The purpose of this article to help you choose a cast bullet manufacturer.

If you compete or just shoot for "fun", having a company you can rely on to consistently supply you with accurate bullets, on time and for a fair price is important.

Below you will find a list of things you should look for in a high quality cast bullet.  Here are some of the things we can look for and measure.

We are looking for uniformity in:

• Appearance - We want each bullet to behave the same in its flight path, so we want each bullet to look the same. The easiest test one can do is to look at their bullets. Cast bullets come out of a mold, so we can look for and feel for molding marks, as well as how the bullet was cut from the mold. If you drag your fingernail across the side of the bullet you would prefer that it does not catch on anything.
• Weight - We want the gun to recoil the same on each trigger pull. Take bullets out of the box. Weight them, put them in a computer spreadsheet, use the formula to calculate the mean and the standard deviation. These two mathematical will tell you what your average bullet weight is and how wide in variation are the bullet weights. The lower the deviation the better.
• Cast Bullet Lube - We want to reduce leading and minimize cleanup. A properly lubricated bullet should have lubricant in the bullet grooves only. Is the lube uniform on all bullets. Is their lube outside of where is is supposed to be?

What we would also like to look for in cast bullets:

• Hardness - The rule of thumb is the slower the bullet the softer the bullet should be.
• Consistency of material - If you order a batch of bullet, or several batches over time are the bullets consistent.
• The efficiency of the bullet lube - How much your barrel leads up depends on many variables, but if all you change is the lube you can visually tell if one lube is working with your load better than another.
• How does it shoot - In the end how the bullet shoots in your gun, with your load, is the most important measure of all.
• If you want to learn more about cast bullets visit: http://castboolits.gunloads.com/

What you should look for in the manufacturer:

• Was your order shipped on time?
• Can you talk to someone if there is a problem?
• Do they take online as well as phone orders?
• Do they use USPS flat rate boxes?
• Is their product packed safely?

Comparison Testing:

We are comparing one bullet manufacturers product against another bullet manufactures product. This is a point in time test, therefore what was true for this test may not be true in a future test.  In each case, 1000 bullets where ordered without the manufacture knowing that a test will take place.This test was done for bullets ordered on October and December 2008.

The bullets: Midstates .452 200 gn SWC Bevel Base vs. Dardas .452 200 gn SWC Bevel Base

Appearance:

• Midstates: Dull with easily seen molding marks, some molding marks could be easily felt with the "thumbnail" test.  It is possible that this was due to a slight mold misalignment. Some bullets had a slight textured finish.

• Dardas: Shiny, extremely smooth finish, with hard to find molding marks. Note: The molding marks could not be felt, you had to hunt for them just to find them.

Weight*:

• Midstates: Average: 205.2, Standard Deviation: 1.0
• Dardas: Average 202.5, Standard Deviation: 0.5

* Weight was a 25 bullet sample including lube weighed on a Dillon Eliminator Scale (better statistics could be obtained with a larger sample size). 

Lube:

• Midstates: Approximately 1 bullets in 100 did not contain lube, At least one in four bullets had lube on parts of the bullet where lube did not belong. The end result was that an extra reloading step was needed to wipe off excess lube, as well as additional work to clean the seating and sizing dies.
• Dardas: Perfect.

Notes:

• We do not have a proper testing facilities to tell you which bullet shoots better. We do know that there are a excellent competitive shooters using Dardas bullets.
• Dardas answered the phone when called and provided excellent service during the order, followed up via email, provided tracking information on the order and answered questions on the manufacturing process. We received our order in three days. We really can't find anything to complain about.

The Winner

The clear winner of this test was Dardas.

The  Dardas .452 200 gn SWC Bevel Base is a better bullet (in every aspect that we examined) than the equivalent bullet from Midstates.

Based on their product, customer service and commitment to quality, we will definitely be ordering from Dardas again.