Anyone using Berry's 185gr Hollow Base Round Nose?

[Cuz]

I was wondering if anyone is currently using Berry's 185gr Hollow Base Round Nose (HBRN) bullets? I am considering them for my 625 Revo for steel plates. They are lighter which means cheaper than other round nosed bullets. I'm wondering how accurate they are. Does the hollow base affect loading? Do they hold their shape well?

Thanks,

-Cuz.

[yoshidaex]

i got a whole bunch of them for free and loaded them up to major (170) pf. does take a bit more powder to make the pf and never really understood the whole concept behind a hollow base bullet till i did a search on the forums here.

[Joe4d]

I experimented with both the 185 45's and the 40 155's, supposedly with a high pressure loading the base expands into the rifling, not really a new idea as it's been used pretty effectively since the days of the first rifles. I had a pretty accomplished bullseye shooter doing my testing. Surprisingly it seamed the worse the barrel the better they worked, Standard 60 year old Milspec stlye old Colts and a basic Springfield loved them, A Les Baer hated them. On the 40 side and maybe relevant to you was the 155 .40's worked great in my 646, not really an issue with 45 but it was the only smooth roundnose .40 I could find for speed loading with moonclips. Like the above poster you will need to up the powder charge to get the velocity you want.

[Carlos]

Before he moved out of VA, Rudy was using those & he seemed satisfied with the accuracy.

I loaded them over Trail Boss but did not get to Major & abandoned that powder. Clays or TG would work - as would N310 or Solo 1000.

[Cuz]

Thanks for the info. I'm not worried about making any PF as I will only use them in my 625 revolver to shoot knock-down steel matches and maybe for some ICORE which has a very low 120 PF.

-Cuz.

[Joe4d]

your results might vary then, these bullets like pressure, the more the merrier, acuracy tests I did confirmed this,

[Carmoney]

Cuz, give 'em a try and see how your gun likes 'em.

I'm not a big fan personally.

I loaded a bunch of these bullets with VV N310 for my 625 and shot them at the IRC back in June. I knew that accuracy at 50 yards was so-so, and so I shot a cast 185-gr. SWC on the two longer strings of the standards instead (which is legal as long as both loads make chrono). The bigger issue is that I got weird, inconsistent ignition with the HBRN, sort of a "BANG-BANG-pop-BANG" thing. It never really created a problem, but it happened a bunch and I didn't care for it. Reloaded nice, though....

I know last year Dan was loading the Berry's HBRN to major p.f. for USPSA, but he told me this spring he's moved away from them as well, decided he didn't really like them.

[Cuz]

Cuz, give 'em a try and see how your gun likes 'em.

I'm not a big fan personally.

I loaded a bunch of these bullets with VV N310 for my 625 and shot them at the IRC back in June. I knew that accuracy at 50 yards was so-so, and so I shot a cast 185-gr. SWC on the two longer strings of the standards instead (which is legal as long as both loads make chrono). The bigger issue is that I got weird, inconsistent ignition with the HBRN, sort of a "BANG-BANG-pop-BANG" thing. It never really created a problem, but it happened a bunch and I didn't care for it. Reloaded nice, though....

I know last year Dan was loading the Berry's HBRN to major p.f. for USPSA, but he told me this spring he's moved away from them as well, decided he didn't really like them.

Thanks for the info. I've heard from others that they weren't that great at major PF velocities but were ok for ICORE and lower PF stuff like plates. I guess I'll have to buy a small quantity and experiment before I consider moving away from the 200gr round shoulder bullet shape.

-Cuz.

[8ring]

A Master level revolver shooter here in Colo. uses Berry's 185gr plated in his 625. He uses Winchester Super Target and gets very good results.

Chris