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Post by sixshot on May 14, 2019 1:48:12 GMT -5
There seems to be quite a few questions still floating around out there about powder coating cast bullets, even after 5-6 years of doing it. here's something I tried today just as an experiment. We had just finished a one quart Mayonnaise jar & I wanted to give it a test drive so I washed it out & dried it. It has the little triangle on the bottom but not the "mandatory" five. I put about 75 of the 135 gr 32 HP's inside along with several 260 gr Keith 45 slugs, added about 1/2 tsp Harbor Freight Red, the powder that many complain about & shaked it for about 45 seconds with a few bounces up & down. Unscrewing the lid they looked just fine so I dumped them into my colander & shook them for 6-7 seconds & then dumped them onto the non stick aluminum foil on my toaster oven tray & popped them into the 400 degree toaster oven for 12 minutes & Bingo! They turned out great! I've sent 2 batches of these to to a couple of central Texas gunsmiths & they are having great success with them, especially in a problem 44 that a client sent them. I still say, & they said that they Harbor Freight Red is getting better coverage, not that the more expensive black is bad, it's very good but the Red is doing better. Always has done better for me. No air soft pellets, no acetone, just get those babies coated, cooled down & sized, it's country simple, very fast & soooo much cleaner. You seldom need a gas check either. I ran some 32 magnums through a Buckeye yesterday that were very accurate & very, very fast. Plain base 100 gr bullets that were touching at 25 yds. Dick
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Post by DiamondD on May 14, 2019 2:10:03 GMT -5
I have yet to try it but I’m going to. Thanks for the post.
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Post by theoldredneck on May 14, 2019 8:21:28 GMT -5
Thank You Sir, I started a thread a while back asking about powder coating. Got a lot of great replies. Went to harbor freight, didn't have red so I got black, white and yellow. Went to dollar tree and got several of the magic #5 triangle plastic jars with screw on lids. Have a toaster oven I use to anneal 22 hulls for swagging bullets. Had air soft and regular steel BB's. Also got no stick foil in precut squares. Said all that so you can form a mental image of a redneck ready to cook bullets. Put a spoon full of each color in jar on top of a hand full of 25,32 and 357 bullets. Added a hand full of air soft BB's, I have big hands. Put lid on and shook, swirled,rattled,rotated for a while. Dumped in plastic strainer and shook powder in bowl. Then stood bunch on foil covered pan in oven. Turned on got on mower, for few minutes, forgot bullets,Duh. You can melt them if left long enough. Next batch used less air soft BB's and stayed with them. Came out perfect passed mash and smash test. Sized and loaded a few, shot great. Started trying different ways different guys posted. Figured out just pouring on foil worked as good as standing on base for me. Tried air soft and steel BB's, then no BB's, really can't tell difference between with and without. Is easier without BB's for me because just dump bullets on toaster pan. Also can't tell difference between harbor freight and other powders? It is easier to powder coat and size to me than size/lube. The powder coated bullets can be pushed faster and are less of a mess than lubes bullets. It takes less shaking and swirling to cover them than I thought it would. It takes longer to size than to shake and bake for me. At a dollar each for the dollar tree plastic jars I can't complain, but tried other plastic jars without the 5 in triangle and they worked too? I'm just learning about shake and bake but can't see a down side. So far bullets all pass smash and mash test. No leading and pushed well past where regular lube fails. Groups are as good or better than sized and lubed. Thanks to all the guys that figured this out. Sixshot reading what you and others write about powder coating got me interested in it. Buying a Reeder revolver in 256 win, 25/20 I didn't want to get into swagging jacketed bullets for it. The GT 55 grain hollow point with powder coating works perfect. A lot less effort than making jacket cups and swagging bullets. Thank You Sir, you put fun in shooting the 25's
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Post by sheriff on May 14, 2019 9:32:20 GMT -5
Never had a problem with the Harbor Freight Red, so I never tried the 'others'.
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Post by coldtriggerfinger on May 14, 2019 10:32:07 GMT -5
Some of us are very new to casting or lubing or sizing or powder coating. I still haven't got the powder yet. Can't tell ya how much I appreciate threads like these. And all the work that goes into posting up all the pics . Then too. These threads are good for the future. Like I recently found Hoover's thread on faster powders for the 480. Thanks !!
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Post by leftysixgun on May 16, 2019 12:23:56 GMT -5
What type of sizer do you use after coating the bullets?
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lws
.30 Stingray
Spokane Valley, Washington
Posts: 229
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Post by lws on May 16, 2019 17:04:27 GMT -5
I have used Lee , RCBS , and Lyman sizer with powder coat bullets. They all worked great.
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Post by wheelguns on May 16, 2019 19:27:10 GMT -5
I use the lee sizing dies, but if I had to do it over again, I would have gone with the noe sizers because if you do enough calibers, they are actually cheaper. They are probably better quality also.
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Post by sixshot on May 17, 2019 10:40:41 GMT -5
I have a Star sizer that I use most of the time because it's so fast but they are expensive. I also have an RCBS lubrisizer & a few of the Lee sizers. The Lee sizers are the best & cheapest way to get started because you don't have to buy a press, just a die that screws into your reloading press. If you need a size they don't list they will make you one. Dick
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Post by AxeHandle on May 22, 2019 6:06:20 GMT -5
Cultivating an interest in this process I never had before. Have acquired a 458 SOCOM. Powder coated lead may be an answer to affording the shoot the beast.
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Post by deaconkc on May 30, 2019 20:01:15 GMT -5
Thank you for all the good and well presented information here. I will pick up some HF powder coat red this weekend.
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Post by silcott on Mar 16, 2023 17:04:47 GMT -5
My first attempt at powder coating bullets. Powder is from Trey. ibb.co/0ZfjZLribb.co/GH4cxS2Bullets pass the smash test. Now to size load and try them. Justin
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Post by x101airborne on Mar 17, 2023 8:45:27 GMT -5
I am glad you are enjoying the powder! Your first picture of all the bullets standing, I thought some of the coating was missing but when I looked harder I realized they are so well covered that the bullets are mirror reflective! Excellent job Sir!
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Post by hounddogman on Mar 17, 2023 8:59:16 GMT -5
What does everyone think about using powder coated bullets for a Ruger 44 carbine? Or a mini thirty in 7.62x39? Thanks.
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Post by contender on Mar 17, 2023 9:19:10 GMT -5
Powder coating isn't a magic fix all or do all. BUT,,, it can be used across a wide spectrum of applications. Using it in a .44 Carbine,, or a 7.62x39 isn't something I've tried. So I can not say yes or no about it working. But I can say that a lot has to do with bullet hardness, as well as the coating. When heated for the PCing,, a bullet can "soften" a bit. Yet, you can also harden them up by immediate water quenching. Only testing your loads in your guns will give you the answers you seek.
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