Plated 55gr. .223 bullets

[calishootr]

a couple years back(before the big component blowup) I thought I had 'scored' a really decent deal on some FMJ-BT bullts for .223, when i got them, they were not a 'true' FMJ with the thick jacket and exposed base w/ cannelure, they are or i was told were plated 55 gr's from Graf an sons or natchez shooter supply??? dont know which...

the question for the 'benoverse' is this...knowing what I know about plated bullets in pistol rounds(runs the gamut from good to piss poor) I was wondering what the accuracy potential of these rounds might be loaded to 3000 fps??? are they going to come apart at any given velocity or diatance??? should i relegate this stuff to the short hoser stages of 50 yrds an under??? anyone have any experience with these bullets at any longer distances??? 100-200+ yrds???

[J-Ho]

Try them. See what happens.

[GrumpyOne]

Are you sure they are plated? They could be TMJ's...section one and find out.

[rexican]

Midway did the same thing to my friend: he ordered a thousand of their bulk .223 BT FMJs and they shipped him 55gr. plated, not BT. He gave them to me and I have shot a few hundred. I have found them to be incredibly frustrating when shooting for groups. One out of every three to five shots will just have a mind of its own and open up a half MOA group to a full MOA group or a little over at a hundred yards (reloaded on a single stage RCBS, trickled, BLC-2). They seem to shoot better in my 16" AR than in my 20" for unknown reasons (both 1-9 twist). Good luck!

[Canuck223]

Plated bullets can work exceptionally well if they are built by people who care. They can also be craptacular.

In particular, the swaged core versions are soft as heck, and the plating doesn't hold up under much pressure. The plating can be thin, and any crimping tends to create a stress riser in that plating. It tends to then peel off irregularly when fired, causing wicked flyers. Plating thickness is a function of ambient temperature, plating solution temperature, and time in process. Vary any of those factors, and all bets are off. Plating thickness can vary, so the best plated bullets are deliberately designed to come out of the plating solution a little fat, then are swaged again to final size.

I could see trying plated bullets out of a .30 Carbine, but i wouldn't waste my time with .223 Rem

[jaredr]

at 3000 fps from a 1:9 barrel, that bullet is doing 4000rpm (out of a 1:7, it's about 5,100 unless I've hosed up the math). I'd be surprised if any plated bullet would hold together at that speed - i've had problems with rainer's coming apart at 1100 FPS from a 9mm (which is barely doing 800 rpm using a 1:16 twist barrel).

[highxj]

at 3000 fps from a 1:9 barrel, that bullet is doing 4000rpm (out of a 1:7, it's about 5,100 unless I've hosed up the math). I'd be surprised if any plated bullet would hold together at that speed - i've had problems with rainer's coming apart at 1100 FPS from a 9mm (which is barely doing 800 rpm using a 1:16 twist barrel).

You're a little low on the RPM, a bullet running 3000 fps in a 9 twist is actually spinning 4000 revolutions per 'second', or 240,000 rpm. It's a wonder any of them can hold together! Straying off topic but my 17 Predator coyote rifle runs a 30 grain bullet at 4100 fps in a 9 twist. That's 328,000 rpm!!

Just FYI, an easy formula is velocity x 720 / twist = rpm.

Edited October 7, 2010 by highxj

[jaredr]

at 3000 fps from a 1:9 barrel, that bullet is doing 4000rpm (out of a 1:7, it's about 5,100 unless I've hosed up the math). I'd be surprised if any plated bullet would hold together at that speed - i've had problems with rainer's coming apart at 1100 FPS from a 9mm (which is barely doing 800 rpm using a 1:16 twist barrel).

You're a little low on the RPM, a bullet running 3000 fps in a 9 twist is actually spinning 4000 revolutions per 'second', or 240,000 rpm. It's a wonder any of them can hold together! Straying off topic but my 17 Predator coyote rifle runs a 30 grain bullet at 4100 fps in a 9 twist. That's 328,000 rpm!!

Just FYI, an easy formula is velocity x 720 / twist = rpm.

THANKS! i thought my figures were a bit low but couldn't figure out where I was dropping the ball (remembered someone mentioning a 300k rpm figure from some earlier conversation, but couldn't figure out how he arrived at that figure...

[calishootr]

update on the whole plated bullet issue, i got aroundto loading them, should have stuck to my instincts, and loaded a small lot, nooooo i loaded 250 of em, well i decided to check some OAL, because they wer not going into a mag, and lo an behold about 1 in 4 wernt goin into a mag, too long WTF??? ...only thing i can come up with is that there is a difference in the bullts ojive(sp) that is giving me all these wild OAL(as much as 12 thou)