Coated vs Plated Bullets

[DukeEB]

I've had good luck with xtreme plated.  I use 115gr 9's, 230 gr 45, and 180 gr 40.

However, I just picked up a new blaster, and the gentleman who sold it to me had some 165 blue bullets to shoot.  They were under major PF, but VERY accurate out of my new gun (6" 40.)  I've ordered a few sample packs from blue bullets to try.

[wick]

I do not crimp blue bullets at all and you have to have you bell right

[motosapiens]

i must be doing it wrong. i have loaded 60k or so rounds, and not pulled a bullet yet, so I don't know or care what they look like when pulled.

 

in my experienced, plated bullets run great.  unless they don't.  my cz's absolutely loved xtreme plated bullets (in .355 and .400), but in my 1911's and 2011 they tumbled and were pretty erratic accuracy-wise. My 45 1911's don't seem to care and are very accurate with either plated or coated.

 

i mostly shoot leatherhead coated now because the owner drops them off at my house and they seem to be consistently accurate in all my guns. I try not to overthink it. it's just bullets.

[jtrump]

3 hours ago, motosapiens said:

i must be doing it wrong. i have loaded 60k or so rounds, and not pulled a bullet yet, so I don't know or care what they look like when pulled.

 

in my experienced, plated bullets run great.  unless they don't.  my cz's absolutely loved xtreme plated bullets (in .355 and .400), but in my 1911's and 2011 they tumbled and were pretty erratic accuracy-wise. My 45 1911's don't seem to care and are very accurate with either plated or coated.

 

i mostly shoot leatherhead coated now because the owner drops them off at my house and they seem to be consistently accurate in all my guns. I try not to overthink it. it's just bullets.

 

Agreed just bullets,  but it's pretty much the first question that gets asked with plated bullets " have you pulled a bullet and are you running to much crimp"  it's literally one simple thing that can really effect the performance of your reload using a plated bullet.    I just had a brand new cz shadow 2 and with plated round it shot a 3 inch group @ 15 yards.  Gave it some zero 147 JHP and it would cut a single hole at 20, yet no crimp was on the plated rounds, same power/oal etc.

[wrench459]

I like to resize my cases to .373 OD.

Then bell the mouth for that the boolit will be a "slip/pressed" fit.

Close the bell.

[nomore606]

The diameter of the bullet does matter greatly when dealing with accuracy and velocity SD. The plated bullets I used had OK accuracy and tye velocity varied by as much as +/- 100 fps. FMJ from PD and other manufacturers always measure .400 on the dot with my caliper.  Most coated are .401. They vary +/- 10-15 with fmj and coated. I have yet to use plated in 9mm because of my experience with plated in 40. If you like them, you like them. I'm just sharing my experience.

[motosapiens]

1 hour ago, nomore606 said:

The diameter of the bullet does matter greatly when dealing with accuracy and velocity SD. 

 

so what do you think is going on when a gun likes .356 plated bullets just fine but tumbles and is erratic with .355 (esp slightly undersized ones)....... and the same undersized .355's are very accurate in other guns.  could overcrimping affect some guns drastically more than others?

[B_RAD]

2 hours ago, nomore606 said:

The diameter of the bullet does matter greatly when dealing with accuracy and velocity SD. The plated bullets I used had OK accuracy and tye velocity varied by as much as +/- 100 fps. FMJ from PD and other manufacturers always measure .400 on the dot with my caliper.  Most coated are .401. They vary +/- 10-15 with fmj and coated. I have yet to use plated in 9mm because of my experience with plated in 40. If you like them, you like them. I'm just sharing my experience.

Wow. 100 fps variance. I'd say that's a powder issue but you're not getting that with the same powder and coated/fmj, correct?  

