Favorite bullet mfg not named Nosler and why

[300WSM]

Can’t load ‘em if you can’t find ‘em.




P

Truth right there.

 

[pharmseller]

Truth right there.

And I load for the family (four shooters, multiple rifles) so I go through a lot of components. It’s tough sometimes.

 

[KinleyWater]

Well, since the question is which one is your favorite, I went into my loading room and took a look at what I actually have on hand. Based on count, it seems that my favorite not-nosler for handgun is Berry's and for rifle is Speer. Hornady comes in second in both categories, but in pistol, that's because of a great deal I got a while back on .358 125grain XTP and a plethora of cast bullets in the .431 range.

Handgun - Berry's
Rifle - Speer

I also have quite a few Sierra, mostly seconds. Which reminds me: for those of you who do not know, you can buy seconds by the pound from Sierra by going to their factory. Selection is obviously limited to what they have on hand, but you can get some good deals. Even a fun side-stop on a road trip.

 

[PJGunner]

• Sierra was the bullets I started out with when I went to jacketed bullets. Probably about late 1954, early 1955. I used them almost exclusively until about 1971 or 2. They always killed well, if sometimes messy.
• Speer was the bullet that finally worked in an extremely difficult to work with Ruger RSI in .308 Win. Took two years to find something that was useable for hunting. My .300 Win. Mag. absolutely loves the 200 gr Speer Hot Core.
• Hornady I have quite a few Hornady bullet in various calibers but have used them only on paper. The only exception is the 6MM 100 gr. bullet I use on coyotes and let four neighbor kids use my rifle on their first deer hunt. I was also their guide. All four got their deer BTW.
• Barnes hasn't worked out all that well for me. The 100 gr. .257" and 120 and 140 gr. 7MM bullets have beena big time flop. The one bright light is the 225 gr. TSX which is a tack driver in my .35 Whelen custom.
• Berry's, I've never used them. I cast my own bullets.
• Lehigh Defense, again, never used them.
• Berger, another never used them.
• Other, Well I also have a fairly large supply of Nosler Partitions that I literally stole from a vendor at a gun show. I got roughly 5+ each boxes of 150 gr. 270, 150 gr. 7MM and 165 and 180 gr. 30 caliber for $10.00 a box. There also a few boxes of Accubonds in 165 and 180 gr. weights. Wiped out most of the gun buying money I'd brought to the show. Not complaining one bit as a few weeks later the last shortage started up.

Paul B.

 

[desertcj]

Please elaborate

Did you miss the drama when King Biden was doing his best to get everyone to get vaccinated or else fired? Well Hornady is a government contractor and they told all of their employees to either get vaccinated or else be fired by decree of the king. Someone leaked the internal memo from Hornady and it was a huge uproar. Hornady called it off and publicly apologized but then alledgedly went on a secret witchhunt to locate the memo leaker and punish them. Not really sure how that played out in the end, but Hornady didn't come out of that debacle looking very good in my eyes...

 

[Lazy Bushman]

Interesting someone said woodleigh. Since their shop burnt down a year or two so ago they have been non existent (duh) but they have been awful at supplying information as to if or when they are rebuilding. I suspect they didn’t even know-insurance or what have you. Just this year they are starting to build bullets again. . .

Barnes is near my home-they cannot keep staff and are hiring constantly-I’ve heard they aren’t great to work for but it’s an avaialble employment option.

Last month at sportsman’s expo I spoke with owner of Swift bullets. He said same thing, can’t keep good employees or enough staff. Also mentioned raw materials hard to get. Was very vocal about the current political environment.

I mentioned Woodleigh but someone else may have too. The factory is up and running again and they have started producing again. It will take a while for them to catch up with market demand and I don't know what priority or portion they allocated to overseas supply. While they are probably the best bonded bullet maker, they aren't anywhere near the size of a Hornady, Speer, etc.

You are correct in that they did not have insurance but it wasn't not trying. This country is crazy when it comes to firearms and no insurer would cover them for whatever illogical reason they dreamt up. We even have banks who will not provide banking services to gun shop owners here. At some point they will flow to your country and even when they do (if not already) your market it so big it will be tricky to find.

