[rman]

Have any of you used Berry's or Ranier copper plated bullets. All my shooting is done on an indoor range and I thought they might be worth a try. I picked up some Berry's 180 Gr HP's for the .40 S&W and some 124 Gr HP's for the 9mm. One of two loads I tried in the .40 shot pretty well with no leading. I'm probably only pushing them about 850 fps. The one and only load I tried in the 9mm was terrible, as was my other .40 load. There isn't much data available for them. Berry's says to use starting to mid-range loads listed for jacketed bullets of the same weight and profile. Looks like it's going to take some tinkering to get some good, accurate practice rounds. (Of course, that's the fun part!)

 

[2400]

What kind of powder are you using?

 

[Baldy]

I tried 500rds of 200grs and I didn't see any big difference between them and the hard cast lead. The cost was almost twice as much and I quit using them.

 

[rman]

The good load in .40 S&W is 6.0 Gr of AA5. My second try will be 5.8, 6.0 and 6.2 gr. The bad load was 5.2 Gr of W231...it was terrible. The 9mm load was 4.0 Gr of W231...it was also terrible. I'm going to try AA5 next in the 9mm. My powder supply is kind of limited right now. I have Unique, W231, AA#5, HS-7, Blue Dot, 2400, H110 and W296. The last 5 in the list are left overs from revolver reloading and most are too slow for autos. I'd like to pick up some HS-6 and AA#7.

 

[rman]

quote:Originally posted by 2400

What kind of powder are you using?

I PM'd you earlier.

 

[2400]

quote:Originally posted by rman

quote:Originally posted by 2400

What kind of powder are you using?

I PM'd you earlier.

Let me dig out my log book and I'll get back to you.

 

[John H. Fox]

I used the Ranier for my 32/20 and thought they were good. Will use them again.

 

[Tweek]

quote:The one and only load I tried in the 9mm was terrible

Define terrible ... Accuracy, feed/cycling, dirty, etc?

quote:Berry's says to use starting to mid-range loads listed for jacketed bullets of the same weight and profile

I've seen that too.

Rainier says:

quote:We, at Rainier Ballistics, recommend using lead bullet load data when loading our bullets. There is no need for adjustment when using lead bullet load data. Our bullets are jacketed using an electroplating process and are softer than traditionally jacketed bullets; hence the recommendation to use lead bullet load data. If you only have access to traditionally jacketed load data, we recommend reducing maximum charge by 10%. A roll or taper crimp may be used with our bullets; do not over crimp.

I've only used Rainier 230 gr RN 45's, and I've had good luck using lead data.

 

[rman]

quote:Originally posted by Tweek

quote:The one and only load I tried in the 9mm was terrible

Define terrible ... Accuracy, feed/cycling, dirty, etc?

quote:Berry's says to use starting to mid-range loads listed for jacketed bullets of the same weight and profile

I've seen that too.

Rainier says:

quote:We, at Rainier Ballistics, recommend using lead bullet load data when loading our bullets. There is no need for adjustment when using lead bullet load data. Our bullets are jacketed using an electroplating process and are softer than traditionally jacketed bullets; hence the recommendation to use lead bullet load data. If you only have access to traditionally jacketed load data, we recommend reducing maximum charge by 10%. A roll or taper crimp may be used with our bullets; do not over crimp.

I've only used Rainier 230 gr RN 45's, and I've had good luck using lead data.

Reliability was 100% on all loads. They shot clean, but accuracy was terrible. The one .40 load shot good with AA#5. The other with W231 was terrible. (Accuracy) The 9mm with W231 also functioned 100%, burned clean and were all over the paper. Shot some factory loads at the same time and they grouped nicely.

 

[Jody Johnson]

Used em' both. Did fine, used mostly for plinkin' n' practice, or at an indoor range. Plan on usin' again...

 

[DONALD W. WARREN]

I use the Berry's DEWC for 357 mag and 32 H&R mag. Load them to high lead bullet speeds and they work fine for what they are.