Berrys Bullets

[langenc]

Anyone use BERRYS bullets. Cabelas has the cheap-so cheap I wonder??

Listed as Berrys Preferred Plated Bullets--

357- 158 grHP 18.99/250

45 200 gr HP 19.99/250

Also Ranier but I see them listed on another thread

 

[trueblue1776]

Plated is not jacketed but they are good bullets. Plating is a chemical process, the bullets still preform almost identically to lead bullets (can be pushed a wee bit faster).

 

[ReloaderFred]

I shoot Berry's bullets by the thousands and find them a great bullet. They're plated, so you have to load them accordingly, but as long as you load them right, they shoot where you aim them. You can also buy from them directly at www.berrysmfg.com. The prices listed include shipping, as long as the order is over the minimum, which is pretty low. There is a lead surcharge though, due to fluctuating lead prices. It's a few cents a pound, depending on what they had to pay for the raw product.

I particularly like the 185 grain hollow base round nose .45 bullet, the 124 grain 9mm bullets in both round nose and flat point, and their 350 grain 45-70 bullet is the most accurate bullet I've found for my 1895 Marlin. I've shot lots of their .38 Super bullets and they're also good, plus the 10mm bullets are my standard for all my 10mm pistols.

Hope this helps.

Fred

 

[baz]

They are cheaper from Cabela's than ordering directly from Berry's.

They're plated, so you have to load them accordingly, but as long as you load them right, they shoot where you aim them.

What special precautions are involved in loading them?

 

[jmorris]

I've shot tens of thousands of them in 45, 40, 38 and 9mm, keep them under 1200fps and they will be fine.

 

[The-Fly]

You cant load plated bullets to super high speeds (I've heard 1200-1400fps is the usual limit). Other then that, they are great. I've used tons of Berry's in 38spl and 9mm, and had no problems. Sadly I no longer use Berry's because they raised their prices to FMJ levels, so I might as well use FMJ's.

 

[Walkalong]

Yep. Berry's are great.

 

[ReloaderFred]

The only difference with loading plated bullets is the plating is thin, so you don't want to crimp so hard that you cut through it, or you'll end up with bullets that keyhole. You'll also want to keep your velocities down to about 1250 to 1300 feet per second for pistol bullets. Some bullets are plated heavier than others, such as the .30 carbine and .45-70 bullets, which can be driven much faster. Other than those two precautions, they load like any other bullet.

There is one more thing to watch, though. Make sure you bell the case mouth enough to let the bullet seat without shaving. If you do this, you won't have any problems.

Hope this helps.

Fred

 

[langenc]

Thanks for all the responses.

 

[sitrep]

I too was looking at Berry's. Just so I make sure that I understand, if I load at minimum levels (~1100) do you load as lead or as FMJ?

 

[azredhawk44]

Sadly I no longer use Berry's because they raised their prices to FMJ levels, so I might as well use FMJ's.

Where are you getting true FMJ bullets for the same price as Berry's plated? Hook me up!

 

[SSN Vet]

check out FMJ Zero bullets from Roze Dist. and I think you'll find the 1,000 pc price is just a few bucks more than Berry's for .357 158 gr.

before you order from Cabellas....check into shipping.

if you order >$30 from Berry's (typically two 250 pc orders) they ship FREE.

But...they sneak in a ~$3-4 lead surcharge at the end.

I've found Berry's bullets to be of good quality, but as mentioned, they have no crimp grove and if you roll crimp to hard you can cut through the plating.

 

[Walkalong]

Ditto on Zero bullets too. Good bullets when you want jacketed.


For Zero Bullets

Roze Distribution

Ghost Holster

 

[RustyFN]

I use a lot of Berry's bullets also and am very happy with them. One more thing to watch out for is make sure you don't over crimp. I use just enough to straighten out the case from the bell the powder die put in.
Rusty

 

[The-Fly]

got my last batch of Zero 124gr fmj 9mm from

http://www.powdervalleyinc.com/


Ran me $108 +shipping for 2000 rounds, which to 500 miles away was about $12 .

So $60 per 1k for FMJ, I wasnt going to bother with Berry's. Back when I could get Berry's locally for $40 per 1k, plated was great.

 

[trueblue1776]

Just checked out the Zero line up, looks awesome, no .401 135gr bullets? so sad, I like my fireballs as enormous as possible. Guess I'll stick to my 135 gr Rainier HP's for maximum fireballs.