Best Brand name Bullets for reloading

[BOBTAILS]

I have always reloaded with Hornadys and have been very happy with them. I am going to soon be trying those out for my 204 as well as sierra and bergers.

 

[30378]

i've had no luck with Hornady in anything i own, the Sierra is a good place to start, my rifles are kind of particular to Swift. i also really like the Ballistic tip and Partition, i've used the Ballistic tip for elk in 180gr from my 30-378wby and no problems..... try small batches of alot of bullets and try to match them to what you are hunting. the other route is a custom bullet maker.

 

[CWeeks]

I am the opposite of 30378, I love Hornady bullets and will probably never switch I always shoot really great groups and they have had killer results. I have never had a single dog run off using them. Why switch, I would buy Hornady FOR SURE.

 

[7mnRM]

Hard to go wrong with- Berger, Sierra, Hornady

 

[Dennyr]

Just so you know you can still get Nosler Solid base bullets direct from nosler. (somewhat limited weights and dia's) Denny

 

[BHLBAMA]

Quote:
i've had no luck with Hornady in anything i own, the Sierra is a good place to start, my rifles are kind of particular to Swift. i also really like the Ballistic tip and Partition, i've used the Ballistic tip for elk in 180gr from my 30-378wby and no problems..... try small batches of alot of bullets and try to match them to what you are hunting. the other route is a custom bullet maker.



Ballistic tip and Elk just dont seem to sound right together.

 

[DaveD]

Good comments! I hope y'all don't mind my 2 cents. Here's something completely different...

I hunt big game exclusively with Nosler Partitions. Swift, Barnes, and other super-premium bullets are all very good, but not noticeably different from Noslers in the field, at much higher cost. Nosler 130 grain .270s and 200 grain .30's in my 300 Win Mag both shoot around 1" groups, so I've not done much hunting with other brands like Hornady spire-points or Sierras. I don't mess with success.

For accuracy, my .270 shoots 130 grain Speer Boat-tails and the original Nosler solid base boat-tail in mind-bendingly small groups. A 1000-yard benchrester once told me that inside 300 yards, Nosler Ballistic Tips will show you 95% of your rifle's ultimate accuracy, for much less cost than match bullets. Can't say that I disagree with that. (FWIW, boat-tails all cause too much meat damage for me to hunt with.)

I have nothing against Sierra (I want to try the 90 grain hollow points suggested here) or Hornady (I have some 180 and 190 grains to re-try in my .300). I just haven't found a compelling reason to switch from my current loads that have worked for so many years.

 

[Jack Roberts]

"Ballistic tip and Elk just dont seem to sound right together."

If you read the Hornady bullet descriptions, the BT bullets in the smaller calibers are fast expanding bullets for varmints. However in the larger calibers the BT bullets are controlled expansion bullets designed for big game. Totally different bullets.

Jack

 

[crapshoot]

While they are totally different bullets, I was not impressed with their performance on the black bear I shot in Canada using 200 gr 33 cal from my 338 WM.

 

[dukxdog]

SPEER Hot Core and Grand Slam bullets are what I choose for big game. I like like bullets with lead in them.

 

[muskrat30]

I have a little of everything but I usually start & end with Sierra. I even call their 800# support line once or twice a year. I deviate some to try some hardcast for the 44 or Nosler Partitions for bear. I recently picked up some Bergers that were marked down to try. It may be in my head but overall the Sierra's seem to be my best shooters.

 

[BobT]

I have loaded about all the popular brands at one time or another over the years. I never saw a need for me to try the hand made super premiums so I just stuck with the regular stuff. I have currently on the shelf Remington, Sierra, Hornady, Winchester, Norma, Barnes, Speer, and Nosler. For big game I usually load Nosler Partitions, and I also tend to shoot a bunch of Ballistic tips so I guess I would say that Noslers are my most used bullet.

Bob

 

[White Eagle]

The absolute best one are the ones that shoot the best in YOUR rifle
Everybody has their own best bullet keep an open mind and give them a try
Thats the beauty of handloading

 

[1badshee]

Any opinions on the speer holow points or tnt's I was looking at picking some of them up to load for my 223.

 

[Dan Carey]

This target was shot while sighting in a rifle and fireforming new brass. I posted it to show what a standard bullet will do in a match rifle.

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