I recently came into a couple of boxes of plated bullets. I have never used them before and none of my manuals give anything on them. Do you trat them as lead or jacketed when reloading with them. They are 40 and 38 cal.
Rainier says use lead cast data for their plated bullets.I believe that applies pretty much to most all the plated bullets,as they're a cast lead bullet with a thin plate of copper.Just helps with the lead fouling and negates the need for lubing the bullet,doesn't increase the hardness of the bullet enough to matter.
I find that I need a couple tenths more powder to match my lead rounds. In my .40 I use Universal 5.0grs with lead and 5.2grs with plated, both run right at 950fps.
I use Berrys Mfg. 9mm and .40 S&W plated bullets in my Hi-Power and Sig226 for the 9mm and Sig 229 and Springfield XD for the .40's. My loads are up near the top but I have never had any problem with them stripping of the jacket at all and they are very accurate. My understanding is that the plating on the Berrys bullets is thicker than the Rainers. Hope this helps!
Jim C.
