coated bullets

[Jaco1234]

I have been using Acme powder coated 255gr SWC and RFP in 45 long
colt.
Loading both low velocity trail boss and higher velocity BE86.
I am getting good results but haven't shot enough to determine if there is any advantage to the coating.

Does anyone have experience with coated bullets?

 

[max]

Not a great deal, but they seem to keep the barrel cleaner and I don't think they are any more or less accurate.

 

[tominboise]

I've shot a number of coated cast bullets through a 9mm and several 44 mags. I think performance is dependent on who makes the bullet, the fit to your bore and the quality of the coating process. No simple answer, like most things in life. The 9mm bullets have performed well accuracy and leading wise. The 44 mag bullets are quite accurate but seem to lead more than I expected in 4 different revolvers. But that was with one bullet manufacturers bullets. I was loading the 44 mags at what I would call medium performance loads- that is around 1000-1100 fps.

 

[rwsmith]

I like Hi tec coating....

The are smooth, clean and hold up with high velocities.

If I don't use a jacketed bullet, it's Hi tec coated.

Missouri makes good 'uns. Very consistent.

 

[tlawler]

I coat my own and have very satisfactory results. Makes the range smell like burnt plastic, but other than that, they’re great.

 

[Trooper224]

Coated bullets are all I use in my handloads now, in everything from 9mm to .44 Magnum.

 

[1sailor]

I have reloaded and fired thousands of coated bullets in 9mm, 40S&W, 45acp, and 357 magnum. I find them to be less finicky than plated bullets and they smoke considerably less than traditional lubed bullets. Below is a pic of a 9mm from SNS that I pounded flat with a hammer with zero coating loss.

 

[mikld]

Advantages are; clean handling, clean shooting, and possibly higher velocities (meh?). Much better than my cast and lubed bullets for accuracy, handling, overall performance? Nope.

I have purchased about 500 coated and PCed bullets and PCed perhaps another 1,000. I might purchase more (I do like Hi-Tec bullets in my 9mms and 45 ACPs), but my cast don't lead the barrels, are very accurate and if I want high velocity SD bullets, I'll buy jacketed...

 

[Kid Shileen]

Gotta be careful with those ACME products.

 

[Nevada Ed]

Gotta be careful with those ACME products.

Sign;

Watch out for 300..........

"Squish"

... pound falling Anvil !


Beeep, Beeep !!

 

[reddogs]

Can lead scavenger's use the coated bullets? They are cleaner and seem to be just as accurate.Smell of plastic is only downside i know of.

 

[jkallner]

Coated bullets definitely keep the gun smoke down. Most have an odor and might not be that pleasant to shoot indoor due to the odor. The one coated bullet manufacturer I've found that doesn't emit an odor is IbejiHeads (good bullets, weird name).

 

[BC38]

Can lead scavenger's use the coated bullets? They are cleaner and seem to be just as accurate.Smell of plastic is only downside i know of.

Sure. The coatings burn off in the pot - just like dirt and most other contaminants.

 

[chief38]

I have recently started using coated bullets and the TWO main advantages are that there is no wax lube in the grooves which has substantially cut down on the smoking. The second one is that I don't have the lead exposed against my skin. Other than that - they shoot about the same although they are slightly more expensive. All in all I like them.

 

[bananaman]

I like powder coated myself. Helps keep the gun cleaner.You never see any sign of color when cleaning. A gun shop near my old house had a sale before Christmas a few years ago. 1/2 off all coated bullets. Of course I stocked up on some that I did not need at the time. One of the workers at the store that had been there a long time made them! Bob

 

[Autonomous]

Coated bullets are all I load. I see no downsides and my dies and hands stay clean. Like plated you have to be sure to expand the case mouth enough so the coating doesn't get peeled back.

 

[jc2721]

When I started reloading again a couple of years ago the first thing I did was sell off all of my old hardcast, wax lubed bullets and ordered powder coated bullets from different companies--Acmes were the most expensive (not by much, but still the most expensive) and the powder coating was chipped on most of the bullets. To their credit they sent me a brand new box, no questions asked. Unfortunately those were chipped as well so no more orders to them.

Brazos .45/200 gr. swc are excellent! They almost never have then in stock but my orders have always shipped in 4-6 weeks. I like their 38/158s and 44/240s as well.

Bear Creek also makes excellent bullets--their proprietary coating with moly is very, very slick. Very accurate bullets. They make a lot of old-time designs you're not likely to see from other companies.

PC bullets smoke way less and leave no lead in the bore--I'm sold!

 

[rockquarry]

I've never tried coated bullets, but I do have an interest in accuracy. I've noticed that the Cast Bullet Association competitors continue to use conventionally lubed cast bullets in their matches. Many of the competitive events are with rifles, but I think there is also some handgun competition.

