Berry's Mfg 185 Gr Hbrn Load Data

[BASTi.GWAPo]

Hi Everyone,

I just bought a 500 bullets of Berry's MFG 185 gr. HBRN (hollow base round nose) and I can't find any starting load data for this bullet.

I'm just a beginner in reloading and want to be by the book as much as possible. I'm still afraid of playing with the load from starting to max load, so i would really want an exact, proven load, or suggestions for this bullet.

I also have Winchester for my primer, Bullseye or Accurate No. 2 for my powder, and Winchester case.

Another question I wanted to ask you guys is, does OAL and crimping has anything to do with accuracy, recoil, etc?

I would really appreciate any inputs from you guys (the experts).

Thanks in advance.

Sincerely,

BASTi

[joecichlid]

BASTi.GWAPo, I have used several thousand of these bullets and they worked fine for me. I have not used that powder though, I used mostly Clays or HP-38 and didn't have any problem making major (with Clays that is).

Because of the large hollow base you will need to add a little extra powder from all I have found, no more than a few tenths of a grain though.

With Clays I am using 4.9 grains to get major out of my gun. The HP-38 makes for a fun and very light target load, 5.4 grains while running a 10 pound recoil spring and one shock buff. With the HP-38 load it feels about like a soft 9mm round.

When I use this bullet, I seat them all to 1.255 OAL.

Joe W.

[BASTi.GWAPo]

joeichild,

My many thanks to your response. I'm going to try what you've said. Since I haven't used any of Hodgdon powder yet, I will buy it and try to load tomorrow using your ingredients.

Thanks again for the info.

B'rgds,

BASTi

BASTi.GWAPo, I have used several thousand of these bullets and they worked fine for me. I have not used that powder though, I used mostly Clays or HP-38 and didn't have any problem making major (with Clays that is).

Because of the large hollow base you will need to add a little extra powder from all I have found, no more than a few tenths of a grain though.

With Clays I am using 4.9 grains to get major out of my gun. The HP-38 makes for a fun and very light target load, 5.4 grains while running a 10 pound recoil spring and one shock buff. With the HP-38 load it feels about like a soft 9mm round.

When I use this bullet, I seat them all to 1.255 OAL.

Joe W.

[joecichlid]

Cool, please post your results when you get a chance.

Joe W.

[Matt Griffin]

With the Precision 185gr, which I believe is very similar, 4.2gr of Universal was a consistent ~930fps, at 1.135 in a G35. Veeery soft.

H.

[yoshidaex]

I think the berrys bullet thats being refered to is the 45 acp HBRN though berrys does make a 155 grain HBRN for the 40 s&w. But here are some of my loads I came up with for the 185 grn 45 acp HBRN. All are 8 shot averages, 1.250 OAL:

Clays 5.4 grn 897 fps

Titegroup 5.8 grn 895 fps

IMR 700x 5.6 grn 883 fps (i picked this up in my early experimenting days )

Win 231 6.8 grn 897 fps

All I can say about the 185 is, I don't like how it recoils at major PF. All the powder burns clean at these velocities. I've got minor PF loads but there are quite a few flakes after every shot.

[Cherryriver]

I just tried these hollow-bases as well in an effort to get a zero-recoil load for the Boss.

4.5gr of WST, my favorite .45ACP powder nowadays, sent the Berry's out in the mid-to-upper 700s (I can't find the chrono notes right now). It would run about 85% with the standard spring in a well-used gun. Backing off to a ten-pounder got it running in the high 90s, for me.

The recoil was indeed gentle, pretty much the same as my other puffball load attempt with 230grainers going 560. (!)

The Boss has not yet tried this one, as it is winter here.

Bill

[mwx40x40]

I just tried these hollow-bases as well in an effort to get a zero-recoil load for the Boss.

4.5gr of WST, my favorite .45ACP powder nowadays, sent the Berry's out in the mid-to-upper 700s (I can't find the chrono notes right now). It would run about 85% with the standard spring in a well-used gun. Backing off to a ten-pounder got it running in the high 90s, for me.

The recoil was indeed gentle, pretty much the same as my other puffball load attempt with 230grainers going 560. (!)

The Boss has not yet tried this one, as it is winter here.

Bill

Not sure if it will cycle an autoloader, but 5.0 gr. of Trail Boss under the 185 HBRN Berry bullet is one serious PUFFBALL load in my 625.Accurycy was okay.

[xinnix]

I am using the same 185 grain bullet out of a Sig Sauer C3,with new Star-line brass and an OAL of 1.22 inches, Crimp .469, 4 grains of Bulls Eye powder with CCI large Pistol primers.

The bullets shoot well out to 45 feet @ 3.5 inch groups. The C3 only has a 4.2 inch barrel. I would shoot better at distance from a rest but the gun is mostly for S.D. I put a Crimson Trace Laser on it and it works real well at short distance when you will not be able to get to a full draw. Where the red dot is after shooting there is a hole in that spot. The Berry's Bullets are a great practice bullet and are fun to shoot when you tame them down to a target load. They shoot very close to what I carry Speer Gold Dot 200 grain +p for short barrels. These bullets have a lot more power but they hit within an inch of Berry's bullet at 4 to 8 feet. I give Berry's bullets a big thumbs up for practice and the price of 128 to 129 /1000 shipped is not that bad.

I am used to paying $190 for 2000 SWC BB hard cast bullets delivered for my Les Baer so paying twice the cost hurts a little. I did load some very light loads of the cast bullets for the Sig and they did not lead up the barrel. I may end up shooting lead out of the Sig when I shoot up all the Berry's?????

I cannot wait for the weather to get nice so I can shoot more outside at 50 yards for the Bulls Eye league.

Edited March 22, 2011 by xinnix

[G-ManBart]

I give Berry's bullets a big thumbs up for practice and the price of 128 to 129 /1000 shipped is not that bad.

Actually, Berry's are priced ridiculously high for a plated <gag> bullet.

Zero 185gr JHPs are $114/K when you buy a case of 2K from Shooters Connection. Montana Gold 185gr JHPs are $131/K when you buy a case (2300) direct, but the price is a bit lower from Mannyusa (have to call/e-mail). Both are WAY better bullets.