Best Plated Handgun Bullets

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357mag357

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Who do you think makes the best plated handgun bullet? I have tried Rainier and Berry with good luck. Has anyone tried National Bullet Co? Thanks.
 
I have shot Raniers and Berry's. They both make good bullets. I am becoming partial to the Berry's. I have not shot any of the National Bullet Company's products.
 
I have used Raniers and Berry's, Raniers are more consistent, and the plating is a bit thicker as well. If you compare a ranier hollow point with a berry's the Raniers look like jacketed premium bullets, the berrys look plated.

National? I havent tried tham but I hear mixed results, and some folks have compalined that they are slow to ship sometimes.

Then there is precision cast and their black bullets, they filll the barrel with black teflon crap which is as hard to clean out as lead. and produce acrid smoke, I dont like them and have about 750 out of an order of 1000 I placed 2 years ago left.

JMHO YMMV
 
do a search here on national bullet co. lot's of unhappy people, poor or no customer service.
barry bullets,rainier bullets,montana gold bullets, are all good outfits to deal with.
 
Rainiers work great in my 45, haven't tried any other brand. Speer Golddots are the best(cause they cost more):D
 
X-Treme Bullet http://www.xtremebullets.com/better.htm makes a very good product.

They used to be known as West Coast Bullet or AccuraBullet.

I like then because they double strike the swaged bullet, the second time after the heavy plating is applied. My measurements show them to be very consistent and concentric.
 
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I second the opinion on X-treme bullets. I've shoot thousands of them in various calibers over the past several years. I've never had any problems shooting them in any of my guns, nor have I had a single bullet-related problem trying to reload them.


We do group buys, ordering over 25,000 at a time, so that we get better prices. I placed orders for over 87,000 last year alone and haven't heard one bad thing, or had heard one complaint yet.
 
If you order $30 or more direct from Berry's the shipping is free. BUT, they'll hit you with a lead surcharge on your bill. They don't tell you on your internet order how much it is. For two boxes of 250 .40 bullets it came to about $4 about a month ago.
 
I second the opinion on X-treme bullets. I've shoot thousands of them in various calibers over the past several years. I've never had any problems shooting them in any of my guns, nor have I had a single bullet-related problem trying to reload them.
Click to expand...

They better be good for how much they charge. What kind of price can you get in a group buy and how many do you have to order?
 
asked the wrong question....

what I meant to ask was....Where are you guys buying your Rainier bullets?

Can you buy factory direct.....I can't find a Ranier web site.
 
Most of the 25,000+ I've loaded were X-Treme 158 gr .357 RNFP. I tried a few Montana Gold that my fellow shooters use, but cannot afford their prices so have no conclusions.

The same in Rainiers at Midway are $71 plus a minimum of $21 for shipping, $115 for overnight.

The price for X-Treme bullets includes shipping. I've always been able to order one morning and see them arrive here in the Bay Area by the next afternoon--like clockwork. They also have bulk discounts. When I was competing I purchased the 12,000 lot (I think 24,000 now required) which brought a very concerned look to the UPS driver's face as he brought up the handcart to deliver them.

A couple of members of these forums have sectioned Berry, Rainier and West Coast/X-Treme bullets and came to the conclusion that X-Treme has the thickest copper plating for whatever that is worth. Other brands did not have a cannelure when I looked at them and that is one thing I appreciate on the X-Treme bullets.

I have not really experimented with accuracy as I was reloading for action shooting, but recently I did get results that other people have said they find suspicious. I'll be out to the range in the next couple of weeks to take a look at accuracy and find out whether the debated results are repeatable.
 
Berry's tells you exactly how much the lead surcharge is on the cart screen.

**Due to the escalating costs of lead and copper, we have implemented a lead surcharge. This charge is currently $0.40 per pound on purchases of bullets only. (i.e. An extra $6.40 on 1000 115gr bullets, etc.). The appropriate surcharge will be added to your invoice if you are purchasing bullets. If you have any questions, please contact us.
 
The same in Rainiers at Midway are $71 plus a minimum of $21 for shipping, $115 for overnight
Click to expand...

