Is max load for coated bullets same as for jacketed bullets? I cannot find load data for coated lead bullets so I figured someone here would know. Assuming .001" oversized for lead. Would this be true for both revolver and rifle?

You probably won't find much published data for coated bullets. There are only a couple of big manufacturers selling ammo with coated bullets or even the bullets alone.

The general rule seems to be start with lead loading data and work your way up. Preferably with the use of a chronograph to check your results.

Coated bullets are usually around .001" or so larger than their original nominal diameter. Of course that varies with the coating and the method that was used to apply it.

No.
For coated, use lead data.
For plated. use mid to upper end lead data.
For jacketed, use jacketed data.
As always, watch OAL and start 10% below max and watch for pressure signs in the primer.

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Dave

One reason I asked this is that I started at max load for lead then went up in small steps to max load for jacketed. 357 mag, CCI 500 primer, Titegroup powder, 125 grn coated bullet. None of the loads showed any signs of overpressure. Primers were all fine and no case buldges. And, no leading at all. Accuracy seemed to be a little better at the higher velocities.

Did you chrono any of the loads?

Personally I wouldn't rely solely on the appearance of the cases and primers to ensure I wasn't going over recommended pressures.

I've read too many posts by experienced reloaders where they said that the brass & primers looked fine but the velocities were WAY high - which pretty much equates to an excess of powder - which means over-pressure.

Not saying that you shouldn't look for flattened primers and/or sticky extraction - because if you see them that's a good indication that you're almost certainly over pressure. But you can also be over pressure and NOT see either of those indicators...

Coated bullets are loaded with the same data as cast lead.
The coating is just another form of lubrication that prevents leading. It does not make the bullet any harder . They are not necessarily loaded any faster. Treat them as conventional cast lead and lubricated bullets .
Some claim they can be loaded to a higher velocity without leading, and that might be true , but you still use the load data for cast bullets to get there . Jacketed and plated bullets do offer a harder jacket / skin so the data changes for them .
Gary

I've been playing around with a Chronie for coated (Bayou) and plated (Berry's) bullets; found that plated bullets have more friction losses than coated. Approximate average velocities for 9 mm w/ 5.2 grs AA5 from a Springfield 1911-A1:

124 TCG (Bayou) @ ~980 fps
124 HBFP (Berry's) @ ~ 920 fps

It took 5.5 gr AA5 to get up to ~980 fps with 125 RN-Plated (Berry's).

Good advice to stick with cast lead data for coated bullets IMO. -S2

Beware of Titegroup in upper end loadings in magnum handgun cartridges.

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Where we go one, we go all

The plating on bullet varies per the company that makes them.

I believe that coated bullets are made in two different ways also
which would also effect what their maximum fps would be.

Lots of variables to make a difference in the fps.

The coefficient of friction between copper plating or jackets and the barrel is greater than polymer coatings and the barrel. Consequently, you get more velocity with less powder with the coated or plain lubed bullets.

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"He was kinda funny lookin'"

I found this to be very true. One fine day I went to the range with some JHP, plated and coated bullets that were all loaded with the same load of powder and using the same primers. And I tried them in a model 27, a Coonan Classic and a Rossi 92 SRC. In all instances, I found the coated bullets to give the highest velocity, with the JHP coming in second and the plated trailing by just a little bit.

Never start at the top load listed. Always start 30% below Max and work up.
Use lead load data and you won't have any trouble.

>Never start at the top load listed. Always start 30% below Max

Start 10-12% below the max charge weight.
I wouldn't start at the max charge for lead even if I was shooting jacketed.
Next, the manual is ONLY a guideline. With different lots of powder, different bullets, different cases and primers, different COL, and even different GUNS, the MAX load changes. This is why no two manuals completely agree--too many variables.
You don't know how your variables compare to ANY manual, so you should check a couple and start at the lowest starting load.
The whole CoF is nice (if you know the CoF at pressure and velocity), but lead can also reach MAX pressures at lower charge weights, no matter what the velocity is, so . Velocity is not pressure. They are separate animals, with plated usually being more like cast lead (except for the thick plated bullets). The std. plating was so thin, it was little more than a "coating" in its own right.
So, Mikeinkaty started "his" coated lead work-up at some manual's MAX charge for lead and worked UP from there.
Thank God guns are made strong.

I've shot coated bullets at 1900+ FPS from my M1 Carbine with no issues whatsoever.

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-jwk-
US Army '72-'95

I have a question about the statement that on "some" plated bullets "the plating is more like a coating". I've seen that statement in several threads.

What brands of plated bullets have such a thin coating of copper? I've used Berry's and Xtreme in several calibers and have pulled and damaged and examined a few of them. None of them had copper layers so thin that they could be accurately described as a copper "coating". None of them even cracked - even the ones with a very pronounced roll crimp.

The only bullets I have seen that fit that description are not sold as copper plated, but rather they are sold as copper-washed, and they were all factory ammunition in .22 or .17 calibers.

So who plates their bullets with such a thin layer of copper? I ask because I want to be sure and avoid those brands.

Myself, I load coated bullets for 2 reasons---they are about half the price of jacketed, and they are cleaner on both the barrel and handling. So while I am loading on the "cheap", why would I want to raise the powder level which in turn raises the price per round. I figure coated bullets are for plinking/casual practice, so I want them as cheap as I can make them. If/when I want full house stuff to practice with, I use the real thing---jacketed not plated/coated.

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"Tastes just like chicken"

Muddoktor;

I never checked fps with plated and coated 9mm 125gr.

I just looked it up and you are correct.
The coated bullet does kick out a higher fps than the plated
bullet with the several powders that I used.

Very interesting.

