I’ll go back and read the whole post later. I read the first 1/3 of it and this question pops into mind.

Are these really orange to orange apples to apples tests. As far as you can make them I’m sure but to just throw a kink in your testing.

Same brass
Same weight slug
Same powder charge
Same brand of and type powder used
Same batch and type primer used

To assume all the above are the same there is one variable you can’t control is how the slug is made.

Lead plated could be extrusion/pressed while your
Non plated could be cast ????????

Do you know?????

If the slugs are extrusion/pressed then they may have an issue of uncentered mass causing drift due to imbalance while spinning imparting yaw into the projectile during flight ?????


Just purely conjecture on my part and playing with ideas.

Can you cast 100 of your own then plate 50 and try again????


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I’ll go back and read the whole post later. I read the first 1/3 of it and this question pops into mind.

Are these really orange to orange apples to apples tests. Ass far as you can make them I’m sure but to just throw a kink in your testing.

Same brass
Same weight slug
Same powder charge
Same brand of and type powder used
Same batch and type primer used

To assume all the above are the same there is one variable you can’t control is how the slug is made.

Lead plated could be extrusion/pressed while your
Non plated could be cast ????????



If the slugs are extrusion/pressed then they may have an issue of uncentered mass causing drift due to imbalance while spinning imparting yaw into the projectile during flight ?????




Can you cast 100 of your own then plate 50 and try again????


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My testing has been as consistent as I can make it.
Same bench session. Same powder setting same primers. As close of a bullet as I can get. Bullet weight usually very close but most plated are round nose and non-cannelure.
Resize and reprime150 cases. Powder drop 150 at the same time same powder. Seat and crimp 50 ea. cast, plated and jacketed.

As far as how they are made , who knows ?
Of course, the makers claim, "nothing but the finest".

 

This might raise a flurry of disagreement but should be fun to discuss.
Plated bullets seem like a good idea but for me fail, fail, Fail.
Sure, they are affordable and make an attractive cartridge but when the bullet hits the paper, they become my worst option. In side-by-side testing with the same brass, same powder charge and a comparable bullet in either cast or jacketed the plated always comes in 3rd. Often quite a distant 3rd.
What am I shooting them in?
I have them in more than 1 weight for 45LC, 44 mag and special ,357/38 from extreme and some 98gr. 312s for 32mag from Berry's. Plus, some 158 gr flat nose .308s for 30-30.
All of the above have been shot in single Actions and lever actions.
What do I expect from a bullet?
Seems to me those most happy with plated bullets are the shoot fast, shoot short 9mm spray and pray guys. They are looking for cheap 9mm blasters and that it is. Maybe good for smacking plates but in actual self-defense use of a plated round nose would be next to worthless.
For me bullet consistency/accuracy is not checked at 25 yards but more at 50,75 or even 100 yards. Slow, relaxed, rested fire. That is where their failure become very, very obvious.
How bad? At 100 yards it becomes embarrassing if someone sees your target bad.
All of the above bullets were bought in boxes of 500 and they will undoubtedly be a lifetime supply for me and a problem for my heirs.
In summary I feel the time and place for plated bullets is past. Any possible gains have been surpassed by the coated bullets what work much, much better.

I DISAGREE with your statement "Seems to me those most happy with plated bullets are the shoot fast, shoot short 9mm spray and pray guys" ... i use plated in my 9mm, 40sw, 45acp and 44sp, all are extremely accurate. I don't do the spray and pray thing you speak of, all shots fired are placed strategically on the target ... curious to know if you have the same opinion of poly coated cast ... which I also use extensively ...

 

O, I know they have believers but ,,,,,I ask what distance and have you done true side by side distance evaluation ? To me the semi-auto rounds suggest 25 or 30 feet or less and ANY bullet can do that.
At 50 yards my 6 "(on a good day) group will open up to well over a foot when switching to plated. At 100yards they become unmeasurable and often off the paper.
Paint or Poly coated ? As in the last sentence written are FAR superior to plated. Also better than most cast, unless gas checked. But that's a different discussion.

