Elvis Ammo's New "In Bulk" Powder Coating Video

[dverna]

I like any informative videos that can help me be a better boolitateer. Hats off to Elvis for the try but I wouldn't ever try the This method being it looks like the lazy mans try and have to say he reminded me of Chunk on the Goonies when he had to shake his belly (when Elvis was swirling his boolits)lol

We do this for the pride, art, and the craft...not to rush n make it look like ****.

It all depends......

I am anal about rifle ammunition. At one time I had seven progressive presses and I have never loaded a rifle round on anything but a Rock Chucker or Co-Ax.

One of our fun things to do is shoot head to head using a dueling tree. Lots of blasting at close range. We do not need target quality ammunition for that kind of shooting.

Nothing wrong with producing match grade ammunition all the time, but I am lazy and good enough is good enough. Heck, I am so lazy I would never cast or reload another 9mm if I could by them for $5 a box. I have no great love for either endeavor. Just cheap!

[kmrra]

Elvis might talk slow, but he's smart as a whip, and definitely thinks outside of the box. As far as I know, he's the only private individual to venture into the pure zinc bullet arena.

We've been shooting cast lead bullets for centuries. My knowledge is still very limited, but as far as I know, other than gas checking, nothing has been done to protect the base of the bullet.

Unless conventional lube somehow protects the base, he has to be right. PC does its job of preventing leading because it encases the portion of the bullet that comes into contact with the rifling.

Right?

Yes he a very nice guy and as far as his zinc bullet I havent followed up on that venture, Did you see the video where he burned up and melted a Lee pot because of the zinc, was rather a comical video, but he learned something LOL

[Traffer]

When I first started powder coating, Elvis Ammo's video on heating them first was the first video I ever watched. VERY GLAD I DID. Most people tend to over scrutinize their work on powder coating. If I had tried powder coating before watching Elvis, I would be gluing little nuts on a pan under some non stick aluminum foil and placing the bullets on them with a tweezers. UGH. It is so much simpler that most people make it out to be. In my opinion ELVIS AMMO ROCKS. I love his videos and comment on them a lot. I use the name hans.pcguy on youtube. I should make all my names the same some day.

[igolfat8]

I know I'm going to sound like a broken record here, but...

In applications where conventional lube and no gas check are acceptable, is it not correct that the base of the bullet is not protected from hot gases? If this is the case, then PC bullets where the base has not been coated is equal to the conventional lubed version.

Again, I see no reason to not PC the base (unless you wanted to stand them all up and spray the PC), but logic tells me the conditions would be the same for both bullets.

Your assumptions are correct. If you don't have a muzzle device attached to the exit end of your pipe there is no need to cover the base of a lead bullet... UNLESS ... you want to reduce the amount of airborne lead in the air around you. That is why the majority of indoor ranges won't allow you to shoot bare lead projectiles.

[308Jeff]

Makes perfect sense. Thank you, igolf!

[Beetmagnet]

He sounds just like a regular Carolina boy. Sounds normal to me. I kinda like the "hey Youtube"...and then "Hey" again.

[308Jeff]

Yeah, he's a good guy for sure. Enjoy all his stuff.

[garym1a2]

This was the video that got me to get HF red to work, preheat to 140F and it works well. His video on ford blue taught me a great powder. I like his videos.

When I first started powder coating, Elvis Ammo's video on heating them first was the first video I ever watched. VERY GLAD I DID. Most people tend to over scrutinize their work on powder coating. If I had tried powder coating before watching Elvis, I would be gluing little nuts on a pan under some non stick aluminum foil and placing the bullets on them with a tweezers. UGH. It is so much simpler that most people make it out to be. In my opinion ELVIS AMMO ROCKS. I love his videos and comment on them a lot. I use the name hans.pcguy on youtube. I should make all my names the same some day.

[zymguy]

This is also one of the reasons I powder coat. I shoot ALOT of suppressed stuff. With sealed cans you get lead buildup as well as buildup from the lube.

FLT please do a vidieo comparing base coated and base not coated during which urge your you tube peers to join the conversation here =)

[TexasGrunt]

He is right if you don't have a comp on the end of the barrel.

