This thread started as a PIF thread and then changed direction a bit, so let's get back to the original Zero bullets sent by Ghost in the Fog to me.
This week I made some time to test different bullets, including the Zero bullets. If you read my other post you will realize that my accuracy was not that good on the day due to having difficulty getting a consistent aiming point due to my focus. It seemed the vertical aim more, with most of my results showing a vertical stringing.
Following are the results from the Zero bullet test I did. I included all the targets just so you can see how everything was stringing vertically. The horizontal grouping was also listed since it gave me some idea how the bullets performed vs my aiming on the day:
357sig, P229, 3.9"
COL: 1.135"
Zero, 125gr, JHP, BE86, 7.5gr, GINEXSP
Average: 1259
ES: 23
SD: 8.9
Force: 440
PF: 157
Velocities: 1274, 1251, 1257, 1254, 1259
357sig, P229, 3.9"
COL: 1.135"
Zero, 125gr, JHP, BE86, 7.6gr, GINEXSP
Average: 1266
ES: 22
SD: 7.8
Force: 445
PF: 158
Velocities: 1267, 1255, 1266, 1265, 1277
357sig, P229, 3.9"
COL: 1.135"
Zero, 125gr, JHP, BE86, 7.7gr, GINEXSP
Average: 1273
ES: 22
SD: 9.7
Force: 450
PF: 159
Velocities: 1284, 1279, 1262, 1279, 1265
357sig, P229, 3.9"
COL: 1.135"
Zero, 125gr, JHP, BE86, 7.8gr, GINEXSP
Average: 1285
ES: 16
SD: 6.8
Force: 458
PF: 160
Velocities: 1290, 1295, 1280, 1279, 1285
My conclusion is that these bullets performed very well in 357sig and can be loaded in 357sig without any issues. My feeling is that the Zero 125gr FMJFP bullet is a better fit for 357sig since you have a wider COL range. I did not test these for expansion since they are not supposed to be expanding JHP's.
My normal BE-86 loads are between 7.6gr and 7.8gr in 357sig. Based on the above results it seems I will be going with the 7.8gr load for thr remaining bullets since it is accurate enough and performs close to my Sierra V-Crown JHP load using BE-86.
357sig, P229, 3.9"
COL: 1.125"
Sierra, 125gr, VCROWNJHP, BE86, 7.8gr, CCI500
Average: 1288
ES: 28
SD: 11.4
Force: 460
PF: 161
Velocities: 1271, 1295, 1295, 1299, 1284