed bullets from whomever had a good deal and lead from where I can get it.

I also have at least a dozen different reference books or data manuals.

To successfully reload in the long run you have to gain an understanding. It isn’t just about replicating something in a book.
 
Hi...
I use a variety of bullet manufacturers products to get the best loads that I can.
I typically use Hornady HP/XTPs in handguns for jacketed loads, but also use other brands.
My son and I use various manufacturers for rifle bullets depending on whether it is for target shooting, hunting or self defense in our AR rifles.
We have used any number of manufacturers for cast lead handgun bullets but recently have settled on the powder coated hard cast bullets from Kings Shooter's Supply for our go to cast bullet supplier. They make very nice bullets, have reasonable prices and are close enough that we can pick the bullets up at their shop in King of Prussia PA.
 
Setting aside the dumb idea to stick with one manufacturer, it is somewhat less crazy to think about starting with one basic projectile type for your first few reloading projects. For pistol, the projectile type that is easiest to load and get good results is generally considered to be either FMJ or JHP. For rifles, tangent-ogive bullets are generally easier to get to shoot acceptably well than secant-ogive bullets, and in smaller calibers boat-tails are easier to seat than flat-bottom bullets.

A new reloader trying to load 3 different brands of JHP's is not going to encounter the same issues as one who is trying to load a single brand of bare/lubed lead.
 
If I had to choose only one, and LONG TERM there is no reason to, I would choose Hornady due to selection of different options, data support, reasonable prices and suitability for most purposes. Now as for the two words in caps, I feel this is a sound strategy for a beginner. This is particularly true of semi automatic handgun cartridges where overall length is critical. I would follow the Hornady path, with loads duplicated directly from their data down to COL until you gain some experience. Going forward you can and should branch out into other options as you feel confident. Or perhaps you'll be perfectly content with BigRed. They make a fine and diverse product line suitable for most any shooting scenarios I can imagine. They are a little soft in their cast bullets though, so don't try to drive those fast.
 
A local gun shop always had a good selection of Zero brand handgun bullets at a good price. Unfortunately, they closed down about a year ago.
 
I can't really add much. ATLDave covered it well. I will say I like Sierra and Berger for rifle but have also had good luck with Nosler. I've been buying Acme for the past few years for handgun. Great price, cool little wood box.
 
RMR as it would be "Life Changing":rofl:

Actually I would pick Hornady or quality ammo.
Any other brand for range blasting.
 
I do not stick with one bullet company and see no point in that approach,. Trying different "stuff" is one reason I reload.
 
You gave no idea of intended use.

If you're not able to buy in bulk then it's best to stick with what you can source locally.

99.5% of the bullets I've shot in the past year have been bullets I've cast. I just bought some jacketed bullets for the first time in over six years. It was two 500 count boxes of Speer 125 gr TNT hollow points for my 300 Blackout.
 
I am not a brand Loyalist, I shop and chose based on Price point, Convenience, Supply, and obtainability.
The nice thing about bullets is they can be easily shipped w/o having to add a Hazmat fee. While many vendors offer free shipping if a certain price point is met. As for myself I only reload pistol ammunition and just about every commercial vendor has above better quality. So again it comes down to what am I looking for? Profile, weight, calibers? I was buying my pistol bullets at Cabela's until the buy out. It was Convenient. I could pop into the store. pick up a box or two and be on my why. Price was close to what I'd pay online and I didn't need to buy 1k-5k to get the discount.

I agree with A LTDave, to start pick one caliber, one bullet and one powder and load that one profile until you feel comfortable and confident and have established a good procedure that is repeatable. That that first load and develop it. Adjust length, adjust powder charge and observe the changes. Then think about moving on.
 
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