470Rigby,

You caught me!

These bullets are paper patched with 25lb. cotton bond, which is pretty thick for patching, but is perfect for my Purdy with its .514" groove diameter.

The bullet is not jacketed, but is swaged lead, copper plated. It is the Ranier Ballistics .50 cal (.500" diameter) 335 grain pistol bullet. I get them from Midway. Here's a link:

Rainer .50 - 335 grain

And here's Rainier's website:

Ranier Ballistics

They offer the same bullet with a flat nose. I have shot hundreds of them. My Purdey is regulated for 340 grain bullets, so this is the right weight. As you can see, they are dirt cheap.

The copper plate on these bullets is remarkably thick, but nowhere near as thick as a jacket. They are very smooth, but I do not roughen the surface at all. You want the bullet to shed the paper on exiting the barrel.

Here's a pic of a batch of bullets after they were patched and prior to applying any lube:

Obviously, these are the flat point bullets and not the hollow points in the earlier pic.

Also, you can see a stack of my paper patches just to the right of the bullets.

Here is a pic of some loads in progress:

I started loading paper patched bullets in the fall of 2003 after buying my Purdey. It was originally designed for paper patched bullets. Paper patching is certainly "varsity" reloading. The best reference book is Paul Matthew's book, "The Paper Jacket" which is available from Huntingtons and also from Midway, as well as other sources.

If your .500 BPE has a .510 groove diameter you would use thinner paper with these bullets. Probably 9 lb. onion skin. You just have to try various thicknesses and go with the best results.

I'm certainly no expert on this subject, but I have tinkered with it a fair amount and have learned a few things along the way. I would be glad to pass along what I know if you get into it.

Best regards,
CptCurl