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alamo5000
25 May 2018, 10:33
I am looking for a source of cheap heavy .308 bullets. I will primarily be loading those as subsonic 300 BLK for plinking ammo.

I have found these guys here who make plated bullets for about .20 cents each if you buy in bulk. I've used plated bullets in pistol ammo all the time, but never in a rifle and never that brand.

http://www.evergladesammo.com/bullets/rifle-bullets.html?caliber=42

Any suggestions for a cheap plinker bullet in the 190-220 grain range that is generally available in bulk? Ideally I would like to get something like Hornady bullets that are FMJ and that come in a big bulk box like they do with .224 bullets but I haven't seen any bulk boxes of .308 bullets anywhere really. I think Nosler is the only one that sells in lots of 1000 (that I know of).

Thanks!

Former11B
25 May 2018, 17:56
What’s the platform?

Heavy bullets and cheap generally don’t go together.

Here are some Hornady bullets, 180gr Round Nose @ $27.64/100ct
https://www.midsouthshooterssupply.com/item/000033075/30-caliber-point308-diameter-180-grain-round-nose-with-cannelure-100-count

I know this is a tad lighter than what you want, but I use 150gr Flat Point bullets by Xtreme for cheap .308 subs. But at about ten cents a bullet, it’s significantly cheaper than most anything else out there, especially for plinking/fun. I use mine with Trail Boss

https://www.xtremebullets.com/308-150-FP-p/xc308-150fp-b0500.htm

BoilerUp
25 May 2018, 19:01
Keep an eye on Shooters Pro Shop (Nosler outlet) as inventory comes and goes on blems and overruns:

http://www.shootersproshop.com/loading-reloading-bullets/nosler-30-cal-190-gr-custom-competition-hpbt-over-run-1000ct.html

alamo5000
25 May 2018, 20:24
What’s the platform?

300 BLK.

I finally dropped the coin and put together an upper. It runs great BTW. [:D]

I just need something to load subsonic loads with. Those everglades bullets I put a link to in the original post are the cheapest thing I've found. It's ONLY for plinking rounds, but I have never heard of those guys or know of anyone who has used them.

Like I said I use plated bullets all the time in my pistols, but I never tried any other brands or in a rifle. I was wondering if anyone can vouch for the quality of the bullets or know of another similar product.

alamo5000
25 May 2018, 20:28
Keep an eye on Shooters Pro Shop (Nosler outlet) as inventory comes and goes on blems and overruns:

http://www.shootersproshop.com/loading-reloading-bullets/nosler-30-cal-190-gr-custom-competition-hpbt-over-run-1000ct.html

Dang. 1000 count and 20% off. $.16 a bullet including shipping! That looks like a pretty good deal.

Dstrbdmedic167
25 May 2018, 20:57
When I reloaded I got a bunch of bullets from SPS. Always good deals there

alamo5000
25 May 2018, 21:51
When I reloaded I got a bunch of bullets from SPS. Always good deals there

That deal he posted up is really good.

I can't for the life of me find load data on 190 grain subs though. I am not even going to bother loading supers. I don't want to be stuck with a bunch of bullets. Until I can prove the load works for it's given purpose I should hold off on my itchy purchasing finger.

I have that site bookmarked though.

Joelski
26 May 2018, 05:02
Hornady has a new 300 BLK sub in 190 gr.

Former11B
26 May 2018, 17:17
That deal he posted up is really good.

I can't for the life of me find load data on 190 grain subs though. I am not even going to bother loading supers. I don't want to be stuck with a bunch of bullets. Until I can prove the load works for it's given purpose I should hold off on my itchy purchasing finger.

I have that site bookmarked though.

What powder?


I see some A1680 loads (11.0gr @ 2.10) w/ Nosler 190gr HPBT and 10.3gr of IMR 4227 (same bullet)

alamo5000
26 May 2018, 17:32
What powder?


