SERVED_USMC Posted March 26, 2012 Share Posted March 26, 2012 Ive been running the 147gr Berrys for a few months now without a hitch, but I can get the Precisions for a little cheaper. Since I bulk load the 9's about 5K at a time the cost can add up. I also understand that the Precisions are copper clad, not plated. Is it worth the money to switch over to something unfamiliar, or should I stick with the Berrys? Figured I would get a few opinions before ordering another few cases. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gng4life Posted March 26, 2012 Share Posted March 26, 2012 PD are top quality jacketed bullets. No cheap shot (pun intended) on Berrys but PDs are much better bullets. The plating is usually so thin, you can take some sandpaper and rub it for a minute or two to see the lead. The jacketed ones are much tougher and usually much more accurate. My personal favorite is Montana Gold but I did finally get some PD bullets in and they are pretty nice too. Zero bullets are great but they are almost never in stock. I get my MG bullets in four days from ordering - and they are west coast and I'm on the east coast. Once you get some good jacketed bullets, I don't think you will go back. The other option is the Bayou bullets. They are great also except for Major PF in comp'ed guns. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SERVED_USMC Posted March 26, 2012 Author Share Posted March 26, 2012 PD are top quality jacketed bullets. No cheap shot (pun intended) on Berrys but PDs are much better bullets. The plating is usually so thin, you can take some sandpaper and rub it for a minute or two to see the lead. The jacketed ones are much tougher and usually much more accurate. My personal favorite is Montana Gold but I did finally get some PD bullets in and they are pretty nice too. Zero bullets are great but they are almost never in stock. I get my MG bullets in four days from ordering - and they are west coast and I'm on the east coast. Once you get some good jacketed bullets, I don't think you will go back. The other option is the Bayou bullets. They are great also except for Major PF in comp'ed guns. I do run the MG 180gr JHP in 40 for my Limited gun and Im really impressed by them. However, I shoot a lot of 9 on the farm just screwing around, so the priceof them makes it not so easy on the wallet just grabbing a few boxes and going out back. Im gonna call PD and see what they have. Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lugnut Posted March 26, 2012 Share Posted March 26, 2012 (edited) I hear a lot of people saying that jacketed bullets (HP or otherwise) are so much more accurate than the Berrys and that the copper plating is too thin. I have never seen any issues with either of these issues. I have never had issues with plating on any of my loads, especially with the 9s which don't require much crimp at all! On the accuracy... I seem to shoot the same groups with my Berrys as with MG... so not sure what to say. Plus I like no exposed lead base. Berry are getting up their in price though... Edited March 26, 2012 by lugnut Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Babaganoosh Posted March 26, 2012 Share Posted March 26, 2012 I found that the berrys shoot better out of my m&p pro in 40 than MGs do. I'm going to buy some PD next to try. I think the fact that berrys are .401 vs MG's .399 help it grab the rifling better. I say test all 3 and get whatever shoots better from your gun. One of the benefits of berrys is an enclosed base. MG does offer a complete jacket as well. Not sure about pd. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gng4life Posted March 26, 2012 Share Posted March 26, 2012 I hear a lot of people saying that jacketed bullets (HP or otherwise) are so much more accurate than the Berrys and that the copper plating is too thin. I have never seen any issues with either of these issues. I have never had issues with plating on any of my loads, especially with the 9s which don't require much crimp at all! On the accuracy... I seem to shoot the same groups with my Berrys as with MG... so not sure what to say. Plus I like no exposed lead base. Berry are getting up their in price though... And when you add in that you can get jacketed bullets cheaper, I really don't see why you would use them. (MG has CMJ = no exposed lead) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Babaganoosh Posted March 26, 2012 Share Posted March 26, 2012 I hear a lot of people saying that jacketed bullets (HP or otherwise) are so much more accurate than the Berrys and that the copper plating is too thin. I have never seen any issues with either of these issues. I have never had issues with plating on any of my loads, especially with the 9s which don't require much crimp at all! On the accuracy... I seem to shoot the same groups with my Berrys as with MG... so not sure what to say. Plus I like no exposed lead base. Berry are getting up their in price though... And when you add in that you can get jacketed bullets cheaper, I really don't see why you would use them. (MG has CMJ = no exposed lead) I know some people who order Berrys because you can get them 1000 at a time. Not everyone has 300 plus dollars to throw down for a case to get the better price. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
waktasz Posted March 26, 2012 Share Posted March 26, 2012 Berrys are expensive. When I've shot plated I've used The Bullet Works. I like their bullets a lot and since MG just upped their prices by a lot I won't be buying from them any time soon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cheesewhiz Posted March 27, 2012 Share Posted March 27, 2012 (edited) As far as making a really accurate round goes, I find that Berry's 124gr HBRN-TP are just that in my CZ's. Edited March 27, 2012 by Cheesewhiz Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SERVED_USMC Posted March 27, 2012 Author Share Posted March 27, 2012 Spent a few hours at work (HAHA) researching a few different options. Im able to get Berrys 147's for $80 per K, and couldnt find anything that I wanted to shoot for cheaper than that. So, Ive got another 5K on the way to the house. I figured, why rock the boat right before the season starts and have to risk having issues with something new. For that price, I couldnt really justify wandering into uncharted territory. I will say that I had absolutely horrible luck with the .40 180gr's that I got from them last year, and ended up switching to MG's quickly after that. Ive found that the Berrys dont like crimp, but with 9 it isnt that big of a deal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CeeZer Posted March 27, 2012 Share Posted March 27, 2012 I loaded and shot 30K+ of Berry's 124gr RNDS bullets and am VERY happy with them. Price, accuracy, quality, consistency, ease of loading, OAL, plating thickness (for Minor loads I shoot) etc. That was a few different lots too, not a single bullet that disappointed me. Their 124gr HBRN-TP are even better in several ways, but are a little more $$ and I personally would not be able to see much difference. Jay is a great guy to deal with as well! