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Thread: Shot my first PC bullets today.

  1. #1
    Boolit Buddy
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    Shot my first PC bullets today.

    I'm trying to work up a good practice load for my 9mm Hi-Power. Bought 500 147 gr coated Bayou Bullets and shot about 45 today. Barrel leaded badly. I thought the whole idea of PC bullets was no leading?!?!?! It took 4 LeadAway patches and some serious Flitz work to clean my barrel. What's up with that?
    Chris

  2. #2
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    undersized pc bullets will lead just like undersized greased bullets ..
    so can we ask for some details to help figure out where the issue might be ?

    did you slug your barrel ? if so what was the dia
    from that what is the measured dia of the Bayou Bullets
    what powder , grain and velocity are you shooting

    these answers will help diagnose some of the issues

    Thanks
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  3. #3
    Boolit Master MyFlatline's Avatar
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    What Smoke said..not enough information. Bullet fit will always be the key. If you had that much leading, something went terribly wrong..

  4. #4
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    The barrel slug measures .355" and the bullets I was loading measured .356"

    I had three loads, shot 10 rounds each.

    BE-86, 4.7 gr, avg fps was 1030
    Titegroup, 2.5 gr, avg fps was 808.7
    HS-6, 4.4 gr, avg fps was 868.5

    I've got some .358" lead bullets (121 gr TC), half powder coated and half lubed that one of the generous members here on the forum sent to me to try. I'll do that next and should be able to get a good comparison. But if velocity is the problem, the lighter bullets are going to be traveling faster.
    Chris

  5. #5
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    Bayou Bullets sells Hi-Tek coated bullets 92/6/2 alloy with a Brinell hardness of 16-17, not PC (powder coat) I have never seen a commercial manufacturer that sells PC bullets.
    Like smoke and MF we need to know the slugged size of the gun your shooting, the diameter of the bullets you used, type and amount of gunpowder your using to let us know how hard your pushing the bullet and how fast the burn rate is. Make/model of gun would be nice also.

  6. #6
    Boolit Buddy
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    I assumed Hi-Tek was powder coating. My mistake. So do I need to lube these bullets?

    Grmps, the post just prior to your has all the info you requested. Make and model of gun is in the first post.
    Chris

  7. #7
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    Bullets are too small for your barrel
    Need to be .002 over min and in 9 mm many have found .003 to be even better
    [SIZE=4][B]Selling Hi Quality Powdercoating Powder

    I carry a Nuke50 because cleaning up the mess is Silly !!

    http://www.bing.com/search?q=nuke50&...7ADE&FORM=QBLH

    I am not crazy my mom had me tested

    Theres a fine line between genius and crazy .. I'm that line
    and depending on the day I might just step over that line !!!

  8. #8
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    PS I shoot .358 bullets out of all my 9mm guns with no leading at all
    [SIZE=4][B]Selling Hi Quality Powdercoating Powder

    I carry a Nuke50 because cleaning up the mess is Silly !!

    http://www.bing.com/search?q=nuke50&...7ADE&FORM=QBLH

    I am not crazy my mom had me tested

    Theres a fine line between genius and crazy .. I'm that line
    and depending on the day I might just step over that line !!!

  9. #9
    Boolit Buddy
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    So I guess you are suggesting either a .357" or .358" bullet, then?
    Chris

  10. #10
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    I agree with everyone else. I had the same issue with my .357, 9, .40 and 10mm. I tried .001" over diameter and still had minor leading at .002" and it stopped leading completely in some cases sized at .003" over diameter. It didn't matter if my alloy had a BHN of 10-22 at low to full power load velocities or powder choice.

    Fotgot to mention: I bought some hard cast from Laser Cast (alloy is very hard) which leaded the worst due to fit, not being able to obturate at low velocities and/or lands being to abrupt (Stormlake 9 barrel).

    Some of the issues were caused by a rough barrel (rifling), my 9 needed to be throated, polished and recrowned (off center) by DougGuy. In some cases the bullets (boolits) were being swagged in the reloading process (seating/crimping) and/or resized by my revolver (.357 mag) cylinder (varried from .356-.358") when fired.

    On occasions I've read that GC's stop leading and improves accuracy which was not the case in my .357. The bullets (boolits) got resized and/or shaved (lead deposits) and gas cutting still occurred which caused leading and bad accuracy (4-6" groups at 25 yards).

    Note: I learned that manafactures of auto pistols and revolvers don't come ready for use with cast boolits in mind. They are made to function with plated and jacketed bullets for factory ammo (the typical customer) or at least my conclusion.

    Manafacturs diameters vary (slug to verify) in cylinders and barrels, even in the same makes and models. This is one of two reasons why I started casting my own and sizing to fit as one size does not fit all. The second is due to hard to find, expensive, and ammo/bullet shortages.

    ACME Bullet Company sells coated bullets and majority of their bullets are sized .001" over SAMMI.

