I just received the box of .45 Colt 255gr Keith SWC bullets with Hi-Tek coating that I ordered, to give them a try. These are the first coated bullets I've gotten to see/handle & have a question.

All the pictures I've seen here look like the coating is fairly thick. I know there are a couple types of coating so their's is likely different, but it's very thin. I'd almost call it a heavy frosting, verses a coat. You can easily scratch thru it down to the lead. I did seat & roll crimp one in a case & then pulled it with a kinetic puller & it looked fine without any damage to the coating though.

I plan to load & shoot them next week to see how they perform but wanted to see if any other users could comment on the Hi-Tek coating thickness of the bullets they've received.

PS: They shipped quickly & did a great job packing the bullets in the carton so the 45 Colt brass wouldn't get damaged by them.

.

Attached Images

45 Colt 255gr SWC Missouri Bullets Hi-Tek coating -1B.jpg (76.7 KB, 649 views)

__________________
Waiting for the break of day

I'll be looking forward to your thoughts on them, BD37. I've been loading plated bullets for a while now, but haven't tried any Hi Tek coated bullets yet. And I was looking at Missouri Bullets as I live in Louisiana and don't want to buy from Bayou Bullets because I would have to pay shipping + tax.

The info I just got from talking to Missouri Bullets on that Hi Tek coating is that they will shoot approx. 200 fps faster than regular cast of the same weight with the same loads, also smoke less, and no lead fouling. I ordered some and they have not arrived yet. I think this is a heck of a claim and can't wait to see the results.

I've decided that coatings are the greatest thing since sliced bread. The question now is, WHICH coating. Some look candy coated, some have a very thin coating with a little hint of color. (I've got some green Bayou bullets to try). Which one is the best? Do they smoke? Can you push to high velocities? Do they cause fouling??

__________________
"He was kinda funny lookin'"

I've been using the Missouri Bullet Co's Hi-Tek coated bullets in 9mm and 45acp with fantastic results.

They're a lot cleaner to handle than regular lubed cast bullets and there's no leading!

But I too have noticed the "thinness" of the Hi-Tek coating on some of the bullets. You can see the lead shining through.

As long as the Hi-Tek coating is on the driving part of the bullet that touches the bore, I guess it's OK?

Hi-Tek is the future of cast bullets. They're all I'll buy from now on.

I have to shoot up over 2000 lubed bullets so I can try them in 44 special, 44 magnum and 45 Colt.

..

HI-TEK is thinner coating than projectiles that are "POWDER COATED".
Some experimenters are running rifle loads to 2500 FPS.

HI-TEK has different CATALYSTS available to the self-coaters.

HI-TEK is NEW to many COMMERCIAL CASTERS that are switching
to it over older conventional WAXY LUBES.

LOW/NO SMOKE, NO LEADING, CLEAN HAND AND DIES, IT COMPLETELY
ENCAPSULATES THE LEAD. The coating IS THE LUBE.

IF YOU SMELL "BURNT ELECTRICAL SMELL" when shooting,
The coating was IMPROPERLY CURED, either baked too short
of a time or too low of a temperature.

The Catalysts ARE TIME & TEMPERATURE sensitive in order
for the catalyst to "GO OFF".

Some new to the HI-TEK coating process may not have worked
all the KINKS OUT OF THEIR MANUFACTURING PROCESS.

YOU should not just be able to scratch off the coating either.

There is about a 228 page thread on HI-TEK over at THE CAST BOOLITS SITE.

Was developed in Australia 20 years ago, RELATIVELY NEW TO USA SHOOTERS.

__________________
NRA Pistol/Rifle Inst. RSO

If I had to guess, here in lies the core issue to problems some have complained about.
When long on orders and short on time .. it's easy to short cycle the bake of an over loaded oven to make deadlines.

some commercial casters get it, others might be a little slow on the uptake.

__________________
it just needs more voltage

Hey Venom, YEP!

Too many orders, not enough time, some have done it,
I'm not going to mention names but I hope they've improved their
processes along the line.

The NEW dry powder mixes are hitting the USA now and they
have even better catalysts.

