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Thread: To stand or not to stand the bullets for the curing process?

  1. #1
    Boolit Buddy pps's Avatar
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    To stand or not to stand the bullets for the curing process?

    This is my first attempt at powder coating. I used "Wet Black" and tumbled with black airsoft bb's and got a nice even coat. The bullet on the right (Mihec 90 grain bullet for .380) I used needle nose pliers to stand on it's base for the curing process, while the one on the left was from the batch where I just tossed a bunch on the mesh tray (much faster).

    The coating on the bullets where I took the time to stand is more even and had no culls, while the other batch did have occasional exposed lead from pulling a few of the bullets apart that had stuck together. I'm considering loading those bullets anyway just to see if they will cause any leading issues. To those experienced in PC boolits, is a little exposed lead going to make much differance in subsonic handgun rounds if sized .001 over bore diameter?

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  2. #2
    Boolit Buddy
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    Not IMO. I am more concerned with lead exposure from the base of that pretty one on the right. Especially if you shoot indoors.


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  3. #3
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    S&B gets the bases coated too.
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  4. #4
    Boolit Master

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    I wear a nitrile glove and stand the bullets up. If there is a bare spot rolling the bullet between your gloved fingers will coat it. I find gloves much easier than tweezers or pliers.

  5. #5
    Boolit Buddy pps's Avatar
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    Cool. That's what I will do.

  6. #6
    Boolit Master MyFlatline's Avatar
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    Well, I have been a stand up guy from the beginning,,,but the last few pistol batches I did, I dumped them on a piece of hardware cloth wire. Can't say anything bad about it. Have only done the 45 colt, I'm pretty anal about my rifle bullets but will give it an honest try..This was with Powder by the Pound powder BTW

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  7. #7
    Boolit Master


    Walter Laich's Avatar
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    I do tumbling with ASBBs and dump to a tray for cooking. I shake tray before hand so none are on top of each other

    There will be some 'thin' spots but remember that's just the color--the PC will be covering the entire bullet. Been doing this for over a year with no leading issues.

    I still get a smile when one patch will clean out the bore of both rifles and pistols.
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  8. #8
    Boolit Buddy
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    Dump them at random, (single layer) on a parchment paper-lined tray. The powder will suck up smoothly even underneath. It's reusable depending on temps and will go to 480 if you want. There are also reusable silicone mats. Small shiners won't matter.
    Last edited by crackers; 12-03-2017 at 06:58 PM.

  9. #9
    Boolit Master

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    They will shoot just fine. I tried the dump and bake on hardware cloth method and though there were spots like yours there was no difference in performance. I'm quite anal about my reloading but tried this method and was pleasantly surprised. Test was done using 311041GC CB's pushed to beyond 1,850fps through a Marlin 336 earlier today. Accuracy the same as stood up when baking with only soot in the barrel.

    Something to consider, the thin layer of tumble lube often works just fine using the same CB's so the PC does not need to be thick and uniform to work.
    Liberalism is the triumph of emotion over intellect, but masquerading as the reverse.

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  10. #10
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    I have to stand mine all up.
    I cannot stand to see a bare spot where powder is supposed to be.
    I don't care if it works okay or not, I'm not doing it.

  11. #11
    Boolit Master
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    I have been powder coating since 2012 and in all those years I have tried just about everything, including the dump method. When PC is heated the polymer turns liquid and does not stay in place, it flows and this is my problem with the dump method. The dump method is faster, but what you end up with is a lopsided bullet, typically with bare spots and an unflat base. If you are loading for a handgun and shooting at 10 yards or less you may see little difference, but step out to 25 or 50 yards and you will. My handgun loads with my PC bullets will print 1-1/2" and under groups at 25 yards.

    If you use the dump method for rifle bullets then you are shooting patterns, not groups, as lopsided bullets with bases that are angled is a completely unstable bullet. In comparison a match bullet is completely concentric with a perpendicular base. This is just shooting and handloading accuracy basics. When I shoot I want to know if I am off it is me and not my bullets.

    As for my process I tumble coat 300+ bullets at a time in my homemade bucket tumbler. I dump into a #5 plastic large flat bottom pan, that a shake will expose more bullets. I use self-closing tweezers to pick up and stand each bullet on its base. The bullets sit on sheetmetal covered wire oven racks covered with silicon baking sheets. My oven's three racks hold and cook over 1000 bullets in a single cooking. In an afternoon I can process many K's of bullets that are about as perfect as you are going to get. The entire bullet is evenly coated including the base and the base is flat. This is a hobby for me, I don't want fast poor quality bullets. But, if you are happy with the dump method then so be it, as the only one you have to please is yourself.