Well, I just checked and prices are up AGAIN. I was going by what I paid a month ago. They are not that far out of line. I just have trouble paying jacketed prices for plated bullets. I remember when Raniers were not much more than lead and WAY cheaper than jacketed. It can not possibly cost as much to make them as jacketed. I believe thaey have just gotten more popular over the years and raised prices accordingly. Oh well, life's a PITA sometimes. :)

After some more checking the .45 225 Gr. FP may be just what I've been looking for. I may order 500 in the morning. The Berry's are still cheaper & and Raniers are still cheaper if you get the 2000 & free freight even though the 230 Gr. went from 160 to 178 per 2000 & free freight in the last month.
 
Walkalong,

I'm with you. I bought 1000 X-Treme bullets for $60 a couple of months back and now they're $80 (with shipping). I nearly had a heart attack.
 
Montana Gold are Jacketed bullets, not plated. I like them and find them accurate. Prices should be compared with Speer, Hornady, Sierra and so forth. All jacketed bullets are more expensive than lead or plated lead bullets.

In the 90's I bought 15,000 National Bullets, and they are of good quality and accurate. Until their current troubles are solved, I will not buy from them.
 
I dunno if you would consider this hijacking or not, but....

I've recently baought some rainier 230gr RN, and just finished loading a few, I've found that the bullet doesn't fit my seater plug exactly and the "point" gets depressed a bit, giving a sort of two stage curvature radius. Is this something that happens often? Should I be looking for a better fitting seater plug (RCBS dies)?

I thought this might go here if we are discussing quality of plated bullets

Edit: .45 acp, if you hadn't already figured, forgot to put it in.
 
Wingnut,

A cheap, temporary solution for your seater plug problem can be solved with a small piece of duxseal. You can buy it in the electrical department of Lowes or Home Depot. It is used to seal wires coming into the electrical meter . It looks like gray modeling clay but it is very tough.

Take a small piece, about the size of a pea and roll it in your hands until it is warm. Clean your seater plug with alcohol where it contacts the bullet. Press the pea of duxseal in place with the blunt end of a pencil. Lube the bullet on an assembled round and run it into the seating die slowly, and withdraw it slowly. This forms the duxseal to the bullet profile. This modified plug will last for a hundred or so rounds, especially if they are non hollow point. Good luck,
 
I've recently baought some rainier 230gr RN, and just finished loading a few, I've found that the bullet doesn't fit my seater plug exactly and the "point" gets depressed a bit, giving a sort of two stage curvature radius. Is this something that happens often? Should I be looking for a better fitting seater plug (RCBS dies)?
Click to expand...

That is one reason I like the Berry's 230 RN better than the Ranier 230 RN. The Berry's seems a bit harder and doesn't deform as easy or flatten and "drag" if it hits the feed ramp. It is also more accurate for me. I like some Raniers and some Berry's. The Ranier .45 200 Gr. SWC is serious accurate.
 
I pick up 1,000 Berry's 230gr Plated double struck round nose from a seller at e-bay for $74 + $8.10 for shipping. Rainers are $84.99 + shipping from Midway.

Great guy with fast order processing.

Link here.

http://search.stores.ebay.com/TJ-Co...sooZ1QQfsopZ1QQftsZ2QQsaselZ198501651QQsofpZ0

Be careful using Rainer's and crimping. The plating is pretty soft and any decent crimp will deform the bullet. Here's what I experienced with a mild factory crimp on my 10MM G20 with a Storm lake barrel.

f0075935.jpg
 
I have tried both the Berrys and Rainers with good luck. To be honest, I can't tell too much of a difference between them. Berrys are a tad cheaper. I get mine from Cabelas. Some folks complain about accuracy problems with the Berrys in .40, but I haven't noticed any issues. My most accurate 9mm load is a 124gr Berry over some Red Dot.

I have also tried some Precision coated bullets and some Bear Creek coated.

http://www.pathfindersports.com/p/pathfindersports/default.asp?S=500&A=F&SearchText=&CategoryID=523
 
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