Anyone here reloading with Berry's bullets? I have some ???'s

[teddy12b]

Tonight I had some time and I loaded up a bunch of ammo for my 10mm.  I found a great deal on Berry's 180gr JHP bullets so that's what I figured I'd use, at least for this first batch.  Normally before buying some new component I look for reviews and on Cabelas website Berry's bullets were 4.5 of 5 so I figured that couldn't be bad.  So while I'm loading up some rounds I drop one on the concrete floor, and it's a lot more dented than normal bullets would be after similar treatment.  I also start to notice that before the bullet goes into the seating die it was a fairly flat shape, but after the seating die the bullet has a more rounded tip.  It's as if the seating die is reshaping the bullets just a little.  I'm using Lee dies in a Dillon 550B.  I also loaded some Hornady xtp/hp 180gr bullets and they didn't loose their original shape after the sizing die. 

Now keep in mind these bullets are made for a 40, and I'm going to run them at 10mm level.  I don't doubt that it'll be safe to shoot these rounds, I'm jsut curious about what such soft bullets could be good for.  With these being so soft I think about all they'd be good for is practice at the range, but I don't know.  I don't think I'd want to hunt with these.

[Dand]

Could these be PLATED bullets?  You should check Berry's web site.  I believe they have some instructions on loading their plated bullets. If you run them really hot you might find some performance issues.  I've seen plated bullets run hard in the 41 mag and the plating would start flaking off - don't know if they were Berry's brand tho.

I have some Berry's plated for my 40 and I try to keep loads moderate. You might try changing seating stems if you have them. For some of my handgun dies I have round nose, flat and SWC seating stems to reduce bullet deformation.

HTH

[gray-wolf]

  I believe the bullets you have are soft lead swaged cores, with a very thin Copper plating.
They should be loaded the same as lead bullets.  I would not push them to Jacketed bullet Vel.
( load as lead )  as to the manufacturers suggestion.
They are not full metal jacket.  Do a little checking on what you have.

[buck460XVR]

What you have is Berry's .40 cal, 180gr H.P. PLATED bullet.

This is from their website on how to load THEIR plated bullets.....

Plated bullets occupy a position between cast bullets and jacketed bullets. They are soft lead, but have a hard outer shell on them. When loading plated bullets we have found best results using low- to mid-range jacketed data in the load manual. You must use data for a bullet that has the same weight and profile as the one you are loading. Do not exceed mid-range loads. Do not use magnum loads.

[teddy12b]

The website seems to contradict itself.   Says only mid loads then says max velocity is 1200.  I'll just see if the loads I worked are safe.  It's kinda disappointing though.

[Jal5]

I have used them in my 32acp guns at mid load levels for jacketed and had no problems whatsoever. Pretty accurate too.

Joe

[Larry L]

I load quite a few Berrys every year. The key to making these work best is to keep velocities below 1200'ps. For a 357 mag, that's backing off a bunch from jacketed data. For a 45ACP, the top of the book is the limit. I've found them to be an excellent inexpensive plinker type bullet and in a pinch will hunt but it's not the best option. In your 10mm with the 180gr pills, max jacketed loads are at or just above 1200'ps so I'd back off of max jacketed loads if that is where you were going with them. As far as the bullet changing shape- I've never had that happen with any Berrys or Rainier bullets. Both have provided excellent accuracy with the proper loads and they are far less costly than jacketed.

[Dand]

The December 2010 Handloader Magazine has an article about loading plated bullets. I haven't had a chance to read it yet.

[Buckskin]

I use the same bullet in my .40 for plinking.  They are great for that.  I push them a little bit but not too bad. I have never had the bullets deform when seating though using my Lee seater, maybe you should flare a little more.

[simplicity]

I use the same bullet in my 40 I'm pushing them right at 1000fps using blue dot. I load them on a dillon 450 (manual version of the 550) I haven't had the issue of deforming the bullets with the seating the only issue I had with them was the timeing of the seating die reaching fullseat and crimp at the same time. I had the plating build up in front end of the case and wouldn't chamber. Now when I load them I take the barrel out of my gun and use it as a chamber guage. Since doing this and checking every so often I've had no problems and will be sticking to this load for a s long as I can still find the bullets.

[teddy12b]

and wouldn't chamber. Now when I load them I take the barrel out of my gun and use it as a chamber guage. Since doing this and checking every so often I've had no problems and will be sticking to this load for a s long as I can still find the bullets.

I loaded up a bunch of 45acp rounds once and even though they looked perfect they wouldn't chamber.  I didn't find this out until I was already at the range.  Ever since then I've been using the lee factory crimp dies on every caliber whether it needs it or not.  It's a good way to dumby proof the system.  I also have some of the wilson chamber gauges now for the real precision work, but the lee factory crimp die really helped out with this!

[the jigger]

I have used a good many Berry's in 9mm,40S&W, and 45ACP without issue.
That said, I prefer Rainier for plated bullets. They seem to be harder andcan be pushed
a bit faster.
GOOD LUCK and GOOD SHOOTING!!!

[teddy12b]

Well...  they worked!

I started low and worked up to about .3gr more than the book said I should just to see how close I was.  I checked the primer and empty case after each shot and looked them over very closely before moving on.  I did notice just the slightest bulge in the brass where it was unsupported in the chamber.  I don't think it's much, but it's something I'm going to keep an eye one while reloading in the 10mm.  Another thing is that the rim of the brass was getting a stronger burr on it from the extractor as the pressure went up, but some of that will smooth out in the tumbler so I'm not too worried.  Another thing I noticed with the berry's plated bullets specifically is that as the powder went up the bullets didn't make as clean of a perfectly cut hole in the paper target anymore.  The shots were still right where I wanted them, but they were more torn than a perfectly punched hole.

When I tested the plated rounds, I did so side by side against Hornady XTP/HP bullets; grain weight by grain weight and neither of them showed pierced or blown primers.  I specifically used Winchester primers in these 10mm reloads because I know they're softer and will show pressure signs sooner. 

My barrel did get a little bit dirtier than I would have liked, and I think a large part of that is due to the berry's plated bullets.  All things considered, the ammo was safe to fire and nothing went horribly wrong.  I only fired about 40 rounds between the two different bullets and powder weights but I think I saw what I needed to see. 

My conclusion:  While the berry's bullets are safe to use at standard JHP powder levels in my gun, I don't think they're something I'd buy again.  While I did save money buying them, there is some piece of mind that’s worth a little bit more money to me.  On a good note, I have just shy of 1000 of these Berry’s bullets that I intend to run through and dump down range asap so I can move onto the next bullet that will be my new reloading play thing.

I can’t say enough about how much I appreciate the help guys!  This forum is a great resource and I don’t know what I’d do without it.

[Savage]

I've loaded a LOT of the Berry's plated bullets in 9mm and .45. I load them with the same data I use for cast. IMO these bullets are best suited for plinking/IDPA and I see no need to drive them at velocities higher than required to make power factor. The only real advantage they have over cast is less smoke from bullet lube. For magnum or 10mm velocities, I would use a hard cast, or jacketed bullet.
Savage