Feb 18 Handloader Magazine has an article on PC cast bullets

[M-96 Hunter]

Really terrible article, not up to usual standards. You would think a respected gunwriter would have found this site and the correct way to PC !

Have had several friends quote it as a reason not to PC.

Also sad that they never publish subscribers' letters !

[popper]

Attachment 212536
Did this this morning. Worked great but I had to put a cake pan over it today to get temp up. Smoke's red flows great but doesn't 'pop' till much higher temp. I did monitor the temp with my PID probe but had to put a couple towels over it to get a good reading. Never got to 375f but I could smell the 'pop' at about 270F. Single coat (S&B) added ~0.001" to diam., where I want it for pistol. Method works great just make sure it gets cured well by smell or temp monitor.

[Willbird]

He also only mentioned in passing that using a $70 PC gun, which actually does a decent job the very first time you use it, was an option. Oh **** you've got to have an Air Compressor and a regulator. News Flash: Most people that have any mechanical skills at all have Air Compressors in their garages now. You can buy one to blow up your tires for $80 at HF!



Randy

For the low pressure and CFM it sounds like the gun uses (I just bought one but have not opened the box) a person could just buy a tire tank....and have a tire tank in the bargain . When I was a teenager I converted an empty Freon bottle into an air tank for my airbrush.

https://www.harborfreight.com/catalo...2Cf&q=air+tank

[lazs]

Ok.. newish here and just ran into this thread. I agree on the quality and professionalism of the article. I emailed the editor explaining how PC and HT are seriously a viable option these days and much better than conventional lube/size in many ways. I explained that I did conventional lube/size for (too many) decades but now find that PC and HT are far superior. He actually wrote back and asked if he could call me. Nice man.. had good questions and listened well. probly 1/2 hour conversation. I explained that there are many many many more experienced coaters than me out there but that both PC and HT were simple to do with a short learning curve and... were better than past methods in many ways including lead dust in indoor ranges. I told him I thought the article was **** on a stick. And.. asked why there are not more articles on the process? Anyway... nice guy.. asked if any of his journalists could call me if they had questions...I said yes but none have ever called that I am aware of.

Ok... he basically said that his journalists are pretty hidebound and possibly the readers. Call me a skeptic but... now that a few advertisers are selling HT coat bullets.... what do we see? an new article by Venturrio who never did one on PC or HT before... he mentions in a gun ammo test that one of the bullets used is from missouri bullet and is a Hi-Tek coating while the rest were conventional lube/size. Not really much detail but he does go on to say that the best group was with the MB HT coated bullets. Look... I like those authors and have read em all for years and years but man... a can of Unique and a lead laddle over a campfire and some creaky old luber/sizer ... well... there are alternatives.

In short... I expect to see more articles on coated bullets. I expect that most will be on HT tho since some advertisers sell HT coated bullets. Again.. call me a skeptic but if some commercial casting outfit offered PC bullets and advertised em in the mag... we would see a PC coat test or ten. I don't blame em a bit tho.. they are there to sell advertising and when HT was not being offered by commercial casters... how would it look to say "hey.. these are far superior to any of the bullets you see in our adds that are conventional lube/size" ??? no way.

lazs

[lazs]

Wow.. just as I finish writing the above my new issue of Handloader comes in. The June issue. and missouri bullet gets one mention and one full article... then mention is on MP molds and the article is Venturio doing a test of about 5 caliber of MB Hi-Tek coated bullets. He uses a few not very accurate handguns and some real good ones... he uses only one bullet weight for each caliber except 9mm I believe... that is fine.. only one or two loads all pretty much full tilt.

Anyway.. he gets some pretty good results. He admits that some guns with mismatched throat/barrel dia that did not shoot well before all of a sudden got some good groups. most groups ran around 2" at 25 yards from a ransom rest but I am sure even the poor performing ones could do better with some different loadings.

What would have made the test better in my opinion would have been if he had shot the same bullets and loads from the same guns in both conventional lube/size and the HT coat ones to compare... and... if he had actually mentioned no smoke and how easy the guns cleaned up... he pretty much just says that when he is feeling lazy he might use the MB HT bullets... oh well... baby steps right?

Again.. call me cynical but..... Missouri Bullet is advertising their HT coated bullets in the mag.

lazs

[Dragonheart]

Bruce, save yourself future misery and buy a pound of good powder like one from site vendor “Smoke”. It will make your learning curve a lot faster. Been there done that!

I have to ditto that.

If you are getting started then start out with good powder that has proven to work. There are a number of polymers and a much greater number of additives in the polymers. HF is not your best powder choice for bullets. As Bama said, "Been there done That", so learn from our mistakes.

[aws1963]

Started with HF for one session and have not touched the little bucket since. Eastwood Red covered so much better with my "shake and bake" method. Going to get some of Smoke's sample pack in a week or so. Good Powder makes all the difference.

[Dragonheart]

Attachment 212536
Did this this morning. Worked great but I had to put a cake pan over it today to get temp up. Smoke's red flows great but doesn't 'pop' till much higher temp. I did monitor the temp with my PID probe but had to put a couple towels over it to get a good reading. Never got to 375f but I could smell the 'pop' at about 270F. Single coat (S&B) added ~0.001" to diam., where I want it for pistol. Method works great just make sure it gets cured well by smell or temp monitor.

Hi Popper, I am not saying your method doesn't work, but I am curious as to why use it over an oven?

My toaster ovens come to temp and stabilize to properly cure the powder so I have no need for a PID. I have used the ovens for so long I just set the timer go do something else and it a done deal. I can coat 1200 handgun bullets in a single cook.

But my big reason is my ovens do a good job of confining the vapors given off by the PC process as the vapors are a known health hazard and the reason a PC oven should never be used for food.

[bruce drake]

I have to ditto that.

If you are getting started then start out with good powder that has proven to work. There are a number of polymers and a much greater number of additives in the polymers. HF is not your best powder choice for bullets. As Bama said, "Been there done That", so learn from our mistakes.

I've only used a sample of HF Red twice to confirm I hate it. Eastwood Paints have spoiled me already. Never a bad coating using airsoft bbs and a coolwhip container.

[popper]

D-H I've been using the hot plate to cook as I also (mostly) do 30cal rifle boolits and they don't fall over. It gets hot enough to set PC but I need to get a little over 400F for WD my alloy. Got to get to the store to get the thermocouple connector so I can hook up the PID. My general purpose workbench gets crowded with the oven.