I was picking up a few items at my local reloading shop and saw that he was now carrying some Hy-Tec .40 caliber 200 grain bullets. I bought some, mainly out of curiosity, since I had heard of them, but didn’t know much about them. I loaded a few and noticed some lead shavings at the top of the case where it met the bullet. I pulled one to see what it looked like and it had lost quite a bit of it’s coating. They aren’t oversized and getting skinned during seating, I don’t think. I’m applying a slight roll crimp, but not excessive. They did ok on the smash test, though not as well as my own PC’d bullets. I even noticed some of the coating had come off a couple of loose bullets in the package. Could they be improperly coated? I’m thinking he buys them in larger quantity packaging, then repackages them in 100 piece lots since they don’t have fancy packaging with logos, etc. He’s a reputable dealer, so I don’t think he’s out to make a quick buck with some spray painted bullets. I guess I expected some super duper high technology epoxy coating at least as good as my PC’d bullets. Anyone have any experience with Hy-Tec coatings?

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USS Brewton FF1086
SWCA#3597

HT doesn't make bullets, but the coating. So not sure where he got them but propetly applied, the coating is bonded like properly applied PC. I do both my own PC & HT. I tend to prefer the PC, but HT works fine.

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NRA Cert. Inst. IDPA CSO

Are you seating and crimping in the same step. I have been using my own hi tek bullets for quite and have no problems. I have been seating and crimping for a long time so I've never had the problem you are having, good luck hi tek is a good product

Sent from my SM-T377V using Tapatalk

You might try a little more belling on the case and even a little
inside the case reaming to remove any sharp edge, that might
be shaving the coating off the bullet, as it is being seated.

Good luck.

I've been shooting Missouri hytec coated wadcutters in .32 and .38. I have not had the problems that you describe, and also like the fact that I have no lube smoke as well as no leading.

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Only a cold warrior

I have been loading them in 9mm, 38sp, and 44 mag for about 2 years. Mine look a little different color than what you show. I have had no issues similar to what you show. Perhaps a bit more bell? No complaints from me.

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"Tastes just like chicken"

I’ll try more of a bell and see if that makes a difference. If you’ll notice in my first picture, the coating removal starts about halfway up the bearing surface. If it was a belling problem, it seems like it would be start at the base. I’m crimping after seating with a Lee factory crimp die. I also have a taper die that I’ll try and see if that makes any difference. I’ll report back.

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USS Brewton FF1086
SWCA#3597

We have actually found lots of these around the steel plates we shoot at, and most of the coating is still intact.

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"Tastes just like chicken"

Google "hy-tek bullets" and "hy-tec bullets"...

The 1st ? to the OP is "Whose bullets did you buy?"...

Cheers!

P.S. I, too, have had nothing but positive experiences with Hy-Tek bullets from MBC in 40 S&W, 38 Special/357 Magnum, 45 Cal & 9mm. Suggestions re: case expansion are also very relevant.

I don't use painted, plated, or coated bullets, but occasionally I see a painted or coated bullet in the berm at our gun club. They're almost always the same shade of blue (may be from only one shooter) and the paint or coating, all or at least most of it, appears to be intact.

I tried belling a little wider and switched over to taper crimping. I’m still getting coating removal on one side, but not all the way around the circumference of the bullet like I was previously. I then thought it may be due to the die I was using. I recently purchased a set of RCBS dies for 10mm and have my old set of Lee dies installed in another tool head for .40 cal. I swapped the Lee die in place of the RCBS and set a bullet with it. The Lee die set the bullet with no coating loss, and other than a slight ring where the crimp was and a couple of small spots of coating loss, the bullet looks normal. I reduced the bell back to normal and loaded several more and pulled them. They all look normal enough. I’m going to polish the bore of the RCBS die and see if that makes a difference. I guess problem solved. I’m going to load up the HT bullets with the Lee seating die and try them out. I’m still a little surprised at how easy the coating comes off compared to PC. I probably won’t buy anymore HT coated bullets, but may revisit them in the future.

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USS Brewton FF1086
SWCA#3597

Whos bulles? The coating will s rape off but that is a die setup or die quality issue.

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NRA Cert. Inst. IDPA CSO

A power drill with some steel wool, might all you need to smooth out that die and see if it will work, without removing the coating on your next try.

A metal drill bit, covered with masking or duct tape to protect the die and then a wad of steel wool wound on, works for me.

Good, smooth dies are a must...........
good luck.

Still does not answer the question of who manufactured these bullets.
Powder coating is a process, done correctly, it is very difficult to separate the coating from the underlying metal. Done incorrectly and the coating will easily separate from the metal. Some cast lead bullet manufacturers do a great job with coatings, some do not.

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VCDL, GOA, NRA

I won’t know until I visit the reloading shop and ask him. The bullets were packaged in 100 piece lots with no label other than a handwritten tag identifying bullet caliber and weight.

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USS Brewton FF1086
SWCA#3597

Your first picture in post #11 appears to show a poorly adhered coating and not some that has been shaved off by either the case or die. I'm going to bet that you can continue to remove that coating with your finger nail which will confirm. Along with that, and the hand written label, I'll guess these lead back to Pigpen coating them in his back yard.

The smash test is either pass or fail. Saying your PC'd bullets do better implies the other ones failed. If the coating is coming off there's definitely a problem.

