silicosys4
Member
- Joined
- Jun 29, 2012
- Messages
- 3,666
Hello,
I picked up a 250 rd box of HSM .401 165 gr. plated hollowpoints to reload with, thinking I was going to make up some SD ammunition.
I loaded up some rounds of .40S&W at a verified 985fps, and then did my standard expansion test of a gallon jug of water in front of a box of tightly packed wet newspapers. This method has worked well for me in the past in checking expansion in other loads I've developed.
Shot out of a P229, I got absolutely no expansion, and 100% passthroughs.
I loaded them a little hotter, almost to max, at about 1050fps, and tried again with the same results. In each instance there was no deformation at all and the cavity was plugged with material.
Is this a common thing with plated bullets? My guess is the copper plating is holding the lead core in shape, not allowing for the cavity to expand and deform, or perhaps its my medium....
What plated HP bullets have people had luck with, as far as reliable expansion at reasonable velocities?
Thanks everyone, for your responses
I picked up a 250 rd box of HSM .401 165 gr. plated hollowpoints to reload with, thinking I was going to make up some SD ammunition.
I loaded up some rounds of .40S&W at a verified 985fps, and then did my standard expansion test of a gallon jug of water in front of a box of tightly packed wet newspapers. This method has worked well for me in the past in checking expansion in other loads I've developed.
Shot out of a P229, I got absolutely no expansion, and 100% passthroughs.
I loaded them a little hotter, almost to max, at about 1050fps, and tried again with the same results. In each instance there was no deformation at all and the cavity was plugged with material.
Is this a common thing with plated bullets? My guess is the copper plating is holding the lead core in shape, not allowing for the cavity to expand and deform, or perhaps its my medium....
What plated HP bullets have people had luck with, as far as reliable expansion at reasonable velocities?
Thanks everyone, for your responses