desperadocowboybullets.com

Desperado Cowboy Bullets (DCB) is a bullet maker that produces only soft cast lead bullets for Cowboy Action Shooting and Old West applications. It sells through a Private Membership Association (PMA): you create an account, and each order includes a $1 membership fee and is treated as a private contract between you and Ed & LeAnn Kemmerer. If you shoot low- or standard-velocity lead loads in cowboy-action or vintage-style guns, DCB is built around that use; if you need hard-cast or high-velocity bullets, it is not the right source.

What DCB actually makes

DCB describes itself as the first bullet company since around 1953 dedicated exclusively to soft cast bullets. Its designs follow the shape and dimensions of authentic Old West soft lead bullets, including a crimp groove and a flat or plain base.

Key product traits from the company's own description:

• Alloy: about 20:1, roughly 10 Brinell — soft lead.
• Base: plain or flat base for gas sealing and accuracy.
• Lube: soft lube, compatible with both smokeless and Black Powder.
• Design goal: reduce fragmentation and shrapnel compared with harder alloys, which DCB ties to a safer, ricochet-reduced cowboy-action environment.
• Claimed benefits: less recoil, better accuracy, less bore leading and fouling, and higher retained energy for knock-down targets.

DCB also offers, as a special order, plain-based soft cast bullets in "as cast" condition for shooters who prefer to apply their own lube and sizing.

Who it is for

DCB states its bullets are intended for active and competitive shooters using low and standard velocity loads. The company frames its design around SASS (Single Action Shooting Society) rules and Cowboy Action Shooting needs.

A practical way to check fit:

How the PMA sales model works

DCB now operates as a Private Membership Association. According to the site, shopping works like this:

1. Create an account on the site.
2. Shop and place an order.
3. Each order includes a $1 membership fee.
4. By creating an account and buying, you agree the purchase is a private, person-to-person contract between you and the owners.

The site presents this as a members-only arrangement, so expect account creation to be part of the buying process rather than optional browsing and checkout as a guest.

What to verify before ordering

The page evidence does not list calibers, bullet weights, quantities, prices, shipping terms, or payment methods. Before you buy, confirm on the site or with the company:

• Available calibers and weights for your firearm.
• Sizing options and whether "as cast" special orders fit your loading setup.
• Current pricing and shipping — none of this is stated in the source material.
• Load data — use published data for soft lead bullets at low/standard velocity; the company's alloy is soft, so treat maximum loads with the same caution you would any lead bullet.

The main decision is simple: if your shooting is cowboy-action or Old West style at modest velocity, DCB's soft, plain-based, dual-lube bullets are made specifically for that. If your needs run to harder alloys or higher velocities, look elsewhere.

Buying from Desperado Cowboy Bullets means buying through a Private Membership Association (PMA), not a conventional retail store. On the site, the company states that its sales are "a private contract between you, the customer and us, Ed & LeAnn Kemmerer," and that creating an account and shopping with them constitutes agreement to a "private, living wo/man to living wo/man purchase." In practice, three things follow: you order through an account, you accept private-contract terms rather than standard retail terms, and every order carries a $1 membership fee.

The Three Practical Terms

1. Sales are framed as a private contract

The site describes each transaction as a private agreement between the individual customer and the owners, Ed & LeAnn Kemmerer, rather than a public retail sale. The stated rationale is that the association's sales are private contracts. For a buyer, this means the terms you are agreeing to come from the association's own framing, not from a typical storefront's public offer.

2. Creating an account and shopping signals agreement

According to the page, "by creating an account and shopping with us, you agree that this is a private, living wo/man to living wo/man purchase." The act of registering and placing an order is treated as acceptance of the private-purchase terms. There is no separate membership application described on the page — the account itself is the membership mechanism.

3. Each order includes a $1 membership fee

The site states plainly that "each order will include a $1 membership fee." This is a per-order charge added on top of the product cost, not a one-time joining fee. If you place three orders, the fee applies three times.

Why the Company Structures Sales This Way

The PMA framing is presented as the legal and relational basis for how the business sells — private contracts between individuals — rather than as a product feature. The page does not go further into the reasoning, so the practical takeaway is simply that the ordering relationship is defined by the association's terms.

What the page does explain at length is the product itself, which helps you decide whether the membership arrangement is worth it. Desperado Cowboy Bullets describes itself as the first bullet company since around 1953 dedicated exclusively to soft cast bullets, using a roughly 10 Brinell alloy with a flat or plain base and a soft lube. The company says the design follows the shape and dimensions of authentic Old West soft lead bullets, including the crimp groove, and that it researched Cowboy Action Shooting and SASS rules to create a "safe, ricochet free" shooting environment. Stated benefits include reduced recoil, less fragmentation and shrapnel than harder alloys, better gas sealing, reduced leading and fouling, and improved accuracy with low and standard velocity loads. The lube is described as compatible with both Black Powder and Smokeless powder, and plain-based soft cast bullets in "as cast" condition are offered as a special order for shooters who prefer their own lube and sizing.

