[saitek]

hi there looking for some idea's on manuals showing load's ,using berry's 185 grain round nose plated hollow base bullet's primarily for target use in a 1911 a1 and a sig compact and fullsize .a general all purpose load using bullseye or unique ,thanks

[ArchAngelCD]

I don't think there are any manuals specifically mentioning a Berry's plated bullet, at least none that I know of. (I could be wrong)

[Josh45]

The only manual that I think even mentions plated bullets is Lee's Second Edition.
How ever, Your suppose to use low to mid range jacketed data for the Berry bullets as they sat on their site.

Being they are Hollow Base bullets, I suggest you stay with low power loads. To high of a load can leave the skirt in your barrel. Not to good really.

You can use both those powders in the .45 ACP. I prefer Bulls Eye myself when I was shooting Berry bullets. I was using the 200 GR HP tho...

[ArchAngelCD]

I agree Bullseye is a good choice as is W231/HP-38, AA#2, AA#5, Unique and a few others in a similar burn rate range. I use W231 for most of my 45 Auto ammo.

[Walkalong]

You do not have to worry about leaving a skirt in the barrel with the Berrys 185 Gr HBRN bullet. That advise is appropriate for a lead HBWC for .38 Spl, but not these bullets. (Well, I suppose if you loaded them full tilt boogie in .458 Win Mag you might, but not .45 ACP)

I like 4.9 Grs of WST under those @ 1.260 OAL. It is light, clean, and accurate. I use 4.8 under the Berrys 185 Gr SWC @ 1.190 OAL. You can push them harder if you want to.

Check data, start low, and use at your own risk.

An appropriate charge of Bullseye should work just fine.

[saitek]

thanks for the replies i will start out out on the low side any way i never run them hot fot target load's any way ,i guess use a similar style same weight bullet in the sierra #5 manual would work ,

[cfullgraf]

Accurate Powders data has some plated bullet data published. Not a full range of plated bullets, but at least they are starting to test them.

Off hand, I do not remember what 45 caliber bullets Accurate has in their list.

[Blue68f100]

Berry's says you can use low to mid range jacketed load data. I started in the lead range and worked up to the 4.8-4.9 loads with WST 1.125"OAL behind their HBRN. The WST powder burns very clean which makes easy cleanup. WSF is another powder that is very good with a wider load range. Which is ideal for noob since it is not a moody powder that has nasty pressure spikes.

[bds]

The "Hollow Base" in the base of the bullet allows us to make a longer profile without adding weight. For example if we were to hollow base a 230gr .45 ACP bullet, it now weighs 185gr.. The longer profile gives more "Bearing Surface" on the bullet, which helps a pistol barrel stabilize the bullet. These bullets are very accurate, even at low to mid-range velocities.

Our bullets have the same pressure curve as a cast bullet allowing us to go over .001" on the diameter without a pressure spike, this helps fill the lands and grooves = better performance and accuracy. All of our bullets go back into a carbide final size die after plating and are put through QC to insure their tolerance of + or - .0005".
http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?p=7733933#post7733933

When I did load development for Berry's 185 gr HBRN, I essentially used the same OALs as typical 230 gr RN (1.25"-1.26") but used .472" taper crimp to factor in slightly larger sizing of Berry's bullets (.452" vs .451").
Berry's 185 gr HBRN should be loaded to the same OAL as the typical 230 gr RN bullet as the hollow base cavity allows for the comparable external bullet nose dimensions as the 230 gr RN bullet.

As to taper crimp, Berry's bullets are sized slightly larger and I use .472" taper crimp for .452" diameter bullet. Factory round shows .471" taper crimp. Both rounds fall freely into the tight Sig 1911 chamber with a "plonk".
Factory 230 gr FMJ compared to Berry's 185 gr HBRN
http://www.thehighroad.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=152965&stc=1&d=1321629995
http://www.thehighroad.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=156022&stc=1&d=1325564824

I used Walkalong's excellent link to determine/verify Max OAL of 185 gr HBRN loads in my Sig 1911 barrel - http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=506678

http://www.thehighroad.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=152966&stc=1&d=1321629995

For powder workup, as indicated on Berry's MFG website (http://www.berrysmfg.com/faq-q9-c1-How_do_I_load_Berrys_Preferred_Plated_Bullets.aspx), I referenced 200 gr lead load data and start-to-mid range 185 gr jacketed load data (you can use load data for slightly heavier bullet ;)).

My current favored load for Berry's 185 gr HBRN is with 5.5 gr of W231/HP-38 using 1.25" OAL and .472" taper crimp. Accurate load with light recoil and especially very popular with my wife/female shooters. Makes for a nice match load as I can produce faster double-taps with accuracy. Other shooters who try the load for the first time usually comment, "Wow, nice!"

http://www.thehighroad.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=155962&stc=1&d=1325535755

Here's another (detailed) discussion thread on loading 185 gr plated bullet - http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?p=7827959#post7827959

[bds]

BTW,

Alliant load data for 200 gr lead SWC - http://www.alliantpowder.com/reloaders/recipedetail.aspx?gtypeid=1&weight=200&shellid=35&bulletid=62

Bullseye OAL 1.19" Max 4.6 gr 807 fps
Unique OAL 1.19" Max 5.4 gr 790 fps


Alliant load data for 185 gr GDHP - http://www.alliantpowder.com/reloaders/recipedetail.aspx?gtypeid=1&weight=185&shellid=35&bulletid=59

Bullseye OAL 1.20" Max 6.4 gr 986 fps
Unique OAL 1.20" Max 8.2 gr 1,015 fps

[saitek]

thanks for the read and pic's , i got walkalongs post copied and use it .i did not see any load data on berry's website i will look again ,thanks .

[bds]

You won't see any load data on Berry's website, that's why I posted the current published load data from Alliant for Bullseye and Unique for you to reference.

[saitek]

thank's bds !