Powder coat harness

[Carrier]

One answer I can’t seem to find is a powder coated bullet as hard as a plated bullet? I’ve been told not to shoot jacketed or plated in a gun as old as the trapdoor I have because of the softer metal used for the barrel as they will wear it out.
I can’t find a plated or jacket bullet to fit the bore size of .4065” anyways so cast is the way to go.

[ericandelaine1975]

You can shoot powder coated bullets. It's essentially plastic coating on lead.

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[GregLaROCHE]

I’ve always wondered how hard powder coat was. I have been planning to put some in a bottle cap and bake it along with some Boolits and then check it for hardness. I should do that soon if no one has already done so.

[ericandelaine1975]

When you powder coat a bullet you do a smash test after its baked. The powder coat mashes with the bullet and doesn't crack if it's been done correctly.

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[marek313]

From what I saw somewhere on the net I think its about 26+ BH. Probably depends on the exact type , baking process etc. Copper should be around 35 so little bit harder then powder coat. Shooting lead and PC shouldnt wear out barrels as quick as FMJs. I havent been shooting long enough to tell but from my understanding there are many people that claim that shooting reasonable lead loads (not some +++++p+++++) wont wear your barrel out during your life time. Of course many variables are at play here too. I'm yet to see any wear from shooting my PCed lead rounds.

[rsrocket1]

The "estimated hardness" is 2H pencil lead but that is more of a "toughness" rating. If you've ever sized PC cast bullets, they glide through the push through sizer just like a plastic coated piece of metal (which is exactly what a PC bullet is).

You can cast bullets of pure 4 BHN lead, powder coat them and they'll be tough enough to shoot 1200 fps and 30k psi peak pressure. I use reclaimed shot air cooled and I can dig my finger nail into the bullets. PC'ed, they easily shoot just fine in my 9mm guns with loads right at the top of the load data (30kpsi) and chronied at 1250 fps.

[Carrier]

Appreciate the answers from all. I have reloaded some powder coated bullets in 38 special I had bought that needed to be sized and rsrocket1 you’re right as they slid through the sizer die slick as hell.

[Silvercreek Farmer]

The "estimated hardness" is 2H pencil lead but that is more of a "toughness" rating. If you've ever sized PC cast bullets, they glide through the push through sizer just like a plastic coated piece of metal (which is exactly what a PC bullet is).

You can cast bullets of pure 4 BHN lead, powder coat them and they'll be tough enough to shoot 1200 fps and 30k psi peak pressure. I use reclaimed shot air cooled and I can dig my finger nail into the bullets. PC'ed, they easily shoot just fine in my 9mm guns with loads right at the top of the load data (30kpsi) and chronied at 1250 fps.

Not arguing, but I was under the impression that shot was fairly hard.

My soft lead stores exceed my wheel weight stash, so I've been playing with PCd soft lead boolits. Haven't pushed them very hard yet, but the initial results in .38 seem promising.

[ericandelaine1975]

We had a discussion on another forum about powder coat. From what the guys that have been doing it awhile have said is that you can push them the same as a gas checked bullet. Even pure lead.

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