What to Check Before You Order

• Confirm the $1 fee on your total. The site says it is added to each order; verify it appears at checkout rather than assuming it is absorbed into product pricing.
• Decide on an account deliberately. Because account creation is treated as agreement to the private-purchase terms, register only when you intend to buy.
• Match the product to your use. The bullets are positioned specifically for Cowboy Action Shooting and Old West applications with low and standard velocity loads — not general-purpose reloading across all firearms and velocities.
• Ask about special orders directly. The "as cast," unlubed option is described as a special order, so confirm availability and terms with the company before relying on it.

The page does not state prices, payment methods, or shipping terms, so those details need to come from the ordering process itself. What is clear is the structure: an account-based, private-contract purchase with a $1 per-order membership fee, attached to a product line built exclusively around soft cast, flat-based bullets for Cowboy Action Shooting.

Desperado Cowboy Bullets (DCB) uses soft cast lead (about 10 Brinell, with a 20:1 alloy) and a flat or plain base because that combination is built specifically for Cowboy Action Shooting: it reduces recoil, fragmentation and ricochets, seals gases better to cut leading and fouling, and improves accuracy and retained energy for knock-down targets. The trade-off is that this is a specialized product for low and standard velocity loads in revolver and lever-action shooting, not a general-purpose hard-cast bullet for high-pressure or high-velocity rifle use.

What "soft cast" actually means at DCB

DCB describes itself as the first bullet company since around 1953 dedicated exclusively to soft cast bullets. Two numbers matter:

• Alloy: a 20:1 lead-to-tin ratio, which the company rates at roughly 10 Brinell — soft by cast-bullet standards, where hard-cast bullets often run well above that.
• Design: flat or plain base with a crimp groove, following the shape and dimensions of authentic Old West soft lead bullets.

Every DCB bullet is cast in soft lead with the plain-base design, and the lubricant works with both smokeless and black powder loadings. For shooters who prefer their own lube and sizing, plain-based soft cast bullets are offered as a special order in the "as cast" condition.

Why soft lead and a flat base work together

Softer lead mushrooms instead of shattering

Hard alloys tend to fragment on impact, producing shrapnel and ricochets — a real concern in cowboy action stages with close steel targets. DCB states its soft lead mushrooms and stays at the target, greatly diminishing the fragmentation and shrapnel normally associated with harder alloy lead. That is the core safety argument for the design.

The flat base seals gas and reduces leading

A plain base combined with soft lead helps the bullet obturate — expand slightly under pressure — to seal the bore. DCB credits this with better gas sealing and reduced leading and fouling. Less fouling means fewer cleaning interruptions and more consistent accuracy across a match.

Lower recoil, better scores

The 20:1 alloy with a flat base and soft lube is described as reducing recoil. For cowboy action, where shooters fire many rounds quickly across multiple guns, lighter felt recoil supports faster, more controlled strings — and DCB frames the result as improved accuracy and higher scores for active and competitive shooters using low and standard velocity loads.

Retained energy for knock-downs

Soft lead that mushrooms rather than fragments keeps more of its mass and energy on the target. DCB highlights higher retained energy for knock-down targets as a practical benefit of the alloy choice.

Quick comparison of the design choices

Who this is for — and the conditions to check

This bullet design fits shooters running Cowboy Action Shooting or Old West-style applications with low to standard velocity loads, especially where steel targets at close range make ricochet and fragmentation a safety priority. It also suits black powder shooters, since the lube is compatible with both powder types.

Before ordering, note two conditions from the site itself:

• Membership requirement: DCB now operates as a Private Membership Association. Sales are described as a private contract between the customer and Ed & LeAnn Kemmerer, and each order includes a $1 membership fee; you create an account and shop as a member.
• Not a high-velocity bullet: the soft alloy and plain base are matched to low and standard velocity loads. If your application calls for high-pressure or high-speed rifle loads, this is not the design for it.

If your goal is a safer, lower-recoil cowboy action load with less bore fouling and reliable knock-down performance, DCB's soft cast, flat-based approach is purpose-built for exactly that.

Yes. Desperado Cowboy Bullets (DCB) states that both its bullets and the lube used on them are compatible with smokeless powder and Black Powder. That compatibility applies to the company's soft cast bullets intended for Cowboy Action Shooting and Old West applications, including low and standard velocity loads. The practical condition is that you are using DCB's standard lubricated product; if you order the "as cast" special-order bullets to apply your own lube and sizing, the powder compatibility of the finished round depends on the lube you choose.

What the compatibility claim covers

DCB describes a single product line built around soft lead, plain or flat-based bullets with a crimp groove, sized and lubed before shipment. The company says the lubricant on the final product works with either powder type, so the same bullet can be loaded behind Black Powder or smokeless charges without switching bullets.

