• This Forum is for adults 18 years of age or over. By continuing to use this Forum you are confirming that you are 18 or older. No content shall be viewed by any person under 18 in California.

Plated pistol bullets

If you buy from berrys, 115 & 124 round nose plated ARE more expensive than the same from RMR. https://www.berrysmfg.com/category/preferred-plated-bullets/plated-pistol/9mm
I don’t generally shoot Berry’s bullets, but when I have it’s because I found them on deep sale somewhere. I’ve never bought them directly from Berry’s. I am currently shooting these for indoors, they are high quality and considerably cheaper than RMR. They’re on sale at the moment, so even cheaper than usual:

 
I don’t generally shoot Berry’s bullets, but when I have it’s because I found them on deep sale somewhere. I’ve never bought them directly from Berry’s. I am currently shooting these for indoors, they are high quality and considerably cheaper than RMR. They’re on sale at the moment, so even cheaper than usual:

They have good prices on their .40's too.

 
I have messed with Berry's in my 38/357 revolvers. I increased crimp until I saw plating hitting the target at 20', backed off crimp slightly. They shoot pretty good. Both my revolvers and my neighbors shoot gold dots very accurately. The 110 gr GD are real easy to shot, even out of airweights at +p velocity.
 
I just bought 500 of the 125 gr plated FP's from Berrys a week ago. Price was $189 shipped. I thought that was pretty high compared to the last batch, but I love em. My 686 has printed a few 1" fifty yard groups with them, and I'm still bragging about it. :p

I'd kinda like to try the HP version, but I need someone to tell me they shoot as well. jd

In my 9mm Parabellum Pistols, the 147 Berry's FP are hard to beat accuracy wise. But since I use TiteGroup and rarely clean the barrels, I have to use a near max (or max ) load for them to cycle and eject properly after several hundred rounds of shooting. But if the barrel is freshly clean, I load them to much lower pressures and the accuracy is even better.
 
That really may depend upon the specific bullet. For example, Berry's plated for 9x18 Makarov can be loaded for the same pressures as jacketed because of the thicker plating.
Not all plated bullets are created equal but checking with the manufacturer should provide the information.
Lead bullets can be loaded to any pressure jackets can, and when cast and sized properly will shoot more accurately, without leading, and the same weight can be pushed faster at the same weight that jacketed can to the same pressure.

I won't post my load data but this is 180 grain bullet, in a 5 1/2" 357 revolver, and yes I've shot this load in this revolver for over 5 years, and no I can't safely push jackets this fast safely in this gun. Trust me, don't try this load in your S&W!
170-grn-LHP-357.jpg


You can't find a jacket this heavy for a 45 Colt revolver, 340 grains at 1250+ fps, and this has been my go to load in this gun for a decade, until 3 years ago when I purchased a new 270 grain HP SWC mold.
20180118-162944-1.jpg


Even a little old 32 pushed to over 1400 fps, again with a heavy bullet you can't find in a jacket, and the lighter ones cant be pushed faster! Even though this gun had one chamber that shot different than the other six, it wasn't the bullet as this 50 yard target shows, over 1500 fps with a 132 grain Penta HP for varmint.
Sledghamer-at-50-yards-copy.jpg


I proved that the bullets were not the flyer, twice the same chamber at 100 yards proved it was not the same as the other 6 chambers. But that 132 grain sledgehammer with that HP was the best varmint bullet I could find for out to 100 yards to 150 in this little revolver. The bitch was, I was stuck with a 6 shot revolver,,,
132-gr-Penta-HP-100-yards-I.jpg



Even in my 45 acp these 200 grains are loaded to top book loads with ww-231
XD7P4682.jpg



After shooting handguns longer than rifles, a Ruger single six was the first firearm I ever bought. I bought that new at our local hardware (the good old days) but have learned when you give your ammo the same amount amount of prep, and attention you give your match ammo for your rifle, in a revolver or pistol, even a rifle operating less than 2100 fps, lead is as accurate as jackets. In most handguns more accurate, and it takes less pressure to get the same speed as a jacketed bullet the same weight, and once you get that down, and start understanding alloys, even my HP lead are my go to for hunting medium game. Anything bigger than a whitetail, the 340 will take down anything on this continent.

I also shoot nothing but lead in anything under 2100 fps because I'm lazy! Jackets will fowl your barrel with copper, that will eventually ruin your accuracy. Every one of those handguns had over 1000 rounds though them in those pictures with no more cleaning than the outside and the on the revolvers the cylinders every few hundred rounds. The barrels never get touched! The don't foul, they season! That 45 colt has over 5000 rounds though it, and that barrel shoots better than day one, and never been cleaned!
 

Upgrades & Donations

This Forum's expenses are primarily paid by member contributions. You can upgrade your Forum membership in seconds. Gold and Silver members get unlimited FREE classifieds for one year. Gold members can upload custom avatars.


Click Upgrade Membership Button ABOVE to get Gold or Silver Status.

You can also donate any amount, large or small, with the button below. Include your Forum Name in the PayPal Notes field.


To DONATE by CHECK, or make a recurring donation, CLICK HERE to learn how.

Forum statistics

Threads
164,684
Messages
2,182,656
Members
78,476
Latest member
375hhfan
Back
Top