Factory seconds or "blems"

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PWC

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Maybe I'm just not looking in the right places or I have my tongue over my eye tooth and can't see what I'm saying.....Where do you look to find the factory seconds or 'blems'? I hear about them on reloading forums, but no sources other than big mfgr's.
 
I think blems are really hit or miss.

It seems factories wouldn't plan to have blems but having a discolored jacket or a slightly squished poly ballistic tip is inevitable every now and then. Ive gotten a lot from midway over the years. But it's really when youre not looking for them that I seemed to stumble over them.
 
I bought a bunch of .270 blems about 12 years ago and haven’t accomplished such a buy since. I have the unfortunate luck of watching the deals slip by. I have seen a bunch of blen bullets, but always in stuff I didn’t load...and then I started loading those calibers once the deals dried up.

I want to find deals on taurus revolver blems again... no such luck on that front either.
 
MidwayUSA sells blems once in a while, but they are sometimes not listed accurately. I picked up some "80 grain" mystery bullets in .224 some time ago from them, turned out to be 75 gr TAP from Hornaday with really tiny spots on them, worked great in the BREN 805.
 
It’s been my experience that early on you could find blems for a good price, but it seems now the price is very close to first run bullets. The last blems I bought were Hornady 270 140BTSP. I think I bought 500 of them and a month later Hornady first runs were on sale.for about the same price as the blems. That’s just one occasion, I have blems of many different caliber and weights and with all of them I don’t think I saved enough money to justify them.
 
I think that all of the Midway blems are Hornady bullets. At least I can find a comparable offering from Hornady for everything they are trying to sell. I've actually bought quite a few 30 cal bullets, 155 AMAX, 150 SST, and 155 HPBT. All have shot fine for me. The price point I look for is 20-21 cents ea. which I think is decent for a match grade bullet.

I can't tell much difference for the AMAX from new bullets, the SST's had cannulures that were all over the place (the only major flaw I've found). The 155 HPBT's are of the cannelured variety but otherwise are pristine too.
 
I have used both Shooters Pro Shop and Midway's blemished bullets, both have been fantastic. Premium bullets at plinking prices.
 
If you ever come to Missouri ( SEDALIA ) Sierra Bullets Factory is Located there.......I live an Hour from there which isn't Bad.... They have Seconds in large 55 Gallon containers you can Buy by the Pound....The Big Problem is they DON'T SHIP...I always call them to make sure The outlet store will be open that day...Their Phone Number is 800-223-8799...ASK for Outlet Store....Hope this helps someone.
 
I think blems are a deal as long as you are willing to live with the occasional wild shot that you cannot explain.

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I believe any process that creates visible and tactile gouges in the jacket also deforms the inner core. Deforming the inner core will shift the center of gravity away, unpredictably, from the axis of rotation. Since I don't have a Juenke bullet machine to test this theory, I can't prove it. I will say pulled bullets don't cluster like my wonderful Nosler & SMK match bullets. And, the further I go out with pulled bullets, the more they show themselves to be, shall we say, not match. But, if you develop a load that holds a pie pan at distance, don't shoot at things beyond that distance, and all will be well.

I have been buying these pulled/seconds and having a great time converting them into future environmental hazards.

Federal Fusion pulled 150 grain bullets in 30 caliber. In this rifle, shot good at 100 yards, but this is only a ten shot group. One of the days going to take it to CMP Talladega and see how the combination does out to 300 yards

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These are pulled bullets. Shoot a 15 shot group and end up with flyers, with pulled bullets you are never sure if it was you, the rifle (which is a sub 2 MOA thing) or the bullet.


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Three hundred yards is a long way. That bullet out of the group, could be me, could be the rifle, could be the bullet. What should I have faith in?

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I don't have 600 yard targets with match bullets in this rifle, but at 600 yards, the rifle and the bullet combination are unacceptable for anything but rock busting. Ok at 300 yards, not Ok beyond that .

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The process of pushing a bullet into the barrel at 40 - 50,000 psi where the bullet is then engraved by the rifling is a pretty violent process. I wonder how significant a surface blemish has to be to make a difference.
 
The process of pushing a bullet into the barrel at 40 - 50,000 psi where the bullet is then engraved by the rifling is a pretty violent process. I wonder how significant a surface blemish has to be to make a difference.

That is a good question and I don't know. It would take a controlled experiment to determine how much deformation affects accuracy.

Remember when Lee Reloading claimed that their Lee Crimp Die was the secret to better accuracy? I remember the era, I met lots and lots of reloaders, and read threads by reloaders who bought the Lee Crimp Die and claimed increased accuracy. Proof that marketing works. Not that the die worked, but that people are susceptible to suggestion. So here is the suggestion:

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And here are test results indicating that squishing your bullet may not improve accuracy.

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I am of the opinion, but have not tested this, that the less deformation a bullet experiences prior to firing, the better. And there is probably some level of deformation during firing, that will upset the balance and cause a bullet to wobble in flight. I know there is some level of deformation will cause bullets to come apart in front of the muzzle. I have seen bullets driven too fast and turn into a gray vapor in the air. Bullets may seem hard to the intuitive monkey brain, but under the pressures and accelerations of combustion, I am sure they deform.
 
Factory blems that have not been loaded into anything have been as accurate as the NIB that I have purchased. Usually they have some discoloration and that's it. Just measure the diameter and weigh them to be sure as some lots will be off it has been claimed. Pulled bullets are usually less accurate but for 100 YD plinking with a Mil Spec FMJ ball what are the accuracy expectations anyway. I always got my moneys worth and then some. YMMV
 
I think the bullet gets very slighly compressed lengthwise, just like lead skirt mini balls, in that short jump, then swaged down to bore caliber; all microscopically.

I don't remember the number, but Speer's pulled bullet looks like an old Lyman wasp waisted leadbullet. Why a wasp waisted bullet? Decrease friction by decreasing bearing surface?
 
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I have been buying these pulled/seconds and having a great time converting them into future environmental hazards.

This is still up for debate. Not the fun accrued, of course, but the hazard. From dust, to dust, and all that.

Was it less environmentally impactful in the mine, or on the field?

I say, Yes!;)

But, I digress.
Blemished bullets are, by definition, not premium bullets.
But really, one must be really great to know for sure.:)
 
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