Plated, Coated as Accurate as Lead?

B

bluetopper

New member
Me and my shooting buddy have years of experience shooting and bench resting 38, 148gr wadcutters at 25 yards plus in both double end and hollow base in both plated and coated bullets and we never have experienced the tightness of groups you get with hand cast well fitted square base cast bullets.
Has anyone else experienced this. This may hold true in all calibers. I haven't tested those as extensively.
 
"both double end and hollow base in both plated and coated bullets and we never have experienced the tightness of groups you get with hand cast well fitted square base cast bullets."

I see a couple of things here. First, you're comparing different bullet profiles and second, you're comparing a mass produced sold in volume bullet with " hand cast well fitted square base cast bullets".
Assuming you pay attention to detail and personally inspect your hand cast bullets, no doubt they should be more uniform than those pounded out by the tens of thousands with a casual inspection once every thousand or so. Then, there's the fact that some revolvers simply don't like bevel based or hollow based bullets.
 
bluetopper,

Your experiences with various types of 148gr. WC 38cal bullets seems to follow the general consensus for plated vs. traditional cast/lubed bullets. I haven't used the newer coated bullets enough yet to compare them against hard-cast, so haven't formed an opinion on them yet.

I've never found accuracy success shooting plated bullets; They do make holes in the target, as long as you aren't TOO particular about where those holes appear. I'm guessing the plating process just doesn't lend itself to consistency yet. We'll see how coating technology fares.
 
I shoot a lot of 148 DEWC's and 158 SWC - both lead, plated, and some coated.

I shoot a lot of 200gn SWC's (45 ACP) - both lead and plated.

Just from my observations, I would have to give the accuracy nod to the lead bullets too.
 
I have had accuracy very close to cast lead with coated bullets, sometimes even better, but the plated bullets don't seem to measure up. They give consistently larger groups by about 30-40%. This in two different calibers and two different revolvers in each caliber.
 
I loaded some plated 200 gr HP from berry's. Loaded 4 different charges. I used jacketed data starting @ the mid range up to max. The max charge gave me my best group.
All were acceptable, but for real tight groups I'll stick to lead. BTW, powder was IMR 7625. Maybe I'll try another powder. Slower ? Faster burn rate? Not sure which way to go.
 
I have gotten equal or better accuracy out of coated bullets in some loads when compared to lead. Plated accuracy slips a bit, but not much. I found the biggest variation in .45 auto loading, and the best coated results in .32 H&R and .327 Federal Magnum loads and some .44 loads. Haven't taken time to see if there is any correlation between the type of gun (revolver vs semi-auto) or brand (Ruger, S&W, Colt) and what they seem to prefer. Not enough time for that. I just find a load I like in a gun and shoot the heck out of it. All that said, I do really like Xtreme plated 148 wadcutters and find them every bit as accurate as lead in my guns.
 
I'very gotten equal or worse accuracy depending on the supplier of the coated bullets. The first coated bullets I bought you could see after very close inspection that the coating was of inconsistent thickness, rough even in places, hadn't noticed till I really looked for it. The second supplier I purchased from was of a totally different quality level. Nearly a glass smooth coating and accuracy to match.
 
In several firearms, I have gotten better accuracy with plated bullet than anything else. In some, jacketed were better and in others plain lead was better.

Most people over crimp plated bullets which is a serious degrading effect to accuracy. That is also why I do not use plated bullets for heavier loads in revolvers.
 
Mobuck hit it right on the head......

I see a couple of things here. First, you're comparing different bullet profiles and second, you're comparing a mass produced sold in volume bullet with " hand cast well fitted square base cast bullets".
Click to expand...

AFAIK, plated bullets were never intended to be bench rest fodder, but cheap plinkers. The exception would be plated bullets like Speer's "DeepCurls" and their "GoldDots", both of which shoot very well for me. Coated lead bullets are nuttin' but coated Hard cast bullets and their accuracy bare with standard lube, will probably be relative to how accurate they are when coated.
 
I've always found the swaged lead bullets to be the most accurate, the Hornady HBWC & SWC in particular, that's with a scoped revolver at the bench.

Good cast bullets would run 2nd for me, the soft alloy Penn DEWC is a good one. My old GP-100 loved that bullet.

Plated do very well for me too, both my rifle and revolver shoot the Rainier DEWC almost as good as anything else.

Haven't tried any coated wad cutters yet. I've shot some coated RNs and FPs, but nothing to write home about in the accuracy department, and I get more fouling than I do with plated.

So these days it's mostly Rainier plated 148 DEWCs and 158 RN-FPs. Great accuracy and a clean gun at a tolerable price.
 
I have been PC'ing all my cast loads for over 3 years or so. I also have a lot of greased loads of the exact same profiles/sizes/cals. I see somewhat better performance from the PC'd ones. Not to mention reduced smoke, minimized/zero leading/no stick slugs in the summer.

I recommend the PC technology from my expereinces with both.

Is PC a miracle-accuracy-creating-cure-all for everything and everybody. Of course not. But I prefer PC to anything eles for ALL loads I normally shoot.

But your mileage may vary!
 
I purchased 1000 Ranier 200gr. Plated RN with Bulls Eye, Win. primers and Winchester cases. I have been impressed using my Colt 1991. I will be trying the 230Gr. RN next.
 
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