MBC 158 Grain SWC - Grooveless coated bullets

[vaalpens]

I am getting ready to order some more bullets from MBC and I see they now have some grooveless coated bullets. The 158gn SWC grooveless bullets come in 12 and 18 Brinell hardness.

Has anybody tried these new bullet?

http://missouribullet.com/details.php?prodId=415&category=20&secondary=9&keywords=

 

[ArchAngelCD]

I doubt you will see any difference in accuracy. I guess it's nice to have a bullet without lube grooves when they aren't needed but IMO it's only cosmetic. Of course I could be wrong.

 

[vaalpens]

I doubt you will see any difference in accuracy. I guess it's nice to have a bullet without lube grooves when they aren't needed but IMO it's only cosmetic. Of course I could be wrong.

You are correct that the groove is not needed, but the weight to fill the groove has to come from somewhere.

I am definitely going to order some of the grooveless bullets, hoping they will be as "groovy" as the bullets with a lube groove.

 

[quaid]

I imagine the absence of the lube groove allows the base of the bullet to be just a bit less deep in the case, lowering pressures. I imagine the difference in a cavernous 38 spl is insignificant.

In a 9mm or 10mm that sounds great- more room for powder.

 

[ArchAngelCD]

I imagine the absence of the lube groove allows the base of the bullet to be just a bit less deep in the case, lowering pressures. I imagine the difference in a cavernous 38 spl is insignificant.

In a 9mm or 10mm that sounds great- more room for powder.

What would cause the bullet to seat differently just by it not having a lube groove? I doubt that's true. I will say though, pressures might be slightly higher due to more friction surface due to the lack of the usual 2 grooves.

 

[ljnowell]

What would cause the bullet to seat differently just by it not having a lube groove? I doubt that's true. I will say though, pressures might be slightly higher due to more friction surface due to the lack of the usual 2 grooves.

Without a lube groove the bullet should be shorter, allowing that it has the same nose profile. If OAL is held the same you would have less bullet in the case.

 

[Rule3]

What would cause the bullet to seat differently just by it not having a lube groove? I doubt that's true. I will say though, pressures might be slightly higher due to more friction surface due to the lack of the usual 2 grooves.

What ljnowell said,

Without a lube groove the bullet should be shorter, allowing that it has the same nose profile. If OAL is held the same you would have less bullet in the case.



Perhaps due to there not being a groove, that groove is filled with lead now so the base of the bullet would need to be a tad shorter to keep the same bullet weight? I do not think the top end of the bullet is different.

 

[Walkalong]

I tried some of the same style from ACME, and they shot just like the grooved ones as far as I could tell. Maybe a Bullseye shooter could prove a difference.

 

[vaalpens]

Thanks for all the comments. Probably difficult to quantify how it will be different, but the only thing left to do is order some and test them out.

 

[MEHavey]

It wasn't asked, but I'll recommend anyway...
Get the softer (BN: 12) bullet.

 

[Jesse Heywood]

It wasn't asked, but I'll recommend anyway...
Get the softer (BN: 12) bullet.

Please open mouth before inserting foot. Works better for me.

#HT-358158SGL
.358 Diameter
.38 Special
158 Grain SWC - Grooveless
Brinell 12
For Target Velocities
Hi-Tek 2-Extreme Coating from J&M Specialized Products P/L

 

[MEHavey]

The 158gn SWC grooveless bullets come 12 and 18 Brinell hardness.

I quite agree. Foot-in-Mouth Disease is absolutely rampant.

FWIW: I'm running 1,000fps out of a 5½" 38 Special barrel with a 165gr Lyman #358665 plain base/(30:1) at BN=6.5.
Bottom Line: Soft is good.

 

[vaalpens]

It wasn't asked, but I'll recommend anyway...
Get the softer (BN: 12) bullet.

Correct, I did not ask, but thanks for the suggestion.

I have been loading the 18BN bullets but was debating (yes, with myself) if I should change to the 12BN since I normally just push these bullets to around 1000fps. I'm not sure if I'll see any change in accuracy and I don't think I'll see any leading with the coated bullets, so it probably won't hurt to give the 12BN bullets a try since I'm trying a new bullet in any case.

 

[Bama Drifter]

If the MBC.38 Match bullet is same as aforementioned part #, buy with confidence! I use it over 4.1 gr Unique and get superb accuracy from my Detective Special and S&W 19.

For magnums I run 18 BH... YMMV.

Sent from my HUAWEI G620-A2 using Tapatalk

 

[vaalpens]

I tried some of the same style from ACME, and they shot just like the grooved ones as far as I could tell. Maybe a Bullseye shooter could prove a difference.

Walkalong, thanks for the information regarding the ACME bullets. maybe I will give the ACME bullets a try. The price is competitive and shipping is only $6 if I order 500.

Do you shoot these ACME 16BN bullets in 38 special or 357 magnum?

 

[Walkalong]

14.5 Grs of 2400 in .357 Mag. I haven't chronoed them, but the SNS grooved 158 Gr SWC got an Average 1357 FPS (85 degrees 68% RH) with the same load. That load shoots very well. I haven't really wrung out the AMCE bullet load, but don't see where it is any better. Both bullets were "inconsistent on diameter and length" according to my notes. But who cares if they shoot well. My initial reaction after shooting them the first time was , eh, no better than the grooved bullet, and no reason to pick them over it, but no reason not to use them either. My gut reaction is to stick with the grooved ones. No real evidence against them though. I shot a cylinder full in my 586 at a 16" steel plate at 100 yards Sat and had three hits. (Red Dot sight) The misses were all me I am sure. I only got two out of eight in my 9MM 1911. (Open sights, no glasses.)

They charged $6 shipping on my 500 .45 Cal 175 Gr SWCs I ordered. I started with 100 of those to try.

 

[vaalpens]

14.5 Grs of 2400 in .357 Mag. I haven't chronoed them, but the SNS grooved 158 Gr SWC got an Average 1357 FPS (85 degrees 68% RH) with the same load. That load shoots very well. I haven't really wrung out the AMCE bullet load, but don't see where it is any better. Both bullets were "inconsistent on diameter and length" according to my notes. But who cares if they shoot well. My initial reaction after shooting them the first time was , eh, no better than the grooved bullet, and no reason to pick them over it, but no reason not to use them either. My gut reaction is to stick with the grooved ones. No real evidence against them though. I shot a cylinder full in my 586 at a 16" steel plate at 100 yards Sat and had three hits. (Red Dot sight) The misses were all me I am sure. I only got two out of eight in my 9MM 1911. (Open sights, no glasses.)

They charged $6 shipping on my 500 .45 Cal 175 Gr SWCs I ordered. I started with 100 of those to try.

Walkalong, thanks again for all the information. I'm not a BE shooter, so if they shoot well and load easy, then they'll work for me. I have been happy with the MBC bullets, so i will probably just stick with them. Just need to make up my mind what to buy. Luckily there is no rush.

I don't know how difficult it is to shoot 16" of steel at 100 yards since I have never tried, but to me 3 out of 6 sounds very good. Two weekends ago I took one shot with my P229 from 40 yards at a gallon jug, standing with opens sights, and hit it with my first shot. I thought it was a great shot, but then I saw your results at 100 yards. Looks like I have some work to do.