Plated bullets Vs. Jacketed

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longdayjake

longdayjake

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I know this topic has been discussed before, but I have not gotten all the info that I would like about plated bullets.

Okay, here goes. I am throwing my hat into the small business world as a reloading component supplier. For now all I buy and sell is bullets. I just put in an order for some 70k rainier bullets of various calibers and was wondering if people find plated bullets to be as good or useful as jacketed ammo. All of my experience in handloading so far is in the most popular rifle cartridges. I know absolutely nothing about handgun bullets, so please tell me what your impressions are with rainier and other plated bullet suppliers like Berry's and West Coast. Lastly, if I sell my bullets about $5.00 cheaper per 1000 than midway do you think I will make many sells or does it take a while to move plated bullets?
 
I used to shoot a lot of Raniers, but they kept raising the price until I could buy jacketed for the same or less. I don't buy Raniers anymore.

The beauty of plated bullets was no leading, less smoke, etc, and, not long ago, a bit more than the cost of lead.

I still shoot plated bullets, Berrys mostly.

If you can bring the Ranier product to market at a better price than jacketed, I am sure you could sell a lot of them. They make a good bullet. Midways price on them is just too high. They need competition. Maybe you can provide it.

My 2cents
 
I can definately beat midway's prices which is sad because they most likely buy in massive quantities compared to what I can buy. However I cannot come anywhere near what cast bullets are going for these days. How much does 1000 rounds of cast 9mm 115 grainers go for these days?
 
another question would be, are plated bullets worth the little extra $$$? For example lets say I sell the 9mm bullets for $77 per 1000. Is the copper plating worth the money to you guys?
 
My last 4 bullet orders have been plated 9mm and/or 45 ACP. I've been getting mine from Berry's Mfg. Been completely satisfied with the performance and service.
So the answer would be yes, they are worth the extra expense.
 
Yep, those should sell, unless shipping is too much. How much for 2000 or 3000 in a flat rate box?
 
I think that 3,000 should fit in a single flat rate box so for 3000 the price that I could sell them at is $74 per 1000 plus $10 shipping flat rate. Berry's must be cheaper bullets. Does anyone have any opinions of bullet quality comparing rainier and berrys?
 
Plated bullets make good practice ammunition as a substitute for jacketed bullets...And that's about all. I use Rainier in 9mm X19 and .45 ACP.
 
Walkalong said it very well in Post #2, I agree with him. I did load a plated bullet for a short while too until their prices mirrored those of Jacketed bullets. When that happened why bother with plated bullets?
 
Some people have weapons that can't shoot lead bullets safely. My P7 has polygonal rifling and a gas system so lead bullets are a no no. Glocks should also not shoot lead bullets and a LOT of folks have Glocks.
 
Plated is fine in a glock, so is lead, even in a polygonal rifling. Go read about it on glocktalk. Now a gas system makes lead a no no.

Rainier seems to have a thinner copper layer than berrys.
 
I think its cool what your doing. Or what your going to try to do. However i really think you should think about the cost of the product versus the profit of the product. Anyone who cast bullets can spend a few hours in there back yard and come out with a very high quality cast bullet. I can spend a couple of hours and come out with 1-2000 bullets if i am using a 6 gang mold. So if you had a method of casting you could make a great deal of money selling cast bullets. Even with the cost of lead being average to so so. you can crank out a lot of bullets casting them at about a penny or so a bullet. Now comparing to midway or others i ask the question why buy any of them. The cost per 1000 is really high compared to what i can make. With that in mind. You may actually profit from selling them at a per 100 as well as a per 500 and 1000. Just keep in mind what others have been telling you. The plated bullets are good. Its for the person wanting to load on a low budget and who can not shoot lead. Same time you dont have to mess with lubes and all. However for the lead caster the prices have to be very low to make it worth while. you will have a lot of guys saying ya id buy some. but after you spend the money you will have a lot of people saying they dont need any right now.
 
LongDay -
I wish you every success. I would like to buy Raniers, but I either have to deal with Midway (which I will not) or buy 20 billion to get them direct from Ranier (which I cannot). The most consistent gripe against Midway is their shipping charges. That is your "chink in the amour".