The USA Marketplace is driving the new developement with
catalysts and DIFFERENT COLORS so commercial casters can
produce different colors from each other.

__________________
NRA Pistol/Rifle Inst. RSO

I just ordered some for 357. not in yet.
I too have read in several forums that some of the HI TEK bullets absolutely wreak when being shot.

HI-TEK projectiles are great when PROPERLY PREPARED AND PROCESSED.

Misapplied OR UNDER-PROCESSED and a BURNT ELECTRICAL SMELLS MAY BE PRODUCED,

CHIPPING OF THE COATING MAY OCCUR, OR OUTRIGHT FAILURE OF IT.


HI-TEK requires a bit of an effort to get the process producing WITH YOUR EQUIPMENT.

Oven don't output at a Dial Temp, or have HOT and COLD areas.


Many VARIABLES have to be accounted for including IMPROPER DRYING TIMES before baking,

along with UNSEEN moisture under the coating that can cause failures.

__________________
NRA Pistol/Rifle Inst. RSO

that, I believe, to be one of the short bake cycle results.
HT and powder coating are both brilliant when done properly....
I've yet to do either improperly, but I do see the potential.

__________________
it just needs more voltage

Take a ride to Bayou Bullets in Lutcher, La, and pick them up in person, Donnie is a great guy to do business with.

Gateway Bullets, SNS Casting, LNL Casting, Missouri Bullets, Black Bullets International recently converted to HI-TEK, along with Bayou Bullets are some of the Commercial Casters using the HI-TEK process.

More commercial casters are switching to this LUBE solution over the old WAXY and Messy Lubes.

HI-TEK just has too many benefits not to switch over, one being
to completely encapsulate the lead,

a requirement of some indoor ranges.

__________________
NRA Pistol/Rifle Inst. RSO

.

The thinness is noticeable but it really doesn't show up in the picture. The thinest surface seems to be the bearing surface. The crimp groove, grease groove & nose are coated the heaviest.


.
.
It doesn't take much effort to scratch it down to the lead, especially on the thin bearing surface. Definitely not bonded, if it's supposed to be. While loading some up today, I noticed a few of the bullets have chips in the coating, down to the lead. Otherwise, the majority looked okay.

.
.

I loaded up 65 bullets using 5 different powders (I4227, 2400, Bluedot, Longshot & Unique) all around 1050-1125fps. Four of them are with powder weights that previously leaded with RNFP greased BHN-15 bullets that I'm retrying as a test & the one that did not lead before.

I'm optimistic they'll do fine. I'll let you know in a few days when I get to try them.

.

__________________
Waiting for the break of day

Good set of questions
there's a sea of coatings and they're not entirely equal.
I am very confident that you will never achieve a velocity from a pistol, that will break the back of any of the coatings. The margins don't show till you're gunning for glory in a rifle.
Do they smoke .... no, they are too young to buy cigarettes.
Seriously though, yes, there is some smoke, particularly in the upper range of velocity. In no case is it as pronounced as traditional lube.

High velocity? ... yes, my personal best so far is a tickle north of 2700 fps.

Fouling ....
logic dictates that it must transfer to the bore. In nearly every case, I find no trace. Either it blends in with the powder fouling, where you can't tell what your looking at, or it gets incinerated by the firing cycle.
The few times i have had visible fouling, it's been a black streak, easily removed by the usual solvents.

__________________
it just needs more voltage

BLUEDOT37,

YES, it is supposed to be bonded to the lead, so your
process or procedure or that of your commercial supplier
was is incorrect.

!) TEMP Baked at was too low. (Catalyst did not fully go off)
2) Not baked long enough. (Same reason as #1).
3) Needs baked at 400F (200C) for 10/12 minutes, longer if heavier projectiles.
4) DO NOT SIZE BEFORE COATING, IT BURNISHES THE LEADS SURFACE AND CAUSES LESS ADHESION.

5) MUST BE DRY BEFORE BAKING, AND NOT JUST TO THE TOUCH
AS MOISTURE UNDER THE COATING WILL CAUSE IT TO FAIL
6) Make sure of oven temps as ovens vary greatly in their temps.

