I used Long Shot 8.9gr with 180 gr Berry plated FN, 1.260". Very accurate out of my G29 with an extended barrel. That will be my plinker/range load.

Pretty much settling on LongShot and 800x.

Cheers.

 

Thanks. That's good to know, though I don't currently have any Longshot.

 

Between 10.2 and 10.4 grains of Blue Dot should provide a great target load.

 

Between 10.2 and 10.4 grains of Blue Dot should provide a great target load.

Hmmm, that's a pretty fair SWAG.
My Lyman manual shows 10.3 grains of Blue Dot as the maximium load for a 180 grain JHP. I might want to step it down a little for a plated bullet. That's the thing about using plated bullets. The loads end up between published lead and jacketed loads, and there is always some guesswork involved.

 

My Oregon Trail Bullet Company catalog has a load for a lead 170 grain semi wadcutter which goes from 5.0 grains of Win 231 @1031 fps to
5.6 grains of Win 231 @ 1121 fps.
Aftere reducing the load for the 180 grain bullet, I was thinking that I'd go up from this minimium load and see if it cycled the gun well, then try and find an accurate load from there.

 

I think you'll be fine with 10.3gr Blue Dot. Hornady's max is 10.7gr, and I've gone to 11.0gr with no hint of pressure. I'm very surprised at the Unique loads having poor accuracy. I've shot many rounds of both 6.0gr and 6.5gr with great accuracy, though mine were with 180gr FMJ rounds. Still, that's very surprising since it's such a low velocity load. Come to think of it, I've never shot an inaccurate Unique load in either 10mm or .45ACP. Although I've never used plated bullets except for 100 rounds of .45ACP.

 

I think you'll be fine with 10.3gr Blue Dot. Hornady's max is 10.7gr, and I've gone to 11.0gr with no hint of pressure.

I'm more worried about getting a plated round over 1,200 fps than I am pressure. Plus, it's for PPC, so I don't want my follow on shots for the 10 second strings to be rushed due to excessive recoil.

I'm very surprised at that Unique loads having poor accuracy.

Me too. I use 6.6 grains of Unique with my 155 grain plated rounds and it is very accurate. But, my 180 grain plated bullets are patterning like a shotgun blast.
It's especially weird because the powder charge is so similar.

 

Maybe try going lower. I've gone as low as 5.5gr with 180gr FMJ bullets, still with great accuracy. That is a REALLY light shooting load (I actually made it so my girlfriend could shoot), and was just as accurate as the faster loads. I really liked it for super light practice.

 

Make absolutely sure you are not over crimping these plated bullets, The taper crimp (Lee especially) can squeeze the plated bullets down to smaller diameters. The least amount of crimp the better as long as you don't experience bullet movement. Berry's has added a thicker plated bullet to their line up recently.

I am consideing polishing my expander plug to make it slighly smaller diameter so the brass doesn't get opened as much and bullet tension remains tight without having to crimp so tightly.

 

Maybe try going lower. I've gone as low as 5.5gr with 180gr FMJ bullets, still with great accuracy. That is a REALLY light shooting load (I actually made it so my girlfriend could shoot), and was just as accurate as the faster loads. I really liked it for super light practice.

Blue Dot? ... and that cycled in your G29?

That might be fun to try. I'm going to look through all my manuals and get some ideas.

 

Make absolutely sure you are not over crimping these plated bullets, The taper crimp (Lee especially) can squeeze the plated bullets down to smaller diameters. The least amount of crimp the better as long as you don't experience bullet movement. Berry's has added a thicker plated bullet to their line up recently.

That's been one of my worries. But, I feel I have to walk a fine line with 10mm plated.

Since 10mm headspaces on the case mouth, I have problems with light primer strikes if I don't get the case mouth under .422. My latest batches are coming out at .421. That seems to have eliminated the light primer strikes (where the first primer strike actually seats the round deeper into the chamber). So, I just used my ballistic hammer on a round I loaded up and I can see the plated round was compressed somewhat and there was a definite compression mark, BUT the plate was not ripped. It's right on the edge. At .422 I get light primer strikes. At .421, the plating is almost torn. :shocked: I'm using a Dillon crimping die. Seems to be smooth.

 

Blue Dot between 9.0 to 9.3 grains. 1000 to 1035 fps. Too much higher than that and groups get really iffy. I load most at 9.2 with pretty good groups. Of course it will never be like an XTP but good enough. About two inches at 15 yards. Works for IDPA work.

 

Blue Dot between 9.0 to 9.3 grains. 1000 to 1035 fps. Too much higher than that and groups get really iffy. I load most at 9.2 with pretty good groups. Of course it will never be like an XTP but good enough. About two inches at 15 yards. Works for IDPA work.

Thanks, that's about the speed I'm looking for.

