Berry's bullets

[wlc]

I have been shooting some .44 magnum ammo which was loaded by Georgia Arms. They are sold as 240 gr fmj at 1000 fps. I was told they are Berry's plated bullets. About half of the holes in the target appear to have been made by a bullet with petals sticking out, some have only one petal, some more. occasionally one hits sideways. Is the jacket or plating peeling back when they are fired? These have been fired from a 29 and a 629, it happens with both of them. They both shoot well with lead .44 specials and jacketed magnums. Thanks

 

[Skip Sackett]

I have no clue! I have shot literally thousands of their 45ACP 230gr RN along with their 40S&W 180gr TC and pushing close to those velocities and have never had that happen before.

One thing that may be causing it is the crimp. Can you take a picture of the rounds? Is there a real heavy roll crimp? If so, it may be damaging the plating and that is what you are seeing.

Same with Ranier. Never have had a problem with any of their bullets either.

Wish I could help more.

A picture of the actual rounds may help.

 

[wlc]

I'll try to post a picture. I should have saved one of the targets for a picture of the holes also. Thanks

 

[H Richard]

Sounds like he crimp cut through the plating and it seperated.

 

[wlc]

I wasn't able to get any good pictures of the crimp. Don't know if you can see anything from these or not. Thanks for looking

 

[steamloco76]

I've loaded and shot a few thousand rounds of Berry's plated bullets in .38/357, 44 and 45 ACP loads. From what I can see in your photos, I'd have to agree with H richard that the roll crimp cut through the plating. I've taken to chamfering the case mouths and not expanding the cases when using plated bullets. I can therefore use less crimp on the revolver rounds because the case tension is great enough to help hold the bullets.

Another option is seating without a crimp, then using the nifty Lee Factory Crimp die to crimp. I have them for all my pistol and revolver calibers and us them whenever I need a really solid crimp on revolver loads and exclusively on .45ACP pistol loads.

BTW- Berry's has 230 grain plated .45 ACP bullets and 125 grain plated 9MM bullets on sale right now for about $18 per 1,000 less than usual. Just ordered some 230's.

 

[Skip Sackett]

I'm saying that there is too much of the wrong kind of crimp. That looks like a roll crimp, something even Berry's will tell you not to use, taper only, and it is really excessive for that type of load. 1000fps from a 44Mag is nothing, well, unless you are shooting it from a 1 7/8" barrel!

Do you have a bullet puller? I would like to see what one of them looks like removed from the case.

At any rate, I'm sticking with my first comment. Too much crimp and with the pictures, I'll add, the wrong kind!

(Hopefully they were cheap! )

 

[dirty gary]

I've shot/reloaded Berrys plated for years, and they will petal from a roll crimp. Taper crimp is fine for target loads like those. If you shoot hotter loads, I'd consider a jacketed bullet essential. Berrys makes some plated rifle bullets for 30-30 and 45-70 that work well for reasonable priced target loads.

 

[fredj338]

Sounds like he crimp cut through the plating and it seperated.

^^THIS^^ Berry's bullets have no crimp groove & roll crimping breaks the thin plating. The plating is tripping as it leaves the bbl. You'll likely find pieces of it sticking in the target backing if you shoot inside 21ft. GA makes good ammo, but that is the wrong bullet for the way it's loaded.

 

[wlc]

Thanks for the information. I shoot trap and my garage is full of shotshell reloading stuff. I don't shoot much handgun ammo and was hoping the mild Georgia ammo would be an option to trying to find enough space to set up more reloading equipment. It was worth a try.
I don't have a bullet puller, it would be interesting to see what the loaded bullets look like.