Plated bullet questions

[jlwilliams]

  How do plated bullets perform?  Do they deform like a cast bullet, or stay together like a jacketed bullet?  Or somewhere in between?
 
  I understand that lots of people load plated bullets because they cost less than jacketed and foul less than cast.  My question is; are they good for hunting or are they more or less plinking loads?

[buck460XVR]

Kinda depends on what you're huntin'.  They'd work fine for small game, but I'd be a little hesitant to use on deer and larger size game due to velocity limits on most plated bullets. I've used them for plinkin', but their cost is as much as jacketed nowadays.

[Savage]

They're lead bullets with a very thin copper plating to prevent lead vaporization and barrel leading. Consider them in the same category as lead. Primarily, more expensive plinkers.
Savage

[jlwilliams]

Got it.  Thanks.

[BBF]

OK. are you guys writing about 22's?
I've been wondering about Rainiers bullets, they come in larger calibers ie .458 

[Catfish]

I`m not sure about 458, but I have shot alot of them through my 44 mag. They work well at cast cast bullet velocities, but not at higher velocities.

[BBF]

Rainier gives a max V of 1500 fps.

[Doug B.]

Rainier gives a max V of 1500 fps.

Be careful and watch for signs of excessive pressure.

I thought I read max 1200-1250 fps on their website. They recommend loading to lead bullet velocities or reducing the copper jacketed load info by 10% when starting at minimum and working up a load for their plated bullets.

[BBF]

That was my understanding as well to use cast bullet loading data. It is a lead bullet after all and the V recommendation with proper powder should not cause any pressure problems.

[30calflash]

 I just started thinking about the capabilities of plated heads myself. This is the first thread on it that I've seen. If in a big caliber, 44 or 45, at a decent velocity it should work unless made of very soft lead. I suppose a range test would be the only way to find out.
 
 

[hornady]

Not a recommendation but I have shot a lot of my GC 170 Gr, cast bullets in my 3006 at 1800 FPS over my Chrony. And if you go out to Berry’s site for their plated bullets they give a max FPS in Rifle bullets of 1700 FPS and 1800 for others.
I have not shot any of the plated Rifle bullets but have shot the plated Pistol bullets at mid range jacketed loads with out any sign of trouble.
I have been playing around with a Cast load for Deer this year. So far so good at 100 yards, I do want to use a little softer alloy for a little better expansion.
I do know the Berry Pistol Bullets have a very soft core, I would imagine the Rifle bullets would be a little harder with the increased velocity.

[Doug B.]

My 115 gr. Rainier plated did me no good when my firearm short cycled loading to lead velocities. I kept running them up .2 grs. at a crack until the short cycling ceased. I then added .5 grs. of AA7 and stopped, still no signs of excessive pressure. I may well be exceeding 1200 FPS (no chrony), but there are no apparent pressure problems at all after 500  rounds down the tube, and it is VERY accurate! Leading is not a problem whatsoever.

Anybody care to elaborate?

I'm a bit stumped, but that's o.k.

[BBF]

Doug
That all sound OK to me, why are you stumped?

[Doug B.]

Doug
That all sound OK to me, why are you stumped?

I guess I'm "stumped" because other than legality issues they work just fine. Why would they publish/recommend loading data that they must know would not reliably cycle what might be a majority of the semi auto handguns out there? If they are trying to protect those that are stupid, I certainly wish them luck! Nobody can fix stupidity, only try to protect themselves. I wish the law allowed them to be a bit more realistic.

[hornady]

We now live in a world of law suits, I do not know of a firearms manufacturer that dose not recommend against shooting reloads, and some state doing so will void your warranty.
Lee reloading makes a product called the Bulge buster for re sizing the base of brass shot in guns with unsupported barrels, how ever they state not to be used with Glock firearms. Redding makes the G-RX die for this problem in 40 brass, but makes no such statement.
Personally I believe a lot of the myth surrounding shooting reloads or cast bullets threw Glock factory barrels has more to do with Glocks ability to fire out of battery, you always read the unsupported barrel or polygonal barrel as being the problem, how ever many pistols have both issues. And regularly shoot reloads and cast bullets without the famous Glock ka-Boom.
The Lee as well as the Redding Die both work hardens the base of the brass. Now you have a brittle spot at the base, if the round is not fully chambered. In a now much more unsupported barrel because of excess bullet lube, shaved lead. Or other poor reloading habits in reloading for the Glock. Ka-Boom The Lawyers have a field day.
The same can be said about bullets, the manufacturer has no control over the bullet once it leaves the factory, so naturally they will opt on the side of caution.
I have read many posts that cast lead bullets should not be shot above 1000 FPS, however I know many guys that push them much faster.
It all boils down to common sense, If you are loading Blue pills you better know where the line is. Or have a very good health plan.

[jhalcott]

I used some plated bullets from a company in Ohio YEARS ago. The plated versions were MUCH harder than the unplated ones. I shot some .44's into wet pack and found they UN plated slugs traveled 17 to 20 inches and left decent "wound channels. The plated bullets (same load other wise!) would blow on out the back of 27" stacks. Those wound channels were smaller though longer. I did kill a few deer with both and could see the wound differences in the deer during necropsy examinations. The "thin" plating on these were about .005" thick. That is about 2 sheets of paper!
  I did manage to capture one of the plated bullets by stacking  2bundles of wet pack in front of each other. That bullet had traveled over 3 FEET thru the wet pack and the plating was NOT damaged other than rifling marks!

[30calflash]

 I guess that you don't know until you try. My thoughts were with handgun loads only. So as to not worry about exceeding the recommended velocity. I think they are 280 gr 44 cal. should penetrate and stay together I should think.

[Dand]

I've had variable performance with plated handgun bullets for the 41 mag.  The ones I tried years ago,  I quickly learned that shooting them fast caused the plating to come off (mid-flight???) and they were inaccurate ( I was finding my spent bullets in a big snow pile so they were otherwise undamaged - there were chunks of plating missing off the sides).  Currently I have a batch of unknown make and I shoot them at modest cast bullet velocities.  These seem reasonably accurate at the 15-25 yds I've been practicing.  What is impressive is that when they hit mud behind the target, it REALLY flies. Like I was shooting a very soft hollow point at high speed. I don't know the velocity but I have loaded expecting about 800-950 fps. They are a truncated cone design, 220 gr +/-.  I would only use them for small game around here.  They'd probably be fine for self defense from 2 legged varmints.

[BBF]

With two legged varmints the OUCH factor is usually sufficient.