Plated vs jacketed

Gpruitt54 · 09-14-2012, 16:15

What are the difference between jacketed vs plated bullets. My Lee reloading manual separates plated from jacketed. So, there must be something in the distinction.

carlspeed · 09-14-2012, 16:17

Short answer, plating is a thin jacket. Bullet will go faster with same amount of powder, however it cannot handle extremely high velocities over 1300FPS.

igolfat8 · 09-14-2012, 16:51

Quote:

Originally Posted by carlspeed

Short answer, plating is a thin jacket. Bullet will go faster with same amount of powder, however it cannot handle extremely high velocities over 1300FPS.

If using the same amount of powder does the plated bullet have more recoil. If the plated bullet is .001" larger OD does it build more pressure and does that translate into a higher velocity?

Gpruitt54 · 09-14-2012, 17:07

So, for target rounds it makes no difference; plated is as good as jacketed, right? I like lower recoil in practice rounds, about 950fps.

Colorado4Wheel · 09-14-2012, 17:17

plated is fine for practice. Just be sure to not over crimp. Only remove the flare. Also, check out precision delta bullets. Jacketed at a fair price.

fredj338 · 09-14-2012, 18:07

A plated bulelt is soft lead w/ thin copper plating, very thin. So it acts more like a lead bullet than jacketed. IMO, it obturates a bit more & seals the bore better giving slightly higher vel than a jacketed w/ the same powder charge.

Gpruitt54 · 09-14-2012, 18:35

Quote:

Originally Posted by fredj338

A plated bulelt is soft lead w/ thin copper plating, very thin. So it acts more like a lead bullet than jacketed. IMO, it obturates a bit more & seals the bore better giving slightly higher vel than a jacketed w/ the same powder charge.

OK, so plated is not all bad. Some sellers of FMJ bullets give the impression that plated is substandard.

alank2 · 09-14-2012, 19:10

Hi,

I prefer real jacketed bullets and with some looking around, you can usually find them at not much more than plated.

Good luck,

Alan

PCJim · 09-14-2012, 19:14

Jacketed bullets start out as a copper cup, if you will, and their lead core is swaged into the cup. The lead core of FMJ bullets is loaded from the rear, JHP are loaded from the front. Thus the exposed lead of either profile at their "loaded from" end.

Plated bullets are made using electrolysis whereby a very thin electroplating of copper or an alloy is deposited on the cast lead base core.

Plated bullets are generally loaded with a lesser charge of powder than the equivalent weight and profile jacketed bullet. Usually, the maximum charge of a plated bullet is the mid-range charge of a similar jacketed bullet.

As always, carefully develop your ammo.

igolfat8 · 09-14-2012, 19:45

Quote:

Originally Posted by PCJim

Jacketed bullets start out as a copper cup, if you will, and their lead core is swaged into the cup. The lead core of FMJ bullets is loaded from the rear, JHP are loaded from the front. Thus the exposed lead of either profile at their "loaded from" end.

Plated bullets are made using electrolysis whereby a very thin electroplating of copper or an alloy is deposited on the cast lead base core.

Plated bullets are generally loaded with a lesser charge of powder than the equivalent weight and profile jacketed bullet. Usually, the maximum charge of a plated bullet is the mid-range charge of a similar jacketed bullet.

As always, carefully develop your ammo.

Is there an accuracy advantage with either?

fredj338 · 09-14-2012, 22:41

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gpruitt54

OK, so plated is not all bad. Some sellers of FMJ bullets give the impression that plated is substandard.

Well not substandard, but more diff to work with. Plated are very sensative to crimp, jacketed & even lead, not so much. Accuracy can be ruined by over crimping a plated bullet. When I say ruined, I mean 5"-6", or worse, groups @ 50ft. Plated often cost as much or mroe than bulk jacketed, so I don't really see the point unless you shoot like 40K rds a year, might save you $100.

PCJim · 09-15-2012, 06:51

Gpruitt,
Check out Precision Delta and Roze Distribution/Zero (jacketed sources). I think you'll find that the difference in price as compared to plated offerings is minimal.

unclebob · 09-15-2012, 07:40

Quote:

Originally Posted by fredj338

plated often cost as much or mroe than bulk jacketed, so i don't really see the point unless you shoot like 40k rds a year, might save you $100.

$1320.00

norton · 09-15-2012, 09:31

If you want to really save money, cast your own lead bullets.
I have loaded and shot lots of plated bullets. For plinking or informal target practice they are fine.

For carry ammo, I would go with jacketed.

F106 Fan · 09-15-2012, 09:58

Quote:

Originally Posted by unclebob

$1320.00

Saving $1320 on 40k of bullets would certainly be worthwhile. The savings would about $33/1000.

