Berrys Bullets

BillyBoy 57

New member
Has anyone any here ever used Berrys Bullets . Looking for123 grain .311 for 7.62 / 39 . I had in the past bought them in bulk ( Hornady 3147 ) from Grafs. Berrys have them in bulk , in stock . These are plated . not fmj . ?
 

mikejonestkd

New member
I use the 123 GR plated berrys in several cartridges for plinking galleys loads.
They perform well for their intended purpose, as long as you don't push them too fast.

I use them in 7.62 x 39, 303 brit, 7.62 x 54R and 7.7 Jap, mostly with trail boss as light loads just for giggles. They are surprisingly accurate in a few of my rifles.
 

BillyBoy 57

New member
Thanks to all on the replies , I am going to give them a try while they are showing "in stock " . I am tired of waiting on Hornady .;)
 
I loaded nothing but Berry's plated bullets for years, in .45 ACP, 9mm, and .380 ACP. Since the COVID-19 shortages have come upon us, Berry's hasn't been interested in selling to their direct customers. Berry's web site always shows out of stock on everything, yet places like Midway always seem to have them in stock.

I am now looking for alternate sources. Berry's abandoned me. They don't (IMHO) deserve my business.
 

D Eagle 50

New member
Guys, I bought a bunch of Berry's 45 bullets, 185 grain, HBRN. Wanted to use Titegroup since I have an 8 lb jug. Lee manual calls for OAL of 1.135 but I didn't even get close to that before the ogive began entering the case mouth causing an obvious gap. That was before I applied a *full* crimp, but enough of a crimp to remove the belling. It just looked very strange so I did something different.

My solution is to switch to Accurate #7 which calls for OAL of 1.210 and I'll probably not even press them that far.

Just curious if anyone else ever had this issue with Berry's?
 

74A95

New member
Guys, I bought a bunch of Berry's 45 bullets, 185 grain, HBRN. Wanted to use Titegroup since I have an 8 lb jug. Lee manual calls for OAL of 1.135 but I didn't even get close to that before the ogive began entering the case mouth causing an obvious gap. That was before I applied a *full* crimp, but enough of a crimp to remove the belling. It just looked very strange so I did something different.

My solution is to switch to Accurate #7 which calls for OAL of 1.210 and I'll probably not even press them that far.

Just curious if anyone else ever had this issue with Berry's?

There are many different bullet shapes, and the shape often decides what OAL is proper. The 1.135” is usually meant for a button nose wadcutter, which is why the RN bullet looks so odd at that OAL.

Since these are RN bullets, they will typically be loaded 1.200” to 1.275”. Berry’s shows on their website a recommended/suggested OAL of 1.250” for this bullet. But you need to confirm its proper OAL with the Plunk Test.

https://www.berrysmfg.com/product/bp-45-452-185gr-hbrn

Cartridge Name: 45 ACP 
Cartridge O.A.L.: 1.250"
Max Velocity: 1250 fps


Hodgdon has load data for this bullet (185 BERB HBRN) seated to 1.270” with several powders, including A#7.

https://www.hodgdonreloading.com/reloading-data-center?rdc=true&type=53
Then select a caliber from the drop-down menu.

Lee does not tell you which exact bullet their data is for, so it’s not the best resource.
 
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Shadow9mm

New member
There are many different bullet shapes, and the shape often decides what OAL is proper. The 1.135” is usually meant for a button nose wadcutter, which is why the RN bullet looks so odd at that OAL.

Since these are RN bullets, they will typically be loaded 1.200” to 1.275”. Berry’s shows on their website a recommended/suggested OAL of 1.250” for this bullet. But you need to confirm its proper OAL with the Plunk Test.

https://www.berrysmfg.com/product/bp-45-452-185gr-hbrn

Cartridge Name: 45 ACP 
Cartridge O.A.L.: 1.250"
Max Velocity: 1250 fps


Hodgdon has load data for this bullet (185 BERB HBRN) seated to 1.270” with several powders, including A#7.

https://www.hodgdonreloading.com/reloading-data-center?rdc=true&type=53
Then select a caliber from the drop-down menu.

