Thinking about trying plated bullets

[gamestalker]

In all the years of reloading I have never loaded with anything but jacketed bullets. This is primarily because I like to load with slower burning powders that produce higher velocities.

So my question, if I were to give Berry's a try for 9mm, can I still use Longshot or HS-6. Also, is there another plated bullet on the market that is known to handle jacketed data without the concern of bullet deformation and, or, leading?

I understand that plated bullets fall some where in between jacketed and lead, but does that mean I'll be sacrificing much in velocity?

GS

 

[justifiedbyfaith]

I shoot a lot of plated in my Glock and love em. Cheep and no leading.

 

[longdayjake]

I shoot a lot of plated and I sell a bunch of it too. Berry's has about the thinnest plating of any plated company but they seem to be okay. Go with something like Powerbond or xtreme if you think you need some heavier plating.

 

[LordDunsany]

I started loading Berry's for my 9mm Glock and they have worked fine for me also. No leading or feeding problems. I use the 115gr RN over 5.2gr of Unique. Not a real snappy loading but great for plinking and paper punching.

I don't plan to try straight cast bullets unless I get an aftermarket (Lone Wolf) barrel. I haven't seen evidence of it but some say that shooting cast boolits in a Glock factory barrel will cause leading and pressure problems.

Ron in Texas

 

[tightgroup tiger]

I've been shooting Berry's 9mm bullets at mid to upper range jacketed data with no problems at all.

Berry's also offers what they call Thick Plate bullets in 124gr 9mm that are good for 1450fps by Berry's own words.

I would have no problem in testing that claim as I have been running their normal plated bullets to around 1250fps in my 9mms with no problems at all.

I've shot 7 thousand + of them now.

 

[Walkalong]

This 124 Gr HBRN-TP can take any normal pressure 9MM load, including anything with Longshot or HS-6.

 

[IdahoSkies]

Never had a problem with them. Berry Plated bullets are my plinken target ammo.

 

[Steve2md]

I load berrys EXCLUSIVELY for my Glock practice rounds. Perfect performance so far, and I honestly would not hesitate to use them in competition if I start

 

[LiveLife]

I am a happy customer of RMR/longdayjake as I buy some of my jacketed/plated bullets from him but want to clarify plating thickness.

Berry's MFG indicates on their FAQ page that

the thickness of the plating on our bullets ranges from 3.5 up to 8 thousandths of an inch. This is thicker than paper and ensures no lead in your bore. The bullets designed for higher velocities (45-70, 500 S&W etc.) have the thickest plating.

I take this to mean .0035" - .008" thickness of copper plating for their "regular" plated bullets and Berry's MFG recommends 1250 fps max for them. And as posted by Walkalong, 1450 fps max for Thicker Plated (TP) bullets.

This is what Jay Phillips posted regarding copper plating thickness on Berry's vs Speer bullets

Depending on caliber our plating is no less than .006" and goes up to .012" thick.

Speer TMJ bullets are a plated bullet with an even thicker plating coming close to a jacket at about .015 in thickness.
________________
Jay R. Phillips
Berry's MFG

PowerBond advertises .010"-.011" plating thickness

Our copper is thicker and tougher than other bullets...between 10 and 11-thousandths.

MidwayUSA advertises HSM's plating thickness at .0005"

HSM bullets are comprised of a lead core that is totally encapsulated in a .0005" thick pure copper jacket.

Maybe that's a typo and they meant .005"?


MidwayUSA is advertising the following for Rainier plated bullets

plated with approximately 0.004" of copper plating ... Rainier recommends a maximum velocity of 1,500 fps.

Thickness of copper plating

Speer TMJ: .015"
Berry's Thick Plated (TP): up to .012"?
PowerBond: .010"-.011"
Berry's regular: up to .008"?
HSM: .005"?
Rainier: .004"

I do not have plating thickness information for X-Treme bullets but have used lead and jacketed load data with good results and no plating separation. I would guess the plating thickness is on par or thicker than Berry's regular plated bullets.

FYI, I have used Speer Gold Dot HP, TMJ, Berry's TP, PowerBond and X-Treme plated bullets with jacketed load data with no loss of accuracy over the start-max range. With Berry's "regular" and Rainier bullets, I start to lose accuracy when I push the bullets beyond high-range jacketed load data.

Of course, YMMV.

 

[slowr1der]

I had never shot Berrys until recently. I always shot FMJ bullets, but they shoot really well for me. I've been very happy with them and will likely buy more in the future.

 

[cfullgraf]

I shoot lots of plated bullets in a number of cartridges including 9x19. They work fine for me, I jus keep the velocity below the manufacturer's recommendation.

