rookie reloading question?

[justinvan]

Well the day is nearing when I assemble my first round. I have RTFM's a few times, played with equipment to get the feel of it. My question is about the the bullets (9mm), is there a better or worse 115 gr bullet (plated or jacketed) for me to start with? Dont really care about configuration, just wonder if any are "easier"to work with for the nuebie reloader? Price is not really an issue for the first few hundred if it makes it easier to get started. For most of my plinking loads I was planning on something likevthe Berries 115 grn plated once I get the hang of it a little more.

[Deputyhiro]

I've been buying plated bullets from xtremebullets.com. Great prices/ products. I don't think there is one that is easier to load than another. Just take your time, check, double check, and check yourself again. Start low and work up. It's a lot of fun.

[Scratch]

I use Berrys plated bullets and have no problems with them. I never noticed a difference between plated or not for handgun... Other than price.

[noylj]

I have never found a plated bullet that was worth the money. I get better results with cast bullets and real jacketed bullets.
I order my jacketed bullets from Zero (see PowderValley if they have any in stock), Montana Gold, or Precision Delta.
After you have loaded a few jacketed bullets, you can continue or go to cast lead.

[bensdad]

I get jacketed strait from Zero. Not sure if others can do that though. Somebody told me that Zero only sells to retailers. Somehow I've always been able to order from them. Last time i ordered, 115's were somewhere around $90/1000. No shipping charge. Might be cuz I always order 5,000 or so.

[MXGreg]

If you're also loading them for a 9mm carbine then go with the Xtreme over the Berry's. Berry's are rated for 1250fps and Xtremes are rated for 1500fps. I've switched to the Xtremes just for this reason.

[steve4102]

I get jacketed strait from Zero. Not sure if others can do that though. Somebody told me that Zero only sells to retailers. Somehow I've always been able to order from them. Last time i ordered, 115's were somewhere around $90/1000. No shipping charge. Might be cuz I always order 5,000 or so.

https://www.rozedist.com/

[crbutler]

My suggestion would be to get jacketed 115's from one of the folks who made your manual, or is the exact bullet listed in it.

Nosler, Sierra, Speer, Hornady- they all put out a good product and you will be able to set it at the exact COAL in the book and know that it "should" be 100%- so if you have FTL, FTE, etc. you can look for a specific cause knowing the length is not the reason.

After you have used up those 100 or so, then start looking at others. You are right to not be trying to learn on the cheap.

I load mostly Zero, but have been surprised a time or two about the right OAL to make the load 100% functioning going from book recipes.

[LarryFlew]

I dont have any 115 but if you want to try either Barrys hvy plated or Montana gold CMJ 124 gn I'm really close to you. Otherwise Gunstop stock Montana Gold 115s

[Dakotared]

I use powder coated cast bullets and they work amazing. I use them in both hand gun and an AR 15 9mm carbine. The ones I shoot are 124gr all though. If you want to try them out let me know.

[justinvan]

Thanks for the replies and offers. I think for the first batch I am going to get the exact bullet in the manual.... overkill maybe.. but then I have solid dimensions to work with. After that I think I will start looking for more cost effective alternitives. Once I have the more basic operations down I plan on visiting one of our communities more experienced reloaders for some further training. I keep seeing the berry's plated bullets listed, are they a decent plinking bullet? Are there heavy plated worth the extra money? As a whole its nice to save the money, but I am not just rolling my own for financial reasons, so I am willing to spend the few extra cents per box if it means a better quality product.

[justinvan]

Thanks for the replies and offers. I think for the first batch I am going to get the exact bullet in the manual.... overkill maybe.. but then I have solid dimensions to work with. After that I think I will start looking for more cost effective alternitives. Once I have the more basic operations down I plan on visiting one of our communities more experienced reloaders for some further training. I keep seeing the berry's plated bullets listed, are they a decent plinking bullet? Are there heavy plated worth the extra money? As a whole its nice to save the money, but I am not just rolling my own for financial reasons, so I am willing to spend the few extra cents per box if it means a better quality product.

[MarkL]

I started reloading a year ago for 45 and 9mm. On the 9mm, I started out with the Winchester 115gr FMJ I purchased from Gunstop where I bought all my stuff and then switched to Berry's plated and have now started in on 4000 rounds of 115gr FMJ from Precision Delta.

[LarryFlew]

Are there heavy plated worth the extra money? As a whole its nice to save the money, but I am not just rolling my own for financial reasons, so I am willing to spend the few extra cents per box if it means a better quality product.

You can load them as hot as jacketed where regular plated have 1200 fps limit which isn't much of a deal for plinking ammo.

[Seismic Sam]

never noticed any real difference between brands or types of bullets, except you DO have to flare the case for cast bullets, and maybe not for jacketed. Bottom line, if you start loading and you're having trouble with getting the bullets to seat, it's 99.9999% likely that you don't have something set up right. YOU will be the cause of most of your early reloading problems, so don't worry about the components!