7) First coat should be applied VERY THINLY for best adhesion of following coats.
8) Total coats of 2, sometimes 3.
9) COMMERCIAL CASTERS coat for "EYE APPEAL" to the consumer,
if the projectile has lube grooves, they try to coat them too,
this is NOT NECESSARY, so home coaters can forget that.

10) Some commercial Casters may be trying to HEAVILY COAT,
and this can lead to failures as well.
11) Some Commercial Casters NEW AT THIS, may be trying to
speed things up to LOWER THEIR PRODUCTION COSTS,
and this is causing adverse product reactions or failures.

12) There is a LEARNING CURVE to this process AND YOUR CHOSEN EQUIPMENT'S OPERATING TEMPS.

13) Good Luck with your choices, applied and cured CORRECTLY, this coating is FABULOUS, and has a 20 Year
track record in Australia where it was and continues to be developed. This coating material and process is just somewhat NEW TO THE USA. Practice makes perfect.

NOTE!!!! Bad or WATER CONTAMINATED ACETONE or improper
Ratio mixing with catalyst can lead to the coatings failure.

__________________
NRA Pistol/Rifle Inst. RSO

There is currently a fad that has developed concerning the use of powder coatings to coat cast bullets for whatever reasons. Powder coatings are extremely hard and contain fine abrasive material. The main ingredient of powder coatings is Barium Sulfate. It is a fine white powder that has the same hardness as chalk and synthetic aluminum oxide. These compounds are excellent fine abrasives especially when high pressures are applied. The melting point of Barium Sulfate is 1580 degrees Centigrade. My point is that Barium Sulfate remains in its original powder form even after the binding polymer has reacted. I would never run this material through any of my barrels unless the intention was to firelap them. If you want to firelap your barrels, then by all means, please do use powder coatings. Or, contact Dave Tubb. He has been offering firelapping kits for quite a long time. The kit will save you a lot of money. We will not be participating in this current fad as we will not be responsible for ruined barrels and trigger groups.

I have only experimented with Missouri bullets. They have a thin copper colored coating that doesn't seem any harder than the cast alloy bullet. You can scrape it off with a steel edge, it doesn't chip off. It is positively not hard. It seems slippery and smooth and I would be surprised if there were particles suspended in the polymer that would be hard enough to lap the steel bore. I can say this much for sure. As a lub, the coating works. After 200 rounds, I have had zero lead fouling a good performance from these bullets. I did have some of the black streaks mentioned earlier, but they cleaned up easily with just a patch and , in my case, Browning bore polish. So far, I'm impressed.

Please tell us more about this?

Australia has been using this type coating for 20 years. If there was a problem, don't you think they'd have discovered it by now?

Competitive shooters in AUSTRALIA have been shooting millions of rounds for 20 years now.

We're talking about HI-TEK coatings NOT WHAT IS COMMONLY REFERRED TO AS "POWDER COATING" such as you hear about using Harbor Freight
Electrostatic gun to apply and Harbor Freight powders.

MR Dardas runs a CONVENTIONAL lead bullet casting company, so his comments can be understood,his business is at risk.

Many of Mr Dardas' competitors are switching to HI-TEK (not powder coating per say) even though the newest HI-TEK formulas arriving in the USA have the color and catalyst combined into a powdered form. This eliminates one of the RATIO ERRORS commonly made by home caster/coaters. Just mix 20 GRAMS and 100ml of ACETONE and shake/shake/shake and proceed to tumble lube your projectiles then bake.

I personally use 7 1/2 ml of solution per coating per 6 pounds of projectiles, dry overnight than bake and repeat again.

You do an ACETONE "WIPE TEST" and a "SMASH TEST" on each batch
to check for ADHESION and that YOUR PROCESS is not out of control.

Easiest way is to just ORDER SOME from a commercial caster using using the HI-TEK process, More are converting over to it all the time now.

Action Pistol/Cowboy shooters love the stuff due to the LOW/NO SMOKE, they see the targets better.

