Lead vs Berry's Bullets

[martyd]

When determining powder load:

Are Berry Plated Bullets treated as Lead?
or
Are they treated as Jacketed?

I cut one in half and the plating is really thin and soft.

Thanks
Marty

[imashooter2]

Where can I find load data for your bullets?
Load data from any load manual or website can be used. Full-metal jacketed, lead bullet, or plated bullet load data can be used as long as the following standards are adhered to:

The data contains the correct grain weight of bullet.
Berry's max recommended velocity is not exceeded. (This info is displayed on bullet boxes and product webpages.)
Standard Plate Bullets Max Velocity: 1,250 fps.
Thick-Plate Bullets (TP) Max Velocity: 1,500 fps.
Do not over-crimp the bullet. Crimping so tight that bullet deformation occurs, or plating is separated causing visible exposure of the lead core will cause tumbling, key-holing, and reduced accuracy.
Load data containing bullet descriptions such as Plated (P,) Berry's Bullet (BERB,) Total Metal Jacket (TMJ,) Copper Plated (CP,) or CPJ (Copper Plated Jacket,) refers to plated bullet data.

Cartridge Overall Lengths (COL) are found in the load data being used. DO NOT EXCEED SAAMI MAX COL SPECS.

[chutesnreloads]

They suggest using data for cast bullets. Only Berry's I've used were 9mm and that data isn't much different than
jacketed. Worked well. What caliber and what will you be shooting them from?

[Win94ae]

When determining powder load:

Are Berry Plated Bullets treated as Lead?
or
Are they treated as Jacketed?

I cut one in half and the plating is really thin and soft.

Thanks
Marty

I treat lead as jacketed in handguns. I also treat cast as jacketed bullets, in rifles with appropriate twist rates.

[greenjoytj]

https://www.shootingtimes.com/editorial/loading-berrys-plated-handgun-bullets/382815

Berry’s web site FAQ area.
https://www.berrysmfg.com/faq

[Taterhead]

More and more load data is coming out for plated bullets, esp in the Western Powders guidelines. Absent plated bullet data, cast bullet data is safe, or use mid-range jacketed data as a max. They should not be treated as plug-and-play for jacketed data.

As a practical matter, they run kind of as a 'tweener between cast and jacketed. In my experience, the harder they are pushed, the worse they group. Coated cast group better for me across a number of calibers.

[HangFireW8]

I got some bloopers with a very light load in 38 Special, that were OK with the same shape and weight in lead, so I think they are a little different than lead, but closer to lead than most jacketed bullets.

[martyd]

Great information!
Thank all of you for responding, it has helped me a lot.
Marty

[Kyle M.]

For what it’s worth I ordered 1000 Berry’s bullets last week. .429 240gr flat point. I don’t know if they still offer both a thin and thick plating but the box says 1850 fps max. That’s about 500 fps faster than I’ll ever push them.

The only plated bullets I’ve used in the past were Rainier, Xtreme, and PowerBond’s from TJ Conevera. I’ve used them in .38 super 124gr, .40 S&W 155gr, and .45acp 230gr I always just used starting data for a comparable jacketed bullet and never had any issues. I’ve also never had any issues with plated bullets in polygonal rifled barrels, I put several thousand of them through a Glock 35.

I did try powder coated in my Desert Eagle and had very minor leading, I think the bullets may have been a bit undersized so I just bought the Berry’s bullets instead.

[gwpercle]

When determining powder load:

Are Berry Plated Bullets treated as Lead?
or
Are they treated as Jacketed?

I cut one in half and the plating is really thin and soft.

Thanks
Marty

I have always used the data for cast or swaged lead boolits when loading plated or coated .
Plated boolits are still softer than metal jacketed .
I notice Accurate Arms ( Western Powders) has Load Data specifically for some Berry's Bullets ... so that makes loading much easier ... but if nothing specific is listed ... treat them as cast lead .
Gary

[SoonerEd]

As a practical matter, they run kind of as a 'tweener between cast and jacketed. In my experience, the harder they are pushed, the worse they group.

This has been my experience. I've found the plating to be pretty soft and if pushed hard to the top of Barry's max velocity accuracy falls off and fouls the barrel. I've found this to be true with 9mm Luger, 44 mag, 45 ACP and 357/38 special.

Start with close to max lead loads and work up until accuracy is optimal without fouling.

[QuackAttack24]

I shoot Berry's 148 gr. plated HBWCs in my 38 revolvers. I like them for plinking target loads. I keep them loaded with mid range cast data, and they shoot really well. I've never pushed them to max loads, and don't see the point really.

[Super Sneaky Steve]

Berry's suggests mid level jacket data. That's what I have used and never had any problems.

[fredj338]

My experience is based on running loads over the chrono. No, lead, plated & jacketed do NOT load the same.
PLated seem to fall between a lead bullet & jacketed. It makes sense, plated are soft lead cores with a thin gilding metal coating. So they are more malleable than jacketed but a bit more friction than lead.

[jim147]

There's a lot of load info for berrys out there now.