I purchase Xtreme .38 158 gr plated bullets. Prior to purchase I inquired about reloading data and was told to get a Speer reloading manual and follow it. I just got the Speer manual and it list loading data for lead and for jacketed bullets. ( BTW Speer only gives data for 110 and 125 gr standard pressure for the .38 to avoid bullets getting stuck in the barrel.) The Xtreme bullet dia. is .357. The Speer data is for .358 lead and .357 jacketed. So I am confused do I follow the data for lead even though the bullet is plated and .001 dia smaller? Those of you shooting Xtreme 158 gr .38 where did you get your loading data? I purchase Bullseye for the reloading. I will comminicate with Xtreme again but they weren't that help full with "just follow the Speer manual"-at least not for this beginner.

I believe Xtreme uses heavy plated bullets that are almost the equal of jacketed. I shot a bunch through a 9mm carbine. They are great in my book. Most plated bullets are restricted to about 1200 fps, but I was shooting somewhere around 1600 fps no problems.

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"He was kinda funny lookin'"

I have used powder weights for jacketed 158gr bullets with xtreme plated bullets with no ill effects, though you want to load them pretty hot because plated bullets can get stuck in the barrel if shot with too light of a load. Personally, I'd aim for 700-800 fps just to be safe.

I don't use Bulleye, but my Hornady 9th Ed recommends 3.9gr of BE for 700 fps for a jacketed 158 gr bullet, with a max charge of 4.5 for 800 fps (at +P pressure). So, I'd personally aim for the 4.2-4.3 gr and call it good.

bowzette, are you loading for 38 Special or 357 mag?

As to loading data to follow, I usually start with the starting load data for the jacketed bullets that match as close as possible to the bullet profile and weight I am loading with the plated bullets. Just be careful if you load up the lighter plated bullets in 357 Mag as I have run into jacket spitting with 125 grain bullets I tried pushing too hard. Little pieces of the jacket would get caught between the forcing cone, top strap and cylinder on my model 27's and would jam up the cylinder. But that has only happened to me with the 125 grain bullets when I tried pushing them too hard.

Mind putting a FPS number on "pushing them too hard"?

It's been a while, so I don't remember if I ran any across a chrono. They were the 125 grain FP that X-treme only rates for 1200 fps. Their 125 HP bullets have heavier plating and they say those are good for up to 1500 fps. If I would have to put a number on them, I would guess 1250-1300 fps. And it wasn't gun specific as they did this in both my 6 1/2" barrel 27-5 and also with my 4" barrel 627 Pro. It wasn't a big problem and would only jam up the cylinder about every 2 cylinders of ammo shot and it was easy to clear out the copper with a pocket knife.

I haven't bought any plated bullets since then. Not that I have anything against them, since my problem was pushing them harder than X-treme rates them for, but I can buy Zero jacketed bullets for essentially the same price as the plated bullets or buy coated lead from MBC or Bayou and save a significant amount over plated.

Whoever told you to get a Speer manual, to use for loading data, probably did that because Speer pretty much doesn't make jacketed bullets anymore. They essentially only use a high quality plating, electro-chemical bonding, on their handgun bullets. The Speer manual explains it at the beginning of the Handgun section.

No matter who's data you use, just adhere to the speed limits Xtreme recommends:

"Any velocities over 1200 FPS we recommend either our Heavy Plate Concave Base or Hollow Point products for superior accuracy. We do not recommend velocities over 1500 FPS (Feet Per Second) and only a light taper crimp."

Their "standard" plated bullets are limited to 1200fps.

Their heavy plated "Hollow Points (HP) and Heavy Plate Concave Base (HPCB) are designed for competive shooters shooting major loads. The thicker plating and base design have enhanced the accuracy on velocities from 1250fps to 1500fps."

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I try not to go over 1150fps with the standard plated bullets, for best accuracy. Load the plated bullets for accuracy, not speed. If you need magnum velocities you're better off with true copper jacketed bullets. Zero bullets are an inexpense alternative for such.

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Xtreme 357 bullets SWC-RNFP-TNFP (standard plated)

(-01)

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Waiting for the break of day

Loading for .38. I just wanted to load for range shooting. I can load them hotter than I planned to if that is more prudent.

I bought the standard plated bullets and intend to keep the velocity under 1200 fps.

From my 686-6 4" I get an accurate target load with:

3.4 gr BE Xtreme 158 FP 1.455 COL results in 652 fps avg

Will

Looking at the Alliant online loading data, they show a max load of Bullseye at 3.5 grains for a 158 grain swaged lead semi wadcutter bullet. That data fits right in with what Will2 just posted with the X-treme bullets he is loading. And my 9th edition Hornady manual give a max regular load of 4.2 grains for their 158 grain XTP jacketed bullet and their data for a LSWC bullet are very close to what Alliant is showing.

It sounds like a good starting point at least (3.0-3.5 grains or so). Load up 50 or so and try them out, then adjust from there.

Can't help you with bullseye but a favorite load of mine with Xtreme 158gr SWC is 8.0gr of HS-6. No chrono, but I'm pretty sure this is in the 1100fps range. Very accurate out of my 4" 686 or 627.
Same bullet, 38 spl. case and 3.5gr of W231 makes a great practice load for my wife and her LCR.

Thanks all for the comments

That sounds like a hot load! Hodgdon's recommended max .38 +P load is 6.6 gr of HS-6 under a 158 gr jacketed bullet.

Don't get me wrong - I know .38 has been watered down a whole lot, and 158gr/1100 fps used to be a somewhat common load. But I just want to point out that a load that hot needs to be worked up.

