Difference between FMJ and plated bullets?

[ny32182]

I take it that "FMJ" bullets have a thick copper jacket while "plated" bullets have more lead, and a thin copper plating?

What are the practical application differences between the two?

 

[Walkalong]

Plated used to be much cheaper than jacketed. I used to buy them for a little more than lead. They gained in popularity and the prices are pretty much on par with discount (though very good) jacketed bullets, although still cheaper than the big name jacketed bullets. Most, if not all, plated bullets can not take the velocities that jacketed bullets can. That is the biggest difference. The other difference worth mentioning is that plated bullets are completely covered in copper, so no lead is exposed to the burning powder.

I like plated bullets for cheap plinking loads. Only way to beat the price is to buy lead. Only way to beat that is to cast your own.

 

[ReloaderFred]

Full Metal Jacket bullets are made from the old cup and core method, where a jacket is formed from a copper alloy and then a soft lead core is swaged inside it. FMJ bullets are generally open at the base, with lead exposed. Some manufacturers have placed a copper seal at the base of these bullets to do away with the exposed lead.

Plated bullets are formed by swaging a soft lead bullet to the desired shape, only a few thousandths undersized. Then they're placed in a copper bath and electoplated to the desired thickness. Some are sized after plating and some aren't.

FMJ bullets can be driven to almost any velocity the caliber can stand. Plated bullets are limited in the velocity they can be driven, which is normally around 1,200 fps +/-. Plated rifle bullets are normally plated thicker and can be driven around 1,600 fps +/-.

Hope this helps.

Fred

 

[ReloaderFred]

Walkalong is a faster typist than I am...............

Fred

 

[Walkalong]

That's OK Fred. You are still smarter than I am, and gave a better description.

 

[ny32182]

Thanks guys.... what about bore deposits; is there any difference there? Can Glock factory barrels shoot plated bullets with no issues?

What about .357sig, potentially up to 1450fps? Is FMJ the best bet for that caliber?

 

[ReloaderFred]

I'm just "wordier" than you are, Walkalong. (I wonder if that's a word?)

ny32182,

I haven't noticed any difference in bore deposits from shooting plated bullets. I use so many of them, I have a wholesale account with Berry's Manufacturing, who makes an excellent plated bullet. You can safely shoot them in your Glock, too.

As for 357 Sig, I use the Berry's 124 grain plated Flat Point, 124 grain plated Hollowpoint, and 115 grain plated Flat Point 9mm bullets for this caliber. If you'll stick with Accurate #9, they'll shoot just fine, but don't use Power Pistol near maximum loads with plated bullets or they'll tumble all over the place and hit the supports for your chronograph sky screens.............

For top velocity loads in 357 Sig, I use the Speer 124 grain bullet intended for 357 Sig. A good alternative is the Hornady 124 grain XTP bullet for loads at the top of the range.

Hope this helps.

Fred

 

[D. Manley]

Thanks guys.... what about bore deposits; is there any difference there? Can Glock factory barrels shoot plated bullets with no issues?

No difference that I an detect and they shoot just fine in Glocks.

What about .357sig, potentially up to 1450fps? Is FMJ the best bet for that caliber?

That *may* be pushing it a bit, at 1450 I'd feel better with jacketed. That said, I used the caveat "may" because there are plated bullets and then, there are plated bullets...they're not all the same. Take the Speer Gold Dot...it is also a plated bullet albeit, a thicker plating than on the bullets most of us think of when "plated" comes up. The plated bullets also differ in construction methods. For instance, some are swaged core, some cast. The South African company making the Frontier brand of plated bullets offer 3 distinctly different bullets: A swaged core with fairly thick plate, a cast core with thinner plate and a competition series with the thickest plating of all. You really have to specify brand and bullet to determine it's specific potential but all are just fine for target work and some of them for a good deal more.

 

[jeepmor]

It all depends on how fast you want to send them out the barrel. From what I've read here, never a problem until you get into rifle velocities, then worry. For plated pistol ventures, I don't recall any leading problems being reported.

 

[ArchAngelCD]

What about .357sig, potentially up to 1450fps? Is FMJ the best bet for that caliber?

I wouldn't push plated bullets to anything close to 1450 fps. Like Fred said, plated bullets shouldn't be pushed much over 1200 fps. If you're looking for cheap practice bullets for your .357 Sig you can buy 124gr Remington FMJ bullets marked for the 9mm for ~$99-$102/1000. At that price you are very close to plated bullet prices from Berry's and Rainier. Also, look around for sales on 130gr FMJ .38 Super bullets. They are the same diameter and within the correct weight range for good practice ammo in the .357 Sig. Since the .38 Super isn't very popular these days some shops have them on their shelves for a long time and are still marked with low price tags. When lucky I've seen 130gr Remington FMJ bullets locally for $40/500 and $75/1000. I used to buy them when I saw them when I was loading for the 9mm because they were so cheap. I know the "normal" weights for 9mm bullets are 115gr, 124gr and 147gr but really, what's the big deal using a 130gr bullet of the correct diameter? The same holds true for the .357 Sig IMO. You would normally load a 125gr bullet but for practice, if the price is right a 130gr bullet will be just fine.

 

[Walkalong]

I have pushed Ranier 115 Gr RN bullets to right at 1400 FPS in 9MM from a 16" carbine with no apparent ill affects and good accuracy. I am sure that is on the edge of what they can do. You just have to try them and see. I had one revolver that refused to shoot plated bullets well over about 900 FPS, while other revolvers had no problems at higher velocities.

 

[ny32182]

Bulk .357sig practice bullets for a Glock are really what I am eventually after here, as ArchAngel guessed. I am looking, but don't see those Remington's yet...

I see Berry's and Rainier 124gr FP plated. But it sounds like I could have problems if these were hot-loaded in a .357sig?

I guess the good news is that if they didn't work well in .357sig I could always just load them in 9mm instead.

 

[ny32182]

Actually in the Midway description of the Rainier bullet, it says that the mfg recommends a maximum velocity of 1500fps. I don't think I'd be cracking that number.

 

[GodGuns&Guitars]

I've used the plated bullets in 38 Super, 45 ACP, 44 Special, and 44 Mag. I just don't load them up a lot. I try to find a good accurate moderate load and shoot that. I've been using the X-treme's with no problems over the years.

 

[ReloaderFred]

When shopping for bullets to use in 357 Sig, be sure to get either flat point or hollow point bullets, with a short ogive. The neck of the 357 Sig case is very short, and most 9mm round nose bullets won't allow the proper seating depth and still have the case mouth on the bearing surface of the bullet. Any bullet that is close to the NATO profile will be too long.

The Remington Golden Sabre bullets won't work, due to the dual diameter of the bullet. The bearing surface will be inside the case and can't be held by the neck when loaded to the proper length.

To put it bluntly, short, fat bullets work best in 357 Sig. I've loaded roughly 15,000 rounds of this caliber and have settled on the Berry's bullets I listed earlier, plus the Speer Gold Dot and Hornady XTP. These work for me in my handguns.

Hope this helps.

Fred

 

[ny32182]

It does... thanks Fred.