Are plated bullets just naturally dirtier?

[DustyDawg48]

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.

 

[Double T]

Plated should be ran like hard cast, that could be your issue.

 

[downzero]

Unique is known to be dirty. Also, at the velocities you're shooting, you're probably around the middle of the published data, which means lower pressures and less complete combustion.

The solution is to switch to a faster-burning powder, of which the gold standard for .45 is Hodgdon's Clays, but there are others that will do the same thing. Use a faster powder closer to the max load and you'll see less overall filth.

Every powder has a range of useful velocities, but the cleanest burning and most consistency will be at the top of that range. Picking a powder for which your use puts you near the top of the range will be the cleanest.

The other bonus for a faster powder is less recoil as well.

 

[Cat-Herder]

I run 230gr cast LRNs lubed with LLA with minimal fouling with a stout load of Titegroup under them. I had much more fouling with Unique and Bullseye.

 

[Leo]

Plated bullets run a lot cleaner than cast. I never noticed them being dirtier than FMJ. Are you confident you are not overcrimping them hard enough to deform them? They are pretty soft and deform easy.

 

[Cat-Herder]

here's a powder burn rate chart for your perusal..

Powder Burn Rates

 

[Mudcat]

Unique is known to be dirty. Also, at the velocities you're shooting, you're probably around the middle of the published data, which means lower pressures and less complete combustion.

The solution is to switch to a faster-burning powder, of which the gold standard for .45 is Hodgdon's Clays, but there are others that will do the same thing. Use a faster powder closer to the max load and you'll see less overall filth.

Every powder has a range of useful velocities, but the cleanest burning and most consistency will be at the top of that range. Picking a powder for which your use puts you near the top of the range will be the cleanest.

The other bonus for a faster powder is less recoil as well.

Excellent advice!

 

[hammer24]

I love Unique! If I could have only one pistol powder, it would be the one. That being said, 150 -200 rounds of any Unique load and you're going to have a pretty dirty gun.

 

[Classic]

I use Unique and Bullseye and like them both for performance BUT they are a bit dirty.

 

[DustyDawg48]

I appreciate the feedback, thanks! My crimp looks good; I'm guessing if I'm going to run the Berry's in my Glock 21 from now on instead of jacketed it might be time to switch powders...of course I still have about 4# of Unique left! Might have to get used to extra cleaning for the time being. I might still play with he crimp but it does look like a powder change is in order.

 

[downzero]

I appreciate the feedback, thanks! My crimp looks good; I'm guessing if I'm going to run the Berry's in my Glock 21 from now on instead of jacketed it might be time to switch powders...of course I still have about 4# of Unique left! Might have to get used to extra cleaning for the time being. I might still play with he crimp but it does look like a powder change is in order.

Do not mess with your crimp. Pistol bullets are not "crimped." The only purpose the crimp die serves is to remove the "bell" necessary to seat a bullet.

Save your unique for if you are loading a new caliber, since what is great about Unique and its similar burn speed powders is that it works okay for just about anything, just not great for any one thing. Unique can be used in everything. Don't worry, powder doesn't go bad. I've got more than a few pounds of powder that I may not use for years. No harm there.

Get yourself some Clays, Solo 1000, or N310 and try it. I'm sure it'll give you the results you want.

 

[Grelber]

the load is: 200 grain plated flat nose, 6.5 grains of Unique at 1.200" AOL

Weird. I'm not sure where I was at on oal (I can check if it makes a difference to you), but if you change 6.5 to 6.4 then that is what I load for my G21. The G21 always came home dirty but I never had a ftf at a match or during a practice session.

 

[DustyDawg48]

Weird. I'm not sure where I was at on oal (I can check if it makes a difference to you), but if you change 6.5 to 6.4 then that is what I load for my G21. The G21 always came home dirty but I never had a ftf at a match or during a practice session.

After IDPA on Saturday and the time we spent with your chrono I adjusted the crimp slightly and backed off on the powder charge to about 6.4 and loaded a few to see how well they ran. I was very VERY impressed with the performance of the round over the course of the match...made me look like a genius phenom on the Standards COF going and going down zero on several courses of fire in general. I like the bullet and I like that load; if getting that type of performance for less than what I'd pay for jacketed means spending a few extra minutes cleaning my gun then so be it!

 

[woodsie57]

Unique is a great,versatile powder-use it in .30cal C.F. rifles down to .38 light target loads. Dirty,though-has to be a downside to everything! Buying more soon

 

[Robert Richardson]

I load Powerbond Plated bullets and I load them the same a FMJ. No problems. I also taper crimp them all.

 

[llh1956]

I have always found Unique to be on the dirty side. I prefer Clays in my 45acp and HP-38 in my 9mm using X-Treme plated bullets.