• Help Support TNDeer:

Midway 2nds

I can't imagine buying seconds on bullets. The only uses would be for fire forming brass. Imagine you've saved for that special hunt and you have the deer of a lifetime at 350 yards and you saved .30 on that blemished bullet.
 
fairchaser said:
I can't imagine buying seconds on bullets. The only uses would be for fire forming brass. Imagine you've saved for that special hunt and you have the deer of a lifetime at 350 yards and you saved .30 on that blemished bullet.
Click to expand...
I buy them frequently from shooters pro shop but SPS does at least tell you what they are. Blems are just a blemish that I never have even been able to tell, no difference in the actual bullet. It's really not about savings anymore, it's about what you can actually find in stock to load.
 
Blems, pulls and seconds have been my go-to for a long time and they have never failed to perform. Maybe I have been lucky, but I have never had one go so much out of bounds that I couldn't take a deer with it. I do load development with each batch though, whether they are new factory or the aforementioned bullets, as I have found that sometimes bullets, or maybe another component, change enough where I am +/- a few thousands of my previous powder charge.
 
I generally restrict my purchase of bullets to those classified as
"Blemished".

Reason is these are cosmetic problems. 2nds may have something wrong. As mentioned above, use 2nds for load development and experimenting---wind drift, drop, etc.
 
DaveB said:
I generally restrict my purchase of bullets to those classified as
"Blemished".

Reason is these are cosmetic problems. 2nds may have something wrong. As mentioned above, use 2nds for load development and experimenting---wind drift, drop, etc.
Click to expand...
One in the same with some vendors:

Here is what Midway has on theirs:
MidwayUSA has just made a huge purchase of blemished bullets and we are passing the savings to our customers. Blemished bullets are bulk-packaged, factory seconds that didn't meet specification. For majority of the bullets being offered, this blemish is a slight discoloration in the jacket or the bullets were run during press set-up. Hurry, quantities are limited and at these prices they won't last long!
Click to expand...
And Midsouth:
Nosler Factory Seconds are now available at Midsouth Shooters Supply! These bullets are completely functional, with only minor cosmetic blemishes. You'll find slight tip discolorations, water spots, and little else. Nosler's criteria for their bullets is of the highest standards and tolerances. When one of their bullets doesn't meet their nearly impossible standards, it becomes a factory second. Nearly perfect bullets look pretty great to us, and we're excited to pass the savings on to you, our valued customer. Pricing reflects what the 1st quality bullets sell at Midsouth's everyday low prices, and then the discounted 2nds price. Quantities are limited, and our blemished or 2nds sales always go fast! Check out the selection below; see what your bench needs, and Load Your Own! This is what reloading is about! Once they are gone, they're GONE!
Click to expand...
 
DaveB said:
I generally restrict my purchase of bullets to those classified as
"Blemished".

Reason is these are cosmetic problems. 2nds may have something wrong. As mentioned above, use 2nds for load development and experimenting---wind drift, drop, etc.
Click to expand...
Good catch Dave, as it didn't occur to me as I use "blems" as well, and not 2nds. ;)
 
Andy S. said:
I've successfully shot a good many seconds and blemished rifle/MZer bullets/ammo for the last decade without any hiccups. Of course, I am hunting and not competition target shooting at 600+ yards either.
Click to expand...
The use and distance shot does mean everything. FClass shooters are sorting bullets by weight, overall length and base to ogive as well as pointing and trimming. ELR shooters are probably turning theirs.
 
Midway had Hornady blem bullets (155 gr red tip) and brass. I purchased 200 of each for an 06 project.

The brass was a disaster--flash holes oblong not round, flash holes slightly offcenter. At a minimum, I threw away 18% after ruining a Universal decapper.

Bullets were worse. the Plastic tips were falling out.....they broke rather easily.

I believe I mentioned the issues to Midway and the response was, they were advertised as blems. Last hornady purchase for me ever since.

FYI new bullets are not impervious to issues. In my one and only Sierrra new-bullet purchase since 1988 some 6.5 tips would BREAK or fall out. Out of a box of 100 about 10% were faulty.

In all my purchases at SPS, literally thousands of bullets, exactly 1 bullet had a QC issue.
 
The only issue I have ever had with discounted bullets was some Barnes 110 Blacktips, the tip wasn't inserted all the way on most of them and bulk packaged (bag), but I drilled a hole in a Delrin block that hit about midway on the tip and I lightly tapped the backside with a smith hammer, easy peasy. Easily saved me 50% on that purchase, and they shoot great. All others I couldn't tell why they were discounted as I could not tell the difference between those and full priced ones. Now, I don't weigh or measure my bullets so it could have been something along that line, but all of them managed a good tight shot group. I don't compete, just hunt and plink, but I like a nice tight shot group so always strive for that and so far managed to keep them very tight. As a hunter, I know I have an 8" target, but like to pick what inch of that I want and for the last 10 years or so all my shots were +/- a few yards of a 100 so it wasn't all that difficult. If I had spent hundreds, if not thousands, on a hunt, I would probably be opting for premium bullets, but for what I do, 2nds, blems, overruns etc will do just fine.
 
I've purchased "2nds" in various condition over the years. Some weren't discernible from firsts. This was mainly ballistic tips from SPS. I also bought 2nds that looked great but the accuracy definitely wasn't there and had varying ogives. This was seen with Nosler 168 gr Custom Comps as well as Hornady 178 gr HPBTs.

2nds that were truly seconds were the bullets bought by the pound at Sierra's plant. Bullets are scooped from the barrel and weighed. Some had tips missing, some tarnished and some that wouldn't fly straight.

Lastly, 2nds have become much more expensive in recent years. Any more, I'll wait for some level of a discount on firsts and go from there.
 

Latest posts

Back
Top