HI-TEK AND WHAT IS REFERRED TO IN GENERAL AS "POWDER COATING" ARE APPLES AND ORANGES, THEY ARE NOT THE SAME THING.

__________________
NRA Pistol/Rifle Inst. RSO

shocker, what is your experience with casting, powder coating and Hi-Tek coating of cast bullets? I'm not trying to discredit your input about this in any way, BTW. I work in the oil drilling industry and we usually use Barium Sulfate as a fluid weighting agent and drilling fluids are my job. If the powder coatings do contain any amount of barite, which is the common name of Barium Sulfate, then you are absolutely correct about it being mildly abrasive. If you don't believe this, you really need to talk to someone who works with barite for a living. I don't know how many times we have had to change out butterfly valves in the dry product transport lines because the flapper is cut and washed from barite. Also, we need to regularly change out the hopper jets on both barite and chemical liquid mixing hoppers because they are washed out because of barite contained in the drilling fluid. These jets are generally made of tool steel and are probably harder than a pistol or rifle barrel. The point of this is,

1. Anything used as a coating or lube substitute on your cast bullet containing barite will erode your barrel, no way around it!
2.Barite is a mined compound, with a specific gravity of 4.0 - 4.5 and has an average hardness of 3.0 - 3.5 Mohs. What this means in layman's terms is that barite is a fancy, heavy type of dirt that is mildly abrasive. And being mildly abrasive, it will cause erosion in your barrels, forcing cones and such. There is no way to bypass the abrasiveness of barite as it is just a fact.

I don't know who came up with the idea of powder coating bullets, but he did a disservice to the shooting community if the powder coatings do indeed contain barite. The reason we use barite as a fluid weighting agent in the oil drilling industry have more to do with the fact that it is less abrasive or toxic than alternatives, relatively inexpensive, has a high specific gravity which allows us to make drilling fluids weighing higher than 18.0 pounds per gallon (water weighs 8.345 ppg) and doesn't react with other products chemically.

Now that I know that powder coating contains barite, there is no way in hell I will use them. And this is from a person who has 35+ years experience and usage of barite.

I'm a PhD chemist. I shoot cast bullets, that 's my experience. I quoted Dardas because alternative points of view can lead to learning and wisdom.

Thank you for replying, shocker. I'm no Chemist, but I have very extensive experience with using Barium Sulfate and my experience mirrors perfectly your description of what it will do. I've taken powdered barite and water and made a paste out of it and used it to smooth up the action of lockback knives, which worked well. Anyone that is using a powder coating containing barite should be looking forward to changing out barrel and cylinders on a regular basis.

BTW, the barite we use in drilling fluid is ground to a size between 84 microns and 50 microns for the most part.

Am I correct to assume that powder coating and the HI-Tek coating are two different things?

Shooter

Don't know where you derived this information from but barium sulfate (Barite) is extremely soft, about 3.5 on mohs hardness scale and aluminum oxide (corundum) is 9+. A knife blade has hardness up to 5.5.


and

Barium is added to drill mud to weight it not for any abrasive it might have.

From what I gathered, yes they are totally different.

Yes, powder coat is a dry bake on process.
Ht is a two part fluid process with a bake involved to fuse and cure it's parts.
Both work to the same general effect.

__________________
it just needs more voltage

It's far from being the main ingredient at a 3% concentration per msds of one I don't use.
No one has reported a pooched barrel from it yet.
This point does make me curious about it's effects beyond the ground glass currently in our primers to begin with.
My primary powder coat is a Teflon type, which seems counterproductive to include an abrasive component.
It's not stopping anytime soon, so I will wait for failure reports while observing my own barrels as I already do.

__________________
it just needs more voltage

Wow, this discussion has gotten really serious and is of consequence to anybody shooting coated bullets.

What are the types of coatings?

Are any of them really abrasive?

Which companies use what?

Which companies are or are not curing the coatings correctly?


All I have to contribute to this is that Bayou bullets has a very thin, slightly colored coating (I chose green. ). You can barely tell that they are colored) I have yet to try them.

What I'm trying to avoid is something like 'Moly' bullets which weren't what they were cracked out to be.

