A serious question posed in a not so serious way.

[Doc Simonson]

Like others, I have been finding it bothersome to find loading data for Ranier copper plated bullets. Being new to this I went and purchased powder, and bullets without really thinking about the relationships between all of the components that make the whole. It's likely to be the first of a long string of errors I will make over the next 20 or so years. Here is what I am doing. Please tell me if I am more likely than not to kill myself.

180 gr. Ranier copper plated blunt nose
6.4 gr Accurate #5
CCI small pistol primer
1.3 OAL

Two days ago, I shoot the first 12 of these loads. They seemed to work just fine, but I thought they might be a bit "hot." I don't know if I really felt more recoil or just expected to and therefor did feel more. After reading some of the threads on THR I became concerned that maybe I am pushing the envelope a bit too far. I have seen people using loads from 3.5 gr to 7.3 in .40 s&w. It's all very confusing.

Thanks for letting me know if I am about to kill myself.

 

[MarcoPolo]

I use Rainier 155gr bullets in my 40 S&W. I used the latest Hornady reloading manual and tried 7.2grs of Accurate #5 and it seemed a little sluggish. Then I moved up to 7.4grs and that is where I've been reloading since. I don't have my book in front of me, but 6.4grs for a 180gr bullet seems a little low.

 

[jbrown13]

The Lee "Modern Reloading" book, 2nd Edition has some data in it for plated bullets and Accurate powders. It says the following for a 180 grain copper plated bullet:

Acc #5 5.8 gr 917 FPS 6.5 gr 965 FPS 33,600 PSI Min OAL 1.125"

Per the Lee data you are in the safe range, but close to max.

 

[mbogo]

I thought part of the 'charm' of Rainier's plated bullets was that they could be loaded like a cast bullet.

From their FAQ:

Q6. What if I can't find load data for your bullets?

A. If you have a load for a cast lead bullet, that will transfer across the board as far as our bullets go. We recommend that you reduce
a load for a jacketed bullet by 10%.

mbogo

 

[LiveLife]

Welcome to THR! Like you, I read THR for a long time learning (and still learning). Many posters here are not shy about pointing out your mistakes or demand verification, but they are done/intended for your safety.

Plated bullets come either matching jacketed bullet diameter or halfway between jacketed and lead bullet diameter. For plated bullets same diameter as jacketed bullet, you could use jacketed load data; but to be on the safe side, I use lead load data for most plated bullets. If I can't find lead load data for a particular bullet weight/nose profile, I use 10% reduced (up to 15% depending on powder if there is very narrow load range). Once you determined everything worked out OK, you could always incrementally increase the powder charge to determine the most accurate load.

Be safe but have fun.

 

[Doc Simonson]

Thank you all.

This is probably unnecessary, but I wanted to thank all who responded. I've had my reloading equipment set up on my bench ready to go for 3 or 4 months. I was too nervous to do any reloading for fear of screwing up badly. I mean, can you imagine what my wife would have said had I come back from the range with half of my hand in a zip-lock bag and a $600 paper weight? Anyway, thanks for the advice fellows!