Rainer 200 grn. Plated, 45 cal

[fudd]

Just found some Rainer 200 grn in Plated HP in 45, about 2500. Bought 10 years ago when I thought I was going to reload, now I am.

1. Would they be good for ICORE or Steel?

2. Match or practice?

Rainer says to treat them as lead when working up a load.

Also to use Roll or Taper crimp.

3. Would SBD do everything I need for this?

Want to use in 625-8.

If good, is there anything I should be aware of whether reloading or shooting?

Thanks in advance,

Jerry

[robot]

Yes plated bullets should be treated as lead.

I would say they should be used for Practice, but I'd use them for everything!

SBD is good enough for loading .45ACP. affordable

[Forrest Halley]

I hate to be the contrary one, but I'd go 550 or 650 if you could afford it. These revolvers eat through ammunition, something I never considered. The availability of dies and sheer flexibility of the press is nice....all your single stage dies fit the 550 and 650. The 650 auto indexes also which is nice for high volume and can accept both bullet and case feeders.

For steel I would go as light as you could say 185's but stick with a slick reloading profile for Icore. Best of luck.

[pskys2]

Square Deal is just fine.

Ranier 200 grain bullets are good for IPSC, ICORE & Steel, practice or matches.

Load them light if you want for ICORE & Steel, say about 720f/s. Sometimes going too low will leave unburned powder granules in the chambers which can then get under the extractor and cause your action to get stiff. 4.0 grains of Clays gave me 740f/s in a 625.

A Taper Crimp is fine, you may notice the bullets pull as you fire a cylinder full, this is normal don't sweat it.

A Roll Crimp can also be used, finding a Roll Crimp Die for a .45ACP is a bit harder so my guess is you have a Taper from Dillon.

Just remember not to get too aggressive with either crimp as the Plating on the Raniers can be punctured causing part of the plating to seperate when firing.

If you use a Taper Crimp go between .465 to .469, with a Roll Crimp don't go below .462.

Good Luck!

[Carmoney]

I bought my first Square Deal B press 23 years ago and mounted it behind the couch in the living room of our 1-bedroom apartment! Now that I have a 5-bedroom house on 10 acres of land and can spread things out a little more, I still use that same great little press to load all my .45 ACP ammo! In fact, a few years ago I bought another Square Deal B to put next to it on the bench, so I can keep one machine running .45s and the other machine for calibers that use small pistol primers. I have never felt the need for anything else.

I always advise against the Dillon 550. The lack of auto-indexing on a progressive press is a huge flaw, in my opinion. When you hear about somebody blowing up a handgun due to a likely double powder charge, start asking some questions and most of the time you will find that the ammo was loaded on a 550.

I shot Rainier plated bullets for a couple years, and they generally worked fine. But then I had one come apart in the barrel of my gun at the Summer Blast. You know how close the targets are on that classifier "Can You Count?"....like maybe 5 yards? Well, my shattered plated bullet hit the target in a zillion small pieces. I was lucky they found a hole made by a big enough piece that I got credit for the hit.

So I don't use plated bullets anymore for competition.

[S391]

So I don't use plated bullets anymore for competition.

Not to highjack the thread but what bullets do you use?

[pskys2]

Mike, don't scare the guy!

fudd, use them up. The first thing to worry about is having fun and getting started.

If you have a SDB it is a great machine, use it and don't fret.

You put a pretty tight crimp on the Raniers didn't you? I've heard that's the usual problem with them, unless you try to push them over 1100f/s.

I wondered if that wasn't what happened at the Nationals a few years back. But I was using GAP brass and a real heavy Roll Crimp, so I got what I deserved but didn't hurt anything.

I actually don't like the auto indexing, I even take out the Auto Priming appartus on my 550, I like looking at every station/case keep hoping it will help my visual acuity! I know it's slower but I don't try to rush things and still get a pretty good output. The usual bottleneck is bullet seating and primer tube loading. Need to get one of those Primer Tube Filler Machines.

Mike Have you tried Black Bullet Int'l Bullets? Thought about them just haven't yet.

Edited March 2, 2011 by pskys2

[Carmoney]

I'm most of the way through my Zero jacketed 230s, and then I think I have one case of Montana Golds sitting down there, and after that I'm going to have to resupply. I still load and shoot 230-gr. RNLs from Two Alpha Bullets for local matches and stuff. I have shot plenty of major matches, including Nationals, with cast bullets. Usually the smoke isn't a big issue, but every once in awhile....

Never tried any of the black bullets or green bullets. Never tried any with coatings of moly or poly. Polly wolly doodle all the day, I say. I'm not a high-volume shooter these days, so I think I'm just going to spring for the true jacketed bullets and call it good.

[Carmoney]

I actually don't like the auto indexing, I even take out the Auto Priming appartus on my 550, I like looking at every station/case keep hoping it will help my visual acuity! I know it's slower but I don't try to rush things and still get a pretty good output.

Yeah, but you're not drinking scotch while you load ammo, Dave. Big difference. I gotta have the auto-indexing.

[pskys2]

I actually don't like the auto indexing, I even take out the Auto Priming appartus on my 550, I like looking at every station/case keep hoping it will help my visual acuity! I know it's slower but I don't try to rush things and still get a pretty good output.

Yeah, but you're not drinking scotch while you load ammo, Dave. Big difference. I gotta have the auto-indexing.

You're quite lucky, I never acquired a taste for those "finer" things in life.

But then I've also never been a high volume shooter, and I've been cutting back even more.

If I shoot 200 rounds a week, outside of matches, it's a busy week.

I used the Gator Bullets last year and liked them. They're just kind of a hassle to order.

And they had a funky smell when fired, but they didn't lead and didn't smoke.

Wait a minute, you better start doing some shooting if you're going to the World Shoot. You can't expect to keep up with Cliff in the elbow bending department, but you can whup up on him in the match.

Edited March 4, 2011 by pskys2

[S391]

I'm most of the way through my Zero jacketed 230s, and then I think I have one case of Montana Golds sitting down there, and after that I'm going to have to resupply. I still load and shoot 230-gr. RNLs from Two Alpha Bullets for local matches and stuff. I have shot plenty of major matches, including Nationals, with cast bullets. Usually the smoke isn't a big issue, but every once in awhile....

I was told that 625's don't care for cast bullets.... I like the price on the Two Alpha bullets and might order some, I have no problem shooting cast bullets outdoors. However, I want to make sure they will do the job before I commit to a thousand of them.

[Carmoney]

Naw, with very rare exception, 625s do just fine with cast bullets. It's the old 25-2s that will spit them sideways sometimes.

[professor]

Naw, with very rare exception, 625s do just fine with cast bullets. It's the old 25-2s that will spit them sideways sometimes.

+1 on that. 230 grain Billy bullets [moly coated RN lead] do just fine.

[S391]

Naw, with very rare exception, 625s do just fine with cast bullets. It's the old 25-2s that will spit them sideways sometimes.

+1 on that. 230 grain Billy bullets [moly coated RN lead] do just fine.

What is a Billy bullet?

[S391]

Well, my local shop it out of the 230 gr RN plated bullets I normally use so I just picked up a box of 200 gr SWC plated Berry's.... we'll see how they work out of the 625.... If nothing else they will keep me shooting until I can find a good supply of .230's......