I have been searching for 44 magnum ammunition, I might as well search for a lemonade stand in Death Valley. I did find a place that has electroplated ammunition no FMJ. Has anyone ever used electroplated ammunition.

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U.S. Coast Guard, retired CPO

I assume you mean copper plated? If yes, then yes. Copper plated bullets are very common in reloading. I've only seen it used with soft lead, and the velocity ratings usually top out at 1250ish fps. I personally have shot tens of thousands of them through my .357's and .44's. They make very economic and accurate range loads when driven within velocity limits.

The jackets on plated bullets are not as thick as conventional jacketed ammo . Usually they are used by reloaders with a velocity restriction .
At this point and time if you need / want ammo and you can get ammo with plated bullets ... jump on the deal .
"Beggars can't afford to be choosers" was an old saying that still rings true .
Gary

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Certified Cajun
NRA Member

Which part is plated?
The bullet or the cartridge case? Or both?

The bullet, look at Xtream Bullets.

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Made it, Ma! Top of the world!

Berry`s bullets are ok, again, under 1250fps limit.
Just got some .357 125`s from Midway.
Check it out, you might get lucky.
Jim

Plated bullets are fine for medium velocities and so-so accuracy beyond 20 yards. In revolvers where crimp is important over crimping may cause the plating to separate and makes for interesting groups!

Smiles,

Plated isn't the same as electroplated, as far as I know.

Speer Gold Dot is electroplated. Electroplating creates a
molecular bond between the plating and lead core, unlike
standard plating, which is basically just a thin jacket.

Gold Dot

The guy might be making reloads with Gold Dot bullets.

I just looked up the specs for Berry's 300 gr .50 bullets (plated), they are good up to 2000 fps. The 30 rounds I put together for the next Beowulf test should be about 1900 fps according to load data (I expect to find out Friday).

Since you mention self defense (and not woods walking) I load XTreme 240 plated round nose at about 850 FPS for my 629. That approximates the old .45 Colt and would be highly effective in that venue. Berry’s has that weight in flat nose and (Inthink) hollow point. Your choice.

I've used Berry's plated for years, but I don't shoot anything but moderate loads at fairly short ranges, at paper targets. I don't know if they're what you're talking about or not, but they preform was well as anything else I ever used for the same purpose.

They're a little more expensive than buying cast lead, but the indoor range where I shoot won't allow plain lead anymore. At first I didn't think I'd like them, but it didn't take long to figure out they're a lot cleaner than plain lead. I probably wouldn't change back if I could.

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John 3:16 .

Good question.

Scratching my head on this one...OP mentioned "ammunition", and I've assumed that he is referring to boxed ammunition because neither bullets nor reloading are mentioned in the original post.. but the subject has changed to bullets for reloading. Maybe he'll check back in soon.

I’ve shot many thousands of Berry’s and before that Rainier plated bullets in several calibers and styles. I’ve had non issues of any sort and find them to be quite accurate. I’ve found the 124 and 115 grain hollow base round nose to be quite accurate in 9mm.

I load and shoot several calibers and weights of Berry's bullets including 9mm 124 grain that are loaded to +p or +p+ for my 16" ar carbine, they are excellent and group nicely out to 50 and 75 meters. which I think are the optimal distances for any 9mm . if they can do the job at these loadings and distances I am very happy, so I give Berry's an A+.

Most of the earlier plated bullets called for 1250 fps or less, but .....

doing test in my 5" 9mm pistol I got the little 115 gr ball, up to 1350 fps...... (4/2017 )

and there were no copper plating fragment holes in the target, however
my test did show that they did better with NATO speeds or less, for best accuracy.

Today they have double coated or bullets designed for higher fps
for higher fps, if needed.