45 swc flat base v/s bevel base bullets.

Hi guys. just wondering, i received a sampling of 200gr coated swc 200gr bullets from brazoes, very nice but i am used to shooting 200 gr zero lead swc flat base bullets. what would be the advantage of bevell base v/s flat base. using the same load for both? thanks!

I was always told flat base is better.   I was a bullet caster.  I now buy my bullets from Brazos.  I cannot tell the difference between the two.

The reason they claim flat is better, it when the bullet leaves the barrel its a clean release.  With a deep crown or beveled base, there is time the gasses can alter the flight.   

David

Also casting my own. I've used 2 H&G 68 molds. 1 flat base & 1 bevel base. The flat base shot better in my Springfield wad gun and the bevel base shot better in my Caspian wad gun. Both of these were built by the same smith with the same finish reamer. The bevel base loads easier for me, so that's what i'm using the most of.

IOW it's a crap shoot.

David R wrote:I was always told flat base is better.   I was a bullet caster.  I now buy my bullets from Brazos.  I cannot tell the difference between the two.

The reason they claim flat is better, it when the bullet leaves the barrel its a clean release.  With a deep crown or beveled base, there is time the gasses can alter the flight.   

David

Yet rifle shooters claim boat tails (bevel bases) release cleaner....

There was a test many years ago in Handloader magazine from a POC shooter. He was testing H&G #50 in plain and Bevel base in at least 2 different guns. The results were bevel base bullets shot better but it wasn’t enough to be significant.

Thanks. so I guess its whatever shoots best in a particular gun. also i am now trying to narrow it down to one bullet for the long and short line. so zero heads fro 25yrds and brazos 200 for the long line. anybody have success using one or the other for everything?

I would say the caveat to using flat base bullets is you need the proper diameter expander so the base does not get deformed while seating. One could also use a sizing die that does not over size, like a .454 Casul.

Zero doubt in my mind that flat base lead bullets shoot better at 50. 20 years ago Ed Masaki has a lead bullet company in Carson City or Reno (Western Nevada) make him flat base bullets that came out  to 196gr. it was the flat base that made them work so well. the bevel has always been for ease of loading, especially in over sized cases.
 
 btw, Zero fmjhp bullets are flat base and they are pretty much the standard to compare to today.

Thanks robert. good info, i tried the 185 hollow points out of my clark 45. didn't seem to do as well as the 185 semi wad lead. same load 4.8 ww231. federal brass and primers. maybe should have tried it with vv310 or bullseye? anyway the quest contiues.

.454 Casul sizing die. The best $7.95 I ever spent in this sport. Just got lucky and caught a sale on Amazon. That and a ..453" expander and I feel confident I do not squish the flat bases. Those zero HP 185 shoot really well. not a flat base either and they work great. 3.8-4.0 of BE usually puts them on top of each other. nothing wrong with ww231 or vv310. I think its more the shooter and how they react to different recoils that matters more than the powder when shooting offhand.

Lyman 200 gr bevel base #452630 , SIZED .452"  most accurate @ 50 yards for me.    The Lyman mold will produce a diameter thats very close to .452"   The alloy needs to be close  to Lymans #2  alloy, to get the proper diameter. 

I had worked up an accurate load with bullets that had a slight bevel on the base, then replaced the bullet with exactly the same profile but with a larger bevel, because that was what I had found locally (158g .38).  Shots were all over the place (turned into a 12" spread from a 2").  Couldn't figure out what happened, thought it may have been temperature sensitivity, etc.  Went back to the slight bevel base and everything was fine again.  I'd say the base regularity is very important but in this experience the large bevel was probably just as regular/clean, but just larger.  Maybe just as accurate with a different load?  Anyway I look for crisp flat bullet bases or slight bevels and it seems like Brazos bullet bases are well formed and of course plated bullets usually are too.

Need proper expander plug and Masaki shoulder seater, otherwise you wipe the base crescent during seating. Glad too see folks are using the 454 die, it works for me, especially with flat base and soft swaged bullets.