 

Which makes me think its a combination issue. The right combination of powder, bullets, and barrel. I get 7-10 SD using .356 plated bullets and Prima V.  I didnt get that low when using the same bullet and Titegroup. Id have to test out some fmj/coated with Prima V ti see if it's that low.  I've never tried plated .40 bulltes but will later this year.  Though, right now im shooting Precision Delta reman ammo out of my G24 and it seems to be one of the most accurate loads I've ever shot.  So, like I said, I think it's a combination of things.  Just my opinion. 

[jtrump]

I'm currently getting single digit deviations with a 147g xtreme .356 diameter with titegroup.    This is with 50 rounds over the chrono, I believe I had one spike to 933 FPS, and that was the only odd ball of the group "maybe got another 1/10th of a grain of powder in that one.

[nomore606]

Well I will say that was in 2013 with an 5.4" infinity barrel. That could have been a factor as well but coated and fmj worked just fine. I tested titegroup, vv320, and vv340 with my fcd set to just take the bell out. My most accurate load was PD 165 with vv340 at 1.135 OAL. Second best was 180's with 340 and OAL didn't affect group size and velocity. Could have been the gun but it did make me very reluctant to try plated again.

[jtrump]

3 hours ago, nomore606 said:

Well I will say that was in 2013 with an 5.4" infinity barrel. That could have been a factor as well but coated and fmj worked just fine. I tested titegroup, vv320, and vv340 with my fcd set to just take the bell out. My most accurate load was PD 165 with vv340 at 1.135 OAL. Second best was 180's with 340 and OAL didn't affect group size and velocity. Could have been the gun but it did make me very reluctant to try plated again.

 

FWIW I had terrible issues with plated bullets in my limited .40 gun also,   when I really fine tuned my press to be perfect bell/crimp wise I ended up seeing really good results.   Not to say you don't have your stuff set up right, I know I had some things slightly off.

[hwansikcjswo]

On 7/20/2017 at 1:19 PM, kmaultsby said:

Not looking for which is better more looking for opinions.  This my issue I have shot BBI,  Xstream, and Bayou liked all three in 9mm and 40 S&W.  Shooting IDPA & some USPSA all production minor.  I live in California and I mostly mail order but I do have a local dealer that sells Xstream, and the prices are fair, so if bullets right away I can plated bullets.  Now I know I will use less powder using coated bullets, I have some friends and it has  happened to me also when they load coated bullets and used a bullet puller to pull the bullet back out we notice on the bottom edge of the bullet the coating is scraped off no matter how much we bell the case.  Anyway before making my next bulk purchase just would some opinions.

 

I have the same issue as you. When I pull a bullet out, I see 2 lines of cuts on the bottom edge. How did you fix the issue?

[L3324temp]

Factoring in pricing, I prefer plated over jacketed or coated. I do not have any accuracy issues with Berry’s. I also shoot plenty of coated bullets (Bayou mostly) but prefer plated.


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[SCTaylor]

13 hours ago, hwansikcjswo said:

 

I have the same issue as you. When I pull a bullet out, I see 2 lines of cuts on the bottom edge. How did you fix the issue?

 

Kinetic bullet puller? That is the bullet bouncing back, hitting the case mouth.  Only way to avoid that is a collet puller in a press.

[hwansikcjswo]

15 hours ago, SCTaylor said:

 

Kinetic bullet puller? That is the bullet bouncing back, hitting the case mouth.  Only way to avoid that is a collet puller in a press.

 

Yes! I didn't know that. I guess I will pull it gently

 

Thank you! 

Edited June 13, 2018 by hwansikcjswo

[IDescribe]

Just stuff the end of the bullet puller with cotton so the bullet doesn't bounce back. 

[Dannybot]

For me, my most accurate handload so far has been Xtreme 124 plated HP’s.  At 10 yards the group is 1/2 the size free hand, even tighter off a bag that BB 135’s.  

 

I tried many OAL’s, crimps and power factors and just couldn’t get them to group as well as any plated bullets I have loaded.  I like the economy and ease of handling of coated bullets over plated; I can easily grip and manipulate coated bullets with two fingertips,  the plated bullets feel slippery.  That makes my RPH a bit higher,.