    PS: Some cast manafactures will size or not size, etc at a customers request, and it never hurts to ask.
    Last edited by TXCOONDOG; 06-25-2017 at 11:12 AM. Reason: Additional information

  11. #11
    Boolit Buddy
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    I just loaded up some truncated cone bullets that measure .358". I'll try and shoot them on Monday and see how they work. I was given both lubed lead and powder coated, so I'll have a good comparison.
    Chris

  12. #12
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    Quote Originally Posted by Smoke4320 View Post
    PS I shoot .358 bullets out of all my 9mm guns with no leading at all
    I agree!!!!!!


    I only cast and PC 358's for all my 9's today. No leading EVER! Try casting your own so you have total control of everything you are doing.

  13. #13
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    Oh, I will bangerjim, but for right now I'm just buyin' or bummin' until I find the profile and weight bullet that seems to shoot the best in my chooter. I like the 147 gr bullets profile that I got from Bayou Bullets...........it's just not large enough I've been told. I also like the old standard Truncated cone bullet that it was originally loaded with by the Germans. (similar to the Lee 356402) I hear it's a pretty accurate bullet. I've got 50 loaded right now for chootin' on Monday.
    Chris

  14. #14
    Boolit Master

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    And one other note: Make sure your case expander is big enough that you don't size down the bullets as you load them. pull a couple and measure them to make certain that isn't the problem.

  15. #15
    Boolit Buddy
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    Hmmmmmm! Never thought of that! The seated bullets definitely "show" on the outside of the brass.
    Chris

  16. #16
    Boolit Buddy
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    Quote Originally Posted by jimb16 View Post
    And one other note: Make sure your case expander is big enough that you don't size down the bullets as you load them. pull a couple and measure them to make certain that isn't the problem.
    Just checked that and no change in bullet size. But thanks for giving me a "heads-up".
    Chris

  17. #17
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    get you some .358 powdercoated bullets expand the brass to .357 load and you should be good ..
    Keep at it. When you find the solution you will love shooting pc'ed bullets
    [SIZE=4][B]Selling Hi Quality Powdercoating Powder

    I carry a Nuke50 because cleaning up the mess is Silly !!

    http://www.bing.com/search?q=nuke50&...7ADE&FORM=QBLH

    I am not crazy my mom had me tested

    Theres a fine line between genius and crazy .. I'm that line
    and depending on the day I might just step over that line !!!

  18. #18
    Boolit Master NoAngel's Avatar
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    Do be sure the mouth is flared enough to NOT shave. It may not be readily apparent but skinning the coating when seating is bad juju. I've had a few I got a bad feeling about. Pulled the bullet and sure enough, coating was ruined because of my incompetence. Had I fired them, they would have leaded.

    I shoot a .358 bullet and use an M die type expander (homemade) that expands deeper into the case. Flare the case enough so there's no chance of skinning the PC. Taper crimp only enough to close the bell, I don't want the crimp to dig into the bullet where it might compromise the PC as it exits the case. There's really no issue with too little neck tension on 9mm. Usually just the opposite.
    When dealing with islam one should always ask themselves: "What would Leonidas do?"

  19. #19
    Boolit Buddy
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    That's exactly what I did, Smoke4320................and they leaded like ****!!!!! I've never seen so much lead in a barrel. (at least not in any of my barrels!)

    Started with an immaculately clean barrel. I shot at 4.6 gr BE-86 for an average of 1162 fps..........4.7 gr for 1077 fps..........and 4.8 gr for 1094 fps. I was shooting a 122 gr Lyman 356402 powder coated bullet. Wacky velocities.............not quite sure what's up with that.
    Chris

  20. #20
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    Quote Originally Posted by NoAngel View Post
    Do be sure the mouth is flared enough to NOT shave. It may not be readily apparent but skinning the coating when seating is bad juju. I've had a few I got a bad feeling about. Pulled the bullet and sure enough, coating was ruined because of my incompetence. Had I fired them, they would have leaded.

    I shoot a .358 bullet and use an M die type expander (homemade) that expands deeper into the case. Flare the case enough so there's no chance of skinning the PC. Taper crimp only enough to close the bell, I don't want the crimp to dig into the bullet where it might compromise the PC as it exits the case. There's really no issue with too little neck tension on 9mm. Usually just the opposite.

    I seated some bullets and pulled them.............no shearing of either the powder coating or the lead.
    Chris

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Abbreviations used in Reloading

BP Bronze Point IMR Improved Military Rifle PTD Pointed
BR Bench Rest M Magnum RN Round Nose
BT Boat Tail PL Power-Lokt SP Soft Point
C Compressed Charge PR Primer SPCL Soft Point "Core-Lokt"
HP Hollow Point PSPCL Pointed Soft Point "Core Lokt" C.O.L. Cartridge Overall Length
PSP Pointed Soft Point Spz Spitzer Point SBT Spitzer Boat Tail
LRN Lead Round Nose LWC Lead Wad Cutter LSWC Lead Semi Wad Cutter
GC Gas Check