Copper plated oversized bullets received. Could they do any harm?.

[Nordeste]

Hi gents. So, long story short, a guy showed up at my shooting club offering copper plated bullets at interesting prices. I was interested in the RN 147 grains and got a sample (20 bullets) that I examined closely, weighed and measured at home. The weight was consistent, so were the measurings. They were sized at .3555 or .356", so I was happy with that. I loaded and shot them at the 25 meters range, from a rest, and they grouped decently. I ordered 4000. Price was 69€ per 1000, which is cheap by EU standards (I know, I know... ) and would cover my shooting needs for a good part of the current year.

Got them yesterday. The seller had said they had changed the manufacturing process and that they were supposed to be of a better quality than the sample I got, and truth to be told, they did look better. Weight was always above 147 grains in all of those that I weighed. The bad news is that they are sized at .358".

The pistol they are to be shot from is my SP01 Shadow. I still haven't slugged the barrel of this pistol but a buddy of mine has slugged his (serial numbers are almost correlative), and his pistol measured .3545". According to this, my thought is that the ideal size for a copper plated bullet would be .3555" or .356", which is what I was using for the time being.

I assume there would be a increment of pressure in my barrel if I shot them, but would like to hear your thoughts on whether this increment would be on the dangerous side or I'd be OK shooting them. The seller is already aware, he has already apologized and will be picking them up tomorrow if I decide to send them back. He says that I'd get properly sized bullets by the end of the week.

 

[greyling22]

sounds like you tried out a 9mm bullet, but then they shipped you a 38spl bullet.

personally, my tangfolio witness elite 9mm does a lot better with a .358 bullet than with a .356 bullet. now, that is with lead, and I don't know how different plated is than lead. you could try them I supposed.....

 

[Nordeste]

Sort of. His explanation was that they had sized my bullets with a .357" sizer instead of a .356". I know some pistols would do well with these oversize bullets. Particularly, I heard about some 9 mm Sig Sauers that had a .357" barrel and needed bullets sized at .358" to perform well in bullseye shooting.

 

[tightgroup tiger]

I would cut one apart and see how hard the lead is inside the bullet. If it is dead soft like most plated bullets are, I would still have some hesitation of loading them to shoot without slugging your barrel. .002"is ok but .003"may cause pressure problems. You don't know how thick the copper plating is either. The thicker it is the more pressure it will build.

I would think even if they do shoot ok without excessive pressure signs, they will copper up your barrel quickly. I have one with a slightly tight barrel and it does copper foul much quicker than my other 9mms.

I would definitely send them back, that's the only good advise I can give you at this point. .003"of an inch is on the fringe of causing pressure problems and you have to many other unknowns at this point.

 

[joem1945]

If your pistol have a tight chamber it might not go into battery or chamber at all. I have trouble with .40 S&W with cast lead bullets that measure .401. FMJ measure .400 and chamber fine without extra work.

 

[GLOOB]

I would load a few and see if they chamber, easily. Be sure to try this with a sample of your thickest brass. Also pull the bullet and see if the base is getting squished. Dead soft, thinly plated bullets swage very easily. If the base of a pulled bullet is smaller than your bore diamter, you won't get the best accuracy. If all is good, I would be willing to give them a try in my gun.

I highly doubt you will have a big problem with accuracy, unless you are a long range bench rest shooter. You might need to load them down a bit, because pressure could be slightly higher. But it's nothing you can't tune to your gun. Generally speaking, 38 bullets shoot fine out of a 9mm, but 9mm bullets don't shoot worth a darn out of a 357. I shoot 0.357 1/2" cast bullets out of all my 9mm's.

 

[Nordeste]

Well, CZs have a reputation for tight chambers. And from my own experience, rounds that would chamber in my Star 30M didn't chamber in the CZ.

They will be on their way tomorrow after lunch.

Edit: I have just tried making a dummy round. With my usual belling, the bullet didn't stand still on the case so I had to "help it" all the way up into the die in order to seat it. Then I removed the bullet with a kinetic hammer and checked. My usual crimp does not leave any mark (or very slightly, if so) on the plating of my bullets. This bullet was clearly dented. When I measured it, it still measured .3575" at the bottom.

 

[tightgroup tiger]

I think your doing the right thing. Your asking for a major headache from someone else's mistake.

I would ask the vender for a shipping label or their ups account number and send them back on their dime, it was their mistake.

Good luck.

 

[Nordeste]

He's from my same town and will be picking them up personally tomorrow. No complaints on this guy, he's been helpful and has showed good will. It's just that it looks like someone got the sizers mixed up at the casting factory. He was quite upset with all this and (according to him) had a few words with whoever is in charge of running the production of the different batches.