DustyDawg48
Master
Been loading FMJ for a while and with the price increase I finally succumed and ordered some Berry's 200 grain .45 bullets. I'm very pleased with how they look, how they functioned in my guns and with Berry's as a company. I'm sold and will order more in the future...but that isn't what I came here to say.
I loaded up some, first to test and then for an IDPA match on Saturday. They performed wonderfully, as good as my normal Montana Gold FMJ bullets but I was amazed at how dirty the inside of my gun had gotten after just 150-200 rounds. Velocity was good (we happened to have a fellow shooter than brought his chrono in for us to use) and when I got the distance correct I was getting more than enough to make power for IDPA, somewhere around 840 FPS for my 200 grain plated flat nose. Plus accuracy was great as well. Is this type of fouling to be expected with a plated bullet? Do I need to adjust the crimp? Is it a combination of plated bullet, Unique powder and mixed range brass?
the load is: 200 grain plated flat nose, 6.5 grains of Unique at 1.200" AOL It is almost the exact load I was using for my Montana Gold bullets of the same weight and shape.
I definitely don't mind having to do a much more extensive cleaning to save a deal of cash in the long run but I just want to make sure I'm doing everything from the reloading end of it. I've never reloaded lead or plated bullets before so I don't know what to expect out of them. I actually had powder residue on my hands where it was escaping back through the slide; the entire gun on the inside was very dirty, not just the barrel.
I loaded up some, first to test and then for an IDPA match on Saturday. They performed wonderfully, as good as my normal Montana Gold FMJ bullets but I was amazed at how dirty the inside of my gun had gotten after just 150-200 rounds. Velocity was good (we happened to have a fellow shooter than brought his chrono in for us to use) and when I got the distance correct I was getting more than enough to make power for IDPA, somewhere around 840 FPS for my 200 grain plated flat nose. Plus accuracy was great as well. Is this type of fouling to be expected with a plated bullet? Do I need to adjust the crimp? Is it a combination of plated bullet, Unique powder and mixed range brass?
the load is: 200 grain plated flat nose, 6.5 grains of Unique at 1.200" AOL It is almost the exact load I was using for my Montana Gold bullets of the same weight and shape.
I definitely don't mind having to do a much more extensive cleaning to save a deal of cash in the long run but I just want to make sure I'm doing everything from the reloading end of it. I've never reloaded lead or plated bullets before so I don't know what to expect out of them. I actually had powder residue on my hands where it was escaping back through the slide; the entire gun on the inside was very dirty, not just the barrel.