[RM]

Assuming cost to be equal, what are the advantage(s) of reloading FMJ bullets rather than plated bullets? Thank you.

[R.W.Dale]

Assuming cost to be equal, what are the advantage(s) of reloading FMJ bullets rather than plated bullets? Thank you.

About the only advantage plated has over Jacketed is their 100% lead encapsulation.

Jacketed can be pushed faster and don't copper foul as badly as equivalent plated projectiles

[Walkalong]

Cheaper, shoot great. No lead base exposed, can be shot at more ranges. Velocity limits understood of course.

[RandyP]

FMJ allows higher velocities to be loaded, though your initial assumption is incorrect. The costs are not equal, plated bullets are considerably less expensive than FMJ, since they have far less copper content.

My local range prohibits the least expensive bullets, bare lead, so I load either Berry's or Ranier plated.

[RM]

Thanks, Gentlemen, for your replies. Concerning krochus's response, why do FMJ bullets cause less copper fouling than plated bullets?

[Walkalong]

I only shoot plated in pistol, but they don't seem to foul any worse than jacketed as far as I can tell. Basically a non issue for me.

[rockhound758]

Randy:

I think it depends on the bullet, don't you? XTPs, for example, are clearly more, but it seems to me that Montana or Zero jacketed are pretty close to Ranier's, etc. They're certainly close enough in price that they're worth considering, IMHO.

[RandyP]

I confess to thinking of FMJ bullets as being round nose, not hollow-point with exposed lead. I gladly stand corrected. I flat out was not aware that full metal jacket could also apply to hollow-points? Plated also means to me to be "no exposed lead".

[rcmodel]

You are not confused.

FMJ means that the bullet nose is enclosed and the base is open. It can be a round, flat or pointed nose shape.

JHP, JSP, etc. are not considered to be FMJ bullets. Just jacketed bullets.

As for fouling issues, the plated bullet is clad in pure soft copper.

A jacketed or FMJ bullet is clad in Gliding metal, which is 95% copper and 5% zinc.
That makes it less prone to deposit copper fouling in the bore at very high velocity.

In practical terms, plated bullets are not driven to very high velocity, so it isn't an issue.

rc

[Shinbone]

Is "encapsulated" the same as "plated"?

[Walkalong]

No.

Hornady uses an extra "disc" of material on the base of normal FMJ designs to "encapsulate" their bullets. I think they alone use that terminology.

115 Gr RN 9MM & 200 Gr SWC .45
http://www.thehighroad.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=95795&d=1239060674