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Anyone Use Berry's Plated Or Hard Cast Lead Bullets?


glock_556

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Am using these bullets in a Glock 22 w/Wilson barrel, Kimber 45, Dan Wesson .44 Mag (1000 fps range) and Marlin 336 in .30-30 with no problems. Use minimal crimp & keep velocities under 1700 fps in rifle. Graf's has good prices.

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I have had no luck with Berry Bullets. Couldn't get them to group with my 627 no matter what. Miked them out and most were .355 and only a few hundred were .357. Best groups at 25 yards were about 6 inches. With lead my 625 will print into 2 inches with no problems.

When I called to tell them about the problem with the sizing they just said I didn't know how to use a mike.

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I use them occasionally in my Limited gun for practice. (Xtreme bullets)

They are accurate when they don't come apart in midair, I have several that keyhole or lose their plating in midflight. I don't use them at major matches.

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All these are with Berry's Plated 147 RN Bullets seated at an OAL of 1.42" Crimped at .380.

Tightgroup powder.

Weight Velocity SD ES Power Factor 15yd 10shot Group average

3.2 874 11 34 128.5 3.8"

3.4 917 8.4 26 134.7 4.4"

3.6 Chrono died 4.1"

WSF Powder 15yd 5shot best 3 shots

3.7 885 8.9 29 130.1 4.1" 1.85

3.9 915.8 16 47 134.6 3.31" 1.27

4.1 940.7 14.5 35 138.2 3.37" 1.64

231 powder

3.3 NO Chrono data 2.95" .875"

3.4 853.7 15.2 47 125.4 2.79" 1.41"

3.5 873.1 10.1 23 128.3 2.58" 1.0"

3.6 876.4 10.6 34 128.8 2.0 " .729"

Overall my M&P out shot my Springfield 1911 9mm today, seems the M&P is more accurate out the box than the springer. Best load today was 3.6 of 231 for the M&P, I will experiment later with a tighter crimp, and maybe different OAL, but it seemed to really like 231. Also CCI 115gr blazers shot better too with a velocity of 1121fps SD was 12.5 ES was 37 PF was 128.9 group at 15 yds was 1.3"

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I have been experimenting with Berry's 124grn roundnose lately and have had very good luck with them. Two loads I have tried are 5.3grns Unique and 5.9grns Unique with this bullet. Both will shoot inside 3" at 15 yards offhand. I suppose if I benched them they would be somewhat better. I am now using an OAL of 1.150, but the first time I tested with the 5.9 load I used 1.123.

Here are the chrono results in a 5" 1911.

9mm 124grn

Berry CPRN

5.9grn Unique

OAL=1.123 (compressed)

Speed in FPS

1257

1265

1240

1249

1265

1271

1243

1236

1257

1262

1246

1233

1290

1243

1266

1261

1249

1249

1249

1257

Average Speed

1254.4

Power Factor

155.5

Standard Deviation

13.2

Gun = 1911 5" bbl

And now the 5.3grn load:

9mm 124grn

Berry CPRN

5.3grn Unique

OAL=1.150

Speed in FPS

1158

1160

1164

1160

1143

1171

1165

1193

1180

1183

1170

1168

1144

1170

1149

1120

1182

1177

1173

1129

Average Speed

1163.0

Power Factor

144.2

Standard Deviation

17.9

Gun = 1911 5" bbl

These were shot in 42 and 50 degree weather respectively. Use caution with the 5.9grn load in warmer weather as it showed slightly flattened primers in the unsupported 1911 barrel. It showed no overpressure signs in my Witness 9mm though.

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I only use Berry's bullets.

230gr RN in .45 over 5.3gr of Win231.

124gr RN in 9mm over 4.2gr of Win231.

250gr FP in .45 colt over 8.0gr of Unique

155gr RSFP in .40S&W over 5.3gr of Win231

125gr FP in .38 Special over 4.2gr Win231

I can get 1" groups standing at 7 yards with the 45's, many through the same hole.

I normally get the same with the 9mm.

6" groups out of the .38's, but what do you expect from a 2" barrel S&W 642.

About 4" groups from the .40's, but I'm not that good with my S&W Sigma.

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barry's work fine in pretty much anything. Though they aren't much cheaper than jacketed, and price will go up after the first of the year. Copper prices are outrageous

Lead is cheap, but you can't run any of it through a glock (even the hardest i've found) but if you put a different barrel in the gun they are a viable solution to high bullet prices.

Precision bullets also work well out of a Glock. a few GM's shoot them here. Bob Vogel and Matt Cheely.

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  • 3 weeks later...

Used some Berry bullets as a cheap "hold me over" until I could get the Winchester bulk bullets in. I thought they shot a little differently, but the price was right and I was shooting again. Gunsmith told me that they would reduce the life of the bullet, so I stopped using them.

Has anyone figured up exactly how much barrel life they are getting from using Berry's plated? I only shot about 3 boxes(1K per box), before I was able to get back to the Winchester's bulk stuff.

Scott B

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I suspect your gunsmith had been sipping too much Koolaid. My old G35 had over 100,000 rounds of mostly plated bullets through it. Was just as accurate the day I traded it as the day I bought it.

I find Berrys bullets to be very accurate in all my Glocks and 1911s.

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Used some Berry bullets as a cheap "hold me over" until I could get the Winchester bulk bullets in. I thought they shot a little differently, but the price was right and I was shooting again. Gunsmith told me that they would reduce the life of the bullet, so I stopped using them.

Has anyone figured up exactly how much barrel life they are getting from using Berry's plated? I only shot about 3 boxes(1K per box), before I was able to get back to the Winchester's bulk stuff.

Scott B

If anything you should get better barrel life with plated bullets as they have a little bit more "give" than jacketed.

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The 147 Precision Deltas have been great for me. Ive shot about 20,000 of them so far and have never had any issues. Accurate, reliable in what I shoot (CZ) and priced good.

I'll be trying the Berry's for practice and local matches only. Majors I'll still be shooting Precision Delta's or Zero's, but for local and practice, the Berrys are fine. Especially at what a local reloader is going to load them for.

He already ran off a lot of 100 for a test load and they make the PF, fed reliably, did not keyhole, and were average accuracy. Now, I have some Precision black bullets that keyhole like crazy out of my SP01, but not my MP.

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I shoot them and love them. Over the last 4 or 5 years I have shot 15000 or so out of my .45 ACP open pin gun (200 gr HP going about 1100 fps) and my .38 Super open gun for USPSA and have not had a single problem. As stated above, don't over crimp them or push them too fast.

Out of my .38 Super I am making major with a little cushion using a 124 grain round nose (going about 1350 FPS) and they will group around an inch or inch and a half at 25 yards but I am sure if I had a machine rest it would be tighter.

Joe W.

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I'm wanting to try these in 9mm and am curious if anyone here has used them before and if you have, what you thought about them.

I'll be shooting these in my Production Class G34

:huh: I'm still trying to figure people out who are in constant search for that magic "Clean Burning Powder" and then push all the junk down their barrel they can by using cast bullets. :wacko:

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  • 2 weeks later...

:huh: I'm still trying to figure people out who are in constant search for that magic "Clean Burning Powder" and then push all the junk down their barrel they can by using cast bullets. :wacko:

The thought process you describe results from chronic exposure to lead vapor.

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