Anyone use Xtreme copper plated bullets in 9mm reloads in a Glock pistol? Any good news or bad news?

i;ve been using them for several years in a variety of thing all without a problem
also in 9mm you might try the poly coated ones - they work well too and are cheaper

copper washed/plated projectiles should be allocated to small bore/rimfires.

I limit their use to pistol calibers. Never tried them in hunting rifles. 'n Hunt is too costly to take risk on these bullets. For hunting I only use premium bullets like Nosler Accubond.

On the other end, if you have your own farm and lots of opportunity to test them - by all means go for it! Maybe we will be surprised!

Good news: they go down range
Bad news: no where near as accurate as jacketed or well made lead bullets

I have been shooting plated bullets in order to reduce the amount of elemental lead blown out in front of me. Every physical, my blood is tested for lead, and at the end of the shooting season, my lead levels have gone up. The shooting community really does not want to know about this, many are in denial, (like they are about the deterioration of gunpowder) but lead is toxic. Based on the numbers in this chart, I believe the greatest source of exposure is lead bullet. Mind you, at the time I made this chart, the OHSA work place limit was 80 micro grams per cubic meter, and as you can see, one cast lead bullet blows out 5643 micrograms of lead per round. Barium is a heavy metal, don't know what it does on the human body, but it can't be good.


Unfortunately, even using jacketed or plated bullets won't get the elemental lead blown out each shot down to zero because lead styphante primers blow out a lot of lead. But, going to plated, coated, or jacketed bullets, and shooting when the wind is behind you, and never shooting in an indoor range, will cut your lead intake. All that lead in front of your face, you breathe it in, it goes into your lungs, and then directly into your blood stream. Of course, you will find those who actually make positive health claims for lead, but it is the earliest recognized industrial workplace toxin, and I have found workplace regulations dating back to the 1900.

Maybe some of you old coots remember this comic book. Lead is good for you children!




Now what I found about plated bullets is that the velocities are close to, but not identical to cast bullets. I tested one of my Bullseye pistols, this one was made by David Sams, and compared function and test with various loads. I shoot factory loads for a benchmark velocity, and what I want is something that is accurate, and 100% reliable in function. As a general rule, I have had to add a couple of tenths of powder to acheive the same velocities as my cast lead loads. These loads are only with plated and jacketed, but they may give you an idea of the velocity of these bullets.

Plated bullets shoot fine out to 25 yards, I cannot hold well enough at 50 yards to really tell if they are inferior in accuracy at that distance to cast or jacketed. No Bullseye shooter I know, except me, is using them. However, at short distances, they shoot well enough,, and make holes.

M92 FS Beretta 9mm Bar Sto Barrel


125 gr FMJ Olympic Factory
27-Mar-06 T = 61 °F

Ave Vel = 1261
Std Dev = 20?
ES = 63.11
High = 1288
Low = 1225
N = 10




115 Full Metal Case Master Factory Ammo
20-Jun-09 T = 90 °F

Ave Vel = 1180
Std Dev = 10.19
ES = 33.27
High = 1197
Low = 1167
N = 8


115 gr RMR Plated RN 6.0 grs Power Pistol lot 3-16 WSP OAL 1.150" Mag Length
15-Sep-16 T = 94 °F crimp 0.375"

Ave Vel = 1175
Std Dev = 22
ES = 81
Low = 1130
High = 1211
N = 20

Very accurate


115 gr XTP Hornady HP 0.355" 6.0 grs Power Pistol lot 3-16 WSP OAL 1.10"
15-Sep-16 T = 95 °F crimp 0.375"

Ave Vel = 1161
Std Dev = 54
ES = 197
Low = 1111
High = 1308
N = 11

Very accurate but rounds would not feed, jammed on barrel ramp.
One seated very deep produced 1247 fps, not included in data


115 gr FMJ Hornady 0.355" 6.0 grs Power Pistol lot 3-16 WSP OAL 1.15"
15-Sep-16 T = 95 °F crimp 0.375"

Ave Vel = 1187
Std Dev = 16
ES = 58
Low = 1157
High = 1215
N = 9

v accurate.


115 gr RMR Plated RN 4.2 grs Titegroup lot 4-16 WSP OAL 1.150" Mag Length
15-Sep-16 T = 95 °F crimp 0.375"

Ave Vel = 1092
Std Dev = 20
ES = 73
Low = 1065
High = 1138
N = 16

very accurate

115 gr FMJ Hornady 0.355" 4.2 grs Titegroup lot 4-16 WSP OAL 1.15"
15-Sep-16 T = 95 °F crimp 0.375"

Ave Vel = 1108
Std Dev = 26
ES = 75
Low = 1074
High = 1149
N = 9


Mount loosened up, tightened and verified zero with 115 gr RMR plated