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View Full Version : Pc Soften Lead?



Jevyod
11-19-2013, 02:54 PM
Ok so I think I read about this somewhere, but cant remember where. Did any of you all that use pc do a before and after hardness test? I was thinking about my 35 boolits that I want to make for hunting. But if the baking process softens it, maybe I will be getting softer than I had wanted. I was planning on using 50/50 pure and coww, with 2% tin. But after the pc process, will I be too soft? I will probably Hollow point my boolits as well. I am looking for a decent expansion on my 35 rem for whitetail.

btroj
11-19-2013, 02:57 PM
Much depends on how hot and how long they are heated.

Powder coating also seems, from what I hear, to handle water dropping from a hot oven. This could actually increase hardness if the bullets get hot enough.

This is one of those things that will be worked out more over the next year as more and more people use the process and play with alloys, times, temps, and who knows what else.

Keep an eye on this stuff, it isn't going a way and much work is being done with it.

bangerjim
11-19-2013, 05:51 PM
I have done quite a bit of testing on B4 an after PC baking hardnesses.

If you have antimony in your soup and water drop from your mold, you will gain several points on hardness. Baking them to cure the PC will remove all water-gained hardness. You can then heat them back up and water drop again to regain some of that HT gain. Some on here have water dropped right off the cooking sheets when baking.

As you will see, hardness changes as boolits age. If you cast a 12 now, you may have a 15+ in several weeks. And then back to a 12 in several months! That is all dependent on your alloy mix.

One of the main reasons we PC is to minimize the worry of bhn. (That and NO lube & smoke) I try to keep my soup mixes at about 12 all the time, not loosing any sleep worrying about the hardness as in the olde days B4 PC.

Nice thing about PC'ing, you can ALWAYS heat treat your stored slugs anytime you want. Try doing that with old antique greasy witches brew lubed boolits!!!!!!

Again you MUST have antimony in your mix to heat treat.

banger