flat or bevel base.

[mto7464]

Looking at some group buys for 9mm boolits. You can get flat base or bevel. Why the two styles?

[tazman]

Some people have differences in the way they like them.
The bevel base tend to load into cases easier. The plain base have a reputation for being more accurate.
I have never noticed much difference in accuracy myself.

[jdfoxinc]

At pistol distances no difference. I like BB because you don't have to bell the case mouth very much.

[Outpost75]

In 9mm, if the seating depth of the bullet will be deeper than factory FMJ, a bevel base reduces the tendency for the bullet base to impinge against the internal body wall taper of the case, which will cause a bulge that impedes chambering. A bevel also reduces the tendency for the base "cupping" in high pressure loads and also reduces "finning" of the base corner, which causes leading.

[Lakehouse2012]

I agree with all above. I havent seen perceptible difference with FB and the BB is so much easier to load. I ran nearly 500 rounds last weekend of the HG275 with BB and all barrels looked really good.

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[Mal Paso]

Bevel base can be a pain if you lube bullets with a RCBS, Lyman or Saeco Lube/Sizer.

Just so there are no surprises.

[kevin c]

I can imagine the hassle of a bevel filled with hard lube, but haven't had to worry about the issue personally since I coat my casts. Maybe it's me or the way things whirl around on my little four station progressive, but even with a generous flare I had problems with flat based cast boolits tilting when set on the case that I didn't get with smaller sized jacketed, or with bevel based cast. Maybe with the custom M style die Lathesmith is turning for me I'll be able to use the up sized flat based molds I have, but right now I'm using the bevel based molds.

[Wayne Smith]

I only have one bevel base mold, and I don't shoot the 40 very much. When I lube these I place a piece of Styrofoam (coffee cup) in the die.

[Petrol & Powder]

Bevel base can be a pain if you lube bullets with a RCBS, Lyman or Saeco Lube/Sizer.

Just so there are no surprises.

/\Ditto
That would be the factor for me. I use a lubersizer and therefore all of my molds are flat base styles.

[ioon44]

I Hi-Tek coat all my cast bullets so plan or flat base doesn't matter to me both shoot with out any leading.

[dverna]

BB bullets may also hang up less in the mold.

All my pistol bullets are BB for easy of loading. Using a Star or coating is how I lube them.

[Green Frog]

Bevel base can be a pain if you lube bullets with a RCBS, Lyman or Saeco Lube/Sizer.

Just so there are no surprises.

IIRC, at one time I had some Lyman sizing dies whose plugs were reversible, one end dead square and the other slightly cupped. I assume the cupped end was for bevel based bullets(?)

Froggie

[Petander]

There's another group buy for a 216 grain 45-70 plinker boolit (462). Also available with bb.

I ordered a flat base / No Lube Groove -version but I can't stop thinking about bevel base... why would someone want a bb for that? Should I want it? I Hi Tek coat everything.

[centershot]

Pick one. They will both work fine in the proper load. Personally, I like BB for pistol bullets.

[greenjoytj]

I use a SAECO lubri-sizer and have no problem wiping lube off the bevel base bullet.

3 sheets of paper towel on a flat surface, push the bullet across to clean off the base.
I really don’t get lube on the base, the base wipe off is just assurance.
Using a single sheet of paper towel I press my pointer finger into the towel and wipe around the bevel to clean it off.

I tried the styrofoam trick mentioned in an above post, but it was slow and more trouble than just wiping. Maybe I had bad styrofoam.

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

Some of my pistol boolits are lubed in a Lyman lubesizer...those I want a FB.
BUT, some are TL with 45-45-10 or BLL, I prefer BB boolits for that. some of Lee's TL boolit molds have a BB, those are my first choice.

[mdi]

I read long ago, possibly here, that one main consideration for bevel based cast bullets is casting ease. Bevel base bullets fall out of the mold better/easier, and this is a big deal for commercial casters. I don't have a preference and I once "experimented" with a 45 ACP bullet mold, Lee 452-230-TC. Originally it was a 2 cavity mold but I removed the bevel on one cavity. I cast up a bunch and sorted by base. Loaded identical loads and shot mebbe 100 each over a period of time. In my 1911 and Ruger P90, I could tell no difference in accuracy or leading. Maybe a difference in a revolver, I dunno, but for me it don't matter...

[kevin c]

Funny, I had thought that the geometry of a bevel based mold made it more likely to hang up the boolits, but I grant that I'm new to the game, and have mostly BB molds for the sake of easy loading. Most of them, even the well seasoned ones, seem to hang up to some degree at least once in a while, and sometime more than that.

MDI, did that BB mold you reamed out drop the boolits any differently before and after the modification?

[mdi]

The "Unbeveled" bullets were slightly heavier. Some of my molds require a tap on the handle nut to help the bullets fall, but I have not noticed any better or worse with the modified mold. Cavities are side by side and one does not "drop" easier than the other. I pan lubed and ran them through my Lee sizer dies, in the same batch as the beveled base. Loading/seating, same. Accuracy, same. Leading, same.

[45-70 Chevroner]

I use a SAECO lubri-sizer and have no problem wiping lube off the bevel base bullet.

3 sheets of paper towel on a flat surface, push the bullet across to clean off the base.
I really don’t get lube on the base, the base wipe off is just assurance.
Using a single sheet of paper towel I press my pointer finger into the towel and wipe around the bevel to clean it off.

I tried the styrofoam trick mentioned in an above post, but it was slow and more trouble than just wiping. Maybe I had bad styrofoam.

I have used just about every thing to wipe the base. An idea hit me one day when I had new carpeting put in my home. We had a very low Knapp carpet installed and there was a lot of remnants left over, I thought how would that carpet work for whipping that base of my boolits, I cut some into 4"×5" squares and stapled it to my reloading bench on the left side of my reloading press. It worked better than any thing else I tried. I can wipe about 300 boolits before needing to change the little square of carpet. I have been doing this for at lest 35 years. You can go to a floor covering shop and get remnants for free most of the time.

[greenjoytj]

That carpet tip is a good one. Thanks 45-70 Chevroner

[kevin c]

That's what I like about this site: practical solutions to real problems, solved by like minded folks who are willing to share ther ideas.