Combustion of the gunpowder is in direct contact with the base of the bullet. Therefore, it will vaporize a small amount of exposed bare lead and blow it down and out the pipe. Most of my pistols have comps on them and this causes lead build up in the comp ports which is a show stopper for the games I play.

Exactly.

We all know that the .22 LR doesn't have leading problems. But put a comp on the pistol and watch the lead build up in the ports. It's amazing how much the Volquartsen comp helps with my Ruger MK II pistols. Part of it is the extra weight of course

[reddog81]

I think he's right. Leading happens due to the friction of the bullet on the rifling. Try powder coating the base and leave the sides bare and I'd guess you'll have terrible leading in short order.

[igolfat8]

I think he's right. Leading happens due to the friction of the bullet on the rifling.

.

I respectfully disagree. I have recovered my PC bullets from the berm. You can see rifling marks in the bullet but no exposed bared lead in the rifling grooves.

[reddog81]

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I respectfully disagree. I have recovered my PC bullets from the berm. You can see rifling marks in the bullet but no exposed bared lead in the rifling grooves.

Did you have leading in your rifling? If the powder coat on the side remains intact you don't get leading. I think that's the whole point of this thread...

If you powder coat the sides of the bullet only you shouldn't get leading. If you only powder coat the base you will get leading. The base is not the cause of leading - the sides of the bullet are.

[barnabus]

As much as I like him I just can't listen to his vids anymore. Some one buy the guy a decent microphone already.

i cant listen to him cuz he talks nonsense and could cut his videos in half if he didnt ramble.

[emery]

Will powder coat work in glock barrels if there is no leading ?

[Dragonheart]

I watched Elvis's video a while back and wasn't sold, but I did try it.

First did Elvis do a full cure? Nothing to confirm this. In my experience trying the "Dump Method" I did a full cure and breaking apart my bullets was no easy matter, many of mine never came apart at all. My powder is a quality powder and my full cure coating is as hard as copper. When Elvis talks of soft & flexible coating that should give a clue that he did not acheive full cure. Second when I was able to seperate the bullets my spots of exposed lead were much greater than what Elvis showed, again indicating I had a full cure and his doubtful. Also when laying in a pile the coating will flow downward being thicker. Time saved for sub-par product was just not worth it to me.

I personally like having my bullets bases coated for several reasons. The polymer jacket protects and seals the base. When my bullets are cooked standing on a silicon baking mat, the polymer under the base flattens and tends to fill the imperfect cast base. The base of a bullet is what steers the bullet in flight, imperfections on the base will alter the bullet's path more than anywhere else. When I bring my completely coated bullets into my home I have no exposed lead to handle.

The problem with shooting lubbed bullets in a Glock is the polygonal rifling builds up a lead coating at a much faster rate. Since a properly coated powder coated bullet is a Polymer Jacketed Bullet the jacket protects the softer inner alloy core just like any jacket does so polygonal barrels are no problem.

[la5676]

I also caught on one of his many videos, that he thinks one does not need to heat to 400 degrees. 250-275 should be hot enough to cure it in his opinion. He seems to be somewhat knowledgeable on what he talks about, but I would think the powder manufacturers recommend 400 degrees minimum for a reason.

[slide]

What has happened to Elvis? No videos anymore.

[Dragonheart]

I also caught on one of his many videos, that he thinks one does not need to heat to 400 degrees. 250-275 should be hot enough to cure it in his opinion. He seems to be somewhat knowledgeable on what he talks about, but I would think the powder manufacturers recommend 400 degrees minimum for a reason.

I agree; Heat and length of time is necessary to complete the cross linking of the polymer, when curing is altered the intended properties of the polymer may not be achieved. This was one of the very first things I learned from professionals in the PC Industry (Not coating Bullets).

Engineers have mounds handbooks with established facts and calculations known to be true. Most were derived by experimenting to find the point that something broke or otherwise failed. Experimenting is a good thing to determine unknowns like limits and an end result, but someone altering an established and know process that has been proven to have undesirable results when not followed would have me questioning their knowledge base.

[tomme boy]

I do it the same but my temps are 425 on my oven to get them hot enough. You have e to make sure to shake out the excess powder. I have a old SS sieve I use to shake the powder out. After cooking drop rite into water. I hardly ever have bullets stuck together