Powder charges lead versus copper plated

[dearslayer]

If you have basically the same weight and close to same style of boolit does the charge weight remain the same for both? So for instance if I have a fully copper plated 230gr round nose bullet and a lead 230gr round nose boolit should I use the same amount of powder? I recently purchased the Lee 452-230-2R mold but I haven't tried any yet. Just powder coating them at the moment. I have used Campro 230gr round nose fully copper plated with 6.3gr of CFE Pistol in my Ruger SR1911 so is there a difference in the 2 as far as powder charge goes? I thought I would just start and the minimum charge that is recommended for copper plated and work up.

[Dusty Bannister]

You mention lead bullet and then copper plated bullet, and then powder coated bullets.

There is a thread presently on the site discussing the need to adjust the load for lead and powder coated bullets. Perhaps you will find your answer there.

https://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?447413-Traditional-vs-Hiteck-vs-PC&highlight=powder+coated+lubricated+bullets

[dearslayer]

Thanks so much for the link. I will check it out.

[Hick]

FWIW I make no adjustments for lead (lubed) vs lead (PC) vs jacketed when I load. If I have a 150 grain bullet and can find a published load for 150 grains in that caliber I'm happy. BUT I always start low. I'm sure this will excite some people-- but it is worth pointing out that in the same caliber, a jacketed bullet is usually longer than a lead bullet of the same weight. So using jacketed data for cartridge overall length will not result in pushing the lead bullet too deep in the case.

[fredj338]

If you are using midrange loads, not much diff. If you work up a max load with jacketed, you want to drop the charge with lead or even plated.

[dearslayer]

I'm more just interested in a safe load for punching holes in paper targets.

[dearslayer]

Double post

[243winxb]

Lead vs Jacketed data to compare- https://www.thehighroad.org/index.php?media/albums/load-data-lead-vs-jacketed-bullets.265/

[openbook]

I worked with jacketed data for testing a cartridge/bullet combo I couldn't find load data for at the time. I decreased the minimum jacketed load by 20% to start. I saw pressure signs after just a 0.6 grain increase. Later I found (lead boolit) data that suggested I was driving the lead bullet at over 2300 fps even at my low loading.

They say at the same charge and same weight, the lead boolit will go faster because it better seals the bore. With the same boolit, same gun, and higher speed, we could reasonably assume that the load was running at higher pressure.

However, Larry Gibson has written that after doing extensive testing, there is no hard and fast rule for which bullet will be higher pressure. He writes that sometimes the lead is lower pressure, sometimes the jacketed, and sometimes there's no discernible difference.

Last thought is that whereas a jacketed bullet will come in a uniform standard diameter, lead boolits can vary by several thousandths. Another variable to take into consideration.

[justindad]

Your lead bullet will likely need less powder than the plated bullet.
*
Look at the length of the bullet and what that does to the empty space inside the case. Lead bullets can have lube grooves, which will seat more deeply than a similar soft plated bullet. This comparison does not help with jacketed bullets, because the copper jacket is thick and causes pressure increases as the jacket is compressed in the barrel.