Magnus Bullets

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hdwhit

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About two years ago, now, I bought a box of 115 grain jacketed hollow-point bullets for 9mm from the Magnus Bullet company. The bullets looked great but I was concerned that they were all measuring 0.3555 or larger, many 0.356. I contacted them and they said to just use jacketed load data like for any other jacketed bullet. Well, my experience was that the slightly oversized bullets needed to be worked up as a distinct load. Once that was done, they shot great. I have no hesitation recommending Magnus provided that you recognize they may not be drop-in replacements for other bullets - at least in 9mm - and need to be developed as their own load.

I recently bought some of their 158 grain .357 bullets for use in 38 Special. Just like the 9mm projectiles, they look beautiful. Does anyone have experience with loading them?

Thanks.
 
Interesting, years ago I shot a bunch of them in 9MM, .38 Spl, .44 Spl, and .45 ACP, using lead data. Shot well. Good bullets.

Jacketed diameter or not, they are lead, and slick, with less drag/resistance than jacketed. Use lead data, work it up like you did, and bingo. :)
 
The jacketed bullets that Magnus sells are Zero bullets (as per email correspondence with Magnus 12-9-16). Zero's 9mm bullets tend to be a little larger than .355, by design. I've not found that they require a different workup than .355 diameter bullets. I have data of Zero 115 JHP-Conical and Hornady HAP (.355) with the same powder charge (and loaded at the same time) and there was a 2 fps different in velocity.

Most 9mm barrels, in my experience are .356" or larger, so the Zeros might provide a better fit.
 
Yes, many factory barrels' groove diameters are indeed larger than .356" and accuracy could improve with slightly larger sized bullets from better bullet-to-barrel fit.

On the "Not all 9mm jacketed/plated bullets are sized the same" thread, Zero bullets were measured as .356" even though they are advertised as .355" - https://www.thehighroad.org/index.p...re-sized-the-same.818806/page-2#post-10567453

Hornady 125 gr HAP measured .356" and box indicates .356" while 115 gr HAP measured .355" and box indicates .355".

Speer 115/124 TMJ and 124 gr Gold Dot HP measured .3555" and boxes indicate .355".

RMR 115/124 gr FMJ/JHP measured .3555" and advertised as .355".

Berry's 115/124 gr regular and thick plated bullets all measure .356" and boxes indicate .356".

Hunting Shack Munitions 115/124 gr RN plated bullets measured .356" and boxes indicate .355".

Power Bond 115 gr RN plated bullets bullets measured .355" and 124 gr RN plated measured .356" and advertised as .355".

RMR 115/124 gr Hardcore Match plated bullets measured .3565" and 115 gr is advertised as .356" and 124 gr .3565".

All other brand jacketed and plated bullets measured .355" and advertised/boxes indicate .355".

I have been doing quite a bit of comparison testing with various jacketed and plated bullets with .355"-.356" groove diameter KKM/Lone Wolf barrels along with Just Right/PSA carbines and do not modify the load data for load development in respect to bullet sizing. I have noticed greater accuracy from larger sized bullets even though I am using .355"-.356" groove diameter barrels.

I use jacketed load data for plated bullets rated higher than 1300 fps and lead load data for plated bullets rated to 1250 fps - https://www.thehighroad.org/index.p...ng-at-25-50-yards.808446/page-3#post-10470195
 
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fxvr5 wrote:
The jacketed bullets that Magnus sells are Zero bullets (as per email correspondence with Magnus 12-9-16).

That's interesting. I have 9mm bullets from Zero and I have bullets from Magnus and they look nothing alike. In fact the ones from Magnus look more like the bulk Winchester jacketed bullets I bought from Midway a while back.
 
Walkalong wrote:
Jacketed diameter or not, they are lead, and slick, with less drag/resistance than jacketed.

I'm not sure we're talking about the same thing.

As you can see in the photograph, the bullets I have are not plated. As you can see, they are very definitely jacketed bullets with a clearly defined border between where the metal cup of the jacket ends and the exposed lead of the hollow pointed nose was swaged down to join it.

Magnus cropped.jpg

This was the same problem I had with the jacketed 9mm bullets I bought from them; they were jacketed (not plated) bullets yet were closer to the 0.356 diameter of lead/plated bullets than the 0.355 diameter jacketed bullets should have been and thus necessitated me having to re-develop a load specifically for them starting lower than normal to account for the fact that the propellant was having to do do extra work to swage the bullet down to the appropriate diameter for a jacketed bullet even though the manufacturer had said to treat them like any other jacketed bullet.
 
fxvr5 wrote:
Most 9mm barrels, in my experience are .356" or larger,...

The first part of the OP had to do with my past experiences with Magnus' 9mm bullets that necessitated my developing a load especially for them due to the fact they were of inconsistent diameter and provided the background for my asking the question that followed. The question asked in the OP has to do with their 38/357 bullets.
 