Currently, i use Berry's but have used Rainer's in the past.

I even use Berry's 30 cal, 110 RN for the M1 Carbine.

 

[longdayjake]

Speer TMJ: .015"
Berry's Thick Plated (TP): up to .012"?
PowerBond: .010"-.011"
Berry's regular: up to .008"?
HSM: .005"?
Rainier: .004"

Berry's regular says they are .0035 to .008 thick. Where .008 is for their heavier plated bullets. http://www.berrysmfg.com/faq-q12-c1-How_thick_is_the_jacket_on_your_bullets.aspx

HSM uses Powerbond bullets.

Xtreme is supposed to be guaranteed to be at least .010 and they have told me that they are usually around .012.

 

[JO JO]

I have been using HS6 and plated " berrys & x-tream" no leading no issues at all
shoot well I do load them in the low to mid range one load that seems to work
for me is 6gr hs6 and 1.135 oal with plated

 

[TrueTexan]

I have used Berry's and Rainier in both 38/357 and 45 ACP with no problems

 

[LiveLife]

Xtreme is supposed to be guaranteed to be at least .010 and they have told me that they are usually around .012.

Good information, thanks.

HSM uses Powerbond bullets

Well, MidwayUSA advertises .0005" for HSM and that's far from 010" - .011". Perhaps HSM/PowerBond should request MidwayUSA update the website info.

I wondered about the discrepency between Berry's advertised thickness of .0035" -.008" and Jay Phillips' post of .006"-.012". That's why I put question marks on plating thickness for Berry's regular and thicker plated (TP) bullets.

I wonder what the copper plating thickness is on their new HP bullets ... Perhaps Jay could clarify the plating thickness on Berry's bullets (I'll send him an email/PM).

 

[Blue68f100]

I prefer Berry's over Rainer in my 229. It has an oversize barrel (0.357") and the Berry's are sized more like lead, 0.0005-0.0010" larger. Never had a leading of copper fouling problem.

 

[gamestalker]

Thanks guys! I think those Berry's TP's are exactly what I'm looking for. If I'm understanding correctly, those TP's will handle my Longshot charges I use with jacketed bullets.

I'll pick up a few hundred and do some work ups and see how they do. Understand, this is a big step for me as I have never loaded anything but jacketed, and thus have never had to give much consideration as to how hard I push a bullet. If I like how they shoot though, I'll deffinitely try running them with my .40's, 38 spcl. loads.

Walkalong and BDS, do you know if the TP's will handle H110 loads for .357 mag.?

GS

 

[LiveLife]

For 9mm, one big advantage Berry's bullet has over other bullets is their Hollow Base design. IMO, the hollow base provides better chamber pressure build up and extends the bearing surface of the bullet base to stabilize with the rifling. I have loaded full-power 115/124 gr HBRN-TP loads with Universal, WSF and AutoComp with good results.

I can't comment on .357 Mag loads ... perhaps Walkalong can.

 

[Kcinnick]

I can usually find FMJ bullets withing a couple of dollars per k of plated bullets. I make my own coated bullets, so I use those unless I have some old jacketed bullets laying around or I sold everything in the caliber I want to load for.

 

[GLOOB]

Depends wholly on the caliber/handgun.

In a 9mm semiautomatic, you will probably not have to give up any velocity. You might use a smidge less powder to get the same velocity, though.

 

[Havok7416]

I use Rainier bullets almost exclusively and I love them. They are cheap and reliable.

 

[Clark]

I like doing biz with Berry's, they are a good outfit.

The plated bullets coming out of a 10mm real fast will make a big hole and little raged holes as some of the plating spins off outside the barrel.

 

[voicomp]

Due to a desire to limit lead exposure, I stopped buying cast slugs and switched to plated as my baseline/minimum. The cost is only minimally more. I have used Ranier and Berry's plated slugs in a few different calibers. I have been happy with both. Ranier seems to feel theirs will take a little bit higher velocity. I suggest checking the respoective sites for velocity limits. Also, due to plate (rather than thicker (and therefore more rigid) "jacket"), I am sometimes able to skip or reduce use of bullet lube. YMMV

 

[Hondo 60]

I've shot Power Bond, Xtreme, Berry's & HSM.
Haven't found much difference, if any, in accuracy.

Berry's recommends low to mid range jacketed data,
& chronographed to 1250 fps or less unless they're designated as extra thick plating.

 

[greenlion]

I've been shooting Berrys for years in 9mm, .40, 10mm, .38spl and .45acp.

They work great for me. The only version I ever had any problems with is the hollow base 185gr .45 acp. I never found a load that worked well with any powder in that version.