Good cheap bullets???

Moving towards getting setup to reload. Got primers and powder and buddy is giving me a bunch of good reloading equipment. After looking at bullets I was a little surprised what some cost. I know what I want to load for my hunting rounds but at their cost I'm thinking I could maybe load something cheaper for shooting at the range. Looking for a bullet that I can load and have the potential for 1/2 moa or better accuracy out to say 800 yards out of a 270 Win and 7 RM. Any suggestions on a reasonably priced bullet for this. I know not every gun is going to like the same bullet. Just looking for suggestions that might shorten the learning.
Thanks

I think your expectations are way too high. 1/2 MOA at 800yrds is a 4" circle at almost 1/2 mile. There are premium bullets and then your cheaper everyday bullets. There aren't any 'cheap' bullets anymore. If you're wanting to play around at 300 yards plus you're going to need a premium bullet. Swift, Barnes etc.

If you want to go cheap, you could mold your own. That's what I do but them my stuff is .30 cal and 30s are relatively easy to get decent accuracy out of with cast. Even then, my lead bullets aren't as accurate nor can I get the velocity that I can from a jacketed bullet. They're just something to plink and practice with. I could deer hunt with them if I wanted to or couldn't find anything else but then my woods ranges are less than 100 yards.

Sierra bullet in Sedalia MO sells seconds that don’t meet their strict standards and Starline brass is nearby if you need brass.

speer

I go the other way a bullet that I can shoot deer and targets with

my go to is the speer 165 and 180 btsp in 30 cal

I can afford to shoot them at targets but they do decently well on deer

deer don't take much of a special bullet so heavy soft points work just fine in 30cal

Looking at for say most accurate bullets in the $0.30 to $ 0.50 range. The hunting bullets im looking at are double that. I've shot 4 to 5" groups at 750 with factory ammo with these guns before. Maybe my expectations are to high but I was hoping to find a bullet capable of that or better handloaded in the above mentioned price range.

You might try Shooters Pro Shop, which sells Nosler seconds.

Jim

Mighty tall order, imho ... it's not about just about a bullet, a particular powder, a certain primer, a given brand of brass and the case prep, the firearm, the reloading technique, the shooter or the weather conditions. It's about the total combination. I'm happy to achieve under a moa at under 400 yards, but then I'm not as good as I used to be.

I like these in my 270. I dont know about 1/2 MOA. They shoot good though. Have heard stories of bullet separation at close range. I never had any problems with them. Even at close range stuff is dead. I dont know the yardage but it was far. Put the cross hair on top of a bucks back. Dirt kicked up under it. Was far enough the deer ran around in a circle then stopped. I Knew how high to hold then and touched off another. Ran around in a tight circle and fell over.

https://www.powdervalley.com/produc...-6-8mm-130-grain-spire-point-box-of-100/

James your messages are over flowing.

even for just going bang at the range your rifle will tell you what bullet it wants to shoot.

I haven't tried them yet but have been looking at PRVI bullets at Grafs.


https://www.grafs.com/retail/catalog/category/categoryId/910

The 130 gr Sierra Gameking Danny recommended shoots very well from my .270 win and is a fine choice for deer size game also. They run about 1/2 the cost of "premium" hunting bullets like Nosler Accubonds. They are also available in 140 and 150 gr.

GCP recommended Speer. They make a 130 gr BTSP that is about 30 cents each vs 50 for the Sierra GK. I don't have any experience with them but they look like an option worth trying.

If there is a factory load that will shoot 4 inch groups at 800 yards, I'd ride that pony till it drops. Then try to duplicate it........same bullet.......whatever it is......whatever it cost.

But once you leave the realm of the standard boxes of bullets you can find on the shelf......Hornady, Sierra, Speer, Nosler, Berger, etc........you are into a 2nd tier of quality....reflected in price and accuracy. Seconds of same, military pull downs, etc. There are some smaller bullet guys that are making very good blammo bullets, but their options are very limited. 9mm, 45, 223 and sometimes 308. But even then, the cost per bullet runs from 10 to 12 cents each, depending on how many thousand you buy at a time.

Two of the smaller guys that offer very good bullets for range fodder are:

https://www.rmrbullets.com/

https://www.precisiondelta.com/

These guys sell pull down stuff. They are located just down the road from Lake City, so that is likely the source of most of their components. Military pull down components.

https://americanreloading.com/

And then there is Midway.........

https://www.midwayusa.com/factory-second-bullets/b?bid=2998

Thanks Danny. I was looking at those. That deer had to be quite a ways out there for that hold over with a 270
Also thanks to everyone else for your suggestions.

