My Lee 2nd edition loading manual lists loads for plated copper bullets (eg, Berry) in 9mm Para, the only source I have that mentions them. The loads for 124 gr bullets are about .5 gr less than for the same weight lead bullet. Should plated bullets generally be loaded lighter than lead as well in .380 and 9mm Mak where I also plan to use them. This seems counterintuitive to me. I would have thought they would have been treated like lead bullets.

Thanks,
Jeff

a plated bullet is just a dead soft lead bullet with a copper coating.

the concern is stripping the rifling and cutting through the plating.
this can cause issues.

just use sensible loads that will make a hole in the paper, don't try for the last 20 fps. and they work just fine.

I run my 9's more like a 38 special target gun anyway and the result are on the target.
a can or bottle end [not standing up] is in serious danger anytime I point one of the 9's at them out to 50 yds.

they are running at what some would consider embarrassingly slow speeds for the 45 acp let alone the 9.

The problem is that "lead" bullets don't usually mean pure lead for the 9mm and such high pressure hand gun cartridges. They are alloys that are far harder than lead.
For other things like 45 Colts and ACPs, it doesn't matter.
So you can't just say, lead. And plated bullets are, as stated above, soft lead. Load some as you normally do and see what happens, is what I would do.

Use the lowest start load.
Once, the rule was to load plated bullets using lead bullet data.
Then, someone decided to tell folks to load using lead bullet data OR jacketed bullet data but only up to mid-range.
Now, some say to simply use jacketed data, not to exceed the velocity limit set by the manufacturer (which SHOULD be on the bullet box somewhere).

For Lee data, ask yourself this:
Berry's does not do load testing. No plated bullet manufacturer (other than large manufacturers like Speer/Hornady/Sierra) can afford load testing, and Lee does not perform load testing. Thus, where does Lee get load data? I'm not sure, but I do know that Lee data is very much on the "safe" side. In fact, if you look at your Lee data, you can find many examples where the start and max loads are the same.

The thing that so many forget is that the START load is designed to be safe no matter the case, primer, bullet, or lot number of powder used.
So, if you start with the start load—and, in particular, if you start with the lowest start load you can find—you are good to go.
If, however, you believe in starting somewhere other than the start load, your safety is entirely in your hands.

So, if I was to load plated bullets and had a choice of starting with a jacketed start load of 5.3gn, or a lead bullet start load of 4.9gn, or a plated start load of 4.8gn, I would always start with the lowest start load.

Thanks for the info folks. I was afraid the issue was some pressure problem. My preferred 9mm load is 5.8 gr of Herco which is a middle of the range load. Guess I’ll stick with that unless I see a problem. BTW, the Herco is the result of the purchase of an unopened canister of it at an estate sale for a trifle. Seems to be out of fashion these days but there’s lots of Herco pistol load data in the literature of 20 years ago.

Again, thanks for the help and best wishes.

Jeff

quote:

Seems to be out of fashion these days but there’s lots of Herco pistol load data in the literature of 20 years ago.

One of my favorite pistol powders

It is. That + Unique + 2400 were what I started on.