I’ve been using Bear Creek Supply (BCS) bullets for nearly a quarter-century.

 

I met the then new owner of BCS, Steve Miller, at the NRA Convention in Phoenix. I was highly skeptical about his claims. How could any bullet be that good? I was writing my first handloading manual and planning on spending a week testing various loads in the Accurate Arms Ballistics Laboratory. That was a perfect opportunity to test BCS bullets.

 

At Accurate, the Chief Ballistician and I compared three versions of a 320-grain SWC in the 44 Magnum. We tested loads with conventional grease in the lubricant groves; with BCS’s proprietary friction-proofing rosin jacket plus grease, and with only the BCS rosin jacket. We tested each version of that bullet with three propellants. Tested charges gave 800 fps (Accurate #5), 950 fps (Accurate #7), and 1100 fps (Accurate #9). We tested each load in the pressure test barrel and in a S&W revolver.

 

We proved that the Bear Creek Supply jacket, without added grease, always gave the most consistent velocity. We also found that firing the BCS bullets left the test guns and fired cases clean and free of bore fouling, and residues of smoke and grease. The BCS bullet even eliminated the unpleasant — burnt grease — smell associated with firing conventional greased-bullet loads.

 

Soon after that, Roger Hazlewood began using a BCS bullet in his 38 Special loads for Bullseye Pistol competition. In ten years, he fired more than 8000 BCS bullets through his heavily customized S&W revolver. He never cleaned the gun or the cases, and he never needed to! From the day he started using BCS bullets, the bore, exterior of the gun, and cases got progressively cleaner!

 

I have had similar results in the 38-55, 45-70, 43 Mauser, (still impatiently waiting for a 710-grain RN for the 50-90 Sharps!), 44 Magnum, 44 Special, and 45 Automatic. When I shoot BCS bullets using appropriate propellants and charges, the guns stay clean, and the bores never have any noticeable fouling of any kind.

 

As just one example, I have thousands of BCS bullets through my Marlin 38-55. The bore remains shiny and clean. I run a patch soaked with synthetic grease through the bore before storing the gun, then I run a dry patch through the bore before using it again. That is the only care the bore ever gets or needs.

 

For use in loads where a conventional cast bullet is appropriate, BCS bullets are so superior to conventionally cast and lubricated bullets that, whenever I can, I use BCS bullets exclusively. With the ever-expanding BCS line, the number of loads I use with any other cast bullet is rapidly diminishing. I look forward to being able to use these superior bullets in every cast-bullet load I shoot.

 

M.L. (Mic) McPherson

Author: Metallic Cartridge Handloading: Pursuit of the Perfect Cartridge