Is casting effective for .308 gas gun...maybe powdercoated?

[theTastyCat]

Hey all - first, this forum is absolutely amazing. I believe it's the friendliest and most helpful gun forum online - possibly forum period. I deeply appreciate all the help I've received.

A buddy of mine opened my eyes tonight to the wonder of powdercoating bullets. Well, my little mind just started a-spinning...I love to cast, and I love to shoot suppressed, but these two things have been mutually exclusive to this point due to buildup in the suppressors.

BUT...powdercoating eliminates lead buildup in suppressors!! I'm reading through the truly massive powdercoating thread, but perhaps some of you would be kind enough to help me out with a few basic questions that are of tremendous interest to me.

Is there a boolit design that feeds in an AR-10? (LR-308 to be exact) It seems that if powdercoating does what I think it might that boolits could be driven faster without fear of leading...I know a FM(jword) is likely the easiest bullet shape for a semi-auto to chamber; is there a boolit design that feeds well? Powdercoating is pretty substantive stuff and pretty slick, so it seems pretty plausible that if somebody could come up with a reasonably tapered design this could work pretty well.

Sorry for the explosion of questions...it just seems too good to be true that I may finally have found a way to shoot .308 (and possibly even .338 Spectre ;) ) economically!! If so, Christmas just arrived for this guy.

Thanks so much for the insight, guys.

[theTastyCat]

I should also mention that this is for a precision rifle...24" barrel, 10x scope, etc. - this is a 3/4 MOA or less capable rifle. Talk about toast in a breadline! I completely understand if expecting similar accuracy is a pipe dream, but if it is achievable, I would be ONE HAPPY DUDE.

[Digger]

How about the 311365 ?
The one on the right ...88265
I use it in my 308 garand ..

[Rainier]

Funny you should ask - I just cast a batch of Lee 312-160 TLGC boolits sized down to .309 to try in my AR-10 and gave half of them to my shooting partner who said they fit in his mags for his Blackout. I bought a toaster oven and my shooting partner showed up with powder coat today - you see where this is going? With my alloy and a gas check they came in at 168 grains +/- tomorrow we'll see what happens with weight once we powder coat some. Anyway, no info to share yet but when we get a range report I'll post it up. We're curious to see how a powder coated boolit works in a suppressed boolit launcher ourselves. Let us know if you get a range report before we do.

[waco]

Digger
What color is that? Those boolits look awesome!

[willie_pete]

They are nice looking, but it looks like plain lead to me.

WP

[dilly]

I think digger's picture was just a boolit recommendation for 308 reliability, not an example of powder coated bullets.

[KCSO]

As far as accuracy in the 308 in 1972 I bought a Winchester M70 from a CBA member that was his match rifle. It would shoot under 1" at 100 yards with his loads of cast bullets so don't sell the cast bullets too short.

[Larry Gibson]

It's not "leading" at higher velocity with cast bullets in many rifles (including the .308W, especially with a 10" twist barrel) that is the problem.

Larry Gibson

[jimwill48]

What kind of bore wear would the powder coat bullets do?

[theTastyCat]

Wow guys, looks like it is Christmas early!!! Both of those molds look like they should feed perfectly. That NOE mold is beautiful, but I think the 168-ish grains of the Lee mold would likely be more suitable for my AR. Rainier, test on, good man! I just cancelled a Midway order for some 175-gr. SMKs and will be asking Santa for a powdercoating gun and will be looking for a crappy toaster oven on Craigslist :) I'm sure this project will require some tinkering but it's clear that the result is within reach. Thanks so much for all the input! Rainier, you have the floor :)

[KYShooter73]

I believe Popper has been loading PC for the .308 gas guns for a while. Might want to give him a shout.

[waco]

I guess it's just my monitor then. They look kinda blue to me.

[Wayne S]

How about the 311365 ?
The one on the right ...88265
I use it in my 308 garand .. SOoooo what sort of accuracy are you getting with the 311365 ??

[Digger]

I wish I was far enough along with my load/test to say but still on the learning curve as far as using these .....up to now , been using the "tanker" shorty but just picked up a Ruger American ...
Have very little time lately to apply to the hobby (getting frustrated) , but will get there .
The one to the left of the 311365 is Mihec's 180 gr hp.
And yeah the color is "steel wool gray" ....;-)

[dverna]

Tasty,

Do not get a cheap *** oven. You will want a convection oven to get a more even temperature distribution. The cheap HF PC gun seems to work just fine at this point. Stay with Black PC as it seems to be more forgiving.

Popper has been the only person I know of who has been successful with rifle bullets shooting under 2 moa and he is using a .308 AR. Look at the thread "Real Rifle Accuracy" in the Bullet Lube forum for what he has accomplished.

Good luck!!

Don Verna

[theTastyCat]

Excellent advice, Don! Will take all of it.

[Rainier]

Hi Tasty-
Here's my first attempt with Powder coat in a cheap *** oven I bought for $19.00 from Ross Dress for Less (kinda like TJ Maxx)
From the left is as cast, PC'd, next is PC'd sized with a gas check and the blob on the end is the 3 pound hammer test.

88541

I stand the boolit up in a 1/4" fender washer to coat and bake which leaves the gas check base uncoated. If you want to try some of them in your AR send me a PM and I'll mail some out for testing.

[theTastyCat]

Rainier, you are a true gent! PM incoming.

[30CAL-TEXAN]

I know nothing about powder coating but I do load both the 311365 as well as the 311299 for my M14. It's not an AR but it is a 308 autoloader and both seem to feed just fine for me.

[fcvan]

Rainer, you are a genius with the fender washers. This was outside of the box I have been thinking within. I have PCd a bunch of 30 cal boolits by gluing gas checks onto a tray and 22 boolits by drilling holes in a tray. I can't wait to try the fender washer idea. Thanks!

[Rainier]

Well thanks I think - I've been accused of being a lot of things but genius ain't one of them :) I was just trying to sort out something with holes in it so I didn't have to setup the drill press - mostly lazy and lucky. As an added bonus I got a box of the 1/4 X 1" washers and it helps to evenly space the boolits so it's easier to get an even coat of PC.
Better to be lucky then good I guess :)

[dverna]

Well thanks I think - I've been accused of being a lot of things but genius ain't one of them :) I was just trying to sort out something with holes in it so I didn't have to setup the drill press - mostly lazy and lucky. As an added bonus I got a box of the 1/4 X 1" washers and it helps to evenly space the boolits so it's easier to get an even coat of PC.
Better to be lucky then good I guess :)

Sir,
You should post this in the "tips" thread as well as the PC thread. It is an excellent idea and one I will steal if (when???) I start PC'ing.

Don Verna