Rainiers 230gr plated

[GJW1911]

I just purchased some rainier 230gr plated RN bullets, I intend to use W231 or Titegroup, I know you are supposed to use them at LRN velocities, but has anyone pushed them and near mad jacketed velocities? and what overall length did you use?

For a 230gr TMJ my Lyman book says 1.275"OAL,with 5.8gr W231 is max load, but it will not fit in my M3 grease gun magazines.
If I go down to 1.200" they will fit, I have also reduced the charge by 10% for the plated bullet.

Does anyone see a concern with reducing the OAL, on this round?
BTW: these are going through an MPA carbine.
Thanks for looking,

 

[TexMex247]

I use berrys plated bullets for plinkin' loads in my 45acp, 9mm and 45LC. Lee actually lists recommended powders for plated bullets. You can definitely load them hotter than lead(usually only by a few tenths of a grain) but less than jacketed bullets. If you are forced to load at lower C.O.L.s then you can NEVER load to max either way. I usually start at or near minimums because some manuals list higher minimums than others. For most of my 45acp(1911) loads I use AA#5(7.9gr) and 200gr SWC bullets. This is near minimum(listed at 7.8gr) but shoots like a lazer with low recoil and reliable cycling. You should probably make up a "dummy" round or two and check for reliable feeding before settling on an O.A.L. I think titegroup is an excellent canidate for your shorter bullets and should work well for this app. My Speer manual shows a max of 6.2gr of 231 for an TMJ bullet tested at a C.O.L. of 1.260 and a minimum of 5.6gr. The same manual shows a max charge for lead 230gr bullets to be 5.6gr W231 and a minimum of 5.1gr. It is amazing how much variation you can get from manual to manual. Hope some of this info helps...good luck - Texmex