I've launched Bayou .44 240's and .357 158's at full tilt over 110, 4227 and No 9 with outstanding results. Several people here have sent them down range in rifle at twice the speed of sound. I would say feel free to try them at jacked velocities. You will probably like the results.

There were nickel "washed" bullets (a really light plating) and some with plating 0.003" or less. As the plating thickness goes up, the cost approaches, and sometimes exceeds, jacketed bullets from Precision Delta and Zero. After all, many plated bullets are using as much copper as jacketed bullets and the bullets have to be swaged ("struck") twice.

Here is an article that compared the different types of bullet construction vs. velocity.

(The original url for it doesn't work anymore.)

.

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Waiting for the break of day

Thank you for that information.

Years ago, got to be 10+, I bought some 158 gr plated SWC and they looked just like LSWC, including being lubed, but they were copper washed like 22s. I don't recall how they were be advertised/marketed but I loaded and shot them just like lead.

These are the only ones I've seen that fit into that catagory.

Thanks for the reply. I wonder if there are any bullet manufacturers still doing this. It is starting to sound like this is something from the past - not really applicable to true plated bullets that you can buy these days. I just don't want to buy some from some company and then find that they really aren't true plated bullets, but that they are actually copper-washed (which sounds like what has actually been described).

BLUEDOT37 - Thanks for the informative article. I found it interesting that the Bayou Bullets Hi-Tek coated bullets clocked a tad lower than cast. I would have expected - from reading the Internet, not using a chronograph - the opposite. This proves that conjecture does not equal thorough testing as the article's conclusions found. I just wish they would have included my personal choice of Missouri Bullet Co. coated lead.

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Some collect art; I shoot it!

I've noticed that with Missouri Bullets Hi Tek bullets I've had to lower my powder charges.
Now I know where that "extra" velocity is coming from.

I've got a box of 357 158's (JHP HDY XTP) with 16 grains of H110 loaded up, waiting for the range. The Hodgdon max for that load is 16.7 grains which they say produces 1757 fps. I got some 180 grn coated lead from MBC on order. Both these for my Henry Big Boy.

I'm experimenting with some 125 grn coated in a 357 bolt carbine right now. I'm working up to max loads for jacketed. 1125 x (2) sounds intriguing. I'm almost there and accuracy results have been encouraging. I expect higher velocity with coated using jacketed load data. I wouldn't try this using a revolver and will never shoot those hot loads in one. I shoot nothing but 38 spl in my model 19 revolvers.

I also have some coated SWC 158's but they don't feed in my carbine at all. If I get really bored this winter I may run some of those up to max and see what happens.

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That's just somebody talkin.

Of the coated loads that I folded into my well used/tested lubed lead recipes since Hi-Tek coating became more available commercially...some were modestly faster...some were about the same fps...some a tiny bit slower.
This was with comparable properly sized (just over bore size) & weight bullets in nearly identical/similar/same design (although these days I prefer no lube groove designs) styles.
Same barrels, same sized bullets, same OAL, same charge, same crimp settings, etc.
I honestly did not see enough of a clear real world difference between lubed lead and specifically Hi-Tek coated in actual fps to generalize that one is always faster than another. Too many variables.

I know I will use up my existing lubed lead and restock with coated.

Yeah, FWIW, I have been impressed enough with what I've been reading about powder coated bullets that I have been gathering the materials to powder coat some myself. From everything I'm reading on the castboolits<dot>com site it is a really easy process that only requires a few common items.

Here's the equipment & supplies list:

Toaster oven (capable of 375-400 degrees F)
Non stick aluminum foil (to keep the coated bullets from sticking)
Plastic bowl with lid (marked #5 plastic)
Small container of 25gr black plastic Crossman brand airsoft pellets
Tweezers or long- nosed hemostats
Powder coating powder

The instructions for applying the powder coating are:

Pour enough airsoft BBs into the bowl for them to be 3 layers deep
Add a teaspoon of powder coat
Place a handful of bullets into the bowl and snap on lid
Agitate bowl (swirl and/or shake) for ~1 minute
Pick powder-covered bullets out of bowl with tweezers
Place bullets standing up on baking sheet covered with non-stick foil
Preheat toaster oven to ~385 degrees F (+/- 10 degrees)
Bake for 1-15 minutes until powder melts and flows to give an even coating
Remove baking sheet from oven or turn off oven and allow to cool

That's pretty much it. People seem to be able to do a batch of 30-50 in under an hour - with the batch size being dependent on how big your oven & baking sheet are (how many you can fit on the sheet).

I have often wondered the same thing as the OP. I just visit the website of the maker of the bullet in question to see what they say. Here are my findings.

Normal lead slugs with no gas checks the makers usually recommend a max of about 1,000 fps.

Gas checked range ammo usually have a recommendation of 1,200 fps.

Premium gas checked rounds such as Cast Performance often have a much higher certification. Hodgdon online reloading website and manuals have these loaded up just as or hotter than jacketed slugs. Just look over the 44 mag, 45 Colt +P, or 460/500 S&W loads from hodgdon for reference.

Also same thing for plated rounds. Berries and Rainer typically rate their slugs for 1,200 fps. However that can vary by caliber. The 350gr 50 cal slug intended for the 500 S&W is made extra tough of course and is rated up to 2,000 fps!

As for powder coated bullets just check with the make to see what speed they rate them for.

Good luck!

30% would like produce squibs in some loads, waaaay to conservative. 10% is fine.

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NRA Cert. Inst. IDPA CSO

If the bullet is sized right, there is no real magic fp you can drive it, but softer alloy bullets will start failing around 1250fps.

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NRA Cert. Inst. IDPA CSO