X-Treme Plated Bullets In .38 Spl

I'm going to order some X-Treme bullets to load in Special cases and shoot them in my 686 .
Which weight for best accuracy, 125grn. or 158 grn. ?

I use X-Treme bullets for .38 and have excellent results with the 158 Gr. bullets. Neal39

Neal39 said:

I use X-Treme bullets for .38 and have excellent results with the 158 Gr. bullets. Neal39

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What load ?

I use 4.8 Gr. of Unique for my S&W Model 28 with six inch barrel. A comfortable load to shoot and definitely not a "magnum" load.
Neal39

I have been using the 125 gr plated FP over 7.2 gr A#5.
Groups nicely from my M67-1 off of a rest. Also, my new M640 Pro.
I also want to try X-treme plated WC's.
In the past, I have gotten nice results from Rainier WC's out of a 6" M686.
Accurate has listed some 38 cal plated loads on their web site.


Best,
Rick

The 125 is great for X-Lite target loads with minimum recoil
and the 158 is, a 158 which should shoot well from 700 to 850 fps depending on your gun and load.

They work well in a 686 6" but the 125 is the best in a light J frame snub nose for all day practice..... and in a 686 it is a "Powder puff" that you can't shoot fast enough.

Have fun.

I'm a big fan of the 158gr bullet in the .38 Special. I like to stick with the bullet weight used to develop the round.

I think you will really like that 158gr plated bullet over 4.0gr W231/HP-38 in a .38 Special case. Of course use a standard primer like CCI-500 or Win. WSP primers.

Whenever I take a trip down to the Carson City area, I stop in and buy direct. They're a great group of folks with a clean, well run plant.

I've been using 125 grain plated Raniers with either 5.6 grains of Unique or 6.7 grains of Vita Vouri 3N37. Accuracy with either load is excellent at 50 feet and if I cheat a bit and wear reading glasses cloverleafs are rather predictable with my model 67.

BTW, it happens that I received an order for 1500 125 grain bullets from Extreme last Thursday so I've been doing some measuring in preparation for loading with the Extreme bullets.

Now for the results comparing the Extreme 125 grain plated to the 125 grain plated Raniers.

First, the Ranier bullet is a Round Nose Flat Point and the Extreme is a Tapered Flat Point. As a result of the different profile the Extreme bullet is longer than the Ranier. The Extreme bullet is 0.531 inch long with a flat base. The Ranier is 0.517 inch long with a depressed base 0.010 inch deep. So, I would but the effective overall length for the Ranier at 0.510 inch because of that depression in the base. Keep this difference in length in mind if you are using data for the Ranier bullet to determine how to load the Extreme bullet, basically add 0.021 inch to the data you might find for the Ranier bullet.

Now for diameters, as measured using 4 1/2 place digital micrometer with a ratchet spindle. The Ranier bullet measures 0.35785 and the Extreme bullet measures at 0.35780. I'm going to call that a wash and say the diameters are identical. The bearing length of both bullets are also a visual match but an optical comparator might reveal a minor difference.

In conclusion I expect the Extreme bullets will produce velocities, accuracy, and pressures that are a match for the Ranier once you add 0.021 inch to the overall length for the Extreme bullets.

PS; I chose the 125 grain bullets for two reasons. One is they cost less and I tend to be a bit frugal when it's possible. The second is the weight of a bulk order because I'm the one who gets to carry them to the car, into the house, and down the basement stairs. BTW, I work for a company populated and owned by shooters so all my reloading supplies get delivered to work.

Which is more accurate? No one can tell you this, only your gun will. I always prefer "Standard weight for caliber" bullets in any handgun. For .38 Spl. /.357 Magnum this is 158 gr. It is also the weight the sights are designed for. Go too light or too heavvy and you will need to change the rear sight slide to get the sights to be able to be adjusted proper

I just finished loading up and firing most of 1500 X-treme plated flat nose .38 158s over the past week. Nearly all with 4.2gr of HP-38.

Through a 4" M-66 I thought it was fabulous. Felt like no recoil at all. Accurate to where I pointed it anywhere under 100 yds. At 100, the impact was just about exactly 4 inches lower than aim point.

Same bullet and load through a Chief's Special 1 7/8" snub did almost exactly the same thing but the 4" bullet drop started earlier, at about 25 yds.

In the snub, the accuracy seemed more influenced by the "gun tilt" method of getting the powder toward the rear of the cartridge. In the 4" gun, it didn't seem to matter much.

This is essentially the same drop distance and amount I see with nearly any 158 ammo I shoot until you get to some +P or other significantly faster rounds.

I really like those plated bullets. Mine are the flat points that look like a round nose with it's tip chopped off, not the kind that look sort of like a SWC.

