Well Many THANKS to Muddocktor for sending me in the right direction. Went with the coated bullets from Missouri Bullets, and although I have no idea what the down side of these might be? anyone have any?? Just want to head off any problems that might sneak in I don't need much these days but from what I have seen, MB will be getting all of what business I have. Already working on my next order. THANKS AGAIN DOC> !!

J. R. WEEMS, you are very welcome man! I figure that helping out here is part of what makes the reloading forum here so special. I enjoy helping out when I can and this forum is an awesome place to receive help and advice too. The members here are as a whole, great and non-confrontational and it's great to get together and talk about our reloading passion and experience. I've also gotten quite a bit of help here too.

The only problem I've experienced has been with coated round nose 9mm's. Being small, smooth, and slick I sometimes have trouble picking them up one at a time while loading them into the case mouth. Nothing I'd call a big deal. Otherwise nothing bad to report. I find they are less finicky than copper plated and smoke so much less than traditional lubed cast bullets that they're not even in the same category. Another manufacturer I'd recommend is SNS Casting. The pic below is an SNS coated bullet that I smashed flat with a hammer and had no loss of coating.

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smashed bullet.jpg (140.3 KB, 158 views)

You might also check out Bayou Bullets. Since finding them, I have pretty much given up on other bullet types.

Being a lead coated bullet........
a lot of dealers will have them in .356, .357 and .358 dia. for you to try out
with a 100 pack instead of having to buy 500 right off the bat.

Also LESS barrel friction than a plated bullet which means .......
faster fps with the same amout of powder.

You may also wish to check out "Bad Man Bullets". I have been loading them in .38 Special/.357 Magnum & 9 mm with good results. I have experienced no leading due to the polymer coating and function in 9 mm has been flawless.

I have fired about 900 rounds in my revolvers and about 300 in my Glock 19 Gen5. Not a large sample by any stretch, but I'm satisfied.

JM2c

JPJ

The only disadvantage of coated vs lead bullets AFAIK is that although they don't create smoke like the lube on the lead will, what little smoke they do create has a funny smell - like burning plastic. Surprise, surprise, since the powder coating is in fact a form of plastic. Other than that the coated have nothing but advantages over lubed lead. They also provide all the best advantages of plated AND lubed lead without the disadvantages of either.

Coated bullets are the new plated. No down side, other than you may shoot more. Best part, if you are so inclined, you can do your own easily. Much easier than trying to make your own jacketed or plated bullets.

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NRA Cert. Inst. IDPA CSO

I've been loading coated bullets, primarily Bayou Bullets, for nearly 10 yrs. now. I have used them extensively in semi-autos and revolvers in competition shooting. I have had no negative events or effects that I can recall. Cleaner handling during production runs and especially no wax jams in seater and crimp dies. I have been watching for coating build-up in my barrels but haven't found any.

The lack of smoke and leading in barrels is enough reason to use coated bullets. I finally sold all my lead bullets to a friend for a nominal fee. He got good bullets and I got all that lead hauled away.

So far it's all good.

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Bob.
SWCA 1821

I have found powder coating so easy , no reason to buy them . I was given a toaster oven , and about 8 lbs of powder . I just tumble them in a plastic container and then dump them in a pile in a tin pan and bake , easy . I water cool and I'm done . I have shot them in a Ruger 45 Colt at magnum velocities (Ruger only loads ) and they shot accurate and clean . The bore was bright and shiny afterwards, Regards, Paul

I too have been shooting bullets coated by me. The toaster oven
was $5.00. Bullets made out of scrap lead, the media is Eastwood
Ford light blue. The whole setup cost about $25.00. I've ran
them up to the low 1300 fps range with out leading.
And the accuracy is fine.

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never get out of the boat

here's a pic of the 9mm's prior to sizing

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nice bullets 1.jpg (156.8 KB, 98 views)

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never get out of the boat

I am a die hard coated bullet user. I mainly use Missouri and SNS Casting and have used Summers all with equal accuracy. Never had any problems with leading and I've pushed some pretty darn fast. I have about 1k Berrys Plated loaded and another 1k on hand just because once or twice a year my girlfriend and I visit another couple and his range is lead free. Plated is acceptable but coated lead is not. Other than not being accepted at a lead free range, I can't possibly see any downside to coated. I really like Missouri offers sample packs of 100. While more expensive per round of course, it is a lot better to try 100 than to buy 500 and wind up with something you don't like.

I coat my own using powder from Eastwood. I’ve cast like 5000 bullets and have used less than 1/2 lb of powder. My observations - 5% higher velocity; better accuracy; no leading; loading to higher velocities. Can coat 100 RNFP 357 mag 158 grain billets in 20 minutes. My guns are a 686+P, and a 357 mag Henry lever gun. I use bright blue and bright red powder.

BTW- the powder coat shell will float on top of the molten lead in my pot. The coating is like indestructible.

They are the go tos. I like Hy Tec coating.

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"He was kinda funny lookin'"

I like Blue Bullets and Black Bullets International.

I get all mine from Summers, great price

Ive been making my own for years, no down side found yet.

Well I finely dove into the water. The local gun store only has coated bullets. Same weight and shape still using the mould. I will load and shoot and report.

I found I needed to increase the bell on the case mouth with my old bell I was peeling some of the coating of the side of 124 gr. 9mm, I will buy coated bullet's again.

I've been using Summers bullets for the past couple of years. He's just down the road from me so that makes it nice. Donny is a great guy to shoot the breeze with!

I use Bayou Bullets 185 grain SWC in my 1911 and they work well and are accurate. No downsides that I can note.

BayouBullets is owned and operated by Jerry Mickulets brother Donnie; that ought to tell you something!

Sorry to have to tell you this......but Donnie sold the Bayou Bullet business to someone. Donnie is now a rep for Hi Tek I suppose helping the lead and lube boys catch up. Bayou Bullets seem just as good.

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Bob.
SWCA 1821

I've reloaded thousands of the MBC Hi-Tek 158s. Recently switched to using only the grooveless because, what's the point of the groove if you don't need the lube - right?

All my results have been good to great. Accuracy is fine. Leading is virtually gone. Though I do get some leading.

I know, I know, you'll all say; "it's impossible...coating can't possibly melt blah blah blah...". Well, it's a fact. I use MBC coated bullets by the thousand and I get leading. Nowhere near as much as I got with plain lead bullets. But it's there. Plain as day.

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But then, what do I know?

From SNS website..

*Be sure that you have enough flare on the case mouth when seating the bullet or the coating may be scraped off, causing performance issues.



*Also be sure you are not over-crimping as this will cause accuracy and leading issues.

I have taper crimped sometimes when in doubt about a roll crimp . It has always worked fine . YMMV . Regards, Paul

My only issue with coated bullets is a black residue that is really hard to clean. If you don't care about patch clean then these are the way to go.

I have a bunch of coated bullets for the XD40 I had. They had to be seated deep due to chamber length. Then they wouldn't feed correctly.
I'm hoping the M&P doesn't suffer the same. I may try some SWC in it as the feed angle looks perfect (to me) for them.

My hotter loads in the 9mm lead the bore with Bayou bullets...Tried Missouri Bullets 9 Cone....virtually no leading. However, accuracy in the 9mm is far better with Montana gold JHPs. IDPA matches make no difference, and the Coated bullets are more affordable.

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Terry
SWCA, SWHS, IWLA, NRA

I use Black Bullets International. As far as I know they are the only company that prices jumped listed includes shipping.

Downside for me is the smell like burning electrical wire when you fire them. Also as stated above you need a generous bell on case mouth so you don't scrape off the coating.