Do Plated pistol bullets expand ?

[AKsrule]

One of my favorite pistol calibers is .45acp

One reason I like it is because even FMJ makes a big hole without expanding ( and FMJ feeds perfectly 99% of the time ).

I see that several companies sell bullets for reloading / target use that have a lead core with a thin COATING of copper,
which eliminates leading in the bore, but is much less expensive than jacketed bullets.

Since I believe Bigger is always Better It occurred to me that if these expand they might be an improvement over .45 FMJ for defensive shooting.

I have no experience with these plated bullets , and want to know if they show any expansion when the impact something
firmer than paper.

[DefensiveCarry.com]

[Cupcake]

I imagine youre talking about round nose...I don't have the answer you seek. But if you want expansion, why not use a hollow point? They cant ALL have feed problems...

[AZ Hawk]

Why wouldn't you just use jacketed hollow points?

For what it's worth, I've put approximately 5,000 hollow points down range, and I've had a whopping zero failures to feed. Actually, I haven't had a single malfunction with any premium JHP of which the vast majority have been Speer Gold Dot and Federal Tactical HST.

If one doesn't work for you, try another.

P.S. 9x19mm JHP > .45 ACP FMJ

And, if you're a 1911 guy, I'd suggest looking at ASYM SDX by Stan Chen. It was designed to feed flawlessly in 1911 pistols. It's very expensive, though.

[gasmitty]

They expand about as much as hard-cast lead bullets do. The copper plating is pretty much just a foil against leading, as you're aware.

[atctimmy]

It depends on the hardness of the lead.

[AKsrule]

I imagine youre talking about round nose...I don't have the answer you seek. But if you want expansion, why not use a hollow point? They cant ALL have feed problems...

Yes I do use jacketed expanding types for CARRY , but they are way to expensive to do much practice with

I was hoping somebody had experience with this possibly cheaper alternative.

This company actually does make HP bullets that are plated....

Rainier Ballistics, mainframe


"Rainier offers a large selection of swaged lead core copper plated bullets that are low in cost but substantially high in accuracy. Rainier swages their bullets twice with lead wire in an effort to ensure the tightest uniformity as well as prevention of premature wearing of barrels. While Rainier doesn't publish their own reloading information, they recommended using lead bullet load data when loading their bullets as well as a slight taper crimp. Rainier recommends a maximum velocity of 1,500 fps.

These bullets feature a lead core that is completely covered by copper plating. They are resized after being plated with approximately 0.004" of copper plating. This unique design makes them suitable for most indoor ranges, which often require the use of bullets with no exposed lead. The base is slightly concave to maximize the bullet to bore seal. "

[Nick62]

Berry's plated handgun bullets are great for practice but I expect they would be lousy for hunting or SD. They have about the same hardness as a fishing sinker. I notice slight deformations during bullet seating/crimping. I can't believe penetration would be very good at all. Although I expect they'd expand like crazy, leaving a nasty welt.

[markush]

In one post your talking about expanding ball in another you say you carry JHP but want something cheaper for practice?? You don't need expansion for practice! If your serious about defending yourself buy the best JHP that feed in your gun...Yes it's going to cost you to experiment and/or fire enough through your pistol to be sure they will work when you need them. It seems shooting in general and defending yourself in particular have turned into a rich mans endeavor. I Buy the best ammo I can find, not afford but FIND, to defend my family and self. The cheap stuff is only used to make holes in paper.

[AKsrule]

In one post your talking about expanding ball in another you say you carry JHP but want something cheaper for practice?? You don't need expansion for practice! If your serious about defending yourself buy the best JHP that feed in your gun...Yes it's going to cost you to experiment and/or fire enough through your pistol to be sure they will work when you need them. It seems shooting in general and defending yourself in particular have turned into a rich mans endeavor. I Buy the best ammo I can find, not afford but FIND, to defend my family and self. The cheap stuff is only used to make holes in paper.

Let me restate it more simply.

IMHO:

.45 acp Ball (fmj) is adequate for self defense.
.45 acp JHP is better.

.45 acp with a plated bullet which EXPANDS would split the difference , be CHEAPER , AND let me use ONE LOAD for practice
and carry use.

[deadhawg]

Haven't tried it with .45 ammo, but some time ago I did an informal water jug test with Rainier 9mm 124 gr hollow points. I lined up 6 one gallon water jugs and fired a factory 124 gr Gold dot at them. It fully penetrated the first 3 jugs (the first jug virtually exploded) and was recovered in the 4th, fully expanded just like it was supposed to. I then lined up 6 more jugs and fired the Rainier plated HP at them. The Ranier passed through all 6 and was recovered in the dirt behind the last jug, and looked like it could almost be cleaned up and reloaded again. Zero expansion.

I like the Raniers for cheap practice, and that's what they are sold for, but I would not expect them to be as effective as modern hollow point ammo for self defense.

[MrBuckwheat]

Sierra #8805 JHP 230 gr. for both practice and defense.

[dukalmighty]

I shoot my own cast bullets at targets,cost me about .01 ea bullet and about.05 per loaded cartridge,carry Ranger T's for BG's,about .40 per cartridge,If it came down to it I wouldn't hesitate to shoot a BG with a Lead bullet if it was all I had,you hit a bone and it's gonna moosh it

[markush]

Let me restate it more simply.

IMHO:

.45 acp Ball (fmj) is adequate for self defense.

Well there's the problem! My simple mind just can't crasp that concept!

[claude clay]

your call as to SD ammo thats home made.

but i replicate, for example, CCI 200gr flying ashtray's with 7.2gr Unique.
and a firm tapre crimp* *usuall admonishments here**
the bullet is hard lead, 200gr SWC from our friend here missouri bulletworks.