I cut one in half lengthwise. That plating is, of course, REALLY thin. I can't even get a very good picture of it. But it's plating, of course, not a jacket. Don't roll crimp it too hard.


Sgt Lumpy

Not using X-Treme but using FMP plated 158gr FP over 4.0gr of W231. Excellent target load that I use for indoor ranges.

And the reason for using a plated or hard cast bullet is?

Bart45 said:

And the reason for using a plated bullet is?

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The reasons are multiple.

First there is cost. Extreme's 125 grain flat points run about 8 cents each currently if you factor in their 15% discount. Total shipped cost for 1500 was 117 dollars. Compare that to FMJ and it's about a 12 cent per bullet savings. Even without a discount you can find 125 grain plated for about 9 cents per bullet.

Second is cleanliness. First, compared to lead they are a LOT cleaner shooting. One local range is considering banning any ammo loaded with lead because the smoke generated by the lube clogs up their HEPA filters a lot more quickly. They haven't done it yet but anyone shooting lead hears about the 10K per month filter costs and is strongly urged to change to plated bullets. Second, if you are loading lead you really should be wearing latex gloves to prevent absorbtion through the skin. You should also be wearing a respirator when shooting. Because treatment for lead poisoning isn't at all inexpensive and it's also not totally effective. Finally, at handgun velocities copper jacketed bullets just don't foul barrels. The ONLY time I had a badly fouled barrel it was due to the use of some Blazer LRN 38 spl..

Finally, about all those concerns about damaging the plating or "overspeeding" plated bullets. I've run 165 grain 40 caliber bullets from RMR at 1100 fps with no issues at all. BTW, this is a practice load for my carry choice of Speer's 1150 FPS rated 40 caliber Gold Dots. I've also run a lot of Rainier 125 grain flat points in 38 spl. at 1050 fps and never had any issues with leading. IMO if you don't get stupid with Magnum loads you really don't have to be concerned about "overspeeding" the bullets.

I also pull a bullet anytime I'm using a new to me brand and have yet to see one single bullet with the plating damaged by my crimps, either taper or roll. Bullets from HSM, RMR, Berry's, Rainier, and now Extreme are well plated with a coating that is capable of withstanding a rather decent crimp. BTW, my "moderate" roll crimp is visually a match for that seen on American Eagle SJSP 357 Magnum ammo. Some may call this a Heavy crimp but since the plating is intact under 20X magnification I don't see any need to change my crimp. I'll also point out that in many many thousands of rounds fired I haven't had one single instance of a fouled barrel when shooting plated bullets.

Finally, I'm just too old to stand in an unheated garage casting bullets. Even though I live in Michigan and did a lot of snow skiing when I was younger I have come to really HATE being cold.

scooter123 said:

Finally, I'm just too old to stand in an unheated garage casting bullets. Even though I live in Michigan and did a lot of snow skiing when I was younger I have come to really HATE being cold.

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Then use a low table and sit while you cast. Do it in the Fall or Spring when it isn't too hot or cold.

You are absolutely correct about plated bullets not being subject to stripping jackets from "over crimping" or "over speeding". The pure Copper plate is extremely ductile and is bonded at the molecular level with the lead core, it will not "strip", no matter what even the manufacturers seem to want to claim. I have never found a fired, plated bullet that has even struck a rock that shows the slightest indication of separation! While I predominantly shoot cast bullets I have shot plated ones with full charges in .357 Magnum, 15.3 gr/2400, with no accuracy issues.

NevadaBob said:

Whenever I take a trip down to the Carson City area, I stop in and buy direct. They're a great group of folks with a clean, well run plant.

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Got to agree. I've been buying there since 1993.

I usually crimp my plated bullets with a Lee FCD, using 1/2 turn to place the crimp.
I wanted to check to see if I was damaging the plating, so I made a 158 gr dummy round using a full turn of the FCD. The crimp looked full.
I used a puller and checked for damage. The grove that was crimped into the bullet was very distinct, and there was no damage to the plating. I will stick with my 1/2 turn for loading plated, it seems to work well.

Best,
Rick

At matches when I'm taping the targets next to the trap (chopped up tires) I see bullets lying on the floor quite frequently. They obviously bounced back from the rubber. I've picked up a few and the rifling is very distinct and sometimes there is sort of a dent on the front but none of the plating has separated. I have to admit there was a passing thought about what would happen if I loaded these again, but it was just passing.

I shoot the 158s. They work really well in my 4" 686.

Not much .38/.357 under my bench that isn't 158gr plated or plain lead. When I was starting out I searched a bazillion threads & the serious target shooters almost always use either 148gr or 158gr pills.

As for the plating, I've run the X-Treme 158gr SWC at Magnum velocities with no problems. I believe one of the popular SD bullets is a "bonded" jacket. Isn't that the same thing?