I see some A1680 loads (11.0gr @ 2.10) w/ Nosler 190gr HPBT and 10.3gr of IMR 4227 (same bullet)

I'm starting from scratch. I have no powders for this to speak of. I did however earlier today bought #1 of H110. It was local so no hazmat and the price was ok considering. It was also listed on Hogdon Reloading for 300 BLK.

Other than that I have nothing except some brass from the rounds I've shot up already.

Once I can try out various recipes for cheap subs and settle on stuff that works I can buy in bulk when stuff goes on sale.

I haven't committed to anything yet.

Former11B
27 May 2018, 12:20
Well, those two powders I mentioned plus Lil Gun and CFE BLK are all pretty solid 300BLK powders

alamo5000
15 June 2018, 15:49
I contacted the Shooter's Warehouse that Dstrbdmedic167 recommended to find out when those bullets would be back in stock. Fortunately for me they looked around and found the last box they had sitting on a shelf and saved it for me. I got 1000 190 grain bullets delivered to the door for .21 cents each. Not too bad of a deal. They look really good.

This is my first foray into Nosler bullets but so far things look great. Thanks for the tip on that website.

On another note I found another place too that sells their own bullets.

https://gallantbullets.com/collections/cast-bullet-collection/products/308-217gr-boat-tail?variant=8168289763425

I ordered a box of 1000 217 grain polymer coated bullets for subsonic plinking for $134 delivered. If those wind up shooting well I will buy a lot more to stay in stock. For just backyard subsonic plinking it could be good. I found a few people online that swear by them. Their shipping is slow AF but then again they tell you that before you order that it might take a week or two to ship.

If I can get reasonable accuracy and those end up shooting well that will be good to go as well. I've shot tons of plated bullets but never any coated bullets, and definitely never any out of a rifle. I figured it's worth a try to see how they do. The other people were saying they reliably got I think 3 or 4 inch groups at 200 yards with bullets like those. At a hundred getting 1 to 2 inch groups is fine for me. I'm not going to be doing any benchrest shooting with that gun anyway. Just run and shoot and maybe practice getting around barriers and that kind of stuff.

I will report back eventually about how they did if anyone is interested. If they work out I can ultimately shoot 300 BLK subs all day for around .17 to .18 cents a round or thereabout.

Former11B
18 June 2018, 11:39
Check stabilization before you launch any through your can. I shoot a paper target 2” and 6” away from the muzzle; if it’s wobbling there, it’ll be wobbling inside the can. I also check at 25 and 100 yards.

alamo5000
18 June 2018, 13:02
Check stabilization before you launch any through your can. I shoot a paper target 2” and 6” away from the muzzle; if it’s wobbling there, it’ll be wobbling inside the can. I also check at 25 and 100 yards.

Damn straight! You better believe it. When I get the bullets in (still not shipped) I was actually going to post up about the best way to test this and and what distances.

2 inches? Really now...that's interesting. I have some old political yard signs that I can shoot so I will shoot those at various distances. I definitely didn't think to shoot it THAT close though.

Former11B
18 June 2018, 18:35
Damn straight! You better believe it. When I get the bullets in (still not shipped) I was actually going to post up about the best way to test this and and what distances.

2 inches? Really now...that's interesting. I have some old political yard signs that I can shoot so I will shoot those at various distances. I definitely didn't think to shoot it THAT close though.

Yup, who cares if it’s not yawing at 100yds if it blew your can up?

alamo5000
18 June 2018, 18:40
Yup, who cares if it’s not yawing at 100yds if it blew your can up?

Touche'.

This was definitely one of my hesitations about trying out those kinds of cheap bullets. That said I've seen numbers of people swearing by them. I figure it's worth it to try. If they are GTG it's cheap. At the first hint of a problem, no way I will risk my can.

alamo5000
21 June 2018, 21:31
I got both boxes of bullets in. So far so good.

