Blemished vs. Regular Boxed Bullets?

[5oomiles]

Hey from Western PA! 1st of all I'd like to thank you all. I have been reloading for years but only a member for a few. But have learned more in the few than all the rest.
I purchased a few boxes of (blemished) bullets. I was skeptical but. After inspecting and weighing I found nothing I would call a blemish. In fact the weights varied less than some regularly priced. Am I missing something?

 

[nksmfamjp]

Usually blemish is a finish blemish but can be something out of tolerance. I've also seen mixed weight and diameter sold as blems from one retailer.

 

[birddog 68]

I don't think you're missing anything unless I am also. I have only noticed slight discoloration on some and a different color tip. I load up the same as unblemished and at my shooting distances have seen no difference other than the price.

 

[wyodeer]

I have had a few that were the wrong caliber before
Most are just a color issue

 

[memtb]

I think that are finding what the majority of us have discovered. While I've only bought a few thousand "blems", so far I've found them to be very good bullets! Maybe I've just been lucky! memtb

 

[madman]

I've shot hundreds of "blem" bullets. Never had any issues with any of them. Usually, I find it's simply cosmetic issues.

--md

 

[Left Hand Dave]

I did notice some blems on SPS that were referred to as C grade that the description stated some tips may be damaged or broken. Kind of scared me off of the blem bullets. Although if they use a grading system that would help.

 

[Varmint Hunter]

I stopped shooting Nosler blems because none of them were blemished. They sell "overruns" which is different but "blems" are being discounted out for a reason. If their "blems" aren't blemished then there is some other reason that they are sold the way they are. I believe that they don't meet the specs of first run bullets. They may be fine for punching paper but I wouldn't want to be working up accuracy loads with them and I wouldn't hunt biggame with them either. I realize that other shooters may feel differently but that's my take on the "blem" issue.

With regard to the C grade bullets with tips broken off or falling out:
I had a few boxes of Nosler Accubond bullets (1st run) that had several tips that were broken off. I contacted Nosler who said that based on the lot number that the bullets had been made several years prior. They promptly replaced the bullets but told me to keep the defective bullets. Just for the heck of it, I loaded them up to see how they would shoot. The tipless bullets landed in the group with the tipped bullets.

Go figure.

 

[Barrelnut]

I heard (on the interweb) that blemished bullets are (usually) first bullets made when they are setting up the production line for a new run. So they usually are out of spec in some tolerances. I believe this, as the only box of blems I ever tried, varied greatly by weight and bearing surface, and shot poorly, even after sorting them. After that experience, I swore them off.

 

[Gunpowder]

I have quite a bit of experience with blems, mostly Hornady that I bought when they sold them at the factory before covid. Mostly good, and the blem is actually listed on the boxes, ie appearance, setup, and won't shoot/group are common ones.

Buying them from Midway isn't enough of a discount most of the time for it to be worth it imo. I was paying 5 to 6 bucks for 224 cal vmaxes, and 7 or 8 for 87 gr vmaxes. That to me is worth it for a varmint bullet, and even the won't shoot/group bullets have shot really well. Midway has quite a few right now, the only ones I'm interested in are some that aren't normally available, namely 22 mag bullets I load in reduced 223 loads.

But paying $25 for a box that's normally $30-35, you have to make the call on that one.

FYI the good old days are over though, and Hdy now sells them all to a middle man. I recently got some 30-30 bullets where the cannelures were all over the place and some weren't even 30 cal bullets lol. So be careful.

 

[JKB57]

I purchased several hundred of SPS 30 cal accubond they have advertised as C grade no tips loose or broken they mic out all the same and the weight is every bit as good as their boxed accubonds that you pay 50.00 a box for, like anything else on the internet you can find all kinds of reviews and believe what you want when you read them

 

[CrickBottom]

I've shot and hunted with many hundreds of Nosler blems. They shoot and perform perfectly. I have 2 rifles that hold .25ish MOA with them. Oh btw, don't buy them, they're garbage.

 

[Alibiiv]

I did notice some blems on SPS that were referred to as C grade that the description stated some tips may be damaged or broken. Kind of scared me off of the blem bullets. Although if they use a grading system that would help.

I have been using the blems from SPS for years now, they seem to be fine. What I did notice was that the color of the tips was a different color than the the factory product. Presently I "do" have a thread on the forum asking if anyone noticed the difference in weights of the bullets and if accuracy fell off due to the varying weights. The answer to my question seemed to be that there was not enough of a discrepancy to affect accuracy. I weighed in 200 Nosler, .277 caliber, 130 grain bullets that were "blems" from SPS. Of those 200 bullets the I found that the bullet weights ranged from 129.5 grains to 130.4 grains in weight. Of that same 200 bullets approximately 150 of them were in the range of 130 grains to 130.3 grains.

 

[Mike Matteson]

I use them for fireforming my cases. I have used them in the past to shoot group with and didn't find anything wrong with them. But in the field hunting and really figuring out how my loads are doing at different ranges, I stick with #1's. I don't want to find out I have a problem when taking a animal. I am after one shot, one kill.