Berry 45 230gr. RN for 45 Colt?

jsfricks

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I purchased these bullets for reloading 45 ACP years ago but have recently purchased a Winchester Lever gun in 45 Colt that I plan to reload for. Can I use these bullets for 45 Colt and is it safe to use round nose bullets in a tube magazine? BTW, these Berry bullets are swaged lead core, electroplated with copper.
Thanks!

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As long as you aren't trying to load any barn-burners that exceed Berry's max velocity recommendations, then you should be just fine.
If I couldn't find load data specific to that bullet, then I'd start with minimum loads for a similar weight LRN hard cast bullet and work up an accurate load from there.
In regards to your question about using the RN profile bullets in a tube mag, some sources recommend against it. You definitely don't want to use any bullets with a "pointy" profile that might possibly set off the primer of the next round in the tube mag. That being said, I can't see how the RN profile you pictured could possibly have enough of a point to impact the primer of the next round in the magazine. The profile is so blunt that it is going to impact the case head as much or more than the primer.
Igniting a primer takes a really HARD impact from a small and pointy object - like a firing pin - and the profile of the bullets you posted doesn't even come anywhere near fitting that description.
When you consider how deep of a dimple we regularly see in the primers in threads about guns with "light strike" issues, it seems extremely unlikely that a bullet with the pictured profile would pose any real danger of setting off the next round in a tube magazine.
JMO, and YMMV...
 
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I use that exact bullet over 231 for one of my 45 Colt revolver and Marlin loads. Never an issue. Since there’s no cannelure, I seat the bullet just at the beginning of the ogive.
 

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Not my first choice, but it'll work.
Take a walk on the mild side with it. Plating looks better than it works.
I have a similar situation. my go to is a cast 200 grain truncated cone with powder coating.
PC works better,and is accessible to the home gamer like most here.
the go to TC shape is no accident. in terms of terminal ballistics, that simple flat up front will take any RN to school. whether you need it or not, that performance boost is there.
200 grain is a tad lighter ... for every 7 I cast, I get one more for free over a 230. This likely means little to you .... or most others. They work well in a general purpose role.
 
Not ideal as others have said but can be made to work.
Pay close attention to crimp as the bullet has no cannelure. You do not want the bullets to move inside of the case when loading the tubular magazine or firing.
 
I'm in the "RNFP only" camp for tube-fed rifles. And I also agree that PC works better than plating, as least in my guns. I shoot 200gr bullets cast in a Lee 452-200-RF mold, over 4.0gr of Red Dot.
 
Well, as I said, this is just 250 bullets that I had laying around and won’t be the norm for reloading for my Colt 45. That will be flat point. These will be for plinking and all around “fun” shooting and worse case scenario I’ll load the round nose two at a time, load one in the chamber and one in the tube so there’s no fear of the round nose setting a primer off. That’s better than trashing them.
 
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