semiwad cutter vs. JHP

Some of the guys who shoot bullseye at the club have told me that, with the same manufacturer (I've been buying from Zero), the JHP is more accurate than the semiwad cutter. What's the opinion here?

Generally, yes.
But great scores are shot everyday with swc bullets.

Imo, until you get to master and shooting for high master you won't benefit enough from the JHP to justify the extra expense and barrel wear. And plenty of people have made HM on lead SWC.

Jhp only, life is too short to shoot ugly bullets.

Chris Miceli wrote:Jhp only, life is too short to shoot ugly bullets.

The X ring doesn't know what the bullet looks like.

Chris Miceli wrote:Jhp only, life is too short to shoot ugly bullets.

Lead sent downrange is better than JHP sitting at home.

(Too soon? Hope the shoulder heals quickly.)

weber1b wrote:

Chris Miceli wrote:Jhp only, life is too short to shoot ugly bullets.

The X ring doesn't know what the bullet looks like.

Maybe I only shot a 100-9x last weekend because I was shooting lead... Hmmmmm

Chris Miceli wrote:Jhp only, life is too short to shoot ugly bullets.

My cast bullets are just as pretty!

weber1b wrote:

Chris Miceli wrote:Jhp only, life is too short to shoot ugly bullets.

The X ring doesn't know what the bullet looks like.

You would be Wrong

john bickar wrote:

Chris Miceli wrote:Jhp only, life is too short to shoot ugly bullets.

Lead sent downrange is better than JHP sitting at home.

(Too soon? Hope the shoulder heals quickly.)

I can have someone else raise my arm, pretty big deal in 6 months I’ll be able to lift a gun

zanemoseley wrote:

weber1b wrote:

Chris Miceli wrote:Jhp only, life is too short to shoot ugly bullets.

The X ring doesn't know what the bullet looks like.

Maybe I only shot a 100-9x last weekend because I was shooting lead... Hmmmmm

Yes would of been 10x with jhp

SMBeyer wrote:

Chris Miceli wrote:Jhp only, life is too short to shoot ugly bullets.

My cast bullets are just as pretty!

Lies

Most the time the X-ring only waves as my bullets pass by

tvphotog, I am not a ballistics expert, but at 50 yards, bullet weight consistency is important so your groups do not open up.  Of the three types of bullets we use, JHP, cast lead and swaged lead, my own measurements showed me that JHP and swaged lead were about equal in consistency.  Whereas cast lead was not.  But if your 50 yard group size is the 6 ring, then one would be hard pressed to see this difference.  Shooters much better than me who shoot cast lead generally inspect and weigh their bullets and group them by weight to achieve that weight consistency.  Using JHP or swaged can help you avoid the weighing and sorting.  For me, I shoot ugly swaged lead (see photo) for 50 yards.

I found these two photos of targets I shot in 2700 matches (i.e. not practice).  The top one was shot using cast lead that was not weighed and sorted.  You can see there are five holes (after three slow fires) in the 6 ring at 6 o'clock.  After discussing with some HMs, we concluded this was due to varying bullet weights.  The next target was shot with swaged lead.

Sorry, but 6s are due to the loose nut on the trigger, not swaged vs. cast lead.

I agree with John, often we're too quick to look for reasons for poor scores outside of ourselves, its easier to blame equipment or ammo. I see your 6's were right next to pasters covering other shots. If weight deviation was the problem you would have likely had shots above the target as well not just below it.

In my experience varying weight bullets will still hold 10 ring! Crappy reloads that are poorly crimped will scatter them all over the target. Swaged bullets that lead the bore slightly will still hold 1.5” at 50 yds. I’ve shot many SF targets with 6-7x’s at 50 yds with lswc bullets. The guy pulling the trigger has more effect on the group than the gun or the ammo. Obviously you need a decent gun and decent ammunition. I spend lots of time building guns and as little time reloading as possible. I spend little effort on my reloads and still get great results with lead bullets. I have a stockpile of jhp and only use them to test guns that are built for them. I love lead!
Jon

Generally, anything outside of the 9 ring is the shooter, and in the 9 ring is likely the barrel/bushing/lockup, in the 10 ring *might* be the bullets and likely is load. Bullets would need to have voids or be visibly deformed to make some other difference. I can attest to this, as my cast go in 10 or better on call, but only after I have spent the last year and a half learning the above.

Now a loose scope mount... that could be all over the paper (or off). Check you scope mount before every match!

Jon Eulette wrote:I love lead!

Me too, but it took me a lot of years to learn that you're not supposed to lick the bullets.

San Mateo County Public Health Department still gives me a call once a year or so...

zanemoseley wrote:... I see your 6's were right next to pasters covering other shots....

Hence my reference to five holes.

The reason we concluded bullet weight is because in each case my POA and POI were right on from a windage perspective but not elevation.
What I called for those five shots => two 9 o'clocks in the 10 ring, two in the X, and one 3 o'clock in the 9 ring
What happened => two 9 o'clocks in the 6 ring, two in the 6 ring, and one 3 o'clock in the 6 ring

All the other shots you see, POA = POI.

And my POA not = POI has been reduced since switching to swaged.

And yes, I agree that the person pulling the trigger has more effect than ammo, which is why I drill/train/practice as often as I can and I work at calling my shots so that I can properly diagnose issues.

It wasnt semiwad cutters but I did just run some ransom rest tests comparing FMJ's to JHP's. The JHP's came out on top but it wasnt by much; the avg difference was 0.1"

joy2shoot wrote:

zanemoseley wrote:... I see your 6's were right next to pasters covering other shots....

Hence my reference to five holes.

The reason we concluded bullet weight is because in each case my POA and POI were right on from a windage perspective but not elevation.
What I called for those five shots => two 9 o'clocks in the 10 ring, two in the X, and one 3 o'clock in the 9 ring
What happened => two 9 o'clocks in the 6 ring, two in the 6 ring, and one 3 o'clock in the 6 ring

All the other shots you see, POA = POI.

And my POA not = POI has been reduced since switching to swaged.

And yes, I agree that the person pulling the trigger has more effect than ammo, which is why I drill/train/practice as often as I can and I work at calling my shots so that I can properly diagnose issues.

Not trying to be argumentative but put that same load in a ransom rest, bet it won't be 1/10 of the vertical stringing you have in the picture.

PhillySoldier wrote:It wasnt semiwad cutters but I did just run some ransom rest tests comparing FMJ's to JHP's. The JHP's came out on top but it wasnt by much; the avg difference was 0.1"

this seems false. you talking 45 or 9mm?

Chris Miceli wrote:

PhillySoldier wrote:It wasnt semiwad cutters but I did just run some ransom rest tests comparing FMJ's to JHP's. The JHP's came out on top but it wasnt by much; the avg difference was 0.1"

this seems false. you talking 45 or 9mm?

This was 9mm.