Factory Second Bullets

[precision_shooter]

So I was cruising the inter web last weekend and Grafs had some .308 175gr HPBT bullets that were "factory seconds from a major manufacturer". I looked and confirmed they are Sierra Matchkings.
The price was good at $27.99/100 so I bought 200.
I received the bullets today, and other than the fact they are not in a Sierra plastic box, just bags, I can't find anything wrong with them to the naked eye.

Any idea why these would be sold as factory seconds? It can't be that these are just an overstock of this bullet as any good match .308 bullets are hard to find.

 

[flashhole]

Have you weighed them? It may be they didn't fall within tolerance or there are cosmetic blemishes or they were part of a lot that had excess fallout in QA. I've always had good luck with "2nd's".

 

[Archie]

In my experience

"Seconds" are usually cosmetic problems; they don't shine like they're supposed to, or they have surface stains.

If the bullets were so out of specification they'd be dangerous, the factory would not release them. Lawsuits cost way too much.

 

[PawPaw]

I bought some seconds from Rocky Mountain Reloading last year. They were billed as Federal Fusions, and while they're nice looking bullets, I can't get them to shoot worth crap. I'm not complaining, but they turn a 1.5 MOA rifle into a 3.0 MOA rifle. They're okay for the local smallish deer and for backyard plinking with the grandkids, but I was really hoping they'd shoot better than they do. I suspect that they're not as internally concentric as they're supposed to be.

Still, they were cheap bullets and I've still got a couple of hundred of them, so they'll go in plinking ammo.

 

[Bart B.]

While Sierra Bullets makes a production run, they test bullets for accuracy. Grabbing 10 as they come out of the final pointing die (at about 80 per minute), they're seated in loaded cases then shot in rail guns for accuracy tests at 200 yards. They shoot those 10-shot groups about once every 10 to 15 minutes. Specs for thei 175 HPMK's are average group size of 1/2 inch (1/4 MOA) and not over 6/10ths inch or something like that. If accuracy drops off the max limit with one group, the barrel holding them is moved out of the way and another barrel put under the machine's output chute. If the production run continues having poor accuracy, that barrel and sometimes the first one will be sold as seconds.

Their seconds are not as accurate as those sold in green boxes; how much varies, but typically not very much. They may have visible color blemishes or folded jackets near the hollow point. After a good lot of bullets is made, they're tumbled in rubber lined cement mixers filled with wood chips to polish them. Then they're inspected for physical and appearance flaws as well as dimensional tolerances; bad ones are trashed and the good ones packaged in green boxes.

 

[old roper]

Sierra always sold second by the pound started in Calif plant new plants doing same.

http://www.sierrabullets.com/about-us/factory-outlet/

I'm sure there getting there cost back less profit

 

[44 AMP]

I got a few thousand "factory second" (read reject) bullet back when things were cheap and plentiful. Good for feeding battle rifles and such, informal stuff. These were going to be match bullets, but the jackets got wrinkles, or didn't form perfect tips, etc.

Weight is fairly consistent, within 5 grains, usually. Not good for serious accuracy, but for plinking, at scrap metal pricing, good enough.

If you get some with only surface blemishes, those would be worth more, but not full retail.

 

[Mike / Tx]

I have never gotten BR accuracy out of the many blems I have run through my rifles but then I didn't expect it. I use them for trigger time and for busting feral hogs both of which they do a VERY fine job of. They also do fine on deer at 100yd ranges as well, but I normally don't load them specifically for that.

 

[precision_shooter]

Well, the price was good enough that even if they don't shoot one ragged hole but give decent accuracy then I'll be happy. I have some factory loaded Federal match ammo with 165gr Matchkings that I'll compare them to. If nothing else, I can use them just to get range time and technique training.