If you will use USPS "flat rate shipping" and charge a flat charge of, say, $15 per order, OR simply figure in the cost of shipping to the bullet prices like Grafs does, then you'll have sales and steal a lot of unsatisfied Midway customers.
 
P7

I tried the Rainier's in my P7. Kept getting excessive pressure. Tried different powders, etc. finally figured out it was the plated bullets.
They were ok in everything else.
CC
 
I wouldn't shoot lead in a Glock OR a P7. The rifling is not a good combination with lead bullets and will lead to excessive bore pressures. Some people do it and get away with it but people get away with a lot of dumb things.
Also, It's been my experience that Glocktalk is probably not the best place to get Glock info. Way too much posturing over there to get much unprejudiced info.
 
Plating your own isn't that hard. If you can get a hold of copper sulphate, distilled water, and a battery charger, and a barbeque rotiserie, you have got it licked. as far as excessive pressure, just plate a cast bullet design with deep lube grooves. the lube serves no purpose with the plated bullet, as you don't use it, but the reduced bearing surface will lower pressure, just like a Barnes triple shock. It can be done, it is fairly easy, and there are no really dangeroud chemicals. Yiu may find that the time investment is too great, though. Certainly easier just to buy them.
 
+1 With Walkalong

He said
I used to shoot a lot of Raniers, but they kept raising the price until I could buy jacketed for the same or less. I don't buy Raniers anymore.
Click to expand...

Absolutely. The reason I don't buy Rainiers anymore is price. I'll be da**ed if I'm going to pay the same price for plated as honest-to-God jacketed bullets.:fire: And Midwayusa is one of the higher profile gouging outfitters around, especially when you consider that they don't have the huge overhead of outfits like Cabela's and Gander Mountain.:cuss:

And - yes, Midway lost my business over shipping first, then pricing. I buy mostly Berry's bullets, which IMO is about same quality as Rainier. I buy usually from Grafs, because they don't try to screw me on shipping charges like Midway. I'm happy with Berry's, and would buy Berry's and Rainers if you could do something with the price.

Okay... so... if you can bring in Rainiers to, say, something close to the prices that Grafs sells Berry Bullets for, I'll buy from you. Just make sure you get some of the hollow points in there, too, okay? I shoot paper more than anything, but I am fond of hollowpoints for shooting at targets that have flesh.

I absolutely believe in buying from small business guys. I'm happy to pay the dude who's working out of his garage a fair price rather than being gouged by big business. I'm also willing to wait awhile if you're out of stock for a week or two if you don't charge me until you're ready to ship. The way I look at it is I'll be square with you and expect the same. If you take a personal check, I am okay with you letting it clear the bank before you ship. If you ship in the Flat Rate box and even just ship once a week, I'll buy from you.

I'd be happy to buy 'bargain-priced' components like PRVI and MagTech if you can stock 'em. I'll buy American made products until they start looking stupid :eek:with the price. We all can name a few of those.

Cast lead - well, you do have some competition there. Outfits like Dardas, Penn, and Meister (NO particular order) sell products that are pretty good value.

To answer the price question, I can get the 124gr cast 9mm for as low as $20-22 per 500 plus shipping. Those aren't great bullets, but I can get some that're pretty good for under $25/500.
 
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You know...I deal with Midway and pay their shipping. Why? Because I noticed on the other sights that shipping was free and the price of the components were higher. In the end it all came out even. Good service and close to my local. That's Midway plus excellent service.

All the bitching I hear from every one about the cost of components is a real turn off for me after what we allowed into the White House. Go complain somewhere else and let people do their own shopping...

I just got told that I can save $5.00 to $10.00 by a bullet manufacturer if I buy his bullets. He's clear across the country from me. What I save I will have a longer waiting time. I'll continue to keep my money in my own state and pay the extra $5 to $10 extra...Right...

Pick your jobber, but don't bad mouth other jobbers unless you had a bad experience with them and cost isn't one of them...
 
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