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcracco Posted March 27, 2012 Share Posted March 27, 2012 PD are top quality jacketed bullets. No cheap shot (pun intended) on Berrys but PDs are much better bullets. The plating is usually so thin, you can take some sandpaper and rub it for a minute or two to see the lead. The jacketed ones are much tougher and usually much more accurate. My personal favorite is Montana Gold but I did finally get some PD bullets in and they are pretty nice too. Zero bullets are great but they are almost never in stock. I get my MG bullets in four days from ordering - and they are west coast and I'm on the east coast. Once you get some good jacketed bullets, I don't think you will go back. The other option is the Bayou bullets. They are great also except for Major PF in comp'ed guns. The thickness of the copper jacket has no direct correlation to the inherent accuracy of the bullet. Back in the IHMSA days many shooters (my self included) were using hard cast bullets out to 200 meters with excellent accuracy. Very heavy bullets at medium velocities and they shot great. The only reason I am shooting plated bullets now is I am shooting/handling/breathing an order of magnitude more rounds indoors vs. outdoors. All I need is a micron worth of copper plating so rounds don't smoke from wax lube and to keep my fingers away from lead. I'm sure Montana Gold bullets are very good and the cost is similar to Berry's. But I am not on board with the 'thicker is better' for a 9mm bullet leaving the barrel at barely 1,000fps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gng4life Posted March 27, 2012 Share Posted March 27, 2012 I agree and I never insinuated that a thicker jacket makes them more accurate. It was a testament to their toughness. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LPatterson Posted March 27, 2012 Share Posted March 27, 2012 Even a blind squirrel can find a nut once in a while. Two of the same brand gun might like one bullet brand better than the other depending on the powder charge or case brand or crimp. What we need is to get a PhD level mechanical engineer to test loading theorem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blaster113 Posted March 27, 2012 Share Posted March 27, 2012 I havent had much luck loading plated .40 bullets to major. I would get wild swings in velocity with the plated rounds and the plating would come off even with virtually no crimp. Havent tried them in 9mm, but if you can get 9mm jacketed bullets for only a few dollars more than plated prices I would just run jacketed. what vendor has those Berry's at $80/1000? thats a good price comparable to moly bullets Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Babaganoosh Posted March 27, 2012 Share Posted March 27, 2012 Even a blind squirrel can find a nut once in a while. Two of the same brand gun might like one bullet brand better than the other depending on the powder charge or case brand or crimp. What we need is to get a PhD level mechanical engineer to test loading theorem. Thats why my advice always is to try a few different bullet combos to see what shoots best for your gun. Blanket statements like "montana gold is the best" or "win 231 is the best" need to be taken with a grain of salt. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EEH Posted March 27, 2012 Share Posted March 27, 2012 I havent had much luck loading plated .40 bullets to major. I would get wild swings in velocity with the plated rounds and the plating would come off even with virtually no crimp. Havent tried them in 9mm, but if you can get 9mm jacketed bullets for only a few dollars more than plated prices I would just run jacketed. what vendor has those Berry's at $80/1000? thats a good price comparable to moly bullets I will buy them at that price !!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EEH Posted March 27, 2012 Share Posted March 27, 2012 I have shot 1000's of them with no problems I shot them for years in 38 special at +p loads--and 357 at 1050--1100 fps,also in 45acp,but where I order them they cost more than other bullets I buy.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lugnut Posted March 27, 2012 Share Posted March 27, 2012 Bullet prices are pissing me off lately... car batteries aren't going up in price like bullets are damn it. Shooting 45s is getting too expensive... sorry for the OT. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recoil45 Posted March 27, 2012 Share Posted March 27, 2012 (edited) what vendor has those Berry's at $80/1000? thats a good price comparable to moly bullets I haven't seen them that low, but I buy them from Powder Valley at $84.21 per k. Edited March 27, 2012 by Recoil45 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LPatterson Posted March 27, 2012 Share Posted March 27, 2012 Bullet prices are pissing me off lately... car batteries aren't going up in price like bullets are damn it. Shooting 45s is getting too expensive... sorry for the OT. It's late in the game for this but it is called supply and demand. Add to that a government that wants to outlaw lead hunting bullets and it becomes a completely different set of circumstances. Can't get political. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SERVED_USMC Posted March 28, 2012 Author Share Posted March 28, 2012 what vendor has those Berry's at $80/1000? thats a good price comparable to moly bullets I haven't seen them that low, but I buy them from Powder Valley at $84.21 per k. I get them through a guy on our team who has an account through someone. Im not sure who he gets them from, but I know its not direct. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shuey134 Posted March 31, 2012 Share Posted March 31, 2012 I've shot both and I can't tell any difference. I prefer the PD's only because they are a little cheaper. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike_P Posted March 31, 2012 Share Posted March 31, 2012 I've shot A LOT of Berry's and never had a problem. But with that said I've also loaded cases of MG 124gr CMJ, and have never had a problem with them either. They are both awesome bullets and cost wise are close. On top of both of those I've also loaded precision bullets and never had a problem, lol. All in all, I think it come down to personal experience. They all perform amazingly well but nobody can deny the fact that sometimes a bad batch is made, and the rumors start to fly. Break them down into price and then your differences really start to show. But my opinion on the matter is, if it shoots better in my gun and is a little more expensive, I'll pay that cost to get the best performance possible. I don't want to load cheap just because it's cheap. I want to load for quality and because reloading is a hobbie I love and enjoy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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