Relative hardness of plated pistol bullets

[higgins]

I've contacted Berry's and Hornady about this, but haven't gotten a straightforward answer yet; maybe it's some kind of trade secret. How does the hardness of most plated bullet cores out there compare to the hardness of swaged and cast? I have a quantity of pistol range scrap I want to sort for harder and softer bullets (how's that for being precise?). The jacketed and swaged bullets go in the softer pile, the cast bullets into the harder pile on the assumption they're either commercial or personal reloads with commercial hard cast bullets. Where should the plated bullets go? If anyone has more exact information, it would be appreciated.

Related information - Anyone who doubts the strength of plated jackets needs to see how many have hit gravel and dirt and not broken through, or better yet try to crack them open with a hammer so the molten core can run out. I have seen a very few that were cut open by rifling, but they are very much the exception.

[deltaenterprizes]

Melt some and check the hardness for yourself. They will most probably be soft because the plating contacts the bore like a jacketed bullet therefore no need for a hard core. They are most probably swaged and a hard core will add expense to the process by putting more stress on the tooling and the need for more expensive tin and antimony. The big companies buy in bulk from foundries and pay top dollar for the metals so they go the cheapest and most consistant route which is pure lead.

[Slow Elk 45/70]

+1 on the core being soft , no reason for a really hard core, unless it is a special purpose projectile.