RMR .40 Mixed FMJ Pulled bullets - 155, 165, 180

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vaalpens

vaalpens

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I just received my package in the mail today with some .40 FMJ pulled bullets from RMR. I have been buying pulled bullets for a while in .40, and I have never been disappointed. The price is reasonable for .40, and since they are FMJ's, they are still very accurate even though they are pulled.

https://www.rmrbullets.com/shop/bullets/40-180-165-155-gr-mixed-fmj-bullets-pulled/

I have to admit that I was surprised how clean these bullets were. Normally pulled bullets has some sticky stuff on, which I leave on. I think it helps with the neck tension. These did not, so I'm not sure if they were cleaned or not, but they look good.

The bullets have been sorted, with from left to right, 155gr, 165gr, 180gr:
rmr_40_pulled_fmj.png

Looks like I ams mosty going to load/shoot 180gr bullets.

These bullets will be loaded in 40s&w, and I will probably test W244 for the first time in 40s&w. I like W244 and I have loads now in 357sig and 45acp that I load and will load on a regular basis.

These bullets are all of the RN FP variety. I did not see any TC FP type bullets.

As always I will share some of my test results so that you can get a sense of how these pulled bullets perform.
 
ArchAngelCD said:
Those bullets do look good. I have not bought their pulled bullets yet but I will get around to it lol.
Click to expand...

I will measure a few of them to check the diameter, but so they looked like some of the better pulled bullets I have bought. let me know if you want to see any close-up pictures of a few of them.
 
I did some testing this weekend and it seems that W244 and the pulled 180gr bullets works well and are very accurate. I think I like W244 and it is going to be one of my go to powders now. I now have go to load in 45acp, 357sig and 40s&w. The best grouping I got was only a .89", but the last shot was the flyer. I could see that everything was going through the same hole, and with the last shot I think the pressure got to me.

Following are the results from my W244 and 180gr Pulled bullets from RMR:
40SW, P229, 3.9"
Case: RP
COL: 1.125"
RMRPulled, 180gr, FMJRNFP, W244, 4.5gr, CCI500
Average: 839
ES: 18
SD: 6.6
Force: 281
PF: 151
Velocities: 841, 829, 837, 847, 841
Grouping @ 15yd: 0.96"
Test Date: 05/05/2019

Load-1341-05_15yd.png
40SW, P229, 3.9"
Case: RP
COL: 1.125"
RMRPulled, 180gr, FMJRNFP, W244, 4.6gr, CCI500
Average: 854
ES: 31
SD: 11.7
Force: 291
PF: 153
Velocities: 838, 862, 869, 854, 851
Grouping @ 15yd: 0.9"
Test Date: 05/05/2019

40SW, P229, 3.9"
Case: RP
COL: 1.125"
RMRPulled, 180gr, FMJRNFP, W244, 4.7gr, CCI500
Average: 860
ES: 33
SD: 12
Force: 296
PF: 154
Velocities: 842, 875, 858, 864, 862
Grouping @ 15yd: 1.06"
Test Date: 05/05/2019

Load-1343-05_15yd.png
40SW, P229, 3.9"
Case: RP
COL: 1.125"
RMRPulled, 180gr, FMJRNFP, W244, 4.8gr, CCI500
Average: 869
ES: 35
SD: 13
Force: 302
PF: 156
Velocities: 869, 877, 850, 868, 885
Grouping @ 15yd: 0.89"
Test Date: 05/05/2019

40SW, P229, 3.9"
Case: RP
COL: 1.125"
RMRPulled, 180gr, FMJRNFP, W244, 4.9gr, CCI500
Average: 890
ES: 14
SD: 5.4
Force: 317
PF: 160
Velocities: 887, 889, 899, 885, 890
Grouping @ 15yd: 1.06"
Test Date: 05/05/2019

40SW, P229, 3.9"
Case: RP
COL: 1.125"
RMRPulled, 180gr, FMJRNFP, W244, 5gr, CCI500
Average: 911
ES: 20
SD: 7.9
Force: 332
PF: 163
Velocities: 908, 908, 905, 911, 925
Grouping @ 15yd: 1.07"
Test Date: 05/05/2019
 
vaalpens said:
I have to admit that I was surprised how clean these bullets were. Normally pulled bullets has some sticky stuff on, which I leave on. I think it helps with the neck tension. These did not, so I'm not sure if they were cleaned or not, but they look good.
Click to expand...
That's 'Black Lucas', which is used a case mouth sealant on most military or duty ammunition and some expensive retail hollowpoints like Gold Dots. It's generally used in conjunction with a primer sealant.

I also leave it on pulls where encountered. I also hope that it helps bullet pull and feel any attempts to remove it are bound to distress the bullet surface to one degree or another.

Thanks for the thread and data.
 
kcofohio said:
vaalpens, good post. Thank you! I may get some W244 to compare against HP-38.
Click to expand...

I haven't tested W244 and HP38 loads back to back yet, but I did notice that the recoil with W244 load was a nice sharp manageable recoil. I was using a rest, so the recoil normally feels a bit different when I use a rest. I still need to check the cases, but some of them definitely had some discoloring on the outside. Maybe it is an indication that the pressure was still a bit low for 40S&W, or maybe it is just due to using pulled bullets.
 
While the distribution of bullet sizes I received was significantly different from yours the quality was great. My first bag of 500 only produced eight 180 gr but 456 - 165 gr. Overall the mix in the 1K I ordered was 36% 180gr, 54% 165 gr and 10% 155 gr. I did get about five 135 gr. and three or four oddball weights.

They all weighed in a narrow range, lengths were good, and the diameter was spot on .40. I didn't discard any for bad pull marks and in fact you can barely see any. Thirteen 180gr were of the TMJ variety (no exposed lead on the bottom) and were the only ones I could see that had any sealer.

