Maker Bullets (100% copper)

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DJ_Brutus

DJ_Brutus

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Just wondering if anyone has any experience with Maker bullets? Did some searches on here but didn’t come up with anything. They specialize in all copper bullets with, what looks to be, very impressive expansion at a price similar to, if not better than Barnes. I ended up ordering some 275 gr .452 bullets, designed for the 450 Bushmaster. My only thought was if they’d have issue stabilizing, being a “long for caliber” bullet. But if Barnes of the same weight shoot fine, why shouldn’t these, right? Maker has quite a selection, including one that is labeled for muzzleloaders - 328 gr .451 diameter.

Cabin fever’s getting the best of me. I’ll probably stick with my Deep Curls and XTPs, but I guess I’m one that likes to tinker. Lol
Just putting it out there for y’all’s thoughts.

Link to the muzzleloader bullet:
https://makerbullets.com/proddetail.php?prod=451328ML
 
The Maker P- REX bullets are precision cnc machined, lead free, solid copper expanding projectiles.
Length 1.429

I wonder how they are getting "expanding" if using CNC machinable copper. Its way more brittle than the copper Barnes uses. The length on the ML bullet is going to be a problem in a 1-28.
 
GM54-120 said:
The Maker P- REX bullets are precision cnc machined, lead free, solid copper expanding projectiles.
Length 1.429

I wonder how they are getting "expanding" if using CNC machinable copper. Its way more brittle than the copper Barnes uses. The length on the ML bullet is going to be a problem in a 1-28.
Click to expand...

All of the videos and reviews I have found show the expansion to be reliable and excellent, and haven’t seen one yet where any of the petals break off. The length though was what I was questioning as well. We shall see once I have them in hand to send down range. They were back ordered, so no idea when I may actually receive them.
 
DJ_Brutus said:
All of the videos and reviews I have found show the expansion to be reliable and excellent, and haven’t seen one yet where any of the petals break off. The length though was what I was questioning as well. We shall see once I have them in hand to send down range. They were back ordered, so no idea when I may actually receive them.
Click to expand...

Let us know when you find a ML maker/manufacture that post something they make that doesn’t work?

We’ve disproved so many things on this forum that I don’t believe hardly anything they put out..
It’s quite sad.
 
GM54-120 said:
I pic on one fracturing is right on the website. It acted just like a Lehigh.
Click to expand...

Yes, they do have 3 (of maybe 160 bullets) that are designed to fracture, but I didn’t see a caliber of those that could be used in a muzzleloader. The “REX” and “T-REX” (tipped, I believe) were the ones of interest to me. I’m a “2 holes is better than one” believer when it come to shooting deer or larger game.
 
52Bore said:
Let us know when you find a ML maker/manufacture that post something they make that doesn’t work?

We’ve disproved so many things on this forum that I don’t believe hardly anything they put out..
It’s quite sad.
Click to expand...

I completely agree. And all the videos/reviews were of centerfire ammo. But that was the main reason I posted - I have 100% faith in getting an honest opinion of them here, not a manufacturer statement of “ours is the best ever, period”. I intend to test and provide feedback. Just wondering if anyone here had already done the same.
 
GM54-120 said:
The Maker P- REX bullets are precision cnc machined, lead free, solid copper expanding projectiles.
Length 1.429

I wonder how they are getting "expanding" if using CNC machinable copper. Its way more brittle than the copper Barnes uses. The length on the ML bullet is going to be a problem in a 1-28.
Click to expand...
Where did you see that bullet spec listed ?? I got a blank page as in no pics or specs shown .
 
Controlled Fracture bullets penetrate very well. The base penetrates. The petals shear off and make additional wound channels. Im still curious how they are making machinable copper expand because its brittle like brass. Maybe they anneal it after machining.
 
GM54-120 said:
Controlled Fracture bullets penetrate very well. The base penetrates. The petals shear off and make additional wound channels. Im still curious how they are making machinable copper expand because its brittle like brass. Maybe they anneal it after machining.
Click to expand...
I guess I was thinking when a bullet breaks apart, it wouldn’t have the necessary mass to exit. But as long as the base is still heavy enough for good penetration, I suppose you get the best of both worlds. Good to know!
 
Look at Rons test for the Lehigh CF prototypes. The 230gr and 240gr mainly. Lehigh also has a 265gr. They perform exactly as designed and dont need a ton of speed to do it.
https://www.lehighdefense.com/all?a...r-cartridge,451-muzzleloader,452-muzzleloader

https://www.modernmuzzleloader.com/threads/lehigh-230g-prototype.30219/
https://www.modernmuzzleloader.com/threads/lehigh-240g-prototype.30215/
https://www.modernmuzzleloader.com/threads/265-lehigh-prototype-cf-50g-blackhorn.29163/

Controlled Fracture offers the best of both worlds. So if Makers fracture also its great. The key here is what speed do they require to perform as designed?
 
Looking forward to your range report.

I wish Maker's website was better, I like pictures. The BC on that 275 you purchased doesn't seem right at .18, a Barnes .451 275 grain XPB shows a length of 1.03 and a BC of .215. You would think a longer bullet with the same weight and diameter would have a higher BC, maybe a misprint?
 
1AFB8E3F-830C-46EE-BAD3-0A2BB64EB99B.jpeg
BuckDoeHunter said:
Looking forward to your range report.

I wish Maker's website was better, I like pictures. The BC on that 275 you purchased doesn't seem right at .18, a Barnes .451 275 grain XPB shows a length of 1.03 and a BC of .215. You would think a longer bullet with the same weight and diameter would have a higher BC, maybe a misprint?
Click to expand...
Yes, website definitely leaves a little to be desired. And numerous bullets have missing data, as well as what seems to be incorrect. I know the Maker bullets appear to have quite a large hollow point with 3 relief cuts in the nose. Don’t know if that could be affecting BC numbers that drastically or not.
I was just looking at Maker’s 350 gr .458 bullet designed for subsonic expansion. Had me thinking of a light recoil, <100 yd load with maybe 50-60 gr (by volume) BH209. Or for that matter, a long range full power load, as long as the bullet stays stable at low speed. Again, just cabin fever getting the best of me and thinking up things that don’t need to be thought about. Haha

From what I’ve heard about Maker’s owner, he is very interested in putting out the best product and will work with guys as far as developing bullets that do what they’re supposed to. I’ve personally had zero interaction with the company aside from the order I placed last week, but have just been intrigued by what I’ve seen/heard so far. Time will tell!
 
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I’ve talked to the owner some. I told him I was specifically concerned about whether I could size them or. It. He said he didn’t think they would size very well but told me that if I couldn’t them to shoot like I wanted to let him know and he would make a batch for whatever size I wanted. Didn’t sound like there was an additional cost associated with it. I plan to mess with them some this summer.
 
Would be nice if they showed the profile of all their bullets and not just the expanded bullets. The 250gr would be a lower recoil than a 275 barnes in my sml's if they have enough bearing surface.
 

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