Pistol Bullets: How do you rate them in terms of accuracy?

[RugerOldArmy]

I've been reloading for a long time now, and I like to experiment. I've reloaded may types of pistol bullets, and formed my own general opinions on how accurate, in general, they are, based on construction.

I thought it would be interesting to see what others thought.

How do you rate the following pistol bullet types, strictly in terms of accuracy? (Best to worst)

1. JHP
2. FMJ
3. Lead (uncoated)
4. HiTek/coated lead
5. Plated

Obviously cost and other factors come into play in a purchasing decision, but this is strictly a poll on your perception/rating of real world accuracy.

I've listed them, based on my perception. What is yours?

 

[ATLDave]

I'm not sure I have heard anyone else express the view that FMJ's are high on the accuracy totem pole.

 

[RugerOldArmy]

I'm not sure I have heard anyone else express the view that FMJ's are high on the accuracy totem pole.

You may have a different opinion Dave. List what works for you based on your experience.

FMJ Pistol bullets have been pretty darn accurate for me (behind JHP though). FMJ Rifle bullets are another story.

Feel free to disagree....I'm not trying to change opinions, just hear them.

 

[fxvr5]

I'm not sure I have heard anyone else express the view that FMJ's are high on the accuracy totem pole.

It depends on the specific FMJ and the gun. The Browning 147 FMJ load was the winner in the article below:

http://www.shootingtimes.com/ammo/how-accurate-is-9mm-luger-match-ammo/

 

[ATLDave]

It depends on the specific FMJ and the gun.

Sure. I think that goes across the board.

 

[RugerOldArmy]

Any opinions on a ranking of these types of pistol bullets in terms of general accuracy? I was kind of looking for a list of what you would bet on being the most accurate, to least, based on your experiences. More of a forest view, rather than the trees.

 

[Walkalong]

I have been able to work up loads that can out shoot me with all of those. Maybe the Bullseye shooters need to weigh in.

That said, a good JHP that your gun likes is going to be very hard to beat.

That said, we all like cheaper alternatives that shoot well enough for our purpose/application.

I shoot jacketed, plated, coated lead, and some plain lead .

 

[ATLDave]

My sense:

High-quality JHP's have the highest likelihood of accuracy, but I don't know that I could make an across- the-board statement at all.

Note: I don't have a ransom rest, and am not a bullseye shooter. I have shot some inaccurate rounds, but I'm not necessarily going to be able to detect the difference between something that will shoot 1.5" at 50 yards versus 2.5".

 

[fxvr5]

With jacketed bullets, generally, flat nose bullets (JHP, FMJ) tend to provide better accuracy than round nose bullets.

 

[RugerOldArmy]

I have been able to work up loads that can out shoot me with all of those.

Same here Walkalong. Maybe it was a silly question.

Yet, when I test handloads, I do shoot a couple of targets, from a rest, to compare, eliminating my shooting as much as possible (without a ransom rest), and formed an opinion.

I was looking for opinions. The ranking for the last ones on my list, were the ones that made me most curious.

You see a lot of folks nowadays, who are more looking for a specific powerfactor for USPSA/IDPA, seemingly assuming equal accuracy from a practical perspective.

 

[fxvr5]

You might find this of interest where the author compared the accuracy of lubed cast bullets to coated cast bullets: https://www.ssusa.org/articles/2017/3/7/coated-bullets-the-future-of-lead-bullets-for-handloaders/

 

[RugerOldArmy]

You might find this of interest where the author compared the accuracy of lubed cast bullets to coated cast bullets: https://www.ssusa.org/articles/2017/3/7/coated-bullets-the-future-of-lead-bullets-for-handloaders/

The accuracy comparison of lead to coated in that article was the type of experience I was looking for. Curiously, I have those same grooveless HiTek SNS H&G #68 200 Gr LSWC(s)...but I get better accuracy from some lead/wax #68's that have been sized to .453"

Perhaps, in terms of ranking uncoated lead, HiTek/Coated, and Plated comes down to sizing and consistent weights more than coated/plated/lead. Throw in the difficulty in testing pistol load accuracy without a ransom rest, my question may have been silly.

Still, it would be nice to get fine grained accuracy from a pistol cartridge to the level we try and get out of, say 6mm PPC or 6mm BR Norma (tenths of an inch at 100 yards in rifle, yet we talk of inches for a pistol at 25 yards).

 

[RugerOldArmy]

High-quality JHP's have the highest likelihood of accuracy

I'd guess that too. JHP, like FMJ, are usually pretty consistent in term of diameter, and consistent in terms of weight. JHP does have a flatter base than FMJ, so it would make sense they may tend to be more accurate.

 

[Kaldor]

I dont rank so much by coating, jacketed, etc.
For me, HiTek coated SWC's have always shown the best accuracy followed immediately by a jacketed HP. I seem to have worse luck with round nose, so I tend to avoid them.
Of course, these are just my observations, and that could mean almost nothing to you

 

[Walkalong]

I am not so sure any one kind is better for all applications. But I am probably not good enough to prove the differences and have not tried to test them against each other to to toe.

The two most accurate .45 ACP loads I had were a Zero 185 Gr JHP and a Precision coated 200 Gr SWC (Had quit lead at this point-Nothing to do with accuracy)

My most accurate loads in 9MM have been JHPs, but I had a couple of plated loads that were cheaper and better than me. The most I asked of them was to hit a 12" or 16" steel plate at 100 yards. I have never tried coated in 9MM, but suspect they would work for that as well.