Have loaded for years, in many calibers. Live close to Sierra Bullets, have shot alot of there seconds, most are blemished, shot well. I walk into buy, limited stock most times. Over the years , Hornady, Berger, are my go to long range bullets, Nosler works great also but costly. As stated above there's some shooters repling to your question, that have put some loads down range, and have experience and knowledge. . I have found over the years, the load of powder, type of powder, and muzzle velocity, and shooting will get the results you want.

Are you plinking targets at 800? Or are you looking for a hunting bullet to drop game at 800?

Any decent match bullet that groups well out of your gun(s) should be fine for plinking at the range you stated.

Hunting at that range gets tricky. You need a bullet with the right profile to slip through the air and shed as little velocity as possible... This ensures it retains enough energy to make a clean kill at extended range. Most hunting bullets have a profile based on their function of penetration and expansion. As a result they tend to not have a very sleek profile and shed velocity rather quickly. So at extended ranges they have shed enough velocity that they may not have enough energy left for the penetration or expansion needed for a clean DRT kill.

This gets complicated really quick and "cheap" doesn't enter into the conversation.

Mike

Near as I can tell at 800 yards those sierra boat tails are traveling about 1600FPS. (muzzle in my rifle is a little over 3100 with 55 grains of IMR 4350) So still supersonic. No wobble from dropping below the speed of sound. 130 grain bullet at 1600 fps is about 750 foot pounds of energy. Those cup and core bullets expand just fine. May come apart a bit at close range but the lead still goes in, ( out the other side on deer) doing plenty of damage. I have no clue why cup and core fell out of favor. I suspect magazine articles to sell more partition and a frame type bullets. They are great no question but those boat tails shoot flat. Accurate. Will put meat on your table.

Always been partial to the good ole Hornady interlock bullets. Been gettin the job done for alot of years. Can usually get great groups with them, they are still very affordable and still a Family owned business.

Bullet making and tech has come a good ways so you honestly don't need to spend a ton of money to get that kinda accuracy now days. LR shooting has become big and stuff has become more affordable. Not like how it used to be where you HAD to spend an arm and a leg. Especially with current prod gear. That being said you said 800 target practice that gives you way more options.
Personally for trying to go cheap I'd run some of the new designed Hornady's . NOT OLDER DESIGNS core locks and the like . Can they go to that distance ? Yes. But their just not made for it...why you don't see any serious about LR shooting nosler partitions....but anyhow .270 just isn't a cheap caliber as far as components go. You looking at $36 per hundred on average though you can go the factory second round and get them for less but....eh...

Now I would recommend looking at PPU components as their pretty cheap and good enough for plinking .

Gotta say though reloading isn't what it uses to be . You not gonna be able to to save tons of money in the sense you can load rounds for 1/10 the price gonna buy,just not how it is anymore. That being said you save on the quality/ specialty side of things like my .5.56 loads . For me to buy a load that works as well with the bullets I want I'd be drop like $110 of black hills M262 for 50rd after shipping and hazmat. I can tailor load mine for ...I think $50 per 100 if I remember my math right

I was concerned about Gamekings when I had one "fail" on a doe I had shot at 200 yds with my 6mm Rem. The deer didn't go more than 30 yds but there was no exit wound and all I found in the deer was the bullet jacket. Several months later I was fleshing the hide in preparation for tanning and found the bullet core in the fat layer. It was a perfect mushroom about twice the original diameter. That eliminated all my concerns about using Gamekings.

Bullets to make holes in paper and bullets to hunt with, aint always the same thing. Partitions are designed to perform after they hit an animal. Not competition bullets for sure. There is all kinds of bullets for all kinds of shooting. Have to find one that works for your purpose. Boiler room on a elk is pretty big. Those partitions with a little range time and experimenting will reliably hit a trappers post magazine a long ways off. So will those sierra boat tails. I have killed several elk with boat tails in my 270 but not past 300 yards. Big animal like that I would use partitions or barnes tsx , what I load in 300 win mag now. It hits hard way out there.

I'd agree Danny, it doesn't take a special to perform adequately one deer at most people ethical range ising an adequate caliber. Simple Rem Corelokts have always performed great for me out of the 243.

Wolfie thanks for the input. I'd agree handloading isn't a huge $ saver especially if you have to buy all the equipment and don't shot a whole bunch which I don't. A friend is giving me most of the equipment I need and I bought primers and powder for the future. Figured I reload some now for the learning and the challenge of seeing what kind of accuracy i can get. From what I've learned if you properly do the testing and steps one should be able to develop a load more accurate than factory. Thanks I was wondering if in today's world of bullet development if the gap is narrowing between the very top end bullets and the middle of the road type ones as far as accuracy potential.