 

Shooting with a crony will help with your analysis. I would not know why the plated don’t group as well. Perhaps there is a difference in hardness.

Jacketed being the hardest.
non plated second hardest.
Plated being the softest.

What’s the ballistic coefficient of the two lead bullets. The difference in that alone may account for your wider spread in comparison to the three example you gave ?

Past this I run out of ideas.


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I load plated in 9mm and 45ACP and have good results.
In my 38/357 loads they are just OK.

 

I don't have any skin in the game as I only use cast for my revolver cartridges now. Plenty accurate for me. Never saw the need to gussie (a word?) it up with plated or painted or coated, gas-checked, or whatever. When I first reloaded for .357 back in the 80s, I did use jacketed... only because I was ignorant on the subject of the use of cheaper lead bullets and had a bad experience with leading with some acquired store-bought .38 Special soft lead round nose cartridges. So it goes ....

 

@rclark ... next time you buy bullets try some poly coated, I think you'll be pleasantly surprised ...

 

If your accuracy is that bad, you are doing something wrong in your reloading. I was a PPC competitive pistol shooter for 5 years with a distinguish Master rating. Also shot IDPA matches and when using Xtreme 230 gr. RN plated bullets in my 45 acp was able to capture the most accurate shooter award for the entire match of about 60 shooters.
Are you loading them too hot, or shaving the side while seating, or applying too much of a crimp?

 

FYI ... the poly (polymer) coating eliminates the need of the lube on cast bullets and cuts down on leading. Never heard of paint on a bullet unless I'm misunderstanding your verbiage. As far as shooting 100 yards, is that open sights or scoped? Off hand or benched? I'd be hard pressed to see a bullseye on paper at 100 yards using open sights. My normal target shooting is between 21' and 30' ... which is good for this old man ...

 

...Never heard of paint on a bullet unless I'm misunderstanding your verbiage...

He's probably referring to powder coating.

 

The Berry's bullets I bought several years ago did not impress. Very thin plating, so thin that you could see it thinner on one side and see lead peeking through.. Warnings about driving them too fast and I got poor accuracy.
I heard they since came out with an Extreme line that are thicker plating.

A couple years ago I bought some HSM plated 125 grain flat point in .357, no issues with thin plating or inconsistent plating. And they have a crimp groove unlike most plated I've seen, what I want for a revolver bullet.
I shot groups out of my 686 with those bullets that grouped 1" at 25 yards, haven't shot groups that small out of a handgun since I had a K-22 in high school.

I like not having to handle lead when loading, or being around lead deposits when cleaning.
I haven't tried any coated bullets but I'll be buying a few thousand of the HSM plated bullets soon, they are great in my book.

 

The Berry's bullets I bought several years ago did not impress. Very thin plating, so thin that you could see it thinner on one side and see lead peeking through.. Warnings about driving them too fast and I got poor accuracy.
I heard they since came out with an Extreme line that are thicker plating.

A couple years ago I bought some HSM plated 125 grain flat point in .357, no issues with thin plating or inconsistent plating. And they have a crimp groove unlike most plated I've seen, what I want for a revolver bullet.
I shot groups out of my 686 with those bullets that grouped 1" at 25 yards, haven't shot groups that small out of a handgun since I had a K-22 in high school.

I like not having to handle lead when loading, or being around lead deposits when cleaning.
I haven't tried any coated bullets but I'll be buying a few thousand of the HSM plated bullets soon, they are great in my book.

A little sample ... various vendors ...

 

My only question is why would you shoot someone with a plated bullet! Need to be using SD ammo if carrying!

 

With any plated or coated bullets you need to be careful not to cut or break through the coating and expose the lead or leading may result. You can easily cut trough the coating if you're not careful while reloading. You can shave it with insufficient flare or case mouth belling. You can over crimp. I don't use plated bullets but the do have manufacturer recommended max velocities and they have newer heavier (thicker) plating.