__________________
"He was kinda funny lookin'"

ruggyh, you are correct. The Barium Sulphate (called barite in the trade) is added for density control of the drilling fluids. That it is a low abrasive is just something we as an industry have to deal with. It is not added for it's abrasiveness. The drilling is actually done with purpose-designed bits of various kinds. Of the available density control alternatives that can be used, barite is by far the least problematic. Also used is hematite (Fe2O3), which is far more abrasive than barite and causes real problems with continued usage for all the fluid handling system and pumps and the other alternative is Galena, which is deadly toxic as it is lead sulfate and very high density, which would lead to settling and sag issues in the drilling fluid.

Again ... good questions.

to say there are just two (Powder coat and HT) would not be accurate.
HT is its own thing, designed specifically for bullets.
Most of the com casters use this system.
Visually, it is a transparent coating offering a tint.

Powder coating is where the fun really starts.
PC variants number higher than I care to count.
Generally, these are a solid opaque color coat.

Within the powder coats, we have polyester, which is the usual brew most are talking about, Epoxy, which also sees some bullet usage, Teflon, which lends itself to the task perfectly, but is not legal in all states. Nylon, which we've seen before in Federals NyClad loads, and a host of others, many of which are obvious fails due to cure temps and composition such as ceramic.
Of those in use, none have shown any sign of accelerated barrel wear. In fact, this is the first I've heard of it, and this isn't past theory. so .. no useable PC is obviously and blatantly abrasive. I suppose one has to be the "Worst" ... we'll be waiting for a while to find which one earns that title. There have been no reports of this that I am aware of.

Looking at the HT system alone, you can bet that Bayou cures correctly, as they are also THE supplier of the coating to the rest of the com cast fraternity as well as the DIY set.
As for the rest ... I really have no idea who does what wrong.
I cast my own and almost never buy.

Is it anything like the great Moly flop ...
NO ... not even close.
These things, unlike moly, actually work, and work exceptionally well.
How and why it works, I cannot fully explain.
I guess some of the feats of coatings can be left to the notion of magic without harm.

__________________
it just needs more voltage

Again venom, I'm not going to say that the PC will be killing barrel life, as I have no experience with it whatsoever. But what I am saying is that if the powder coating contains Barium Sulfate, it will have a certain amount of abrasiveness to the coating. That is because Barium Sulfate is a mild abrasive and this is born out seeing it in commercial usage. I have seen dry powdered barite wash out a bronze flapper on a butterfly valve in less than a week on the rigs and even with a stainless steel flapper it will eventually cut it. On the mixing systems and with the barite in solution in the drilling fluids, it will cut valves and wash out jets in a jet hopper. Not in 2 days or 2 weeks, but over the course of months to years it does it's damage.

From what I know and have experienced with barite, I know that I personally will never run any powder coated bullets through my guns unless it would be my only recourse. I would rather fun regular lubed lead and fight leading issues than run something potentially harmful through my firearms.

Just sayin..............

I think it way out of context to compare mixing flappers use in the oilfield to a barrel. The mixing valves see extremely large volumes of barite and additional percentages of silicates which are much more
abrasive in nature (and much harder). Since barite used in the drilling industry is a milled product it is usually only about 95% concentration.

It appears that barium sulfate is used to help produce a high solids spray that will not absorb / hold any of the volatile solvents used in the products. Barite is insistently inert and has a high melting point.

Barium sulfate is also used contrast xray studies of gastrointestinal system which patients drink it.

Gentlemen,
We need to get back to the issue at hand, WE'RE NOT OIL WELL DRILLING.

If you use almost ANY MATERIAL, enough times, fast enough, it will prove to be ABRASIVE.

I CAST, SELF COAT with the HI-TEK formulas, presently I am coating with the NEW DRY POWDER MIX formula "Texas Tea", which is BLACK like oil. I also have used the dry mix "ZOMBIE GREEN".

I also have used com. cast from Bayou, & SNS Casting.

