cheygriz
member
I have no problems at 1300 FPS.
So far it sounds like I should be good to go if I run middle of the cast up to middle of the jacketed loading keeping my velocity under 1300 fps or so?
What powder are you going to use? If a Western/ Accurate, Ramshot / if you look at their load data the list many loads using Berry's and Rainier plated. Xtreme and many of the others should fall into the same loads.
I can tell you from experience that many lead loads that are starting loads will not fully cycle many 9mm pistols. The load is just too light. I have run into that with 3 powders and also on occasion with 380 Auto.
Start with high end of lead data or low end of jacketed.
Yes, the recommendation of using "lead data" seems to be too conservative for accurate loads. For 9mm I usually aim for about 3/4 between low and max for SIE FMJ.I tested plated bullets in the 45ACP and you can use this data as a means of estimating. I purchased H&G 68 type plated bullets from Xtreme Bullets. I wanted to reduce the amount of lead being blown out of my barrel. I have heard that for plated bullets you just use the same data as for cast. This seems to be true for velocity, but at the lower end of pressure and recoil, where I am operating, while the velocities were close, function was not. Ejection and lockback were not reliable with a load of 200 Xtreme plated bullet and 3.7 grains Bulleye. This even though the cartridges were oiled. However, a test load of 4.0 grains Bullseye with the Xtreme plated bullet functioned, ejected and lockbacked for my test rounds as long as the weather was hot. When it got cold, I had the occasional failure to eject, failures like stovepipes. So I bumped the charge up to 4.2 grains of Bullseye. No failures to eject but the recoil went up. You can't have everything.
M1911 Les Baer Wadcutter new 13 lb recoil spring
200 LSWC (H&G 68 type) 3.5 grs Bullseye Lot 919 11/2005 WLP Brass mixed cases OAL 1.250" Taper Crimp 0.469"
23-Mar-16 T = 69 °F
Ave Vel = 664.9
Std Dev = 16.18
ES = 51.71
High = 686.1
Low = 63.3
N = 8
stove pipes, would not latch slide
200 LSWC (H&G 68 type) 3.5 grs Bullseye Lot 919 11/2005 WLP Nickle, mixed cases OAL 1.250" Taper Crimp 0.469"
8-Jun-15 T = 91 °F
Ave Vel = 660.6
Std Dev = 16.37
ES = 60.28
High = 695.6
Low = 635.3
N = 22
Classic Bullseye pistol 25 yard Rapid fire load. Functioned every round hot weather , light recoil, accurate However, in cold weather, failures to eject. Likely reason, Ultradot and mount added weight to the slide and the load does not have the power to function when temperatures drop.
200 LSWC (H&G 68 type) 3.8 grs Bullseye Lot 919 11/2005 WLP Nickle, mixed cases OAL 1.250" Taper Crimp 0.469" oiled cases
8-Jun-15 T = 91 °F
Ave Vel = 714.4
Std Dev = 17.17
ES = 77.2
High = 755.1
Low = 677.9
N = 30
accurate
200 LSWC (H&G 68 type) 4.0 grs Bullseye Lot 907 6/20/2005 WLP Brass mixed cases OAL 1.250" Taper Crimp 0.469" oiled cases
23-Mar-16 T = 69 °F
Ave Vel = 723.3
Std Dev = 9.48
ES = 28.65
High = 741.6
Low = 712.9
N = 10
Lot 907 has been consistently slower than lot 919
200 LSWC (H&G 68 type) 4.0 grs Bullseye Lot 919 11/2005 WLP Nickle, mixed cases
OAL 1.250" Taper Crimp 0.469" oiled cases
8-Jun-15 T = 91 °F
Ave Vel = 742.9
Std Dev = 9.89
ES = 33.19
High = 760.6
Low = 727.5
N = 20
accurate
Classic Bullseye Pistol 50 yard slowfire load. Velocity of 740 fps provides consistent accuracy and function for a 50 yard load.
200 Xtreme Plated SWC 3.7 grs Bullseye Lot 907 6-20-2005 WLP Brass mixed cases OAL 1.250" Taper Crimp 0.469" oiled cases
23-Mar-16 T = 72 °F
Ave Vel = 651.7
Std Dev = 11.66
ES = 40.03
High = 676.9
Low = 636.9
N = 14
all ejected, slide failed to lock back once
200 Xtreme Plated SWC 4.0 grs Bullseye Lot 907 6-20-2005 WLP Brass mixed cases OAL 1.250" Taper Crimp 0.469" oiled cases
23-Mar-16 T = 72 °F
Ave Vel = 686.8
Std Dev = 26.32
ES = 91.37
High = 730.4
Low = 639.1
N = 14
accurate, functioned and slide locked back
View attachment 812784
Load data is becoming more plentiful as plated bullets become more widely used. Western lists a good selection of plated bullets for about all their pistol powders. Hodgdon is also starting to list some Berry's. The more confusing part is with Berry's Hollow Base bullets as they are longer than solid base bullets and the seating depth isn't always the same and neither is the load data if one looks thru Westerns data.
I use plated in my auto loaders just because of the difficulties many experience loading cast lead in the 9mm pistols. When I first started with the 9mm I was going to try and load cast lead until I started reading and following on the Cast Boolits.com forum. I quickly changed my mind. The plated work very well and are easy to load in the auto loaders with a taper crimp. Though I would not be loading them in revolvers that require a roll crimp. Also when comparing cast lead to plated bullets price wise I don't see much of a difference and yes some of each can be found cheaper than the others when there are sales.
Cast lead Rn for the most part.What are you switching from?
Not arguing, just pointing out. ...
I have been called worse than that, heck, I have answered to worse than that.I've been called many things and one is a "Stubborn Old Fart"...
They have been around long enough, the powder companies just haven't done a lot of pressure testing for them. There is data out there, just not nearly as much as jacketed or lead.If plated bullets had been around as long as cast lead I'm certain the data would be there for plated.
That is sadly getting to be true. Back in the day plated was just a little more than lead, like coated is today, but as they gained in popularity they have gone up and up.Why waste money on plated?
You can get great jacketed bullets for the same price from precision delta in bulk,
I treat plated bullets as full-length gas checked lead bullets.I'm still not a plated fan (plated is just a thin copper coating over a cast or swaged lead bullet and have many of the same characteristics of cast lead)...
I shoot with a couple "really accurate" bullseye shooters that tell me they have documented an accuracy decrease with coated bullets over lead or plated. Also lead is most accurate of the three as they find. So far I have been happy with Hi Tec coated in 38 SPL, 9MM, 40, and 45 ACP and can not tell if there is an accuracy issue. The plated bullets have fallen to the wayside in my reloading room these days. YMMV
Not to start an argument, but everything I've read says that plated bullets will give slower velocity than lead as well as coated lead. I know it works that way with the plated bullets I've used in .38/.357. When my girlfriend started shooting I loaded up some 158gr SWC with 3.0gr Bullseye for a soft recoil for her to start with. Tried Xtreme 158gr THP with the same charge and started having squibs that would not exit a 6" barrel. Initially thought it was a few just didn't get any powder but that was not the case. Shooting the same loads through the chronograph I was getting around 700fps with the lead and the plated was around 550-600fps depending on brand of plated. Maybe I just go a bad batch.