New HF ESPC Boolits .. now I got questions

[Blanco]

Made up and loaded my first batch of 9mm using the PC gun from H.F.
Shot good as uasual but I did not coat the bases.
I did get a bit of smoke from them too.
So I suppose I will be doing both ends from now on....
So is it normal for uncoated bases to smoke a bit?
what is the easiest way to do the bases?

[el34]

So is it normal for uncoated bases to smoke a bit?
what is the easiest way to do the bases?

How did they compare to lubed boolits?
And does that mean you got an ES gun?

[williamwaco]

The smoke did not come from the uncoated bases.

What powder were you using?

[JASON4X4]

You don't need to coat the bases they don't touch the barrel. The smoke had to come from the powder. I don't notice any smoke from my pc boolits.

[Blanco]

How did they compare to lubed boolits?
And does that mean you got an ES gun?


Yes got an ES gun
First batch didn't coat the bases
did smoke a bit, not horrible, but I will be doing the bases also from now on.
I have used this same powder to BB tumble and had no smoke.
I am ordering some more powder from forum member Smoke

[RED333]

What gun powder ya use? is what William is asking.
I use titegroup and it smokes a bit.

[HollowPoint]

I have yet to shoot my first batch of Powder Coated pistol bullets but, the way I coated the tails and the noses all at once was to suspend them on a small wire frame. The frame is shape like a line-drawing of a house with no walls. And it's sized to fit into the small confines of my toaster oven.

I happen to come across a video on youtube that showed this method. I used some real thin copper wire twisted once within the single lube-groove of my pistol bullets. I also used this method for Coating a few rifle bullets. With the rifle bullets I choose the lube-groove closest to the center of balance of those particular bullets.

Since the deepest surfaces of the lube-grooves don't make contact with the bore, it doesn't matter that an individual lube-groove doesn't happen to get the full coverage that the rest of the bullet does.

With my hollow pointed pistol bullets I tried doing the noses first and then turning them around and doing the bases but that took way to long and they tended to stick so that I had to use a little force to get them un-stuck; which would sometimes chip off the Powder Coat around the mouths of my hollow point cavities.

I'm working on a jig for all my hollow pointed bullets. I'll be able to sit them on pins that fit into the hollow point cavities and allow me to get full coverage without having to paint and cure, then flip them around to do the opposite end.

With the non-hollow-pointed bullets I'll just keep using the wire suspension method. This generally has given me a pretty even coat all around.

The next step will be to rig up a revolving jig that slowly rotates the bullet one or more full turns while the plate that they sit on rotates at a rate conducive to getting full even coverage of Powder onto the bullets.

HollowPoint

[Blanco]

The push powder I was using was Power Pistol

[el34]

You sure are up early.

[Blanco]

The coffee calls to me....:coffee:

[prs]

I get way less smoke with PC than I do lubed boolits; but with lubed boolits you can smell the sweet smell of the powder (Unique smells the best of the smokeless powders)
I think the OP has re-discovered humidity. It has been bone dry in cow-town, right; more recently it has been raining, right? So maybe it is that the humidity was higher when he shot the ES coated boolits. On low humidity days, way less smoke. Now, give me a cool humid morning and a full house real black powder loading and I am all giddy. Smoke is good.

prs

[bangerjim]

Smoke?????????? It's called a GUN! You will have powder smoke! The lighter the load the more the smoke.

You are not seeing anything caused from a bare base. Coating the base gains nothing. DT just happens to coat the base due to the method but offers no protection at all. Your concern is the TOPS of the grease grooves. That is where you will get leading if PC is too thin or showing thru.

I use Titegroup, Trail Boss, 700X, and others and get smoke from all of them.....powder smoke, not burning lead smoke from the bases! The lighter the load, the more smoke! Who really cares????

Coat 'em and shoot 'em. And do not worry about coating the bases and the little bit of smoke. I like smoke! If you are approaching gas cutting velocities, use a slug that takes GC's. PC will not replace checks.

banger

[RP]

Makes you wonder why they call it smokeless powder but compared to black powder I guess you could look at it that way, oh this world can be confusing.:veryconfu

[bangerjim]

Makes you wonder why they call it smokeless powder but compared to black powder I guess you could look at it that way, oh this world can be confusing.:veryconfu

It's all relative, my friend!

banger

[rsrocket1]

The push powder I was using was Power Pistol

You don't list your complete load but realize that Power Pistol is a low pressure powder that needs to be loaded to near max published charge to get a decent burn. It works at lower charges, but at a considerably lower pressure, less powder consumed before the bullet exits the barrel and more smoke.

In any case, you'll get a nice muzzle blast and flash.

[Blanco]

Not to be argumentative, just an observation...
In my experience my bb tumbled boolits have very little to no smoke at all even at reduced charges. I have observed a small amount of smoke when using maximum charges.
I will have to try another batch of PC applied with the gun, I think the batch that I shot got a bit overcooked.
So before I stick my foot in any deeper I will try some more with some of my new Superman blue.

115132

[alfloyd]

"Makes you wonder why they call it smokeless powder"'

That means that it "smoke's less" than black powder.
It does not mean that there is "no" smoke with smokeless powder.

Lafaun