Quit fussin over 1000 of an inch.
There must be reasons why these bullet manufacturers size their bullets differently and clearly mark the boxes and advertises them as .356" vs .355". One of them is Hornady 125 gr HAP at .356" and many consider HAP to be reference standard for match grade accuracy - https://www.midwayusa.com/product/1...pistol-hap-bullets-9mm-356-diameter-125-grain

IIRC, Berry's MFG posted accuracy testing improved when they sized their plated bullets slightly larger than .355" and they advertise and mark all of their 9mm boxes with .356".

How many times have we heard the mantra from lead bullet casters that "bullet to barrel fit is king"? If .001" oversized bullet to barrel groove diameter produces better gas seal and more consistent chamber pressures for greater accuracy, one could reason .3555"-.356"+ sized plated and jacketed bullets may produce greater accuracy, especially with .356"+ factory barrels (and many factory barrels have .356"+ groove diameters).

Atlanta Arms produces match grade ammunition for various match teams including U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit and Marine Service Pistol team. Their 9mm 115 gr FMJ Match AMU ammunition must produce less than 1.5" inch groups at 50 yards and I believe one of many bullets they use is Zero 115 gr FMJ which is sized .356" - https://www.thehighroad.org/index.p...re-sized-the-same.818806/page-2#post-10567453
This ammunition is designed for extreme accuracy at 50 yards and is used by the Army Marksmanship Unit and the Marine Service Pistol team for service pistol matches.

Accuracy test requirement: 5 ten-shot groups at 50 yards with an average group size not to exceed 1.5 inches. (Fired from a Match Grade barrel fixture) Minor Power Factor – 125 USE/SPORT: Steel Challenge, USPSA, IPSC
 
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There must be reasons why these bullet manufacturers size their bullets differently and clearly mark the boxes and advertises them as .356" vs .355".

IIRC, Berry's MFG posted accuracy testing improved when they sized their plated bullets slightly larger than .355" and they advertise and mark all of their 9mm boxes with .356".

How many times have we heard the mantra from lead bullet casters that "bullet to barrel fit is king"? If .001" oversized bullet to barrel groove diameter produces better gas seal and more consistent chamber pressures for greater accuracy, one could reason .3555"-.356"+ sized plated and jacketed bullets may produce greater accuracy, especially with .356"+ factory barrels.
It's a pistol not a 1000yd rifle shot.

Atlanta Arms produces match grade ammunition for various match teams including U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit and Marine Service Pistol team. Their 9mm 115 gr FMJ Match AMU ammunition must produce less than 1.5" inch groups at 50 yards and I believe one of many bullets they use is Zero 115 gr FMJ which is sized .356" - https://www.thehighroad.org/index.p...re-sized-the-same.818806/page-2#post-10567453
Like I said
Load em up and shoot em! Quit fussin over 1000 of an inch.
 
It's a pistol not a 1000yd rifle shot.
This THR category is not just for "Reloading" but also "Handloading" and for some of us, reloading is not just a hobby but a passion for consistency and accuracy.

If you are a casual reloader, sloppy reloads that produce scattered groups at 25 yards may not matter much but many on this forum, specifically for match shooters, may want sub 4", 3" and even 2" groups at 25/50 yards.

Besides, many of us shoot pistol caliber carbines (PCC) and want greater accuracy at 50/75/100 yards from our reloads and yes, .001" difference in bullet sizing is one of several reloading variables that matters. For many, difference of .2-.3 gr variance in powder charge may not matter much but for some, they want less than .1 gr variance.

YMMV
 
This THR category is not just for "Reloading" but also "Handloading" and for some of us, reloading is not just a hobby but a passion for consistency and accuracy.

If you are a casual reloader, sloppy reloads that produce scattered groups at 25 yards may not matter much but many on this forum, specifically for match shooters, may want sub 4", 3" and even 2" groups at 25/50 yards.

Besides, many of us shoot pistol caliber carbines (PCC) and want greater accuracy at 50/75/100 yards from our reloads and yes, .001" difference in bullet sizing is one of several reloading variables that matters. For many, difference of .2-.3 gr variance in powder charge may not matter much but for some, they want less than .1 gr variance.

YMMV
ok , what ever you believe. go for it.
 
Zero sells a couple of 125 Gr JHP bullets, one is .355 for 9MM, and one is .356 for .38 Super. Back in the day that is what they measured. I can't say for today as I still have some of those and haven't ordered any in some time. I originally bought both, but stopped buying the .355 9MM bullet and only bought the .356 .38 Super bullet to shoot in both calibers.
 
ok , what ever you believe. go for it.
It's not a "belief" thing. .001" sizing difference for 9mm bullet can make a difference and OP even noted that larger bullets needed to be worked up as a distinct load. Particularly if you are near max or at max load.
115 grain jacketed hollow-point bullets for 9mm ...

The bullets looked great but I was concerned that they were all measuring 0.3555 or larger, many 0.356.

my experience was that the slightly oversized bullets needed to be worked up as a distinct load.
 
Both of you are correct. Unless you are trying to wring out the last bit in accuracy, most folks will never notice the difference. Load them and shoot them. A lot of folks can't shoot the difference. A lot of folks don't even try.
 
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