The Noslers seem like they are a quality product. I haven't shot any yet. Just this evening I did some case prep so I will start a bit of load development soon.

On the cast bullets... I have to say that I am so far reasonably impressed. I opened a box and appearance wise they look pretty good. I haven't loaded any yet. One thing I did learn though is when reloading those kinds of bullets you have to add one extra step in your case prep. I just bought an expander die so hopefully that gets here soon.

Basically you have to slightly flare the case mouth because cast bullets are slightly oversized. If you just try to seat em like a FMJ and skip the whole case mouth thing it will shear off all the coating and maybe even some lead. I guess that's something unique to cast bullets in a modern rifle.

I will try to get some pics up soon. Those bullets actually exceeded my expectations so far. They are not powder coated. They have something called Hi Tek coating, whatever that is.

http://hi-performancebulletcoatings.com/hi-tek-supercoat-powder/

alamo5000
21 June 2018, 21:35
About our Coatings

Hi-Performance Bullet Coatings is bringinging cast bullets into the 21st century. The Hi-Tek Heat Set Supercoat was developed specifically for commercial bullet casters to provode reloaders with a cast bullet that didn't smoke and gum up reloading dies like a traditional wax lubed bullet. Properly applied the coating molecularly bonds to the lead, encasing the entire projectile in a protective shell that is self-lubricating. This proprietary coating contains no PTFE or Moly.

What this means to you? No messy wax lubes that smoke, gums up your reloading dies or bullet feeders. Since the bullet is totally encapsulated, it also greatly reduces your exposure to lead. Cleaner hands, cleaner guns and cleaner air are all benefits of the Hi-Tek Supercoat.

In use in it's native Australia for over 20 years. We introduced Hi-Tek Supercoat to the U.S. several years ago. It's been an overwhelming success by both commercial and home casters alike.

Former11B
23 June 2018, 17:23
Do you use a VLD chamfering tool on the case mouths when seating jacketed bullets?

alamo5000
23 June 2018, 18:33
Do you use a VLD chamfering tool on the case mouths when seating jacketed bullets?

My normal routine is to resize and trim, deburr, and chamfer all my brass when I get it regardless if it's new or not. I am speaking specifically of rifle brass. When I do it once I don't always redo the trimming, deburring and chamfer every single time. Just depending on need I might trim and do all that stuff after every 3 or 4 firings. I have one of those Franklin Armory case prep machines so it's a little more easy to do.

I went and prepped like 5000 never fired same head stamp Lake City brass a while back so I am not even close to through all that yet.

Short answer, yes, but not every time depending on the situation. But no, not with a specific type of chamfer tool.

alamo5000
23 June 2018, 18:50
Do you use a VLD chamfering tool on the case mouths when seating jacketed bullets?

As far as those coated bullets go even a solid chamfer won't allow them to be seated without causing problems. The reason is (per a bunch of reading and looking at stuff online) cast bullets are slightly oversized from the actual for caliber standards. The bullets I bought were actually not .308. The actual measurements are .3085.

There are many people who even like to cast their bullets even bigger than that. I've heard of people (online) casting bullets all the way up to .311 . There is some technical reason for this but I don't know what it is.

I've also read that if you shoot bare lead it's extremely dirty. It can gum up the gas system, barrel, even the bolt face, not to mention potentially a suppressor. According to the manufacturer of the bullets I bought for my little test if you keep the coating intact during the reloading process it virtually, if not completely eliminates all that.

Basically that means at least to give it a proper test I had to buy a $15 (including shipping) expander die that will bell out the case mouth a little bit.

I am normally not a heavy crimper either but with those cast bullets I will make sure it's not damaging the coating when I do it.

Former11B
24 June 2018, 10:47
I was just curious about the jacketed bullets and chamfering.

I don’t crimp rifle bullets at all (not talking about straightwall cases like .45-70 or lever gun ammo) The neck tension by a properly set sizing die is plenty.