I purchased my LIQUID formula HI-TEK from Bayou,
and my DRY POWER HI-TEK (the color & catalyst are already mixed
in a dry powder form to which you add you own ACETONE) from Gateway Bullets. I prefer the dry power mix over the liquid mix,

I only do handgun bullets as I have no real rifle interests.

I've coated and shot THOUSANDS of projectiles, and I can truly say "I LOVE MY HI-TEK".

I also have no real experience with Conventional Electrostatic Type Powder Coatings,
but VenomBallistics does and he has spoken about them.

__________________
NRA Pistol/Rifle Inst. RSO

Wow , after reading all this, I think I will stick with my hard cast lead bullets.

You do raise a point that does lead to a valid question or two, which I have found rare among those who have not tried it.

Question one being rate of wear.
is it significantly greater than what our normal shooting and cleaning cycles do to them?
I've shot up over half the rainbow worth and see nothing out of the ordinary. I guess Ill get back to this in about 10 years where this might show up.

the next question raised is ...
Is the offending substance in all powder coat formulations, to where it can be avoided?
I don't see why it has to be.

__________________
it just needs more voltage

Great! More Bayou bullets for me!

One might ask

What are the "Pigment extenders"?
What are the "Fillers"?
In the coating.

It would be downright silly to even think that an abrasive compound would be good lube for bullets. Maybe we should add a little fine sand to the lubes we presently use to give it a little 'tooth'.

THESE ARE GREATLY INFORMATIVE ANSWERS, PEEPS.

__________________
"He was kinda funny lookin'"

Context? No, with identical loads they won't go 200fps faster. Yes there is still smoke, just not as much, depending on the powder.

__________________
NRA Cert. Inst. IDPA CSO

I'm not an expert on plastics. But if true, this would be the first time I ever heard of an abrasive being used as a lubricant. More knowledgeable people may prove me wrong, but I have a feeling that, at least with the coating I'm seeing on the Missouri bullets I have on hand, the story of accelerated wear will prove to be unfounded.

I have no problem with the Hi-Tek coating process, as that is totally different from powder coating. Again, I have no direct experience with either product, but from the pictures I've seen of the Missouri Bullets and Bayou Bullets Hi-Tek offerings, they don't look like they have any kind of abrasive in them. They look more like some kind of polymer type coating to me. I do plan to try out either the Bayou Bullets or Missouri Bullets Hi-Tek coated offerings in the future, if only to satisfy my curiosity about how effective this coating is.

Perhaps it has legs.
But, those legs are not a fraction of what you're making them out to be here.
My 1911 is a shade north of 5k rounds worth of powder coated ammo.
I should be seeing something worth concern by now.
What little effect it may have might be the difference between 198k and 200k rounds.
Point being, the field hasn't existed long enough to make a definitive call on powder coating.
Approaching this from a scientific view point, I must entertain the possibility of an issue, but the bottom line is current observation until such time as it is supported.
Powder coat .... it's not just for breakfast anymore.

For those getting confused, this sub topic has zero bearing on the subject of hi tec coating also in progress.

__________________
it just needs more voltage

By all means.
If it were my first purchase, I'd go with bayou.
I have never seen a report with short bake symptoms connected to them.
Do some research into sourcing the coating products as well.
If you cast, you won't go back.

__________________
it just needs more voltage

The CAST BOOLITS site has a 229 page thread on on HI-TEK including
input from the company owner in Australia and testers from around the world,
many are competitive shooters.

Donnie Miculik, Jerry's (Mr Revolver himself) brother is the Bayou Bullets owner.

That forum also has a long thread on POWDER COATING.

Folks who visit many different forums may be familiar with the
name or handle jmorris, he'a shooter, inventor, innovator, tinker,
businessman, and well respected individual, well, he loves HI-TEK also.

__________________
NRA Pistol/Rifle Inst. RSO

Just did some thread searching at Cast Boolits. Discovered two things. Hi-Tek and Powder Coating are very different and should be evaluated separately. The other is that even competitive shooters that shoot thousands of coated bullets don't see enough difference in wear rates to say if they are accelerated or not with the coatings. For all we know there is less wear with coatings than with traditionally lubed cast bullets.
Then, there are other factors that effect wear rates to consider. From what I can tell, nobody is complaining about coatings ruining their gun barrels.

