"coated" bullets?

[BE Mike]

I supposed they are fine for plinking, but I have yet to see any serious accuracy testing with them, so I am on the fence. As soon as I see some machine rest tests of the bullets at ranges around 50 yards that show that these bullets can produce groups adequate for precision pistol shooting to include hunting, I'm not buying any. I no longer have the equipment to perform the tests myself.

 

[randy_68]

I've been casting and powder coaying

For a couple years now. I use the tumble meathod and it works great. Mostly only doing 9mm and they are definitely cleaner to handle and no leading whatsoever. I have tried it in .357 and .44 but not much. No problems in them either. I'm really not a good enough shot with a pistol to tell the difference in accuracy to say its better, but its not worse either.

 

[pbcaster45]

I've been using Blue Bullets in my Glock 35, STI Edge, and Springfield Armory Trophy Match. Love 'em! Little smoke, good accuracy, and they shoot clean.

I like the Hi-Tek bullets from SNS Casting too but prefer the Blue Bullets - less smell.

I was shooting the SNS 200 gr. RNFP in my Trophy Match but they were even better in my Ruger Bisley .45 Colt.

 

[yeti]

Coated can be as accurate as lubed lead can be.
Tailoring the load to the barrel is the key.

 

[Calliope]

I like the Hi-Tek bullets from SNS Casting too but prefer the Blue Bullets - less smell.

I noticed that too, plus the SNS leaded in my 357, the Blues don't.
Blue bullets advertise a "proprietary polymer based liquid coating that we mix in house", so it's not powder coating or Hy-Tek.
I also like the Blue's square base design with no lube grooves, maximizing the bearing surface.
Good stuff at a very nice price.

 

[venomballistics]

I noticed that too, plus the SNS leaded in my 357, the Blues don't.
Blue bullets advertise a "proprietary polymer based liquid coating that we mix in house", so it's not powder coating or Hy-Tek.
I also like the Blue's square base design with no lube grooves, maximizing the bearing surface.
Good stuff at a very nice price.

house mix ..... that might be a fun nut to crack, given that virtually everything is born of preexisting technologies.
automotive clear coat and powder coat in a thin slurry perhaps ....
I have so many experiments on the back burner ... why do I let myself think up more like this

 

[oldpapps]

I have many views on 'Coated Bullets'.
I cast many of my bullets and do the 'shake-n-bake' coating process on some.

For most of my pistol loads old fashioned cast and sized/lubed works best. The older I get the less time I want to stand to cast and our friends at Missouri Bullet come to the rescue.

But when it comes to my not so light loadings in .44 Mag, I find that I spend a lot of time adjusting to lessen leading. In jumps 'powder coating'. With my powder coated cast bullets, sized properly, I can push them as fast as the weapon/case and my hands can handle. I also cast and powder coat .311 lead. These get pushed out of a .308 Winchester and I have had no issues with velocities up to over 2750 FPS (130 grain flat base). These are my normal play bullet in my .300 AAC Blackout. Again full function and no issues. I have found that accuracy does fall off a little at the higher velocities (over 2400 FPS).

I use several coating powders but my favored is 'Crystal Clear' with a little Neon Pink or Neon Yellow added to spice them up. With the clear, I don't have to deal with full pigment coverage, just want the polyester to fully cover. This powder is from 'Powder By The Pound'.

I see no/little need to coat 9MM, .40s, .45s or my wimp load .44s. It all comes down to the end use of the bullet and how cheap I am.

Enjoy,

OSOK

 

[venomballistics]

Excellent summary and welcome to the forum.

 

[oldpapps]

venomballistics

Thank you.
I have been 'learking' for some time, many times not signing in. I see no need to just babble (with my fingers) unless I have something to add that has some validity.

OSOK

 

[fredj338]

I supposed they are fine for plinking, but I have yet to see any serious accuracy testing with them, so I am on the fence. As soon as I see some machine rest tests of the bullets at ranges around 50 yards that show that these bullets can produce groups adequate for precision pistol shooting to include hunting, I'm not buying any. I no longer have the equipment to perform the tests myself.

I'm putting together some 44mag hunting loads that will be tested out to 100yds. I'll be testing both hi-trek & PC, stay tuned.

 

[BigBill]

Well back in the late 70's/80's I switched to the Carolina cast bullets with the moly coating. 89% less lead fouling. Now I'm thinking of tumbling my cast bullets with the spray moly. The bore stays cleaner.

 

[venomballistics]

Well back in the late 70's/80's I switched to the Carolina cast bullets with the moly coating. 89% less lead fouling. Now I'm thinking of tumbling my cast bullets with the spray moly. The bore stays cleaner.

nah .... hi tek and powder coat both work even better than that.

 

[fredj338]

nah .... hi tek and powder coat both work even better than that.

Very few people are using moly coated bullets anymore. For handgun, coated or PC is the new fad. Will it last, probably. It doesn't seem to have the downside that moly had, bore conditioning.

 

[venomballistics]

Very few people are using moly coated bullets anymore. For handgun, coated or PC is the new fad. Will it last, probably. It doesn't seem to have the downside that moly had, bore conditioning.

it has that vibe of the automobile when it was a fad.
this one has a good chance of evolving into a standard.

 

[bedbugbilly]

All I've ever reloaded is my own cast - tumble lubed in Alox/Paste Wax - never a problem with leading.

A few weeks ago, I purchased a new 9mm Shield. The salesman, who I've dealt with for a number of years and he shoots IDPA - asked if I had ever used any "coated"? Nope. "Well, you ought to try some of these.".

I ended up buying a box of 115 gr. "coated" .356 from snscasting. They are .356 - no lube groove. They worked great much to my surprise! Shot well in the Shield as well as my Ruger SR9.

I'll continue to use my own cast but will probably keep a box of 500 on the shelf just in case I get behind on my casting. As they say . . . "even an old dog can learn new tricks".

But I will admit that as far as the PC coated go . . I also hate the "lip stick" look. LOL

 

[fredj338]

There are several outfits selling powders for coating. Most are glossy, but some are flat, metal colors are also available. Most newb into PC, like me, will go with HF red, it's cheap & works. Then go out & find a color you like. There are even copper colors, so you can pretend you are shooting expensive jacketed bullets.
http://www.eastwood.com/hotcoat-powder-copper-vein.html

 

[venomballistics]

There are several outfits selling powders for coating. Most are glossy, but some are flat, metal colors are also available. Most newb into PC, like me, will go with HF red, it's cheap & works. Then go out & find a color you like. There are even copper colors, so you can pretend you are shooting expensive jacketed bullets.
Hotcoat Powder Copper Vein

There are neon colors too if you want something of a tracer effect.

 

[karrrhu3]

I started casting and coating this summer. Had PC not been invented, I probably wouldn't have taken the leap.

 

[mooosie]

I soak my bullets in bacon grease for obvious reasons[emoji2]