lead bullets coated with polymer paint

[Shooter6]

they size the bullets without lube and then tumble coat them the way I hear it from four fingers. Right now the way I fluid coat my 20 gauge slugs it comes out about .621 without sizing and that it perfect. I did change the way I dip the slugs to putting the eyelet on the bottom. from reading here I agree that you do not need coating on the bottom or the bullet. I am going to try cleaning the bullet before dipping with alcohol next.

[Shooter6]

Sounds like to me that the big companies down under have seen the hand writing on the wall and are gobbling up the small coated bullet manufacturers.

[Ausglock]

G'day All.
Here in OZ, there is a boolit maker called Topscore Projectiles.
They do coated lead Bullets.
I have been using them for years and I have spent a lot of time in his factory.
He casts then coats then sizes.

[Four Fingers of Death]

they size the bullets without lube and then tumble coat them the way I hear it from four fingers. Right now the way I fluid coat my 20 gauge slugs it comes out about .621 without sizing and that it perfect. I did change the way I dip the slugs to putting the eyelet on the bottom. from reading here I agree that you do not need coating on the bottom or the bullet. I am going to try cleaning the bullet before dipping with alcohol next.

No, I said that if you were to size before coating you would need some sort of lube as far as I can see. My Mate sized as a final step before packaging.

I was incorrect before it was Top Score not Silver Shadow bullets that he owned and he would have trained the New owner I suppose. I was under the impression that Tony Diablo from Victoria bought Top Score.

[FLDad]

Seems to me that everybody is looking for the same thing: the simplest process for coating and sizing for us DIY types. And it sounds like we're getting there. Thanks to all for some significant effort!

[bmiller]

What is the fastest velocity the powder coated or Australian bullets have been pushed? A coated 77 gr. for my 3-gun ar would be great. (Would this be remotely possible?) I have been playing with Sandsstrom coating in my s&w m&p 9mm, and have had very good results.

[Orochimaru]

A friend just brought me a gift -- a commercial polymer coated bullet made by a company called Bayou Bullets. A member at our gun club had some and gave him one to look at. The gentleman who provided the sample was highly positive in his review of the bullets. They can be shot indoors without issue, and his barrel remains clean -- no lead, no copper, and no polymer. The bullet is now in my possession.

Observations:

• The base is fully coated.
• The lube groove is very lightly coated, and one circular spot exists in the lube groove where no coating is present
• Based on my own experience, the bullet has been sized AFTER is was coated.
• The coating looks slightly thinner and less durable than the Polymer TGIC powder I've been using
• Thinner or not, it was tough enough to survive being pulled-down without any damage to the coating. Even copper plating will show scuffs.
• The underlying lead bullet is a bit harder than I'd expect or use for the caliber (45 ACP). Although I don't have a formal BHN tester, the "fingernail" test + experience tells me that it is probably upwards of 12-14.

This tells me that I'm *very* close. I've read other reviews of these bullets and people seem to really like them. No smoke, no leading, good accuracy. If I can solve the "how do I coat the base" question, I think I've got a viable method and concept.

We're going to shoot some of my coated 38SPL later today (if everything goes as planned), plus I'll try to post some pictures of the Bayou bullet.

[Silver-Silver]

I have been busy lately and haven't had a chance to do any more testing. Personally I don't mind sizing, however if some one wants to try couldn't you coat a tumble lube design and skip sizing? I don't know for certain but I thought they were slightly smaller in diameter and didn't always have to be sized.

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[bmiller]

I have shot bayou bullets. They did not lead, they did not work in my pistol. I know several people that love them. I used a lee tumble lube mold and sandstrom coating. Had best results unsized. Unsized dia is. 358. I am going to shoot an IDPA match tomorrow with them.

[Four Fingers of Death]

I have been busy lately and haven't had a chance to do any more testing. Personally I don't mind sizing, however if some one wants to try couldn't you coat a tumble lube design and skip sizing? I don't know for certain but I thought they were slightly smaller in diameter and didn't always have to be sized.