My favorite .40 load was a Precision 180 Gr coated, but they changed and no longer offer that bullet, so I recently bought some of the same thing from SNS. I have them loaded up with two proven loads and need to test them.

 

[Ex]

Another thumbs up here for Zero brand bullets. Only thing I load anymore.

 

[WrongHanded]

I have two categories:

1) Bullets more accurate than my abilities.
2) Bullets less accurate than my abilities.

As far as I know, everything I've ever shot has been category 1.

 

[RugerOldArmy]

But I am probably not good enough to prove the differences....

My pistol shooting skills are likely similar Walkalong. But to tell you where I'm coming from....look at the test of factory ammo fxvr5 posted. The groups, at 25 yards, varied from the Browning load of 1.38" to the Blazer Brass load of 4.86".

I decided to shoot in the local Bullseye league, just to build my skill a bit. If you had two equal shooters, and one was shooting the Browning load, and the other was shooting the Blazer Brass load, I'd expect the one shooting the more accurate Browning load to win.

Even if I cut an inch off of my groups, that would help.

Further...we've both been on this reloading forum for more than a decade. I know you shoot a PPC, and you may remember I shoot a 6mm BR. You can hold a much smaller consistent point of aim with a rifle, but as a reloader and a benchrest shooter, I don't see why we should only expect 2" groups at 25 yards from a pistol cartridge when we expect .2" groups from a BR cartridge at 100 yards. It seems like a challenge, with some hope of success, to improve the accuracy we might expect from a pistol cartridge. Like a BR cartridge, they're small capacity. We can weigh/sort bullets. Many cartridges are less position sensitive.

So I'm thinking of rethinking what I should expect from my handloads. It may be a wild goose chase...but again, if you cut a group an inch...it is an advantage for Bullseye shooting, to make up a bit for my skill, or lack thereof , as I work on my pistol skill.

 

[RugerOldArmy]

I have two categories:

1) Bullets more accurate than my abilities.
2) Bullets less accurate than my abilities.

As far as I know, everything I've ever shot has been category 1.

+1....but there are those unexplained flyers. Am I the only one that sees these much more with plated bullets than with FMJ/JHP?

 

[bullseye308]

The correct order is determined by the specific gun used. One of my Range Officers just found its preferred load this weekend, a plain lead tumble lubed bullet. Very closely followed by either an RMR jacketed tied with Zero JHP. Both my Glock 17’s do very well with RMR plated or my cast and coated bullets. One of my 9’s loves my WWB 115 duplicate load of a 115 FMJ. My other Range Officer shoots just about anything extremely well, FMJ, JHP, coated, or lead.

All above are 9mm and only one load is 115, the rest are 124/125 grain.

 

[Blue68f100]

Picking the most accurate one HP is easy. Picking what comes next kind of depends on on the gun being used. With some 9mm barrels running a 0.357-.359" bore, sizing the bullet to the bore will have more impact that type of bullet used.

Not sure you can compare the sight plane of 2-8" handgun to a 24"+ rifle barrel. As we all know, longer the sight plane the easier it is to get repeatability, accuracy.

 

[Walkalong]

But to tell you where I'm coming from....look at the test of factory ammo fxvr5 posted. The groups, at 25 yards, varied from the Browning load of 1.38" to the Blazer Brass load of 4.86".

Well, I can shoot well enough to tell the difference between such loads. I rank pistol loads from 1 to 4 stars, including 1/4, /1/2, 3/4. I rarely give four stars. A three star load is a good load, while anything over that is starting to get really good.

 

[Dudedog]

For me it is hard to say one bullet type is automatically better than another.
For me the key is the load as good or better than I can shoot on any given day it in the pistol I am using.
When I was shooting lubed lead I had good lead loads, coated lead seem to shoot about the same just cleaner and less picky. ( I had lead issues so I stopped shooting lead of either flavor, also stopped going to the indoor range, which I am sure was the cause)
I had some good plated loads and some plated bullets my guns just didn't seem to care for or I didn't find the right combo for.
Now in 9mm I generally use the RMR MPR JHPs, they shoot well for me and in QTY with the discount are not much more than the FMJs and some plated.
I have a couple different 9mms and while a good load will shoot well in all of them they each seem to prefer something a little different.
If it mattered for what I was doing I would load for each but to be fair I don't know if I could shoot the difference on any given day between what they like best and what they like 2nd or 3rd best.

 

[WrongHanded]

+1....but there are those unexplained flyers. Am I the only one that sees these much more with plated bullets than with FMJ/JHP?

I can't say I shoot enough FMJ or JHP to tell. Don't believe I've ever shot a plated bullet. And since starting to reload, it's almost all coated lead.

I do know with some degree of certainty that almost all my fliers are my own fault. I'm getting good enough to know when I'm messing up. Just not good enough to avoid it yet.

 

[FROGO207]

As long as things are put together to shoot well in a particular firearm I can not tell the difference. BUT one of our range members competes at Camp Perry in the large bore pistol group. He and many of them can tell/shoot the difference between lubed lead and powder coated lead. The powder coat will always loose when going head to head when they shoot I am told.