I have a question for those of you that shoot handguns at long range. 50 yards+. In .38/.357 I’ve been using mostly Berry’s Plated HP in 158gr at around 1000fps pushed by 2400 & HS-6 with very good accuracy. In the never ending quest for the “perfect load” I have been debating on trying SWC or RN next. Any suggestions on bullets and/or loads would be appreciated

My model 27 shoots really well with SWC's with 296.

At 100yds and beyond, I have not found any lead bullets to match JSP for accuracy in .357

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Science plus Art

I assume you'd be looking for even better accuracy? Only your gun knows whether it will shoot one configuration better than another. There is no generic "best" or they'd only sell the one.

Not only is there no predicting which of the 3 Berry's will shoot best, I'd be willing to bet it would be a different configuration if you tried a different manufacturer.

The bad news is, it can't be predicted. The good news is, it's fun trying to find out!

And if long range accuracy is your number one goal, I'd bet it will come with a lubed or coated bullet or, better yet, a jacketed bullet. Plated bullets are good for what they are; clean, relatively inexpensive, often adequately accurate in the 25-50 yd range. But I've never heard anyone claim they have a plated load (especially in a revolver) that can't be bested by another bullet at 50 yards, much less beyond.

Buy any of the less expensive 158JHP's ... Zero, Magnus, Montana Gold...load it on top of your current favorite 2400 charge and watch it blow away your Berry load.

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Carry.."hope" isn't a strategy

In the past, when I used to compete in NRA Hunters Pistol Silhouette competition out to 100 meters with an 8 3/8" Model 14, I used Speer 140 grain JHP's and 8.4 grains of Blue Dot powder. NOTE: This load came from Speer Reloading Manual #10 (Published 1979), and was listed as a MAXIMUM +P load in that manual. In Speer Manual #11, which was published in 1987, the MAX. +P load for Blue Dot for that same 140 grain JHP had been reduced to 7.1 grains!

Proceed with caution. This is given for informational purposes only, NOT as a recommendation to try to duplicate this load. As a matter of fact, I believe this load was really hard on the forcing cone of my old Model 14. It DID win me the (Texas) State Championship in A Class the final year I competed, 1988!

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Dave Brown
SWCA #3279

I bench a lot in my older years. Here is a couple of 50 yard combos from my 19-3 with open sights. I think these are from the Lee book. The first is a Hornady XTP and the next is a 200 grain copper washed lead and National Bullet co. went out of business. At 50 with a 158 rn I have better luck with 4.7 of Unique in a 38 case. Oh--AND my 19-3. It is not 8 3/8.

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You can also throw inexpensive Armscor 158gr FMJ jacketed bullets in the mix with the ones you mentioned. They group as well as any at any price out of my 357 Maximum Contender at 100 yards.

Aerodymanically, a round nose with a longer tapered shape is about as clean as can be had with the exception of long pointed spitzers that are found in rifle ammo.

One thing nice about SWCs is that they still punch a nice hole, like a full wadcutter, so I feel that they are a good compromise for paper punching at the range.

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"He was kinda funny lookin'"

I would never choose a plated bullet for accuracy loads, any distance. A jacketed bullet or well made cast will out shoot plated all day. RNFP offer pretty good accuracy out to 100 & beyond.

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NRA Cert. Inst. IDPA CSO

Have you tried those in a revolver against the more conventional 158's?

I ask because I have not been able to get adequate performance in a revolver with any of the plated bullets that have no cannelure for roll crimping. I can make plated bullets nip at the heels of jacketed in 9mm and 45ACP, but in various revolvers the 38's and 44's, whether taper crimped or roll crimped aren't in the same league as bullets with cannelures.

Bullet creep would not be an issue in a singleshot, but even a few thou on the 5th or 6th round in a cylinder is not conducive to best accuracy.

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Carry.."hope" isn't a strategy

I have yet to find the perfect load in my pistols and revolvers.

Lots of them like many different bullet weight and bullet styles, plus
they also like different powders with these bullets.

My 6" 686 likes the 125gr JHP but my snub J frame hates the 110 and 125 jacket bullets.
The snub nose loves the 158gr RN but the 6" does better with a 158gr Lswc design.

For hunting I have a few Speer 160gr left over other wise I load a JSP.
I have not tried a plated 158 at over 50 yards yet, so no help there, sorry.

I have many different loads to choose from, which is sort of a pain
but at least the family is happy when we go to the range.

Good luck.

As others have said, plated is not the best for accuracy at range. At 50 feet, I can be happy with a 2" group, but that's about all I've found plated to be capable of.

Where you go from there depends on budget. Ignore roundnose bullets--you want semiwadcutters and hollowpoints.

For starters, a good cast LSWC (I like Missouri Bullet Company, but there are plenty of others) is both more economical than plated, and quite accurate.

The next step up is a match swaged LSWC. Both Zero (Google Roze Distribution) and Magnus bullets offer excellent semiwadcutters. The price will be a few dollars more per 500 than midrange cast bullets.

Last, you've got JHP designs. Again, Zero sells a nice bullet for a bit more than $50/500. You can also take a look at Nosler and Hornady's fine bullets, as well.

Weight distribution beats aerodynamics any day of the week.

One of my earliest memories as a toddler was of my dad coming home from work, the big revolver hanging from his Sam Browne belt, the line of cartridges pressed into the belt loops that were de rigueur at the time.

Fast forward a bunch of decades and while I can smile at the long history of RN revolver cartridges, if I never dropped another into a cylinder again that'd be perfectly fine. There are much better choices.

I shot a .44 magnum in metallic silhouette (distances out to 200 meters) for a bunch of years; and did a lot of load development in conjunction with that game. The nominal improvement in ballistic coefficient that a RN might give you over, say, a SWC at handgun velocities, at those distances, isn't meaningful. What you cede, though, is terminal effectiveness on pretty much everything.

A well-done SWC load will do pretty much anything you might ever ask of a revolver. HP and flat-point designs can work very well, too... albeit, not being nearly so versatile. I'd give the RN a pass.

And, yeah, you probably want to put aside any notions of using a plated bullet when you're looking for that perfect load. A hard-cast or jacketed design is almost certainly going to prove far more satisfying.

I have been able to get pretty good accuracy with Berry’s Plated HP using a Lee Factory Crimp just over shoulder. Not loaded hot, normally 7.5gr HS-6. When I say accurate, I can consistently hit an 8” plate at 75 yds off a rest. Get same results with Hornady XTP and the Plinker TMJ. Got some Summers Coated 158gr RNFP and 130gr FP loaded but weather has prohibited any testing.
I don’t know what would be considered “good accuracy” at 75-100 yards but I would like to get a load that I could consistently hit a 6” plate off a rest of course. Offhand shooting at that range left this worn out body years ago.