Tell me about Rainier and Berry's bullets

[Lovesbeer99]

I'm looking to load 9mm and 380 for target shooting, but not bulleye's shooting. I've been speed shooting, like bill drills, and I've been going through a lot of ammo. I don't need tight groups, I just need to be able to keep them in the A zone.

Anyway these Rainier and Berry's seem to be a cheap alternative, but I just want to see if anyone else is using them. Any problems with function in your autos? Are they dirty, how's the accuracy? Anything else that you could volunteer would be great. These seam to be even cheaper than cast bullets.

Thanks in advance and shoot safe. I do.
Lovesbeer99.

 

[Pilot]

I've used both Ranier and Berry's in .45 and 9MM. I had good results with accuracy and no leading. I find them pretty much equal to FMJ for target shooting.

 

[Walkalong]

Ranier has priced themselves out of contention as far as I am concerned, but they are good bullets and I still have some 115 Gr RN bullets which shoot very well in 9MM. I have not reloaded .380 in years, but would not hesitate to use the Raniers there.

I really like the Berrys' bullets in .45 and would not hesitate to use them in the .380 as well.

If you can find them cheaper than cast, we want to know where.

Zero bullets can be found as cheaply as plated often times these days and are very good bullets.

Montana Gold is a good choice and Precision Delta is too.

 

[jwr_747]

some times the plated bullets are just as costly as jacketed or within a few cents per hundred.I have shot thousands of both Rainer and Berry plated bullets,most pistol calibers and several rifle calibers,no problems that I'm aware of. jwr

 

[rcmodel]

Ranier has priced themselves out of contention as far as I am concerned

So has Berry.

The price you see on their website does not include the "Lead Surcharge", and you won't know what they are going to cost you until they ring up the sale.

At last check, Cabala's was selling 9mm 124 grain HP for:
Remington bulk JHP = $52 per 500
Rainier plated = $53 per 500
Berry plated = $56 per 500

BTW: I know there are cheaper places to buy bullets then Cabala's.
But I'm just saying!

rcmodel

 

[ReloaderFred]

Berry's bullets are excellent for what they're intended for. I've got about 40,000 of them on my shelves right now that I bought before the big price increases. I had to purchase some of their .45 HBRN 185 grain bullets at the SHOT Show in February and got sticker shock from the bill.

I did talk to Gilbert Berry about the pricing and he's as unhappy with it as we are, but he's a victim of the market, too. He told me he was getting his lead from 4 different suppliers, and the current cheapest supplier was Exide Battery, at $1.45 a pound for raw material. He said he was paying $4.60 a pound for copper. He then has to transport it to St. George, UT, where they're located, and make it into plated bullets.

When I got home from the show, I checked lead prices on the market and they had gone to $1.55 a pound in less than a week.

Bottom line is, until the markets level out, things are going to be hectic, price wise. I'm sure everyone has noticed how many bullet casting companies have folded in the last couple of years. It's because of the price of raw materials and the cost of converting the raw material into finished product. I've also seen lots of commercial casting machines for sale, which is also a good indication that things aren't going well for the small casting companies. And even some of the larger ones. Anyone remember D&J?

Hope this helps.

Fred

 

[ScratchnDent]

I have been very pleased with Rainiers in .45 acp and .38/.357.
Though the recent increases in prices with all the manufacturers inspired me to buy molds and a casting pot.

 

[CBS220]

Both are great bulletmakers, and I used to shoot a lot of Rainiers. However, their costs simply got too high to make them worth buying- I can get FMJ for just a little more, and often for less.

I shoot a lot more cast now, but if you can afford the Rainiers and don't want to mess with lead then they are great.

 

[gandog56]

I was pretty much using them both until I switched to Precision Bullets moly coated instead. Cheaper and no leading.

 

[RustyFN]

I have used both with good results. I used to use Berry's exclusively until they priced them self higher than FMJ's. I can buy Zero FMJ's cheaper then plated bullets.
Rusty

 

[HighVelocity]

Between Ranier and Berry's, I'll take the Berry's. The plating is much harder. When loading hotter rounds, the ranier plating has been literally blown off the core, as seen when 1 shot fired resulted in 2 or more holes in the target.

 

[kennedy]

I use rainiers in .40 and love them, bought some off the internet for half the price at midway.

 

[Walkalong]

I have a hard time paying the same for plated as jacketed. I feel like surely they can sell them cheaper.

Maybe I am wrong, but I still remember the days when Raniers were just a little more than lead, before they got popular and the price kept going up, even before the lead/copper increases.

 

[deadhawg]

I've used lots of Rainiers in .45, 9MM and .38, never a problem with any of them. The price differance between Rainiers and other FMJ's isn't a much as it used to be though.
Ron

 

[Riss]

I was hooked on Berry's 40 cal plated until the price went up to $127 per 1000 delivered. I am using Rogers Better Bullets now, lead 40 cal. Good hard cast bullets, was $144 delivered for 2000 the other week.

 

[evan price]

When Rainier .45 230-rn's were $99/thousand, it was a good deal. Now they are about double that. Not a good deal anymore. You can get generic FMJs for that price or not much more, and Berry's is as bad or worse with their stuck-in-at-the-end lead surcharges.

I switched over to cast lead and not looking back (even in Glocks).