I'm planning on loading Barnes for most guns for the hunting round. Just looking for maybe a cheaper bullet to play with for accuracy punching paper

Hornady is cheap and work ok. I load them in my 30-30. They all have a Cannelure ring so far as I know. I dont like that if I am not crimping the bullet.

Wella I was speaking of longer range , 0-300 is one thing out too 800 is something else

I shoot more game kings than any other bullet.
They kinda cheap shoot great in about any rifle I have tried them in, and kill critters as dead as ya can get em.

I like the heck out of Sierra GK's.
It's nice that I live close to Sierra/Starline and even better now that I'm on a project in Sedalia.
Going to load heavy on them !

Seeing berger hunting bullets- hornady SSTs, ELDs, Interlocks, Match- and I believe barnes match bullets in the price range I threw out there. I guess as a newbie wondering if anyone has experience with bullets in these price range that they are very pleased with from an accuracy stand point. Are these premium enough bullets to get me there is everything else is up to par? Federal Terminal Accent, Berger Hybrid hunter and Barnes LRXs are what I've shot out of the 270 and 7mm that have given sub moa groups out to 750 yds in factory ammo. Haven't found the Hybrid hunters bullets for sale yet, but the other berger bullets are the top range of my price. Federal terminal accent isn't to be found and I bet if they were they'd be .80 plus. Barnes Lrxs are .80 to 1.00. If I had a chance at handloading say a $0.30 hornady sst, edlx, or match or equivalent and had a chance at the same accuracy as the factory loads I'd try them. I guess long story short I'm going to have to try them myself.

If these type of bullets in a handload aren't up to matching the accuracy of my factory loads then I may be asking too much. From a newbie perspective learning about handloading, is its not that difficult to develop a handload that is more accurate the the stuff off the shelves. Time will tell I guess.

Depends.
What's you version of an accurate factory round.
Your rifle
And your shooting abilities.

If your qualifications for a good shooting factory round is 2" or less @100yd then they it's stupid easy now days to get a load to shoot way better then that. I mean I usually have a load shooting better then factory within 50rd.

As far as the rifle.... All of new rifles are being made better and cheaper and they will shoot about everything pretty good. Especially with newer cartridges. That a whole discussion about modern chambering practices and cartridge design I don't feel super qualified to talk on but 3- 4 hr listening to Hornadys podcast will explain a lot . But yeah also of new stuff will eat a out anything you feed it and shoot well.Older guns in various legacy cartridges CAN BE more finicky.

I will say though some stuff that will really really really save you a lot of head aches I want though.
Get a bullet comparator gauge set an a headspace comparator set . $60 all together that will save you a lot of headaches.
Basically all they are are inserts that fit on your calibers. The bullet comparator lets you measure frome ogive to the base of the bullet ( CBTO) it's a lot more accurate because the tips on most bullets will not be the same. Like seriously get a box of bullets and measure base to tip and you'll see what I mean. The ogive is a way more consistent deal.
Tis might give you some more explanation. Loaded a box of rounds and a measured each one ..one COAL on CBTO.
Die want adjusted or anything


The head space gauge it similar but will help you measure how much though should moves. Which is useful in a few ways. One helps you not over work your brass. Most die instructions will have you moving your brass way more than what you need shoring the life of your brass. But if you can measure you don't really know . I like the comparator because I can measure a fire form case from my gun say " o ok it fire form out to 2.335" you only need dto bump that shoulder back like .003" so to 2.333 . So you can use it to adjust your die to where you getting that good consistent bump. Which if you use a trimmer like my Frankfort arsenal is pretty important because it trims off the shoulder. Also let's to see if your gun is doing something word possibly like my Ulta varmit here.



All get a Chronograph highly recommend a magneto speed , their easy y to use set up and just way worth the money. Helps answers alot of questions. "Hay I don't know why this load sucks so bad , o because I'm having 120fps swings in my velocity! Mabye I shouldn't waste more time with this powder" not to mention most book velocities won't be correct especially with gas guns.


Also get on accurate shooter if you wanna save money, those guys sell. Some high grade gear for next to nothing and they generally take way better care of their gear to the point slot of the stuff I've bout is about brand new

O and if you have a smart phone you can download the Hornady and serria apps and you'll have a constantly updating manual in your pocket. Paper is good but it's nice to be able to just whip.out your phone and look at load data while your at the shop or what have you.

Try Lazer cast or Mississippi bullets but nothing is cheap today.