I've tried a few brands of Hi-Tek coated bullets, and they've all differed quite a bit.

I suspect Donnie (Bayou) has the most experience with it and produces the "best looking" product. His bullets have a nice thick coating, super slick and smooth. I've actually had these slip out of my fingers while trying to seat them.

Black and Blue: Nice thick coating, but kind of duller finish. Not nearly as shiny as Bayou.

Missouri: As others have said, their .45 bullets seem to have a very thin application of coating. The funny thing is, my first order from them was .45 and .38. The .38 are beautiful. Nice thick/consistent coating. The .45 look like they forgot to do the second coat. I really wonder if someone there is messing up and using the wrong amount of materials? Obviously, a .45 225gr bullet has more surface area than a .38 125gr bullet, and it's going to take more Hi-Tek to coat the bigger bullet to the same thickness. I contacted them about the difference (and the fact that I'd found some where the coating was peeling). I can't find the response in my email now, but they basically said I shouldn't worry about it.

Initially, I was kind of annoyed by their response, but then I found some Bayou where the coating had peeled too. Inside the lube groove must be a hard place to get proper adhesion. I'm shooting the .45 ones primarily through Glock barrels, and haven't noticed any leading yet.

In my experience, with similar bullets, speed with the same powder charge is lead > Missouri coated > Bayou coated. Once I use up my lead revolver bullets, I suspect I'll switch to Missouri.

njl,

HI TEK "Does not need to be in the lube groove at all."
The only reason commercial casters try to coat in the lube
groove is for CUSTOMER EYE APPEAL.
Self Casters/Coaters do not as it just a waste of product.
The coating is the lube and what touches the barrel is all that counts.

Many of the newer commercial casters such as Missouri Bullets that are converting
to the HI-TEK coating process have to refine THEIR PROCESS.

You should refine things to BATCH ALLOY TOTAL WEIGHT TO AMOUNT OF HI-TEK SOLUTION.

Temp is critical for the catalyst
Bake times are less critical than Temps but STILL VERY IMPORTANT.

There are DIFFERENT CATALYSTS also available and in use.

Many colors are available from HI TEK but not all commercial casters have or use them.
Many try to pick a color and stick to it for THEIR product recognition or BRAND.

__________________
NRA Pistol/Rifle Inst. RSO

.

I got to the range today & fired all of these in my M25-13 & they performed satisfactorily. Not one of them leaded the barrel. Powder combinations that previously were the worse (Longshot) with greased bullets shot fine with the Hi-Tek. (By the way, both have a bevel-base)

The worst I can say is a couple times I noticed some of the gold colored coating in the rifling, near the muzzle tip & once near the forcing cone (where the greased bullets leaded). I cleaned the barrel between combinations & it only took a swipe or too to make it sparkling clean. Definitely, not a hint of lead in the rifling.

On a few combinations I did notice a slight wiff of "burnt electrical insulation" or somewhat like overheated car brakes smell. Definitely not a powder smell, but also not annoying at the levels I experienced.

All my combination strings were of 5+5 rounds, then I inspected the bbl. & cleaned it. Previously I hadn't even tried using Unique because I had leading with slower powders & my experience has been the faster powders are alway worse, if it's going to lead. I ran three Unique loads, 9.0+gn & they did fine too. I used a roll crimp (the crimp grooves are pretty shallow because of the coating) on the 4227 & 2400 and a taper crimp on the others. These bullets averaged about 256gr, ran .4525" dia., bullet overall length is .690" & seating depth is .365" .

All in all I'm happy. I still think the coating could be more uniform, thicker and harder to scrap off, but they did what they're advertised to do, so...

Oh yeah, I like how those big flat SWC noses punch clean holes & the chad slowly floats down from the target.

.

__________________
Waiting for the break of day

Another one assimilated.
Now go forth and beat it like a rented mule.
500+ round string of bliss.
After a cleaning, smart money says you won't go back to traditional lube.

__________________
it just needs more voltage