Another manufacture I recommend is a small bloke living in the middle of nowhere (Naracoorte, South Australia). Atomic 29. they are currently building a website but for now operate from Facebook. They're following growing a lot here. Their Facebook site has some video examples of their performance which is extremely impressive. Given I can buy them for 2/3'ds the price of Barnes and they work as well or better, the are becoming my go to and I will be shooting more of them when my current stash of Barnes run out.

 

[gerry]

Did you miss the drama when King Biden was doing his best to get everyone to get vaccinated or else fired? Well Hornady is a government contractor and they told all of their employees to either get vaccinated or else be fired by decree of the king. Someone leaked the internal memo from Hornady and it was a huge uproar. Hornady called it off and publicly apologized but then alledgedly went on a secret witchhunt to locate the memo leaker and punish them. Not really sure how that played out in the end, but Hornady didn't come out of that debacle looking very good in my eyes...

I was one of those who ripped Hornady a new one when the truth came out. Started to get rid of their bullets after that. The only way I would consider buying their bullets again is I don't want to punish their employees for their their employer did. The ownership and upper management need to go. My wife and I paid a heavy price here for our stand so I have no respect for the Hornady family at all.

Other than that Speer is my favorite but love to experiment with just about any other bullet manufacturer's product. Itching to try the Hammer bullets in 35 cal and 6.8 Western and the 277 cal 155 gr Barnes LRX.

 

[michsteve]

I was one of those who ripped Hornady a new one when the truth came out. Started to get rid of their bullets after that. The only way I would consider buying their bullets again is I don't want to punish their employees for their their employer did. The ownership and upper management need to go. My wife and I paid a heavy price here for our stand so I have no respect for the Hornady family at all.

Other than that Speer is my favorite but love to experiment with just about any other bullet manufacturer's product. Itching to try the Hammer bullets in 35 cal and 6.8 Western and the 277 cal 155 gr Barnes LRX.

I had to deal with the same thing but I did not budge. I refused to be an experiment.

 

[gerry]

I had to deal with the same thing but I did not budge. I refused to be an experiment.

Awesome, good for you.

 

[ShadeTree]

Did you miss the drama when King Biden was doing his best to get everyone to get vaccinated or else fired? Well Hornady is a government contractor and they told all of their employees to either get vaccinated or else be fired by decree of the king. Someone leaked the internal memo from Hornady and it was a huge uproar. Hornady called it off and publicly apologized but then alledgedly went on a secret witchhunt to locate the memo leaker and punish them. Not really sure how that played out in the end, but Hornady didn't come out of that debacle looking very good in my eyes...

I remember. And if Hornady would've stuck to it, I can promise you I wouldn't buy a single bullet. I remember a lot from those days, I wont get into all the examples I could list, but we all know.

I kept this during that time because I seen it and completely agreed with it. I kept a lot of things. I didn't forget.

 

[300WSM]

Did you miss the drama when King Biden was doing his best to get everyone to get vaccinated or else fired? Well Hornady is a government contractor and they told all of their employees to either get vaccinated or else be fired by decree of the king. Someone leaked the internal memo from Hornady and it was a huge uproar. Hornady called it off and publicly apologized but then alledgedly went on a secret witchhunt to locate the memo leaker and punish them. Not really sure how that played out in the end, but Hornady didn't come out of that debacle looking very good in my eyes...

Knew nothing about that
..


I was on the lamb for a couple years as we had a new son born.

That whole thing by the Biden administration was a shit show

 

[Wolfshead]

Knew nothing about that
..

This yet
I was on the lamb for a couple years as we had a new son born.

That whole thing by the Biden administration was a shit show

I missed that about Hornady too.
I’m not sure how, but I did.
I’m not sure I can answer this yet but I’m leaning Barnes.
Nosler has been my go to and I’m just trying out Barnes.
we’ll see.
also, THE WHOLE THING by the biden administration IS a shit show