9mm 124gr Berrys Flat points?

[ezypikns]

I've got some of these and I can find very little data. I did find a load of 4.3 Hodgdon Universal which seems fine, but I can't figure out what the O.A.L. should be. I don't want to seat them too deep.

Any suggestions?

 

[rfwobbly]

You didn't tell us what gun you're shooting, but I run these in my short-chambered CZ at around 1.040" OAL. Note that Berry has three 124gr "flat points": FP, HBFP, and HPFP. All vary slightly from this number when chamber leades are short.

Just follow the loading for jacketed bullets up to their mid-range and you'll be OK. I use 4.3gr of Win231 or HP-38 for general target shooting with all these bullets with great success.

 

[Bass Ackwardz]

I agree with rf...I seat them as long as the chambers for my 9mm guns will allow. At the moment that is 1.100". And I use Win231 as well and 4.2-4.3grs of it. I really love this load and bullet combination.


Bass

 

[Walkalong]

1.060 is what I have loaded various 124/5 Gr TrFP 9MM bullets to.

 

[azar]

ezypikns,

Find what fits your gun. Load a dummy round and start at the max of 1.169". Seat it deeper in 0.005" increments until it passes the "drop test" of dropping into your barrel and having it chamber freely and fully flushed. Once it chambers freely you may wish to seat it another 0.005" to 0.010" deeper and call it good. You now have a dummy round that you can use to easily adjust your dies to the correct seating depth for that bullet.

Commonly, it's recommended to use data for a lead bullet when shooting a plated one. Hodgdon lists 3.8g to 4.3g as their charge range for a 125g LRN and 4.3g to 4.8g for 125g jacketed bullet. A plated bullet would likely fall somewhere in the middle, so I'd pick a start charge between 3.8g and 4.0g and work up to from there. You won't likely want to go to the full 4.8g charge with a plated bullet however.

For Hodgdon reloading data, go here: http://data.hodgdon.com

 

[ezypikns]

Many thanks to all.

THR is just a great place for info from knowledgeable people.

 

[rcmodel]

FYI: Berry Bullets FAQ covers recommended load data.

They suggest low to mid-level jacketed data, not to exceed 1,200 FPS.

http://www.berrysmfg.com/faq.aspx?n=739806

rc

 

[gregj]

I went through similar problem, trying to find the right COL for Berry's and Rainier bullets. Here's the post, but be forewarned, it's long and has a lot of detail.

 

[rfwobbly]

Many thanks to all.

THR is just a great place for info from knowledgeable people.

Uh, we accept PayPal.

 

[Walkalong]

A plated bullet would likely fall somewhere in the middle............ You won't likely want to go to the full 4.8g charge with a plated bullet however.

Not picking on you azar. This stuff gets repeated by many.

Fall apart eh....First it was plating falling off, now it's the whole bullet falling apart.

I routinely shoot plated 9MM bullets at full or near full jacketed loads. They are not exceeding 1200 FPS most of the time. I have shot them at 1400 FPS from carbines with no problems.

Ranier and Berrys take the safe route when suggesting data. It really limits you.

 

[Walkalong]

Plated Bullets

They are not lead, so don't use lead data. They are not jacketed, so don't use jacketed data.

They are somewhere in between. There is some good plated bullet data out there.

The velocity limits of 1200 FPS is a very good guideline. They can sometimes take a bit more, and sometimes a bit less.

I run some Ranier and Berrys bullets with full jacketed data. That can not be done for all bullets and calibers though. Lead data is too weak, and jacketed data can get you in trouble if you are not careful. The attached PDF's and the links to Accurates, Midways, and Vihtavuori's old data will be a great place to start.

I have only been able to tumble plated bullets at high velocities in revolvers. I have run them at over 1300 FPS in autos without issues and good accuracy.

Midway plated bullet data

Vihtavuori plated bullet data

Accurate plated bullet data...All ...... Pg 1....Pg 2....Pg 3
.

 

[azar]

Walkalong,

No offense taken. But I wasn't referring to a plated bullet "falling apart". I was stating that the charge for a plated bullet would likely fall somewhere between the lead and jacketed bullet charges. I too have heard many times that if you push a plated bullet too hard it will shed it's plating in the barrel.

Maybe it's one of those things that everyone "knows" but that isn't really true? Thanks for the update.

 

[Walkalong]

I wasn't referring to a plated bullet "falling apart"

I see. I misread it. Dang old eyes. Maybe it's time for 1.5 instead of 1.25 reading glasses. :banghead:

Oh well. Hopefully the plated data is helpful to folks.

 

[rfwobbly]

I see. I misread it. Dang old eyes. Maybe it's time for 1.5 instead of 1.25 reading glasses.

Yea, maybe it's time you spent more than $1.25 on reading glasses !!

 

[Walkalong]

Laughed out loud on that one.

 

[rfwobbly]

Laughed out loud on that one.

I'm not going to stop until coffee shoots out your nose and all over your keyboard !!