Lee does not tell you which exact bullet their data is for, so it’s not the best resource.
Beat me to it. I always try to go off the bullet makers COL when I can.
 

Randy A

New member
I use the Berrys only, since most of what I run them through are Glocks. They have a thick plating .009 to .011. You can also get a heavier plated bullet, if you chose to drive them faster. With Berrys, the bullets sort by weight and are plated to finish weight, then sized again. This results in slight variation of plate thickness but very uniform bullet weights. Then they’re sized for uniform diameter.

With other bullet companies whom I’ve called (including Berrys) most have lighter plating, like HSM plates at .003. That is all probably fine with conventional rifling, just watch velocities and careful on the crimp. I stay away from those to avoid issues with Glock rifling.

We’ve been getting them in, just not in the volume that we used to. They told me they had so many large orders they were simply not able to produce them fast enough. I’d imagine places like midway order a truck load at a time.
 

CleanDean

New member
I would be interested in the comparative results in X-Treme vs, Berry’s … as far as sameness of dimensions & duplicity. Which brand is more accurate. Etc.
Some X-Treme has had very thin plating for me. .45ACP has had a few odd ones.

Did not examine a wide variety or big number of one kind.
 

Mac Sidewinder

New member
Not to take this off subject too far but with copper plated bullets, do you have to use a copper cleaner in your barrel or doesn't it build up too much?

I've used Berry's 9mm and 357 bullets and liked them.
 

Shadow9mm

New member
Not to take this off subject too far but with copper plated bullets, do you have to use a copper cleaner in your barrel or doesn't it build up too much?

I've used Berry's 9mm and 357 bullets and liked them.
Short answer, Berry's bullets have not left any more fouling than jacketed bullets in my experience.

With that said everything leaves buildup in a barrel. Some things tend to cause more buildup than others. In the case of copper it depends on the condition of your barrel how hard you are pushing things and the alloy of the copper, regardless of whether it is solid, jacketed, or plated. But I bet there is some copper in your barrel. If you had a bore scope I would wager you could find some. You might even be able to see if if you look down your barrel. It there very much or enough to be concerned about, I doubt it.

Personally I use Bore Tech's Eliminator, their bore cleaner. It has a copper remover built into it. It is one of the best bore cleaners I have used and does a good job on copper. The only bullets I have ever had problems with leaving what I considered to be a significant amount of copper buildup were Barnes. Hornady jacketed, Berry's plated, Lehigh solids, x-treme, and sierra jacketed all left the normal minimal deposits in my experience.
 
Fouling is a function of how hard the sides of the bullet press outward against the bore. The force from that, multiplied by the friction coefficient is what is tearing at the copper. The Barnes are hard to push into the rifling and are springier, so their static outward pressure is higher to start, and they are fired at much higher pressures in high power rifles, and outward upsetting force from the high pressure adds to the outward upset. This is why copper fouling is usually highest just out in front of the throat, because that's where the bullet is when the pressure peaks.

Boretech Eliminator is an excellent general purpose bore cleaner. Way better and faster and less toxic than the ammonia-based copper removers. I keep it at the range in a little pump sprayer and at the end of a session squirt two or three pumps down into the chamber with the muzzle down. I watch to see it makes it to the muzzle. At that point, I have some silicone stoppers I push into the muzzle and the back of the chamber and I pack up and go home (about a 50-minute drive). Generally speaking, but the time I get hope, the bore is clean and just has to be patched out with a wet patch and a five-minute wait, followed by a dry patch to confirm no additional copper needs to come out.

Old or stubborn carbon is best tackled with Slip2000 Carbon Killer.

Extra heavy copper is most quickly removed with KG-12, though it has a cyanide compound it is and is more toxic than the Bore Tech product. It also doesn't produce any really obvious color change, so you may be happier with Bore Tech Cu++, which is more aggressive than Eliminator, but slower than KG-12.
 
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