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Post by bandit999 on Nov 2, 2014 20:59:45 GMT -5
No, you haven't been transported back in time to your 1972 prom. It's just me, the 60 year old guy who was on sabbatical from handguns for 20 + years and is now buying all the single actions he can and getting ready to dust off his Lee turret loader but first has a few thousand loaded ammo for .38 special, .357 mag, .44 mag, and .45 Long Colt and acp. Oh, and that's not counting all the old .22 ammo. Alas, no more Smith model 41, Smith model 17, Ruger single six, Colt can't remember whatever they called their .22's, or Beretta BS for the .22 shorts. So I had to buy a Ruger Lipsey shopkeeper with Lone Star grips and Barranti stamped/bear print holster for woods bummin' and just go around having a plinking ball. I'll "get serious" and buy a more formidable (read: w/adjustable sights) .22 pistol down the road.
But what I can't pretend to understand are these colored cast bullets that abound. Blue, red, pink - am I missing any other color? Probably more than one, right? Please, fill me in, what IS the story with these?
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rgates
.240 Incinerator
Posts: 48
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Post by rgates on Nov 3, 2014 9:57:32 GMT -5
"Powder Coating" -- check out poster 'hoover's posts on the subject.
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Post by contender on Nov 3, 2014 10:04:20 GMT -5
Welcome back to the fold.
These colored bullets are what folks are doing to their cast slugs.
With jacketed bullets costing a lot, AND the fact that many folks prefer cast lead over jacketed bullets, one of the chores to using cast was lubing them. Well, it was "discovered" that you can powder coat a lot of bullets faster & easier than lubing them with a lube/sizer. Other benefits have been a cleaner bullet to load, a bit of improvement in accuracy, less smoke when fired, cleaner gun bores when fired, & lastly,,, kinda neat to custom color your slugs. Oh, and to answer the colors question,,, MANY different colors abound. Let your imagination run.
I have been trying powder coated bullets & have enjoyed my results. I kinda cursed a bit,,,, as I found powder coating right after I bought a generous supply of LBT lube.
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Post by bandit999 on Nov 3, 2014 10:04:30 GMT -5
Many Thanks! Sounds like a really great development in handloading. Now, are all the major reloading companies hip to this and selling these powders, or is there only a few eclectic places requiring blood bonds? Where can I purchase these powders?
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Post by zeus on Nov 3, 2014 10:06:30 GMT -5
try the gallery forum here on SA, I think that is where he posts most of them. They may have PC in the title...
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Post by buckheart on Nov 3, 2014 12:28:21 GMT -5
Not pc coating myself but I have seen bottles of powder coating powder for sale at Harbor Freight.
just curious as to how long this has been going on and who came up with the idea.
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Post by Markbo on Nov 3, 2014 12:57:40 GMT -5
At least 2 years from what I have garnered at castboolits.com. I have been at it only about 6 months but I can tesitify that it is easy to do and it works
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Post by bandit999 on Nov 3, 2014 20:04:53 GMT -5
Markbo - Where do you get your color powders?
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Post by seancass on Nov 3, 2014 20:22:50 GMT -5
Many are getting supplies at Harbor Freight.
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Post by Markbo on Nov 5, 2014 11:04:49 GMT -5
Contact Smoke4320 on Castboolits.com. i am buying some clear & silver from him today. FYI the only HF color that that comes recommended for tumbling (as opposed to spraying) is red. It works fine but I am just not partial to real colorful slugs. They should be silver/gray or copper.
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Post by sixshot on Nov 5, 2014 12:31:47 GMT -5
I bought a bottle of HF red when we were in Arizona for the winter back in December, I've probably coated about 13-14 thousand now & most likely have lubed my last bullet. The reason I use red is because of the method I do. I think on here or over on the Ruger forum I have severl photo's of how to powder coat using the shake & bake method. I do know that the Austrailians have been powder coating for 3-4 years now, but its just caught on here in the states in the last year or so.
Using the shake & bake method you use a Cool Whip container & some black air soft pellets, these help add static electricity, which helps bond the paint (red) to the cast bullets. Using other colors using this method doesn't work as well because of the pigment in the paint. Anyway, you add about a teaspoon of paint, maybe 100 bullets depending on caliber, shake for 30 seconds or so & then up & down for another 30 seconds or so & then pick them up with som needle nose pliers & stack them on some non stick aluminum foil & place them in a toaster oven for 10-11 minutes at 400 degrees, take them out & let them cool. Then size them & load them.
Dick
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