when to size boolits

[dearslayer]

Not sure if this is the proper area to post this and if not will the mods please move it. How soon is too soon to size cast boolits once powder coated? Can it be done right away once cooled?

[Gtrubicon]

I usually give the m a day or two before I size them. I will be interested to hear what others who no much more about this have to say.

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

It would depend on if you are water-dropping them out of the PC oven or not.

[Bazoo]

An interesting question, thanks dearslayer.

[Mr Peabody]

If I pc them in the morning and let them cool off I size them in the afternoon. They stay the same diameter till I load them and shoot em

[dearslayer]

It would depend on if you are water-dropping them out of the PC oven or not.

No water dropping. Straight from the oven. I lay the tray on the cold concrete floor in the garage to cool before taking them to the basement where I'll be sizing them.

[ioon44]

I use Hi-Tek coating, and I don't get in any hurry to size them, usually 3 days to a week or more.

[Hickok]

After they cool for awhile, I size them.

Never made any difference for me. I mic'ed them both ways, recently sized vs. waiting a couple days, and never had any difference as to diameter.

[blackthorn]

What is the difference in ease of sizing between coated bullets that were never run through a sizer and sized, coated and then sized again?

[Gtrubicon]

I’ve never noted a difference, I just size after they are coated.

[Walter Laich]

PC, cool to the touch and then size

[jsizemore]

About a half an hour after they leave the oven.

[fredj338]

I may take a couple weeks to PC & then size within a week or so. I do water drop out of the oven.

[405grain]

I use air cooled alloys, so I don't water quench. If I were heat treating my bullets I'd need to size them before they fully hardened. With air cooled bullets this isn't such a big issue. I size my bullets both before and after powder coating. I'll usually size the bullets the same day that I cast them, but after that it could be the next day, or the next year before I powder coat them. Once they're powder coated I run them through the sizer again. The reason I do it twice is that, as cast, the bullet might be just a little bit oversized. Running it through the sizer is no problem. Powder coating adds a little to the diameter, but coating a bullet that's already been sized still doesn't add too much to the diameter. Now if I just took an oversized bullet and then added more to the diameter with powder coat, then it would take more effort to push through the sizer, it might damage the PC, it might even take enough force that it deforms things on the bullet like the base or the nose. IMHO it's better to be gentle on the bullet when sizing them. As far as when to size them after casting: it depends on your process.