 

Between 10.2 and 10.4 grains of Blue Dot should provide a great target load.

10.4 grains blue dot is one of my favorites too.

 

Thanks, that's about the speed I'm looking for.

Glad that helps. I set my throw to meter 9.2 gr. It is usually +/- .05 gr so right in the sweet spot. The only negative is that BD is a bit sooty at those charge weights. My G20 will still feed hundreds of them though wihout issue between cleanings.

 

Glad that helps. I set my throw to meter 9.2 gr. It is usually +/- .05 gr so right in the sweet spot. The only negative is that BD is a bit sooty at those charge weights. My G20 will still feed hundreds of them though wihout issue between cleanings.

Yeah, now that they reformulated Unique to be cleaner, I'm downright spoiled. But, no problem with the gun looking like it came out of a bucket full of sand. Blue Dot and Unique have been my mainstay since the 80s.
As far as how Blue Dot meters, yup, set it up to throw a range of settings and make sure the highs and lows don't cause problems.

 

I shot plated bullets for the first time this weekend and am pleased with the results. I shot 180 grain Rainer flat nose. By the way I had talked to the rep at Rainer and he told me that too high a velocity and pressure is not the cause of accuracy issues with their plated bullets (I'm not sure if other brands are the same), he said its all about having a light light crimp so the plating does not get disrupted. Anyways, here are my results.....
Ranier 180 flat tip truncated nose, all starline brass, winchester WLP primers, shot from my glock 20 W 6 inch Lone Wolf Barrel.....

Power Pistol, 8 grains- 1240 FPS
8.5 grains- 1315 FPS

Blue Dot, 10.5 grains- 1275 FPS


FWIW- that same load of bluedot, 10.5 grains yields 1300 with jacketed 180 grainers, the plated ones are a touch less- my theory is that I used a super light crimp- about 1/5 a turn on the Lee Factory Crimp die. I usually use a heavy, full turn for the jacketed ones, and I think because blue dot is a slower burning powder that the heavier crimp helps it to ignite better. Because of this issue the faster burning power pistol is the winner.

 

Power Pistol, 8 grains- 1240 FPS
8.5 grains- 1315 FPS

Blue Dot, 10.5 grains- 1275 FPS

That sounds too fast for plated bullets. If you tear the plating, you can get leading.

Q. Q3. Do your bullets have ANY velocity restrictions?
A. In general, our bullets typically perform their best when shot at velocities no greater than 1,200 to 1,250 Feet per second (FPS).

How fast can I shoot these bullets?
Velocities depend on the caliber, but as a rule of thumb, we recommend you don't shoot our plated bullets over 1200 feet-per-second. Our 44's actually shoot best around 1150 fps. 45's are generally good at 850-900 fps. Our bullets are not recommended for magnum velocities.

</H3>

 

MinervaDoe, I've seen that disclaimer on rainers website about the 1250 fps thing. When I called Ranier to ask about this directly, the guy I talked to said oh we just say that, but they can go faster just make sure to crimp real real light. If you look at accurate arms new loading manual they have loading data for ranier in magnum calibers, one 44 magnum 240 grain load with a ranier plated at 1386 FPS. So whats up with that???

for what its worth it was my first time shooting them, I only shot a few dozen in my friends backyard, didnt have a chance to accuracy test them, but they hit water filled plastic bottles just fine at 10 yards or so. I also didn't notice any leading

 

Oh I'll add one more thing, I'll keep everybody updated on my future testing on the raniers, but I hope they will pan out because I do a lot of bowling pin shooting at my range and I've noticed lead bullets make the pins fly a lot farther and forcefully then the FMJ's and even jacked hollow points (I think the JHP's are really designed to open up in a fluid medium the best), and the plated seem to deform along the lines of the way the lead ones do, BUT the beauty is no leading

 

... the plated seem to deform along the lines of the way the lead ones do, BUT the beauty is no leading

I shoot the flat nosed Raniers a lot. In fact, 6.6 grains of Unique in a 155 grain Ranier plated flat point is my most accurate load.

I've read that a lot of competitive shooters use plated bullets.

 

As stated above "The Crimp" is all important for the 10mm plated bullet. I have been cranking out 180 & 200 grain plated rounds for the past year with great results using Unique and AA#5.

 

MinervaDoe, what's the COAL of these yours target loads?

 

minervadoe, what's the coal of these yours target loads?

1.260 "

 

As stated above "The Crimp" is all important for the 10mm plated bullet. I have been cranking out 180 & 200 grain plated rounds for the past year with great results using Unique and AA#5.

who is still making 200 gr plated bullets? Ranier and Berry don't advertise 200 gr 40 cal anymore.

How much Unique do you use for your 180 gr plated bullets?
I started out with 5.8 gr of Unique with my 180 gr Berry bullets at 1.259 OAL.