  12. #12
    Boolit Buddy
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    My hat is off. Sounds like good logic. I am about to start down the rabbit hole of precision subsonic 300 Blackout. I was planning on doing Hi-tec but may try the stand up now.
    Great post IMO.


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  13. #13
    Boolit Master
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    [QUOTE=oteroman;4220983]My hat is off. Sounds like good logic. I am about to start down the rabbit hole of precision subsonic 300 Blackout. I was planning on doing Hi-tec but may try the stand up now.
    Great post IMO.

    I would suggest you check out the posts from "Bama" and save yourself a lot of time and frustration. Bama has created the most accurate PC rifle bullets I have seen that are capable of full power accuracy at 200-300 yards. Getting good low velocity accuracy at 50 yards is not a problem, but when you go to full power at distance the bullet needs to be perfect.

  14. #14
    Boolit Grand Master popper's Avatar
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    I cook mine on a hot plate so the get stood up. Don't PC pistol anymore.
    Whatever!

  15. #15
    Boolit Master



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    I am gonna try the shake-bake-dump as I am tired of standing up hundreds of boolits at a time and baking on a parchment covered steel baking sheet.

    I have some of those Bed Bath and Beyond screen containers and my plan is to utilize them after baking the boolits (spread out flat) and then dumping the whole shebang into a 5 gallon bucket of cold water.

    I am sure that some boolits will have a bare spot after I break them apart and others will have a bare spot where it stuck onto the wire basket but I am just after plinking accuracy at steel targets here.

    However for my Garand and my Sweede I plan to stand them up and then dump them. The same will go for my 38-55 and my CZ 527 .223 carbine. But the numbers will be a lot more sparse than with pistol boolits.

    I have tried the HF cheapie red and yellow. They both cover well and are effective but the powder is more coarse than Smoke's so I sift it again through a smaller screen and it works out better. I really have not shot enuf of these rounds to say the guns stay cleaner or the accuracy is better or worse.

    This method of PC adds more steps to getting good ammo and I know the old way utilizing my Star luber is lot faster and has many less steps to the procedure. My continued practice of PC'ing is up in the air until the results are in.

    I may go back to lubing with the star on the pistol rounds but use the PC on the rifle rounds. Time will tell.
    Pax Nobiscum Dan (Crash) Corrigan

    Currently casting, reloading and shooting: 223 Rem, 6.5x55 Sweede, 30 Carbine, 30-06 Springfield, 30-30 WCF, 303 Brit., 7.62x39, 7.92x57 Mauser, .32 Long, 32 H&R Mag, 327 Fed Mag, 380 ACP. 9x19, 38 Spcl, 357 Mag, 38-55 Win, 41 Mag, 44 Spcl., 44 Mag, 45 Colt, 45 ACP, 454 Casull, 457 RB for ROA and 50-90 Sharps. Shooting .22 LR & 12 Gauge seldom and buying ammo for same.

  16. #16
    Boolit Master 308Jeff's Avatar
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    So far I've done 3 or 4 batches dumping into a mesh basket or onto non-stick foil. I've not been completely satisfied with either of those. Yesterday I did a batch in a mesh basket from BB&B and was literally disgusted with how many of them came out just plain awful, not to mention how difficult it was to get some of them apart.

    Ordered some silicone mats yesterday and they'll be here tomorrow. Going to stand 'em all up on those on the next batch, and hopefully end up getting something I'm 100% satisfied with.

  17. #17
    Boolit Buddy
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    I don't know what is so bad to stand them up, I have 2 trays and by the time one is done in the oven I have another tray ready to in. 30 cal and smaller can be hard to stand but I do it because I don't like what I got when I tried the dump method. when I go into my reloading room I go to relax and enjoy myself not go in and rush through it because I have other things I want to do.

  18. #18
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    I coat, shake off excess powder and bb's in a colander then dump.
    I get no thin spots and practically no sticking with the right powders.





  19. #19
    Boolit Master

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    I stand them up. I have a two Shelf oven so I have two trays cooking and have two more filled by the time they’re done. Using bent tip tweezers, it’s good chopstick practice!

  20. #20
    Boolit Grand Master


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    I'm a stand up guy. It takes a little longer but the boolits just look better to me.
    Old enough to know better, young enough to do it anyway!

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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