I have been loading Hornady 55 gr soft points for my Ar. I recently bought some Midsouth shooters 55 gr varmint nightmare HP's. When I load the Hornady bullets there is no mark in the bullet from the seating die, but when I load the varmint nightmares there is a shallow indent ring in the bullet caused by the seating die. I am thinking they have a thinner jacket. They shoot very well and very accurate. Is there a short fall with these bullets ?
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55 gr bullets
- Thread starter rebs
- Start date
To my knowledge the "Varmint Nightmare" bullets are cup and core. From my experience, the VN bullets have a softer jacket than Hornady SP which could account for the "seating mark" you're seeing. I haven't seen any difference in loading, accuracy, or effectiveness.
Qualifier added: my experience has been with VN soft point bullets.
Qualifier added: my experience has been with VN soft point bullets.
Last edited:
Jim Watson
New member
"Varmint" bullets typically have thin jackets for fast expansion on small animals. So you are seeing the edge of the cavity in the seater plug biting into the nose a bit.
So the only shortfall is cosmetic.
They may well be plated, they resemble the old Remington PowrLokt that was. Which also shot accurately.
They shoot very well and very accurate.
So the only shortfall is cosmetic.
They may well be plated, they resemble the old Remington PowrLokt that was. Which also shot accurately.
So the only shortfall is cosmetic.
Sums it up. It's not uncommon for the seating plug to leave some light marking on a round. I have a lee seating die that does the same thing... still makes ammo that shoots 1moa using cheap components.
plated. I'm almost certain.
Almost certain they are not if they are shooting accurately unless the OP is using a reduced load. Plated lead will not hold up to standard .223 velocities. Copper washed (or plated) mild steel jackets are almost certain to not be acceptable varmint rounds, and I'm not aware of any American company that offers plated mild steel jackets.
I have been wrong before, but I would be willing to wager that these aren't plated... and I'm not a gambling man.
Midsouth bullets are made by one of bullet manufacturer same as Midway dogtown
http://www.midwayusa.com/product/939655304/midwayusa-dogtown-bullets-22-caliber-224-diameter
It's pretty hard to beat price on either of those bullets and I use them volume PD shooting and very accurate.
http://www.midwayusa.com/product/939655304/midwayusa-dogtown-bullets-22-caliber-224-diameter
It's pretty hard to beat price on either of those bullets and I use them volume PD shooting and very accurate.
The only shortfall you have to worry about is aiming low and hitting the ground in front of the target.
Usually what people worry about with seater die rings (which I've spotted on a number of commercial loads in the past, BTW) is that they might adversely affect the exterior ballistics. They won't. Like rifling marks, they don't affect ballistics because they are shallower than the air boundary layer that forms over the bullet in flight.
Usually what people worry about with seater die rings (which I've spotted on a number of commercial loads in the past, BTW) is that they might adversely affect the exterior ballistics. They won't. Like rifling marks, they don't affect ballistics because they are shallower than the air boundary layer that forms over the bullet in flight.