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No matter what I cast I will always try it with unsized with Lee tumble lube first (except for black powder stuff). Works mostly and saves a whole heap of time and effort.

[Ausglock]

I was incorrect before it was Top Score not Silver Shadow bullets that he owned and he would have trained the New owner I suppose. I was under the impression that Tony Diablo from Victoria bought Top Score.

Robert Conway owns and runs Topscore Projectiles with his extended family.

[Orochimaru]

Initial tests of my yellow 38 SPL bullets was successful. Pictures are pending, but no yellow stuff was deposited into the barrel.

Some 9mm goodies that are going to get shot tomorrow (along with the 45's from the other day)...



Will reporting my findings...

[Four Fingers of Death]

Blue lipsticks! Sure look good, hope they work for you.

[Orochimaru]

Some pictures from testing today:

Our bullet trap made from Kitty litter container and waterlogged catalogs...




A collection of recovered boolits:



38 Special recovered:




Another 38 Special:




A 9mm... if you look really closely, you can see the telltale signs of a hexagonal-rifled barrel -- this was from a Glock 17:




And a "Blue Ballbuster" from the same Glock 17:




Some boolits that collided with each other in the trap...





Two sides of a mangled 45ACP:




A 45 ACP that shows one of the few problems noted -- some cutting along the rifling lines:



A recovered 45ACP from the first batch:

[geargnasher]

Orchimaro, my hat's off to you, it appears you have a winning process there. It looks to me that the only reason for the slight failure of the land edge on the .45 slugs was due to skidding on launch. Notice the triangular shape of the exposed lead on the right side of the engrave in the next-to-last picture, and the drive bands "wadded up" on that side? The boolit skidded slightly as the rifling grabbed it and pulled it into a spin, displacing lead and scraping away the finish. Perhaps a switch to a slightly slower powder or slightly tougher alloy would solve this?

Gear

[Wal']

What is the fastest velocity the powder coated or Australian bullets have been pushed? A coated 77 gr. for my 3-gun ar would be great. (Would this be remotely possible?) I have been playing with Sandsstrom coating in my s&w m&p 9mm, and have had very good results.

Sorry personally, have no idea on centrfire rifle hard cast lubed projectiles, not powder coated, the few I do use are factory loads.

Have used tens of thousands of pistol loads over the last 10 yrs in my 9mm & .357 & up to factory bought speeds, approx 1100 to 1200 FPS with just the normal leading stains.

As in earlier post, surprised they're not used more up there.

[Orochimaru]

Orchimaro, my hat's off to you, it appears you have a winning process there. It looks to me that the only reason for the slight failure of the land edge on the .45 slugs was due to skidding on launch. Notice the triangular shape of the exposed lead on the right side of the engrave in the next-to-last picture, and the drive bands "wadded up" on that side? The boolit skidded slightly as the rifling grabbed it and pulled it into a spin, displacing lead and scraping away the finish. Perhaps a switch to a slightly slower powder or slightly tougher alloy would solve this?

Gear

I agree -- it is something unique to the alloy or the powder/load. The powder and prep methods were the same as I used for the other calibers.

Thanks for the tip on the skidding! This was a light-ish load using Hodgdon Universal. I got a lot of carbon on the outside of the brass, so there were definitely some opportunities to improve the load.

[bmiller]

Orochimaru, nice job! I need to try powder coating! I shot an IDPA classifier plus two side matches on Saturday. Then some friends came over Sunday and we practiced on steel plates. Sandstrom treated bullets worked fine. Nothing more than tumble lube and bake. Chronographed load at 1070.

[Orochimaru]

Orochimaru, nice job! I need to try powder coating! I shot an IDPA classifier plus two side matches on Saturday. Then some friends came over Sunday and we practiced on steel plates. Sandstrom treated bullets worked fine. Nothing more than tumble lube and bake. Chronographed load at 1070.

Interesting!

Which Sandstrom product are you using? And, perhaps of equal importance, where are you able to buy it?

[bmiller]

I am using sandstrom 28a. It is an air-dry product, or you can force dry it. I purchased it direct from them. So far I am happy with the results.