"...came out sooty and hot..." Lighting a fire in 'em will do that.
"...appropriate OD of the flair and crimp..." There is no number. The amount of each is "enough" and no more. The flare is enough to be able to sit the bullet in without it falling out. The crimp, which will be taper crimp only, is just enough to hold the bullet in place.
Keep in mind that a Beretta 81 is not a target pistol.
No data on Berry's site, but plated bullets use cast bullet data. They are not jacketed bullets. No plated or cast data on Hodgdon's either.