Those pictures aren't HiTek-coated bullets.

Any idea what they are then? I’ll run by the reloading supply tomorrow and take some of the scraped up ones to show him. I loaded up the rest when I was able to seat them without damaging the coating using the Lee dies, but I won’t be buying anymore.

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USS Brewton FF1086
SWCA#3597

Back the crimp off even more.. you only need to remove the bell not crimp the bullet.

You will see this stop.

There's still nothing wrong with conventionally sized and lubed cast bullets. They may give off a bit of smoke, but you won't notice this if you shoot outdoors. Any lube residue, etc., is easily wiped off fingers. A regular cast bullet that fits a gun and is of the proper alloy will likely shoot more accurately than anything else, including a jacketed bullet. It won't lead the bore or leave any residue other than mild powder fouling, something easily cleaned up.

I've been casting and lubing my own for 45 years with excellent success. Due to my dwindling lead supply and the high cost of lead I decided to buy some Hi-Tek coated bullets. haven't loaded them yet.

This thread piqued my interest. The bullets I bought online are oversized (what I wanted - its for a 41 mag). I can't remove the coating with a finger nail no matter how hard I try. However, a box cutter razor blade will remove the coating. What's next to the bare lead cannot be removed with my finger nail.

Does it sound like these are properly coated?

I've probably shot at least 20k rounds of HyTek coated bullets from Missouri, SNS, Summers, Brazos and Hoosier in 9mm, 38/357 and 44mag/spl. I've never encountered anything like the OP with any of the companies I've tried. Every now and then with all suppliers I have found a round or two that the coating is not uniform, but never had one peel. I've tried the smash test will all I've tried and the coating is really tough. As someone else pointed out, when we shoot steel, the bullets we find are really deformed, but the coating is intact. Its worth the little difference in cost to me for the reduced smoke, clean bores and cleaner loading as well. Even though most of my loads are light target loads, I've pushed them every bit as fast as jacketed bullets with no hint of leading or loss of accuracy.

The coating is very consistent, applied correctly and holds up under loading and shooting very well.

I've also bought some powder coated bullets that were poorly applied. I prefer the Hy Tek.

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"He was kinda funny lookin'"

I don't reload, yet, I follow this forum for reloading information. So, please enlighten me, what is smash test, PC and HT? Do lead bullets usually have a coating? Do lead bullets require a different technique for reloading as compared to FMJ or MJHP?

Don

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U.S. Coast Guard, retired CPO

Smash test=bash a bullet with a hammer and see if the coating comes off.

HT=Hy-Tek powder coating, I guess. Hy-Tek is the name of the company that provides the powder coating material specifically for lead bullets, it is up to the bullet manufacturer or DIY user to properly apply and bake the coating.

PC=Powder Coating, I guess.

Lead bullets generally cannot be driven to velocities as high as jacketed bullets. Swaged lead are the softest, cast lead bullets can be alloyed to make them harder and can be driven to higher velocity than swaged lead before significant barrel leading is encountered. Powder coated bullets are less expensive than jacketed bullets, but are supposed to prevent leading even when driven to velocities that equal those of jacketed bullets. Lead bullets and coated lead bullets require a little less powder charge than jacketed due to their lower coefficient of friction.

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VCDL, GOA, NRA

My experience is somewhat different than the OP. I use these in several calibers, including the elusive .'correct' bullet for .38 S&W, that being 145/142gn .360, my choice for this one. If you want a flawless product, give PENN BULLETS a try. You wont be disappointed in any way. Do however, be prepared for somewhat of a wait in this day and age. JMHO

Your issues with reloading the pc'd bullets is two fold. The case expanders in both sets of dies that you are using are designed for the shorter/skinnier jacketed bullets. M-dies are by design loner bodied expanding the cases deeper and have a "step" in them that the bullet sits in and starts strait when seating.



Your expanders are expanding the cases deep enough or wide enough. The bullets were being scrapped when seated. After you opened the cases more the bullet is goes to the point of least resistance/tilting to 1 side when being seated. The lee's nose rod is a better fit to the bullet profile your using then the rcbs dies.

Hence 2 different issues that start with the expander die.

Good advice above from Forrest r. The Lyman M-Die is good to have, but you can load "coated" with most dies with some extra care.

Bell a touch more than you ever would for jacketed. The coated bullet sits just barely inside the brass, so as not to scrap off any coating during seating. Properly done Hi-Tek is durable, but a sharp edge will slice off some of the coating. The M-die is great because it really helps square up the bullet ready to be seated, but extra care with a standard die set will also work. Just like plated bullets, do not over crimp them and damage the coating. Just remove the bell. Proper coated bullets are slightly oversize, neck tension should not be an issue unless there is something seriously wrong with your brass. Cranking down the crimp is not the way to go.

The two main coatings used are polyurethane (Hi-Tek branded) and commercially available powder coatings (polyester...mostly) both of which work well.
I am a big fan of Hi-Tek coated, done properly. Try some out if you haven't already.

I recently bought some Hi Tech from Brazos. I've shot a few and haven't had any problems loading them, they shot without leading so if they prove to be accurate I'll like them. They are more blunt nosed than the plated bullets I normally use, have to be seated deeper.