I can buy Precision Delta jacketed .45 230 gr FMJ for $130/1000 shipped. So, if I can get that down to $97/1000 for plated (and that's just $9 more than I pay for cast lead bullets), I'm all in!

At Berry's, I see the 230 gr bullet for about $142/1000. There's certainly no savings there.

I see the Rainer bullet at Natchez for about $144/1000 but I have to pay shipping. I didn't check very many Internet suppliers. There may be someone discounting these bullets.

Are other suppliers selling plated cheaper? If I can get them for less than $100/1000 shipped, I'll start loading them. But all I see is that plated are as much or more than jacketed.

I'm probably not looking in the right place.

Richard

unclebob · 09-15-2012, 11:27

No you are not going to find it on the internet. You need or someone you know become a bullet dealer for whatever bullet company you like. Have a business, have a fort lift or access to one, and order a couple hundred thousand bullets at a time. I also have about the same arrangement with the skeet club I belong to and also I have a friend whom is a FFL dealer. Like they say it’s who you know.
But yes if I did not have the deals I have. I probably would be buying PD bullets and still casting my bullets. Which I just might get back into since I was given an RCBS melting pot, molds, and a bunch of lead.

F106 Fan · 09-15-2012, 12:15

Quote:

Originally Posted by unclebob

No you are not going to find it on the internet. You need or someone you know become a bullet dealer for whatever bullet company you like.

There's a limit as to how much effort I will go to just to save a few bucks. I think getting involved with becoming a business or actually doing any work are pretty much out of the question.

I'll stick with PD...

Skeet always has been my favorite shooting sport. All this rifle and pistol stuff is ok, but skeet is a lot more fun!

Richard

Taterhead · 09-15-2012, 15:01

Quote:

Originally Posted by F106 Fan

Saving $1320 on 40k of bullets would certainly be worthwhile. The savings would about $33/1000.

I can buy Precision Delta jacketed .45 230 gr FMJ for $130/1000 shipped. So, if I can get that down to $97/1000 for plated (and that's just $9 more than I pay for cast lead bullets), I'm all in!

At Berry's, I see the 230 gr bullet for about $142/1000. There's certainly no savings there.

I see the Rainer bullet at Natchez for about $144/1000 but I have to pay shipping. I didn't check very many Internet suppliers. There may be someone discounting these bullets.

Are other suppliers selling plated cheaper? If I can get them for less than $100/1000 shipped, I'll start loading them. But all I see is that plated are as much or more than jacketed.

I'm probably not looking in the right place.

Richard

Powerbond is $129/1000 for a 230gr or $124/1000 for 200 gr. Includes shipping. My last order was via a very small group buy (I think about 15,000) with guys at my club. It was discounted to $104/1000 for the 230 grainers. 9mm was $76/1000. $100/1000 for 180 .40 cal.

This isn't quite getting down to your goal of $97/100, but it does give a bit of discount over the PD, for what I feel is a quality bullet. So if you have a few guys wanting to cobble together an order, Matt @ PB would probably give a deal.

Powerbond is far superior to Berry's in my opinion. Much thicker plating and very consistent weights. None of the loading fussiness needed that is required of Berry's.

Gpruitt54 · 09-15-2012, 18:58

Quote:

Originally Posted by PCJim

Gpruitt,
Check out Precision Delta and Roze Distribution/Zero (jacketed sources). I think you'll find that the difference in price as compared to plated offerings is minimal.

Great site. Best prices I've seen. Thanks for the heads-up.

PCJim · 09-15-2012, 19:05

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gpruitt54

Great site. Best prices I've seen. Thanks for the heads-up.

Roze had experienced a huge backlog some 12-18 months ago. If you want yo order from them (excellent quality bullets BTW), call to make sure they're in stock or in production.

fredj338 · 09-16-2012, 00:02

Quote:

Originally Posted by Taterhead

Powerbond is $129/1000 for a 230gr or $124/1000 for 200 gr. Includes shipping. My last order was via a very small group buy (I think about 15,000) with guys at my club. It was discounted to $104/1000 for the 230 grainers. 9mm was $76/1000. $100/1000 for 180 .40 cal.

This isn't quite getting down to your goal of $97/100, but it does give a bit of discount over the PD, for what I feel is a quality bullet. So if you have a few guys wanting to cobble together an order, Matt @ PB would probably give a deal.

Powerbond is far superior to Berry's in my opinion. Much thicker plating and very consistent weights. None of the loading fussiness needed that is required of Berry's.

Great, but most reloaders/shooters are not going to get such deals, so I stick by my statement earlier. Shoot a lot, you can save a little, about $3/K on avg depending on caliber, if that.
All shipped free if you buy enough.
PB 230gr plated = $129/K
PD 230gr FMJ = $130/K
Berry's 230gr plated = $128/K
Extrm 230gr plates = $121/K