Xtreme "Plated Bullets" are a great bullet for target and medium speed loads.
They do have plated bullets for higher fps but most of us do not need these
since we are mostly "Paper Killers".

Lead and Jacket data will work...........
you just need to know that too slow and too fast is not a good thing with this 1200fps rated bullet.

Just try to match the Factory speeds and you will be fine.

My starting point in 9mm was always square in the middle of jacketed data for an equivalent-weight bullet. I believe the only time I ever got unreliable ammunition that way was with Accurate #5.

Accurate is a different story. There's a vast gap between great loads and bad ones, although no plated bullet is in danger of finding itself on the 50-yard line at Nationals.

I have four .357 revolvers in which I shoot .38. Speer strongly advises against reloading a jacketed .38 standard pressure with bullets heavier than 125 gr. Speer provides loading data for .38+P 158 gr lead bullet with starting load for BE at 3.5 (the max for standard pressure) up to 3.9 the max. Speer listing for velocity is 814 fps at 3.5 gr and 874 fps at 3.9. I don't need to shoot "hot" .38 at the range killing paper but for safe reloading purposes it looks like I have a range of 3 or 3.1 minimum charge up to 3.9 and not have a pressure issue or jacket separation issue. It seems to me to be sure the beginning minimum charge is sufficient to get the bullet out of the barrel. I have a 2", 3" and 5.5" barrels. I assume a beginning load of 3.1 is safe for minimum purpose-getting the bullet out of the barrel. I am not going to develop the most accurate round for each gun but one that works well for all of them. I assume I will end up 3.3-3.5 as my "general purpose" kill that evil paper" range round. Do I appear to be on the right track?

I'd guess that 3.1 will get the bullet out of the barrel. Don't be too surprised if the loads are real sooty. Worst case scenario assuming your paying attention is that you'll have to pound the bullet out of the barrel.

Hornady lists the lowest recommended charge for a jacketed 158gr bullet as 3.4 gr of BE, and that's at 600fps.

If you want to do it right, load up 2 bullets at 3.4gr, 2 at 3.6gr, 2 at 3.8 gr, 2 at 4.0gr, and 2 at 4.2 gr. Be sure to label them carefully, then after you shoot them, examine them for evidence of excessive pressure like flattened or pierced primers, or whether the shells are hard to extract from the chambers. Then choose the load that works for you and your gun.

I definitely would not load lighter than 3.4gr no matter what the Speer manual says. I agree the goal is not to shoot hot rounds, the goal is to prevent a bullet from getting stuck in your barrel.

Yep-thanks

Plated bullets have invariably chrono'd slower than jacketed using the same powder charge & weight bullet.

The 3.1gr/BE you refer to as safe is for a lead bullet, the fastest type bullet, all other things being equal.

I wouldn't start below 3.4gr/BE either. Better to start a little higher & come down slowly when you're at the extreme end of the range.

You're not going to get plating separation at low speeds with plated bullets. The old 1/2 jacketed cup & core bullets would though, which is why they stopped making them.

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Waiting for the break of day

Just to pile on to the great advice already given in this thread. I've loaded thousands upon thousands of xtreme plated bullets in 9mm, .38 special, and 45 ACP.

I can confirm that you want to start with mid-range jacket data if you want to get close to a reliable loading. What I've found with plated bullets in 38 special is that most loads are very position sensitive due to all of the air space in the case. When using an economical powder like Bullseye, you may find that with the low end "starter" loads you will get very close to sticking a bullet if you happen to have all of the powder down at the end of the case away from the primer during ignition. Using mid-range jacketed data as a starting point largely eliminates this risk and makes the whole process more enjoyable.

Also, this is just what I have found for me, so take this with a grain of salt. But when it comes to 38 special, I've switched back to mid-range to even mid-slow pistol powders. In my case, using 125grn Xtreme Plated FP bullets, I just could not get reliable and consistent velocities using tiny amounts of economical powders. I've switched to using Autocomp, CFE Pistol, BE86, and HP38 in 38 special loads. I won't use anything faster than HP38. This gets me slightly heavier powder charges and more case fill, and as a result I'm getting much more consistent shot-to-shot velocity and I'm not worried about a shot being "too slow" and getting stuck.

Just a heads up on how slow a Jacket bullet can go.
Lyman with a 158 JHP and its fast powder starting load was at...........
648fps.

My lowest 158gr out of my 6" barrel was at 751fps, that was equal to the 1867 158gr lead RN loading.
No need for me to load any lower with a copper coated bullet.

Safe loading.

My mistake for not mentioning that's with a 357 mag case. 8.0 gr's is a starting load with a Hornady XTP bullet.

Great comments. Thanks

Simplify your life.

Just load their plated bullets (or others) to Mid level jacketed data. In a 38 you can even go max if you desire,

There is little to no difference in plated vs FMJ at those velocities.

People make it more confusing than it needs to be, You are not gonna crack the bullet or have it disintegrate in flight, they are tougher than most believe,Especially in the 38 special.

I have some RMR plated that I torture tests, Over Crimped them, smashed with a hammer, squeezed in a vise and loaded in 357 near max, No issues at all.

That said I have not used Extreme bullets but have used others.

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Still Running Against the Wind

Holy Crimp, Batman! That's a really good visual indicator of just how much abuse these things can take. I've always used a firm crimp on my plated bullets and not had issues but, you've just re-confirmed my suspicion that these little pills are actually quite durable. Great photos.

Finally heard back from X-treme. They recommend a start load of 3.5 and a max load of 4 for BE for standard .38 which is about what was recommend by several folks here-thanks