Looking over the load and bullet data from their matches, I found one competitor out of many that used coated bullets. I'm not implying coated are less accurate, but the cast bullet guys usually go with what is most accurate. The coating process is comparatively new. I suspect coated bullets will shoot as well as conventionally lubed ones, but it may take some fine tuning to get there.

For the handgun shooting most of us do, coated bullets may be more than adequate.

 

[1sailor]

I am happy enough with PC'd pistol caliber bullets that I will very soon be reloading some for my 30-30. Going to work up some accurate plinking loads (I hope). As others have stated, they're not necessarily any more accurate than lubed cast but they are easier to deal with.

 

[Baltimoreed11754]

The real advantage is in the making of them imo. They allow the caster to use lead of unknown hardness without fear of leading the bbl at most any velocity as the pc coats the boolit and is between the bore and boolit. The only issue that I’ve run into is the increase in the diameter of the ogive. Even though you resize them [don't lube them] you can’t resize the ogive so the oal and the rifles throat must be correct or your loads won’t chamber.

 

[johnnydogs]

These are 148g WC I cast and then powder coated. Very little smoke.

 

[BLUEDOT37]

I've had mixed results from my on-line coated bullet purchases.

If the manufacturer does the coating right they're pretty good.

Unfortunately some do (have done) a sloppy job which leaves you with a bullet that's only slightly better than a non-coated bullet & subject to leading at velocities it shouldn't.

My experience with Acme has been favorable.

Missouri Bullet Co disappointed me twice.

I use plated bullets now for my casual target shooting. They're not infallible but more constant IMO.

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[serger]

I cast and coat my own. I use Eastwood Ford
Light Blue (valve cover color). They're cured
In a $5.00 Goodwill toaster oven . I then size
them if needed. More accurate than I am
with no leading at all.

I've found with powder coating I can get by
with a lot softer alloy since leading is not
an issue with PC bullets at handgun speeds.
One of my buddies runs an 8mm Mauser at
2300 fps with his PC bullets. Good enough
for elk with 200 grain bullets.

I'm waiting for a mold on back order for the
30-30's. Hitting 2000 fps accurately should
be no problem.

 

[BE Mike]

The reason I switched to coated from hard caste lead is because I shoot a lot indoors and the coated bullets produce much less smoke. At the close distances and generous accuracy requirements most have, they are fine for practice. I tried a lot of different brands and settled on Precision Bullets. precisionbullets.com – The Difference is Precision!

 

[Baltimoreed11754]

Bought some .45 BlackMaxx pc’s that were very good.

 

[gjgalligan]

I coat my own and have very satisfactory results. Makes the range smell like burnt plastic, but other than that, they’re great.

What brands of powder coating have you used and the pros/cons of each?

Anybody else feel free to tell their experience in DYI powder coating.

Thanks

 

[STORMINORMAN]

Just a comment: if you are seriously considering getting into powder coating you had best be seriously involved in ALL that is involved in casting bullets...

Cheers!

 

[rockquarry]

Just a comment: if you are seriously considering getting into powder coating you had best be seriously involved in ALL that is involved in casting bullets...

Cheers!

Good point. Without any criticism, it appears that some, maybe many who do powder coating, may not have much of a cast bullet background and may be looking for an alleged shortcut offered by the relatively new powder coating process. There are many opportunities for frustration and disappointment if that's the case.

Those with an extensive cast bullet background understand this; they'll likely be more successful in the powder coating endeavor. If you don't have much experience with casting and cast bullets, read all you can find, as in the Lyman cast bullets books, etc. This is detailed and better information that you'll get from most online sources like YouTube. Take the time to do it right and you'll be successful.

 

[Doug44]

I did my own powder coating for a while. Very time consuming. Had good results. I retrieved some that I shot into a tube of water and they showed no loss of coating. I now use Acme.

 

[tlawler]

What brands of powder coating have you used and the pros/cons of each?

Anybody else feel free to tell their experience in DYI powder coating.
Thanks

I’m not casting yet. I’m planning on it, but just not there yet. I buy “as cast” bullets that are unsized and unlubed that average about $.08-.10 each. I PC them with Underwood powder and a powder coating setup from harbor freight. PC usually runs about $10-$15 a pound, depending on how fancy you want your bullets to look. The powder coating machine from HF was $65 on sale and I use nitrogen through a regulator instead of having an air compressor. I got rid of all my pneumatics and air compressor several years ago and use all battery/corded tools now, so it didn’t make sense to buy a new compressor when I can get nitrogen cheaply. The PC gun doesn’t use much volume at 15-18 psi. I use a Lee sizing die in an old Lee “O” press I had lying around and size before coating. I made a little acrylic box that’s open on top, like a little spray booth to contain the powder, then I bake it in a toaster oven I picked up from craigslist.

That’s a pretty brief synopsis of the process. When I started doing it, I started a thread that goes into a little more detail. You can check it out here:

I’m going to try my hand at powder coating