bullet selection for plinking

[deadeye dick]

I do a lot of target shooting in my back yard for fun and practice. I have targets at 15 and 25 yards. My question: I have a lot of lead bullets available in my area in different weights. In your opinion what is the best weight to use for practice? I reload .45acp, 9mm, for auto and 357,38 sp in my Blackhawk revolver. I currently have in stock--125gr. 38-- 357,.357dia.rnd nose fl. point,& 200 gr. .45s .452dia semi wad cutters, 9mm 125gr..355 dia. rnd nose fl pt., 9mm 147 gr.rnfp. Also any one have a favorite load for these bullets. I currently use w231 and titegroup and some green dot. in my Lee turret press.
Have a safe and happy labor day
Howie

 

[RetiredUSNChief]

Well, there are a few factors which weigh into this, for me. But the one that would dominate my choice would be whatever most closely matches the accuracy of the ammunition I would typically consider for self-defense.

Of course, this would only apply to the guns I would carry for self-defense.

For the rest, I would choose whatever most closely matches how I have my firearm sighted in at the time.

That said, I do not have a gun like a .357, where I have the option of shooting another round like the .38 in it. Obviously there are benefits to shooting a lighter loading in such a gun when all you're doing is shooting for fun.

So:

- If you shoot a pistol which you would carry for self-defense, then shoot loads which closely approximate the accuracy/performance of the loads you would carry.

- If you shoot a pistol which is used solely for target practice/plinking, then use loads which best facilitate that without going overboard in cost or power. This is because shooting is fun, and more shooting is more fun.

 

[springer99]

I do a lot of target shooting in my back yard for fun and practice. I have targets at 15 and 25 yards. My question: I have a lot of lead bullets available in my area in different weights. In your opinion what is the best weight to use for practice? I reload .45acp, 9mm, for auto and 357,38 sp in my Blackhawk revolver. I currently have in stock--125gr. 38-- 357,.357dia.rnd nose fl. point,& 200 gr. .45s .452dia semi wad cutters, 9mm 125gr..355 dia. rnd nose fl pt., 9mm 147 gr.rnfp. Also any one have a favorite load for these bullets. I currently use w231 and titegroup and some green dot. in my Lee turret press.
Have a safe and happy labor day
Howie

For general use, I find that 125gr. .357dia. FP works best in my 9mm's and 38Supers, and also use a 200gr. LSWC in my 45's. I never found a .355dia. cast load that wouldn
t lead for me. Try using 231 in the 9 and Titegroup in the 45, if you're aiming for target/plinking/mid-range loads. Work up from a starting point until you're happy with the results.

 

[41 Mag]

With the jacketed bullets I load, I usually stick tot he mid ranged weights, like 140 - 158 in .357", 200 - 210 in .411", 240 in the 429", and 200 - 230 in my ACP. I do run the 255 up to 300's in my 45 Colt, and stick to 260 in my 454.

For lead however, I have found some that I use lighter bullets and some that I like in heavier. So just start trying a few of the weights you normally shoot and see how that goes then you might pick up some different ones along the way.