250 grain xtp and 230 grain plated fmj

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250 grain xtp and 230 grain plated fmj

Postby Half-cocked » Mon Feb 21, 2022 1:41 pm

Reloading for the 450 with lil gun powder.

So from what I gathered berrys pistol bullets will not work. Berrys 230 grain hp although Hornady lists load data for 230 grain plated bullets.

So I purchased some Hornady xtP 250 grain hp. These are apparently .45acp bullets.

Will the Hornady work with about 37 grain lil gun? I believe I read others have had success.

I am using these for whitetail. They're half the price of the 250 grain meant for the 450 they come in boxes of 50.

Along those lines are there any cheap 450 fmj projectiles I can use to plink?
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Re: 250 grain xtp and 230 grain plated fmj

Postby Hoot » Mon Feb 21, 2022 4:23 pm

Welcome Aboard H-C!

There's room in reloading for experimentation and the testing of what's considered "conventional wisdom". I can personally attest that plated berry's bullets are not a good idea. I had one shed part of its jacket and leave it embedded in the display of my chronograph. Berry's claims that they have plated bullets designed for rifle as well as pistol velocities. The other negative attribute to them is they're soft. A taper crimp doesn't hold on very well since it relies upon the bullet pushing back not just deforming without a fight.
As for the regular XTP bullets. Yes I have also read of members successfully using them in the 450b. Conversely, I've never read that one came apart at 450b velocities but there's always a first time. In that case, I would be more concerned about it hanging up in the muzzle brake gills and causing a fuss.
When you do load some up and fire them, we'd appreciate a "range report". We love reading range reports, especially with pictures. Regarding pictures, they present well if you resize them down to either 800x600 or 1024x768 before posting. Some members have cameras that take 3000x2000 size pictures and when you first see them in a post, all you see is a small snippet of them without scrolling left and right, up and down through them. At least that's been my experience with a Windows computer as opposed to a smart phone.
Regardless, I look forward to hearing your results and don't be prideful. We learn just as much from experiments that didn't work out as ones that did.

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Re: 250 grain xtp and 230 grain plated fmj

Postby Half-cocked » Mon Feb 21, 2022 5:44 pm

I have made up quite a few of those 230 grain berrys with 37 grain of little gun using a small Magnum primer. I did not notice any excessive leading or jacket separation.

I have fired about 40 rounds through my AR-15. BCA upper PSA lower.

If I do get a chance to get out to the range I will certainly post pictures as best I can.
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Re: 250 grain xtp and 230 grain plated fmj

Postby s4s4u » Mon Feb 21, 2022 8:46 pm

Half-cocked wrote:Reloading for the 450 with lil gun powder.

So from what I gathered berrys pistol bullets will not work. Berrys 230 grain hp although Hornady lists load data for 230 grain plated bullets.

So I purchased some Hornady xtP 250 grain hp. These are apparently .45acp bullets.

Will the Hornady work with about 37 grain lil gun? I believe I read others have had success.

I am using these for whitetail. They're half the price of the 250 grain meant for the 450 they come in boxes of 50.

Along those lines are there any cheap 450 fmj projectiles I can use to plink?


The 250's are intended for the 45 Colt and 454 Casull, but they will perform well at even faster velocities.
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Re: 250 grain xtp and 230 grain plated fmj

Postby Half-cocked » Fri Mar 11, 2022 5:35 pm

Please read my thread titled 250 grain XTP 32.5 G Lil gun too low? For a complete update on using berries 230 grain bullets.

The short version is I couldn't get them to work in fact they might have been unsafe. I heard two pops when firing one seemingly discharging the bullet the other one sending it down the barrel.

The Hornady xtp loads worked flawlessly with amazing accuracy. This will be my new 450 hunting round.

If anyone has any suggestions on making the 230 grain berries full metal jacket plated bullets work I would entertain them. However as it stands I do not feel that they are safe. It should be noted that I am using Magnum rifle primers. Perhaps that's an issue.
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Re: 250 grain xtp and 230 grain plated fmj

Postby Half-cocked » Fri Mar 11, 2022 5:45 pm

This is really interesting because if you'll notice in my above post I've stated that I have fired these berries projectiles before with no ill effect. Matter of fact as a test I used one cartridge from the old batch that I made.

I unfortunately noticed the same results two pops unburnt powder in the barrel severe bullet drop.
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Re: 250 grain xtp and 230 grain plated fmj

Postby s4s4u » Fri Mar 11, 2022 7:57 pm

230 grain berries full metal jacket plated bullets


Plated and FMJ are totally different things. Plating is a thin skin that is not nearly as "strong" as a metal jacket. I shy away from plated bullets as you can get FMJ for about the same money and can load FMJ to much higher pressures and velocities. GOod to see the XTP's are working well for you. They are tougher than given credit for.
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Re: 250 grain xtp and 230 grain plated fmj

Postby Texas Sheepdawg » Fri Mar 11, 2022 8:05 pm

First of all. Please review Timothy’s wisdoms.
viewtopic.php?f=5&t=73
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Re: 250 grain xtp and 230 grain plated fmj

Postby Texas Sheepdawg » Fri Mar 11, 2022 8:08 pm

Also. Here is a lengthy discussion of FMJs.
Please read.
viewtopic.php?f=5&t=8633
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