Quote History Quoted:
I have fired many 115 gr Extreme plated with a max listed load of Power Pistol in 9mm.
Hot load in a pistol, never an issue in my 16 inch AR9.
Close as I can come is different components.
Fire one and look down the barrel.
I'm thinking the caution is more for accuracy, that's my guess.
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Firing properly loaded plated bullets at high velocities does not cause the plating to separate and/or lead the barrels. That is simple internet hype. What causes plated bullets to fail is simply handloader error, i.e. over crimping or worse, roll crimping the loads so that the case cuts through the plating. It's that simple. Load them correctly and they work fine. Screw it up and they don't.
The caution the manufactures put on the velocities is purely to limit liability, i.e. the lawyers want it. I talked to the owner of Rainier bullets a number of years back and he confirmed that the limits are there because they don't control how their bullets are loaded and therefore the lawyers insist that they establish some limits to limit any legal exposure. Not because the bullets can't take it but because there are idiots reloading them incorrectly. It's also true that like plain lead bullets, they aren't precision bullets made for high velocities.
Further, he stated that if loaded correctly (not cutting through the plating by over crimping or roll crimping) that they can be driven at high velocities without any issues. They may not be as accurate as precision bullets as they obturate into the rifling more than fmj, but their plating won't peal off if loaded correctly and driven fast.
Like dryflash3, I've fired 10s of thousands of .357Mag, .40s&w, 10mm, 45acp, 45Super, .30 carbine, and even .308 plated bullets at high velocities, the .357Mag over 2,000fps, the 10mm over 1,550fps, the 45 Super over 1,300fps, and both the .30 Carbine and .308 over 2,000fps without a single plating failure. Zero leading of the barrels. Further, I've recovered dozens of fired bullets and found the plating intact on every one. Some bullets are flattened to pancake shape and the plating still hasn't failed. Why? Because I take care and don't over crimp, that's why.
If you lead your barrel or lose the plating on your bullets, blame the reloader, not the bullet, because you screwed up, not the bullet. That's the real reason that many blame plated bullets. They screw up loading them but won't take the blame for doing it wrong so they blame the bullet. In fact, most shooters I've listened to claiming that high velocities caused their bullets to lose the plating come from the 'everyone gets a participation trophy' era and have never learned to take responsibility for anything they do.