Berrys

[Creek]

I bought a box of 9mm of Berry's 115gr bullets...I've loaded up 130 out of the 250 in the box. Out of the 130 I have 17 that were bigger than the casing... I have flares the case mouth as much as possible and they still had issues, ruined the casings. I've never used Berry's before so I'm wondering if they are just low quality bullet makers and this is normal or do I just have a bad batch? At this rate I could have as many as 25-30 before I am done. What has your experience been with then

[Snurd]

Could be a fluke. I think most people on here that have used them have liked them. Contact Berry's and see what they will do for you.

[dewittdj]

I've never heard of anyone having an issue with Berrys. They're a sponsor of a number of the matches that are held throughout the western region and have a really good reputation.

I second Snurd's advice. Contact them and let them know what problems you've encountered.

[Creek]

Thanks. I will call them Monday. I don't know why I've never used them in the past. I was at Cabelas holding a bag of Remingtons almost 25 bucks for 100 and then I noticed the Berry's 250 for 32.00 dollars. That's a huge difference between the two. I have never heard anything bad, but I don't know a lot of people that reload. After the first few I started thinking that's why the Remington's were more, just better quality. Tomorrow my wife, daughters, son and friends are going shooting for my birthday. Hopefully they shoot well.

[FrankenHollow]

[Creek]

I have never loaded plated but knew there was a difference in how you load them. Before I bought them I pulled up Berry's site on my phone. It said to load them at jacketed mid-range. Mid-range for this bullet and power pistol is 6.4gr. Jacketed range is 6.2-6.7gr and OAL of 1.120. I kept them between 6.3-6.5.

After your post I looked around at more sites. I see some are a full grain less. I sure hop Berry's website is correct, I really don't feel like pulling all these and starting over.

[FrankenHollow]

[D-FIN]

I bought 1000 berry's 124 grn. I haven't had any issue with the bullets. I have had some fit tighter and seen to flare out the case a bit but not destroy it. After a bit I discovered that all the ones that was happening to were Tullamo BrassMaxx cases. So the few you had trouble with could be the cases not the bullet.

The first batch when started was copper plated and I was told it was best to keep them at or below 1000 fps. The low end of the scaled started at 4.9 grn and that has worked the best. I have kept berry's at the same setting. It seems to be a pretty acurate setting for the Glock 26 and the shield. I was surprised at the difference .1 grn can make.

[Creek]

I am getting ready to go try these in a minute. Berry's website says to load them at mid-range of jacketed and that's where I went. With Berry's having no real load data its tough to drop 10%, when there isn't anything to pull from. I've looked at numerous reloading sites and those guys are all over the place even down as low as 4.0 with power pistol but as high as 6 with bullseye. On the box it says Max velocity 1250. According to my books I should be around 1180

[FrankenHollow]

[Creek]

I went shooting and they functioned flawlessly. Recoil was nice, even my 13yr old was able to stay on target. Accuracy was also great. I set up some clay targets between 25-40yrds and crushed them. The brass and primer showed no signs of pressure. The next 100 I'll run through the chronograph and see what's going on there.

The issue of some bullets not fitting the case I haven't figured out why yet. I did not have time to pull them and measure it out yet. The dropping 10% in this case wasn't a concern. Berry's said load at the middle of a jacketed bullet, the box says do not exceed 1250fps. That fit 6.2-6.5gr range. Even using magnum primers it would've kept me under 2000fps. This is the problem with reloading. Had I been brand new to it all and might have pulled everything and dropped down to 4 grains because I read someone else loaded that low. That's a full 2.5 grains than I used......using to little powder can also be dangerous. Generally if I have a question about a recipie and can't find the direct answer I find similar bullets make comparisons and then adjust.....then I go looking at what the people on the internet say about powder type and grains to round, bullet type ect..... Now I might drop down to 5.8 with the power pistol and try some bullseye at 4.3gr. Ultimately we reload for savings and less powder contributes to that.

[Tenuki]

I have tried barry's, and not really had any problems with them, but I have been loading nothing but Xtreme bullets for quite some time now. Great prices, great bullets.

xtremebullets.com 500 - 115gr 9mm RN plated are 42.22 with free shipping!

[gwarren]

I've loaded about 8000 124 gr. fmj in 9mm, and shot about 4000, all with no snags. Used Berry's Bullets for years, with no complications. I load a 124 gr. fmj over 5.6 gr. of Unique, chronographed at 1125 fps M.V. I have tried to match the Federal HST hollow points I carry concealed. The Berry's are much cheaper to train/practice with. I stick to standard velocity as I carry a compact Ruger SR9. It's a small frame, but I love it. I trade a little knock down power for shot placement. I'm comfortable with that. The reloads cost me about $ .13 apiece. The other posters and I agree on the enjoyment of reloading.

Although, I was too tight to buy Dillon. I went with Hornady AP progressive and haven't looked back. Still have my old Pacific single stage to do trial recipes. A good reference or even 2 is a must. Read, study, load, read, study, and load some more. I've been loading for about 28 years. Shotgun, pistol, and rifle. Weigh the charges when working up loads. Use the books as a guide, but throw in a hefty dose of common sense too. Good luck, and keep your powder dry!

I tried 4.5 gr. of Bullseye and it was OK. But my pistol likes the Unique much better. 4" 10 shot groups at 10 yards is common for me now.

[James]

Do you have calipers? Measure those bullets. They should be .355, and perhaps as much as .357, but no larger. I have had excellent performance with Berry's bullets. If the bullets are really oversized, call Berrys.

I bought a box of 9mm of Berry's 115gr bullets...I've loaded up 130 out of the 250 in the box. Out of the 130 I have 17 that were bigger than the casing... I have flares the case mouth as much as possible and they still had issues, ruined the casings.

I don't get it why you can't just bell the casing a bit more and get them started? All you have to do is screw the decapping rod in half a turn more. This assuming you are decapping with a combo decapping, inside neck expander, and belling punch? You are using a 3 die set right? What brand o dies?

[Creek]

I haven't had time to pull those bullets and measure them yet. I have loaded several thousand 9mm with this setup. Over 100 of these loaded just fine. It was intermediate on these that seem to big. The brass is all mixed brass that I've loaded once before. All are sized, deprimed and trimmed, deburred and pockets cleaned. Its one of two things, the brass, could be federal, winchester, Remington only brass that its happening with or the diameter of the bullet is to big. That's my guess. Berry's is .356, that's what sticker they have on the box. I'll be able to look at them this weekend and I'll post what I find