Henry Rifle Forums

Hi guys,

Has anyone had much luck with or experience with Berry's copper plate, hollow point, target projectiles (240gr)?

I'm wanting to try some with 7-8gr of ADI AP07N (similar to Unique) with the intension of using them as fun plinking rounds. Should give about 1100fps.

A few questions:

Were they accurate enough?
Did they foul the barrel with lead?
Was the crimp critical or was just a light crimp perfectly fine?
Does the Henry feed them ok?
Will standard large pistol primers do or should I use magnum primers?

Thanks in advance!

Regards, James.

I have used Berry's and Xtreme plated bullets in handguns with Unique powder. Never had a problem with leading and the bullets performed well. I do use a heavier crimp on them.
Can't really speak to using mid-range loads in the Henry. I only shoot jacketed magnum loads in my Big Boy .44 (240 gr. XTP over 19.6 gr. 2400). I think most plated bullets have a max on velocity (like maybe 1200 fps or 1500 fps?)

Ive used a lot Berry and xtreme as well. Never an issue with leading thats way the copper plating is there. 8 to 9 grains of Unique for me when using those in a 44 mag. Standard primers with those loads should be fine and crimp them firm but not so firm that you break the copper plating. With feeding they should work fine as long as youre OAL is not over the saami length of the 44 mag.

I have used both in other guns and like the Xtreme. 240 gr. will work nice with 9 gr. of Unique or similar burning powder.
Use a light taper crimp.

Thanks guys, I'll go ahead and report back my findings.

One other question, are there any limitations of shooting plated bullets then shooting jacketed afterwards? For instance, if quality plated bullets don't leave lead residue then it should be safe right? I've only ever reloaded XTP's and never dealt with plated bullets before. They are only .35c each vs .69c for XTP's (NZ dollars) so well worth it just for plinking.

You wont have any issues that way. I do it all the time.

BigAl52 wrote:You wont have any issues that way. I do it all the time.

Thanks BigAl52! Bought some stuff so ready to load.

240gr Berry hollow points (AP70N) 8.5gr
180gr XTP (W296) 29.5gr

Roll-on!

I haven't used Berry's, but I have used X-treme's plated 240gr bullets. I had horrible accuracy in both my Ruger Super Blackhawks & my Henry Big Boy. However, I have had great accuracy with X-treme's 200gr plated. Red Dot worked great with the 200gr load with just about any powder charge from 5.0gr to 7.2gr. Chronograph results were not good with standard deviations sometimes pretty high, but accuracy was good.

I have had better results with hard cast both in 200gr & 240gr versions. I really like the coated hard cast. Accuracy has been better with the hard cast and they are even cheaper.

I would not worry about shooting jacketed after shooting plated. I have not had any issues with leading. A light crimp is all that is needed as long as you are not trying to get magnum velocities, which is not a good idea with plated anyways. I have only used Winchester Large Pistol primers which work good with magnum or light loads, but magnum primers are not needed with powders that burn similar to unique.

I made up a few 200 gr. Xtremes for .44 Mag using 10 gr. of Unique to shoot in my S&W M69.
Was trying to get some numbers on them but the chrono was having issues but did notice that on the target I had setup behind the unit I was getting a couple bullets thru the same hole. Distance was only 15 ft but still that was cool!

DAVIDF wrote:I haven't used Berry's, but I have used X-treme's plated 240gr bullets. I had horrible accuracy in both my Ruger Super Blackhawks & my Henry Big Boy. However, I have had great accuracy with X-treme's 200gr plated. Red Dot worked great with the 200gr load with just about any powder charge from 5.0gr to 7.2gr. Chronograph results were not good with standard deviations sometimes pretty high, but accuracy was good.

I have had better results with hard cast both in 200gr & 240gr versions. I really like the coated hard cast. Accuracy has been better with the hard cast and they are even cheaper.

I would not worry about shooting jacketed after shooting plated. I have not had any issues with leading. A light crimp is all that is needed as long as you are not trying to get magnum velocities, which is not a good idea with plated anyways. I have only used Winchester Large Pistol primers which work good with magnum or light loads, but magnum primers are not needed with powders that burn similar to unique.

Thanks DAVIDF, excellent info and has me interested in hard cast now too! I'm definitely keeping the speed low, around 1050-1150fps. Just finished my first reloading of .44mag and all went well (two failures due to not enough flair) but learnt my lesson.

Cheers for your help.

fortyshooter wrote:I made up a few 200 gr. Xtremes for .44 Mag using 10 gr. of Unique to shoot in my S&W M69.
Was trying to get some numbers on them but the chrono was having issues but did notice that on the target I had setup behind the unit I was getting a couple bullets thru the same hole. Distance was only 15 ft but still that was cool!

Thanks fortyshooter, good to know that accuracy can be obtained with cheaper plinking ammo. That would be my ultimate game, to get the best performance for the lowest cost. A fun exercise.

Cheers.

I shoot Berry and X-treme plated from my revolvers a lot, as well as my 1911. About 3k rounds per year.

A few times a year I shoot my carry rounds, all factory HP. Never had any fouling issues. I do seat and moderately crimp in two steps on .357; a Redding crimping die made things much better at the range.

When I get my Henry in a few months, I plan to continue with .357 158 gr RN from Berry as I learn my rifle.