Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters Winchester Reloading Bullets in Bags ???

My brother sent me some winchester 22 cal 55gr PSP bullets that were in plastic bags...100 bullets per bag. When I opened the bags they look like seconds to me...some tarnished, varying amounts of exposed lead tips, varying jacket lengths etc. The bags were still sealed, so I know they weren't previously opened and mixed.
I'm confused...do they sell their top quality bullets in bags? Nothing on the packaging indicates they are seconds. I weighed them out and though most are within 2 tenths of their specified 55 gr, there is over a full grain difference from the lightest to the heaviest. Is this normal now days?

Thanks for your help guys.

Scott

Yeah, those Win 223 bullets are junk. Stand 'em up on a flat table and a bunch of them will be angled. The BEST plinking 223 bullets out there are Montana Golds, if you can find them.

sound just right for an AR and the dumb ass tacticool crowd

Interesting. Those used to be pretty good bullets. I bought a bunch maybe 10 years ago and am now down to a handful. Five will group into .6 at 100 yards from my .220 Swift Ruger 77 Sporter.

They show tarnish because the bags are not airtight, and copper tarnishes pretty easily.

Only good enough for dumbass AR shooters huh?

wow already drinking at 3PM.

Wow, they used to be just fine. Bulk Rem too. I was never too worried about tarnish. That used to be a bargaining chip to bring the price down at a store or gun show.

I make my own bullets. I'm not talking for BR, just hunting/varmint rifles, but I only get performance degradation at or beyond 2.5 to 3 percent weight variance. My bullets tend to shoot worse if they are out of round or visibly damaged* - even if they weigh the same.

You might be surprised with their performance. How did they shoot?

* edited to add: damage around the heel.

The Win 223 bullets I used that were junk were FMJ's come to think of it. I bought some Win SP's years ago and I don't remember anything horrible about them. I still say Montana Golds are the go-to plinking/drill bullet if you are going to reload for an AR. They'll do well under 2moa with a good barrel. Probably about equal to PMC factory.

I haven't shot any of them yet...not worried about the discoloration, but not thrilled with the noticeable length of jacket difference and amount of exposed lead differences. My confidence with them went out the window when I opened the bag.

I think will sort them by weight, then by visible differences, and just use biggest group and delegate the rest for reduced load plinkers. Dang I was hoping for more from them.

Thanks for your replies.

Scott

I have used a lot of them on gophers in Mt. The ones I had were not really pointed but had a lot of exposed lead and a cannlure. They shot great in the 223 and my V77 Swift. Wish I had a bunch more IIRC they were about $50/1000 & with surplus 4895 shot em by the coffee can full. BTW MD did the dogs in the kitchen on Thanksgiving stay away from your knee?-Judd

I bought 1,000 of the Win. 55 sp during the last ammo scare. My intention was to use them in my AR. When I seated them to the max coal, they would fall into the case with slight pressure. The trimmed case would sit right at the cannelure but crimping would not help. Seating them out worked, but they wouldn't fit in the magazine. I sent a few bags back, but Winchester said they were within spec. I won't buy Winchester ammo or components anymore unless I'm in a real bind.

I bought a bulk bag of 500 WW 64-gr, PP in .22 cal probably 20 years ago. I culled a lot of does with that bullet that always shot <1 MOA out of my 1:14 .22-250. A fair number of hogs, coyotes, and bucks bit the dust too.

Times change, and your bullets might be junk. But I'd shoot a few first.

Gee's I few years back I bough some 6.5 mm 120 gr Remington Core Lokt bullets, I bought 100 they shot great and I then bough 5000 more, that along with the 2000 Winchester Western Cases in 6.5 x 55 kept my swedish in ammo for dam near 20 years now and will for the rest of my shooting and hunting life. Right now the only thing I am short on is my favorite powder and primers. I have enough for 8 years at my current consumption rate. The only thing I am sorry I didn't do was buy more of those bullets.

The only bullets I've bought in a bag were a bunch of 50gr. Remington Power-Lokt HP's. They shot like a house afire out of my 700 BDL heavy barrel in 223, but that's been years ago. Never have bought Winchester bullets in a bag, but a bunch of their brass though, it's all been decent.

I realize that nothing remains the same, but that has been my experience with these bullets. When I started reloading, I couldn't afford to buy Speer or Sierra bullets, so I got a small mountain of Rem 50 PSPs and whatever else was cheap. They always shot well for me.

I wonder if, in our rush to the Holy Grail of accuracy, we've forgotten the lowly Win/Rem bulk bullets? Are they really that different from Hornady, Sierra or Speer .224s if you're varminting? I don't think so.

Shooters are no different than any other demographic. They think that higher price brings them better accuracy/performance on game. I don't think that is so either.

We all have our stories, but overall, my opinion is that they are just fine.

I have shot quite a few bags of their 180 gr Power Point. They have always been more than accurate enough for hunting big game to well beyond 300 yd.

Actually saw some today in a gun shop in Macadam, NB. They were quite a bit more expensive than the ones I bought in Whitehorse, but they were there.

Ted

Win and Rem cut back on bulk bullets for retail sale.

With the ammunition shortages of the past few years, they probably don't make as many as they did before. Production priorities. That, and there's less demand for them. Excepting the areas where lead cup and core bullets are prohibited, shooters have succumbed to the power of the farce. Remember Ad-Man Kenobi?
---

"The Farce can have a strong influence on the weak-minded."



"Spending more on bullets and equipment makes you shoot better!"



"Yes...spending more on bullets and equipment makes me shoot better..."



"That's right..."

Last ones I bought were about 10 years ago, but both them and the 50gr bulk .222 bullets shot as well as any other soft point bullets. Don't see many bulk bullets in B.C. these days

I load the 64 gr winchester powerpoints in my 22 250. They come in bags of 100 and shoot great.