40S&W plated Berry's bullets - .401 vs. 400

[judaspriest]

I am looking for cheapest (practice/plinking) 40S&W bullets that would not expose me to too much lead and Berry's plated seem to fit the bill. However, I noticed that the spec for the 40S&W ones shows their diameter as .401 and not .400. The reloading data seems to only cover the .40 (Lyman, Lee, Sierra & Loadbooks USA compilation).

How do people deal with the .401 bullets in this case? Use the same loads as for .40? (I read on Berry's website that the lead cast load data is what I should use for their plated line, same with Rainier as well.) Or should I try to reduce the loads slightly as the pressue is likely to be higher? Is there any disadvantage to using .401 bullets instead of the .40 ones - bigger wear on the barrel or anything like that?

Tips/suggestions will be much appreciated.

Thanks

JP

 

[Walkalong]

They work great. No problem at all. It is common for the soft plated bullets to be sized .001 over jacketed.

I have shot a lot of Berry's bullets in my XD SC and my Witness Elite Match. I like the .40 180 Gr bullets.

I have shot a lot of Raniers as well and they are good bullets also. I like the Ranier 200 Gr SWC for .45's.

 

[ReloaderFred]

Just load them like the instructions say. I've shot thousands and thousands of the Berry's bullets in many different calibers and they shoot just fine.

Hope this helps.

Fred

 

[rcmodel]

They are just like lead bullets with a very thin jacket. So they are softer then regular jacketed bullets, and .001" larger, just like lead bullets.

From Berry website:
Q. How do I load Berry's Preferred Plated Bullets?

A. Plated bullets occupy a position between cast bullets and jacketed bullets. They are soft lead, but have a hard outer shell on them. When loading plated bullets we have found best results using low- to mid-range jacketed data in the load manual. You must use data for a bullet that has the same weight and profile as the one you are loading. Do not exceed mid-range loads. Do not use magnum loads.


rcmodel

 

[Kimber1911_06238]

I've had good experience with berry's in 40 S&W...go for it

 

[Luggernut]

I used Berrys almost exclusively for my 9mm, 40S&W, and .45ACP I usually use quite a bit less than the max that the reloading manual recommend for powder loads. I use 6.2g of Power Pistol with the Berrys .40S&W 180gr and it seems great for me... I could go lighter or higher if I want and still be safe/functional.

 

[shadowalker]

In 40 S&W I run Berry's 165 grain to about 1050 FPS with great results, I've shot about 3000 of them.

 

[judaspriest]

Gentlemen, thank you very much for the helpful info. I'll be off to spend some serious cash on them now!