I like the results I get from RMR's offerings and will be ordering more of these and other pulls.
 
Locochief said:
While the distribution of bullet sizes I received was significantly different from yours the quality was great. My first bag of 500 only produced eight 180 gr but 456 - 165 gr. Overall the mix in the 1K I ordered was 36% 180gr, 54% 165 gr and 10% 155 gr. I did get about five 135 gr. and three or four oddball weights.

They all weighed in a narrow range, lengths were good, and the diameter was spot on .40. I didn't discard any for bad pull marks and in fact you can barely see any. Thirteen 180gr were of the TMJ variety (no exposed lead on the bottom) and were the only ones I could see that had any sealer.

I like the results I get from RMR's offerings and will be ordering more of these and other pulls.
Click to expand...
That's a good ratio. I didn't really care much for 155 gr. I usually focused on 165 gr. But it has been a learner with the 180 gr. The pulled HSTs have only a cosmetic marring on the ones I received. Nothing out of shape and no gashes.

I ended up ordering the pull FMJ in .40 cal. that vaalpens mentioned, along with some pulled .224".
 
Locochief said:
While the distribution of bullet sizes I received was significantly different from yours the quality was great. My first bag of 500 only produced eight 180 gr but 456 - 165 gr. Overall the mix in the 1K I ordered was 36% 180gr, 54% 165 gr and 10% 155 gr. I did get about five 135 gr. and three or four oddball weights.

They all weighed in a narrow range, lengths were good, and the diameter was spot on .40. I didn't discard any for bad pull marks and in fact you can barely see any. Thirteen 180gr were of the TMJ variety (no exposed lead on the bottom) and were the only ones I could see that had any sealer.

I like the results I get from RMR's offerings and will be ordering more of these and other pulls.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the comments. I used to load 165gr only, but since I started buying pulled bullets, obviously I started experimenting with 155gr and 180gr bullets also. Now it doesn't matter which weight I get since I have loads for all three weights.

I also found some of the 180gr TMJ variety, but only 10 of them. I still need to decide what load to use with them.
 
This is what the TMJ type bullets look like that was included. I found 17 of them, all 180gr. My plan is to load 3 or 4 loads using W244, and then compare the results against the FMJRNFP bullets I tested.
pulled_180_tmj.png
 
I sorted through my order of pulled .40 cal. bullets. By weight and OAL. I found may 10 that didn't match up. Light in weight for the length.
Yesterday I pick one up and felt it jiggle. The lead core didn't fill the jacket.

20190602_191519.jpg
 
Last edited:
So are these FMJ or plated? I am getting ready to place an order and not really sure. Its for a new reloader and I don't want to start him with a bunch of plated bullets with crimp rings and freak him out.
 
ohihunter2014 said:
So are these FMJ or plated? I am getting ready to place an order and not really sure. Its for a new reloader and I don't want to start him with a bunch of plated bullets with crimp rings and freak him out.
Click to expand...
They're FMJ FP. Besides some cosmetic scratches on some, they are of decent quality. Just a few rejects, maybe .2% of the whole order. For the price, and enough extras are thrown in to well cover any rejects.
 
vaalpens said:
This is what the TMJ type bullets look like that was included.
Click to expand...
TMJ is trademarked plated bullets made by Speer (Alliant Techsystems Inc. now Vista Outdoor) - https://trademarks.justia.com/738/33/tmj-73833272.html

And looks like these with copper plating covering the entire bullet

index.php


If you see copper disk that covers lead base of FMJ bullets, they are likely CMJ (Complete Metal Jacket) like these - http://montanagoldbullet.com/index.php/40-180gr-cmj.html

index.php
 

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kcofohio said:
I sorted through my order of pulled .40 cal. bullets. By weight and OAL. I found may 10 that didn't match up. Light in weight for the length.
Yesterday I pick one up and felt it jiggle. The lead core didn't fill the jacket.

View attachment 844646
Click to expand...

With pulled jacketed bullets I normally get a few that is an odd weight, but this time I don't think I found any. Interesting that you found one with a loose core.
 
bds said:
I recently picked up a bottle of W244 and really hoping it's the better replacement for W231/HP-38 with greater velocity range.
Click to expand...
Just better than W-231, or a better replacement for W-231 than... ?
 
I thought weak aspects of W231/HP-38 were just enough velocities for making power factors and temperature sensitivity and was hoping Winchester address them in W244, logically slightly slower burning powder for achieving higher velocities and perhaps less temperature sensitivity.
 
bds said:
I thought weak aspects of W231/HP-38 were just enough velocities for making power factors and temperature sensitivity and was hoping Winchester address them in W244, logically slightly slower burning powder for achieving higher velocities and perhaps less temperature sensitivity.
Click to expand...
It's not just burn rate. I've done a cook-off between HP38, AA#2 and Titegroup in 38 special and at a given pressure AA#2 makes more velocity and Titegroup more yet, despite having similar burn rates. There's something inefficient in the formulation of 231/HP38 that delivers less total energy. 244 does appear to be a bit slower, but just moving to Titegroup (which is if anything a faster-burning powder) picks up velocities markedly. From some tests Walkalong posted 244 seems to follow the pattern established by the other more recent powders, and I'm expecting more velocity from this factor aside from any burn-rate difference.
 
I thought about doing load development when I picked up a can of W244, but decided to wait for the machine rest build for more consistent testing.
 
I haven't even got my can yet. Only 16 things left on the list to try first.. But I'm expecting more competitive velocities on that day. :)
 
Titiegroup uses a high nitro content to get the velocity increase per grain. I do not know what nitro content W-231 and W-244 have. Less.

N320 has no nitro content. Single Base vs Double Base. Nitrocellulose only.
 
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