I load hi-tek coated bullets exclusively. I get mine from Jerry's brother at Bayou Bullets. I also went to 4 dies with a separate seating and crimping operation to get better results.

 

I have tried plated bullets, and don't like them. I've gone back to swaged jacketed bullets.

 

I’m not sure how one could set up an “apples to apples” comparison. Different bullet types will have different optimum OALs, powder types, and velocities.

 

Ehhhhh they do the job for me, my targets on average are spread out from 3 yards to 25 yards paper up close and steel and clay targets at the further distances. Zero problems punching paper accurately, dinging steel or breaking clays and yeah every once in a while I'll do some 50 yards with my pistols just for fun. I'm not expecting terrific groups at 50 yards out of my glock 43x firing standing unsupported. 🤷‍♂️

 

Ditto ...

 

Different material, different construction different coating/plating/jacket can't be compared with the same powder load even if bullet weight is the same.

 

I like the Berrys. Accurate and very consistant. Other misunderstandings noted, I also have a lot of Missouri Bullets cast/coated. Find them to be well made, consistant, and accurate with my loads.

 

I have used a lot of Rainier and Berrys platted bullets with no problem as long as you stay under 1200 fps. I load 158 grain .357 platted hollow points to 1000 fps in my 16" suppressed single shot. Works pretty well out to 50 yards.

 

Well , at least you have moved the discussion out to 50 yards. It is a world of different form 30 or 40 feet where most seem to be making their evaluations.
But as you described that bullet as "pretty good " I would ask, since with a suppressor you probably can't use cast, does a jacketed bullet shoot better?
And what happens if you go the next step out to 100?

 

By the way, one of my pet loads is a 150 grain copper plated DEWC over 4.4 of Unique. Seated just flush in a 38 special it makes a great snubby defensive load.

 

Brazos Bullet for one and others have optional sizing. That's because one needs to taylor the load to the gun.
If one buys ANY bullet and assumes one size fits all may need to study firearms and hand loading a bit better.

 

Brazos Bullet for one and others have optional sizing. That's because one needs to taylor the load to the gun.
If one buys ANY bullet and assumes one size fits all may need to study firearms and hand loading a bit better.

Well sir, You also seem to be confused about the bullets being discussed as I see NO plated bullets on the Brazos site , only cast and coated .
Once again ,because comprehension is a key you and a few are missing .
PLATED with copper NOT Coated with poly or paint.
Like these,

Berry's Bullets - Plated Bullets, Reloading & Shooting Supplies (berrysmfg.com)

Yours was quite a snarky statement but yes. I understand bullet sizing and have had many undersized chamber mouths reamed for uniformity and sized for cast bullets.
I also have more than a few of my own sizing dies when needed.
Buy any bullet and assume? I have shelves full of bullets and this is not the first Rodeo . That said for any given caliber most will out preform the plated ones.

 

Good

 

This might raise a flurry of disagreement but should be fun to discuss.
Plated bullets seem like a good idea but for me fail, fail, Fail.
Sure, they are affordable and make an attractive cartridge but when the bullet hits the paper, they become my worst option. In side-by-side testing with the same brass, same powder charge and a comparable bullet in either cast or jacketed the plated always comes in 3rd. Often quite a distant 3rd.

,,,,,,

Appreciate the information. I can't add to your observation since I don't shoot plated bullets at 100 yards.

I shoot plated as a cheaper alternative mainly in 45 colt and mostly at 10-30 yards. I shoot mostly metal so no actual measurements are made beyond hit or miss. My general observation is that my next cheap plinker will be a coated bullet. Why? Crimping plated is finicky and my loading technique often results in a low percentage having plating damaged when I crimp.....accuracy has to be affected even at shorter distances.

I'm not sure if plated bullets are truly less accurate but I know they are more difficult for me to load correctly. Reason enough for me to look for an alternatives like coated bullets.

 

We have lost civility. Thread closed.