plated bullets 38/357

[BillO]

Has anyone found problems shooting Rainier or other plated bullets in the 1400 fps range? I've seen the cautions about keeping the bullets under 1200fps, but I've seen no problems using Rainier 125g JFP and AA#5 powder pushing 1400 fps. Though Rainier states the 1200 fps caution, it doesn't say why and then provides reload data using AA powder all the way up to 1900 fps. Am I missing something? My barrell on my 686 and Model 60 seem clean, and the accuracy is good using AA#5.

 

[rscalzo]

Rainier

I was under the impression that Rainier bullets were plated and not true jacketed bullets. That may be the reason for the spped limits.

 

[K.W.]

plated bullets.

http://www.archipelagobullets.fi

 

[gerrycaruso]

I shoot their .50 caliber bullets at 1500fps with no trouble. They have different maximums for different calibers because the plating thickness is not the same for all calibers.

 

[DukeInFlorida]

CAUTION: While their plating thickness may vary according to caliber.... their actual plating for a specific caliber changes from lot to lot. I have some .40 S&W bullets from Berry's which barely have plating on them at all. I'm debating sending them back to them. I have to treat them as if they are lead.

So, work up the round that you are shooting. This is always wise advice anyways.

I'd get nervous with someone thinking that they can just safely jazz up a plated round to shoot 1500 fps, no matter what. Always start at the starting load, and work up to where things start to fail, and then back off a bit. That's the limit to your speed. Having said that, never exceed the max load (per reloading data), no matter what.

 

[QRUarmory]

CAUTION: While their plating thickness may vary according to caliber.... their actual plating for a specific caliber changes from lot to lot. I have some .40 S&W bullets from Berry's which barely have plating on them at all. I'm debating sending them back to them. I have to treat them as if they are lead.

So, work up the round that you are shooting. This is always wise advice anyways.

I'd get nervous with someone thinking that they can just safely jazz up a plated round to shoot 1500 fps, no matter what. Always start at the starting load, and work up to where things start to fail, and then back off a bit. That's the limit to your speed. Having said that, never exceed the max load (per reloading data), no matter what.

You should that anyway