.45 ACP with Berry's 200gr RS

[RB98SS]

I was wondering if anyone out there could give me some advice on loading this round. I am new to loading .45 and have only loaded .44 mag prior. I have the loading guide for .45 ACP but am somewhat overwhelmed at the variation in C.O.L. of the various loads. The Berry's 200gr RS is Round Shouldered bullet and its length is .510. It looks like a Flat Nosed round. What I am unsure of is at what C.O.L. I should load these at. I know that the plated bullets are to be loaded at medium charge for jacketed or cast lead load data is to be used. I cannot find an equivelant bullet that I feel comfortable with using its load data. I did make some rounds at 1.170 C.O.L with 4.6-5.0grs of Bullseye and was wondering if someone could give me some feedback.

Thanks, Gary

 

[RB98SS]

TTT

Anyone?

Thanks again, Gary

 

[Jim Watson]

Treat it like a semiwadcutter and load the shoulder just above the case mouth, maybe .020" of bearing surface showing. LIGHTLY taper crimp, LIGHTLY so as to not cut through the thin plating, and chamber check in the barrel, clean and out of the gun. If it goes in freely, with a "clunk", you are ok. If not, seat a smidgen deeper.

Unless you have data for the EXACT same bullet, OAL numbers don't matter much. The round has to chamber and it has to feed.

 

[RB98SS]

Jim, thanks for the reply.

The bullet does not have a shoulder even though that is part of the name. It looks just like a fully plated round nose except it is flat up front. I'm not sure why they call it "Round Shouldered". I think the thing that has me wondering is the fact that all my .44 loads have cannelures and its a no brainer as to where to seat. .45 is new to me and I just am not sure about the seating as it has no cannelure. If you have no load data on a specific bullet, how do you determine what depth to seat? Do you just look for a bullet with the same length and weight and load accordingly using that C.O.L. and load info? Again, I understand that the loads have to be much less than those for jacketed, but the seating worries me. Sierra has a 200 gr flat nosed listed at 1.155 C.O.L., do you think that is where I should seat?

Sorry for the stupid questions, thanks.

 

[Jim Watson]

Even if it does not have a distinct shoulder, you should be able to find where the .452" bearing surface ends and the nose ogive begins. Seat about .020" of bearing surface above the case mouth, etc.

Or wait til somebody who shoots Berry's comes along.

 

[Walkalong]

I have shot that bullet, although the Berry's 200 Gr. HP shot a little better for me. I can look up the O.A.L. I used and post it later. I shoot the HP at 1.200 I beleive.

 

[BSlacker]

I use the Berrys 200gr RS. For Bullseye I have only one load it is 4.8gr, OAL 1.200". It went 743fps avg of 5 from a P220. Mostly I use W231 around 6.0gr at 1.200" OAL, for 814fps avg.
To check the ogive beginning point put some magic marker on the side of the bullet then wipe it on a emery board while holding it flat and where the marker is not sanded off is where the RS ogive starts. Go about 0.015 to 0.020 below on the straight part and see where the OAL is. Taper crimp until the case is straightened out after belling much more and it tends to crack the plating and I have had keyholing. At OAL length of 1.220 my XD45 starts to nose dive rounds into the ramp.

 

[ReloaderFred]

If you have a factory 230 grain round nose round, you can set up your seating stem with that. Just back off the seating stem and run the loaded round nose up into the die. Screw the stem down until it contacts the bullet and that will give you the approximate length for the profile of the RS bullet. Most .45's are set up to feed round nose, so even though the OAL won't be the same, the profile will be.

I've shot thousands of the Berry's plated bullets. For the .45, I prefer the 185 grain hollow base round nose. It's the exact same profile of the 230 gr. RN bullet, but lighter and faster. I've fed it through all my .45's and have never had one fail to feed. In my XD .45, they are exceptionally accurate, and not bad at all in my 1911's.

Hope this helps.

Fred

 

[RB98SS]

Fred,

I think thats the issue I have, the profile for this bullet does not fit any bullet that i have. I see that Speer and Sierra have what appears to be similar bullets but I dont have any to compare with.

Bud from Berry's just replied to an email I sent and he said to seat the bullet about 1.150 and use the Speer reloading data so that is what I plan to do.

Thanks to everyone for all the replies.

 

[barefootbill]

I Have Reloaded Berry's 230 Gr Moly Coated With 3.5 Gr Of Clays And 1.160 Oal. I Shoot Steel Challange And Have Good Results And No Malfunctions. This Is A Nice Soft Shooting Load.

 

[Walkalong]

the OAL won't be the same, the profile will be

Ditto on Freds advise to find the O.A.L. for a bullet. I do basically that with different bullets for the .45. It will get you real close if not dead on where a bullet should be loaded at.

I use a seater plug that pushes against the ogive of the bullet, not the nose, and can use the same setting for several different bullets. They end up with different O.A.L.'s but feed fine for the reason Fred gave.

 

[RB98SS]

Walkalong,

Where do you get a seater that seats on the the ogive?

 

[Walkalong]

The RCBS round seater plug (vs flat) will do it if the bullet nose is not too long or you drill it out a bit. It will hit down past the flat on many bullets. I had to hollow out the plug a bit to keep the tip of the 230 Gr ball from hitting the plug before the ogive hits the sides of the plug.

I looked it up. I loaded that Berry's bullet at 1.185 vs 1.200 for the HP. I had it measured at .511 ( close enough)