The bullets are cast from a soft alloy, which DCB puts at roughly 10 Brinell. The company positions this as a deliberate departure from harder alloys: softer lead mushrooms at the target, stays put rather than fragmenting, and reduces ricochets — qualities DCB ties to a safer cowboy action shooting environment and to the SASS rules the design was researched against.

Why the flat base and soft lube matter for both powders

The flat or plain base is the authentic Old West design DCB follows, and the company credits it with better gas sealing and less leading and fouling in the bore. Better sealing matters with either powder: it helps keep pressures consistent and reduces the blow-by that deposits fouling.

The lube is the other half of the compatibility story. Black Powder fouling behaves differently from smokeless fouling, and a lube that only suits one can leave the bore hard to manage with the other. DCB's claim is that its lube handles both, which is what lets a single bullet serve a shooter who loads black and smokeless side by side.

Where the loads fit

DCB explicitly targets low and standard velocity loads and says the soft cast, plain-based design will increase accuracy and improve scores for active and competitive shooters using those loads. The compatibility statement should be read within that envelope — the company is not describing magnum-pressure or high-velocity applications.

The one exception to check before ordering

DCB offers, as a special order, plain-based soft cast bullets in the "as cast" condition for shooters who prefer their own lube and sizing. With those bullets, the powder compatibility of your finished load is set by your lube and sizing choices, not by DCB's. If you want the off-the-shelf both-powder compatibility, order the standard lubricated bullets.

Membership condition

The site states that DCB now operates as a Private Membership Association (PMA). Sales are described as a private contract between the customer and Ed & LeAnn Kemmerer, and each order includes a $1 membership fee; creating an account and shopping is presented as agreeing to those terms. Plan for that step before ordering, since it applies to any purchase, including a first order placed to test both powder types.

Quick reference

If your goal is to load one bullet for both a black-powder and a smokeless cowboy action load, DCB's standard lubricated soft cast bullets are presented as fitting that use. If you plan to lube and size your own, treat powder compatibility as your decision rather than the manufacturer's.

Yes. Desperado Cowboy Bullets (DCB) lists plain-based soft cast bullets in the "as cast" condition as a special order, intended for the specialist who prefers to apply their own lube and do their own sizing. The bullets are still cast from the same soft lead alloy and keep the plain (flat) base design; what changes is that DCB does not finish them with its own lube and sizing.

What the "as cast" option includes and leaves out

The core design is unchanged: the same soft alloy and authentic flat-base shape that DCB builds around Cowboy Action Shooting and Old West applications. The difference is strictly in the finishing steps.

Who this option is for

DCB describes the "as cast" bullets as being for the specialist who prefers their own lube and sizings. In practice, that means a shooter who:

• Already has a lubrisizer or other lubing/sizing setup and a lube they trust
• Wants to control final diameter for a specific revolver or rifle bore
• Prefers to experiment with lube types without paying for a factory-applied lube they will remove or replace

If you do not already lube and size your own cast bullets, the standard finished bullets are the simpler path — they arrive ready to load.

Why the soft alloy and plain base still matter

The "as cast" condition does not change the performance rationale DCB gives for its bullets. The company states that its ~10 Brinell soft lead, plain-based design:

• Reduces recoil compared with harder alloys
• Mushrooms on impact and stays at the target, minimizing ricochets
• Improves gas sealing, which DCB says reduces leading and fouling in the bore
• Retains energy for knock-down targets

DCB also says the soft lead greatly diminishes the fragmentation and shrapnel associated with harder alloy lead, which is the basis for its claim of a safer Cowboy Action Shooting environment under SASS rules. If you lube and size these bullets yourself, those characteristics come from the alloy and bullet shape, not from DCB's finishing.

Practical points before ordering

• It is a special order. The site presents "as cast" bullets as a special order rather than a standard catalog item, so confirm availability and current terms with DCB directly rather than assuming it ships like a regular product.
• Membership applies. DCB now operates as a private membership association (PMA). Creating an account and shopping with them means you agree the purchase is a private contract between you and Ed & LeAnn Kemmerer, and each order includes a $1 membership fee. That applies to special orders as well.
• Plan your finishing steps. Because the bullets arrive unlubed and unsized, you will need your own lube and sizing die, and you should size to the diameter your gun actually wants — typically checked against your bore or chamber throats — before working up a load.
• Powder compatibility is about your lube. DCB's own lube is stated to work with both Black Powder and Smokeless powder. With "as cast" bullets, that compatibility depends on the lube you choose, so pick one suited to the powder you load.

The short answer

DCB does offer "as cast," plain-based soft lead bullets as a special order for shooters who want to handle lubing and sizing themselves. They are the same soft alloy and flat-base design as the finished bullets, sold without DCB's lube and sizing — a fit for reloaders who already have that equipment and want control over the final finish.