Powder coating made the nose to big to seat to proper length...I think

[gustavez]

Hey guys, I have been powder coating pistol boolits for some time now thanks to all the info on this site. My issue came when trying rifle boolits, specifically the c309-160-r from lee. the powder coating is not overly thick however I think it is thick enough that it is hitting the chamber wall and not making it to the lands with typical seating depths? I have had to seat MUCH deeper to get the bolt to close and not get stuck trying to extract a loaded round. I also have two other lee molds that i'd like to try that drop 180 and i think about 195 grains but i would imagine that would require even more seating into the case. Anyone run into this, or have some suggestions for me? Should I shoot em? Thanks in advance, you guys are always very helpful.

The gun: savage 10fp 308
lee c309-160-r weighing in at 158gr after powder coating with eastwood red and sized to .310
OAL in order to chamber: 2.490

[Vern Humphrey]

Have you tried to chamber a dummy round loaded with this bullet UNcoated?

What I suspect is happening is this bullet carries it's diameter farther forward (and has a correspondingly shorter nose) than the jacketed bullets that I suspect you've been using before now. In other words, the "shoulder" on this bullet is farther forward than bullets you used before and it is that shoulder that is contacting the lede and preventing the bullet from chambering.

[runfiverun]

I didn't see your load there.
but if they ain't falling in the case or sitting on the top of a case full of 4198 your fine to shoot them.

next time I would measure stuff.
especially a bullet designed to fill a rifles throat without anything cooked on it.

[rockshooter]

I switched to the NOE version of the 311414 to get around this exact issue. I have found a need to change bullets since I started powder coating.
Loren

[gustavez]

I will try one that isn't coated and see how it does, I am just starting on this load and they are not sitting on a hot powder charge. I did bell the case mouth and then crimped just enough to straighten the neck, so not much if any crimp. I will look into the recommended mold but I like the lee molds and have several. I am mostly curious of your guys thoughts on shooting them like this and what about the longer/heavier lee boolits of same style

[farmerjim]

I Hi-Tek instead of PCing all the bore riders and deep throat boolits. Hi-Tek is quite thin compared to PC. If you are driving it so hard that you are getting leading, just use some BLL or 45-45-10 on it with the Hi-Tek. Hi-Tek alone works on most of my loads. It is a little bit harder to master at first, but once you get it down, it is easy and fast.

[gustavez]

Thanks for the info, I have thought about the hi tek, but the powder coating has worked so well up to this point. Any and all ideas are welcomed though and eventually I will probably try it.

[farmerjim]

Two other things I just thought of: Popper was able to size the nose of the boolet without scraping the PC off( the NOE nose sizer did not work for him) . There is a thread here on it, try searching nose size and popper. Somebody coated part of the mold with I think hi temp paint to make that part a couple of thousands smaller so that the boolet would chamber.

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/show...C-nose-too-big

[gustavez]

Ok, that gave me more to think about, I'm not 100% sure I'm up to some if those tasks over getting a new lee mold that would work better for powder coating. Does anyone use the 762x39 mold for 308? Any sizing issues after coating since the mold drops .312 plus coating would be around .315 then size down to .310

[Bama]

gustavez, I had the same problem except I caught it before bullets were loaded. It was a problem on all bore rider type bullets I found and I only got by it by making a die to resize the noose section of the bore rider to fit my bore. accuracy was outstanding but it did take additional steps and a little more time but to me the results are well worth the extra trouble. The long boreriders really start reducing case capacity if you start pushing them down in the case which ups the pressure. I had to use a dead blow mallet to open the bolt several times before I made the nose sizing die. Watch the pressure--it goes up fast when you reduce the case capacity. Take good measurements and keep good notes, remember the bullets can be remelted and repoured.

[gustavez]

Yeah those were my concerns, so you made a nose reducing die? Do they sell such an animal, since I don't have the equipment to do it myself? Have you tried the molds for the 762x39 they look to have a different nose that might work better

[Bama]

I made one that uses a redding neck sizing bushing which are available in .001 increments. They have to be flaired on both ends to work correctly without shaving PC but when done correctly, gives an almost perfect bullet. Upon firing you get almost full length rifling engagement which makes an accurate bullet. I am not aware of anyone making and selling the bushing holder and punches yet. I have not tried any 7.62x39's yet. After the nose die, there is not a need because problem is resolved- and-i can custom fit bullet to bore so it is a slip fit. Fit and alignment are two of the keys to accuracy with cast boolits.

[farmerjim]

NOE makes nose sizing dies. They make a sizing die that uses inserts. Some are for nose sizing.

http://noebulletmolds.com/NV/index.php?cPath=104
http://noebulletmolds.com/NV/index.php?cPath=104_396

[Retumbo]

So I did my first 9mm and I think I have a similar problem .My bullets are sized to .358. The bullets go in the chamber 98% of the way. A slight tap on the bottom of the case seats it all the way. They are a are a little stiff to remove. Once removed you can see rub marks on the bullet just above the case. Shoot them? Lee 125 grn mold. OAL 1.11

Seems to be from slight unevenness of the PC.(visible dark spot just above case)



Thanks

[asmith80]

So I did my first 9mm and I think I have a similar problem .My bullets are sized to .358. The bullets go in the chamber 98% of the way. A slight tap on the bottom of the case seats it all the way. They are a are a little stiff to remove. Once removed you can see rub marks on the bullet just above the case. Shoot them? Lee 125 grn mold. OAL 1.11

Seems to be from slight unevenness of the PC.(visible dark spot just above case)



Thanks

I had the same problem when I tried PCing a NOE 358-155 ELCO. Switched to Hi-Tek and the problem went away. PC is really not ideal with fat nosed bullets without a lot of extra work