Not sure this is valid to discussion, but found it interesting. Recently started loading for a new to me 6mm rifle. Target #3 on the far left was factory ammo. Targets 4 and 5 were my reloads using same bullet. Just something I threw together to use to fire form the brass. Both were being used to fine tune newly mounted scope. Also firing over a a chrony to test reloads for velocity. Reloads close to 1 MOA or better and again, that was before any load testing. For my use, could probably call that good and be done with it.

But not backing up using my hand loads vs. factory. Not at all.

are those magneto speed chronys more accurate than the ones you put on a tripod and shoot over? They are easy to use. Can shoot more than one gun without changing anything. Can get set up for about 125. If you want to borrow one Seth just say the word.

Wolfdog, I have one of those Magneto chronographs, and it won't stay in place more than one shot on my rifles.

I can see from the photo that your flash suppressor probably keeps it in place. Beware buying one for tapered barrels.

Jim

I don't know how you could answer that question without a certified, very accurate and expensive chronograph to compare them to.

Jim

I've seen comprehensive tests comparing chronographs. Those magneto speeds are pretty darn accurate. Better than those ones you setup on tripods. Though they don't like small fast bullets or cast. Right up there with the lab Rader dopplers or better. Garmin came out with a doppler that's is suppose to be awesome. Thanks very much for the offer Danny.

Haven had much of a problem with mine at eyiu making sure tj use the little rubbed deal that goes on top of the spacer ?.
Moa tof mu guns are either painted or have a bead blasted type finish without an extreme taper

Berger's will be close to your price range maybe a little over, I thing I was paying.55 for the last ones I bought. If your gun has the twist to stabilize them the long heavy ones do the best at long range. And you can practice with the same round as you hunt with. If you are just looking for a strictly target bullet that doesn't have to be ballistically the same as your hunting load, that opens up a lot more options. Check out the Nosler Custom Competition line. I got some to load in the wife's 260 for her to practice with and they were very reasonable price wise and are more accurate than any hunting load I have found for that rifle.

The ELDs are supposed to be real accurate, I have some sitting on my reloading bench to try, but haven't shot any yet. My 270 didnt like SSTs at all, the least accurate bullet of any bullet I tried out of that rifle. Sierra gamekings are usually pretty accurate, but have never been the most accurate bullet out of any rifle I have tried them in. Sierra also makes some hollowpoint target bullets that are generally very accurate however.

Just be aware that every gun is different and yours may not like a particular bullet for no discernable reason.

When you hand load, you shoot more.
And it's fun.700 yards is over my pay scale.

Wolfdog showed bullet and case comparators.
I was shocked at the sizing spread of bullets and
cases.
My pet 270 load is under max imr 4350 and 140g boat tail.
It is fussier about oal than a gr of powder.

In hindsight, I once found a factory load that was accurate AND
good performance. If I had bought a bunch of those
I'd be money ahead. But what fun is that?

Seriously though fo join up over on accurate shooter , their classifieds are AMAZING! Tons of deals to be had and you can really save a pretty penny. Bought a lot of gear front there for next to nothing in better then new condition somtimes alot them guy over there will buy something look at it and just box it back up and forgot about it.
Just say this matter of fact

Wanna have some real fun take 50 of any reloading projectile you like and measure them base to tip and sort them . Then use a bullet comparator and do the same

O and also if you like me an not the best at book learning, the literal companies that write the books have pretty detailed videos and podcasts that cover everything! You all have literal champion shooters sharing their knowledge freely


Alot of people love to make reloading seem like some kinda super dangerous or complicated voodoo crap but for the average guy to make some decent hand loads it's honestly not hard at all if you have common sense and can think a little. I mean you really need to be doing something stupid stupid to hurt yourself or your rifle

I know what you mean WD.
I lurked and joined there after one the
times you mentioned it.
Sometimes I wonder how I survived lol.
I never shot comp.
Just cause I don't race nascar
doesn't mean I don't want my tractor in tune.

Id look hard at berger. I use VLD for everything. Good expansion at low velocity and hydra shock effects at high velocity. At those distances and your expectations your gonna have to pay to play. Beware of pull down bullets as some are dinged from the pulling process and why would you want to waste your time loading, chrono graphing for consistency, grouping, sighting, and traveling to the gun range and not have the upmost premium rds to shoot. (distance past 400 yrds) And you will have to repeat this process if you want to use two different bullets. Unless your time cost nothing than some of this info irrelevant. I use a custom 300 rum for my 1000yrds gun 19.5 MOA is my hold over for 1000 yrds. 210 VLD at 3170FPS