Usage rate of powder coating

[wv109323]

Surely this has been asked before but I searched and could not find it.
How many .45 and .44 caliber bullets of say 250 grains can be powder coated with a pound of coating? Assume one coat via the tumble/shake method with BB's.
Does HF and others sell the coating by volume or weight?
How many pounds or volume should a beginner initially buy to get started?

[bangerjim]

Who cares! Powder is the cheapest thing you use in your loading process.

Just do it and don't worry about it.

Start out with a pound of HF red and go from there. That will coat many thousands of boolits using BBDT.

banger

[reddog81]

One pound will go a long way. The actual rate of usage will depend on the coverage and number of coats. I've found one moderate coat is sufficient.
I have no idea how many bullets one pound wil coat but it's probably in the thousands. I bought one pound of harbor freight black originally but switched to powder sold by Smoke, a vendor on this forum.
If you buy lead by the 100's of pounds you will probably need more than one pound. If 100 pounds of lead last you a couple months one pound of powder will last awhile.

[jmort]

A legitimate question. Get some powder from vendor Smoke on this forum. I believe he sells some samples and that would give you an idea of coverage and the number of bullets you can get from four ounces.

"4 color Trial size will also be available (4 1/4 Lb bags )"

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?252509-Hi-Quality-Powdercoating-Powder-For-sale

[454PB]

The HF powder is sold by the pound, at least in my area. I'm new at the PC process, but I bet I can do 4000 .45 boolits with a pound.

[ebner glocken]

4000 to 10000 depending on how much you dribble and how thick it's on. For 4 or 5 bucks a pound it's really not that huge of an expense. I wasted more of it spraying than tumbeling via airsoft bbs or steel mechanical method. I hope this helps.

Ebner

[rsrocket1]

If you look at the Harbor Freight website and see the volume of the bottle, it takes about 1/2 teaspoon to coat 50-100 bullets when used properly. You can dump a full teaspoon, but will end up with a bunch left over at the bottom of the container.

[bangerjim]

I get a lot more than 50-100 per 1/2 teaspoon. But I do not waste time counting them. I just rattle & roll until I need more powder and dump some in (not measured at all).

If you MUST have numbers - I get 120-150 boolits on a rack. And I can fill 2 racks and have plenty of powder left over in the bowl by adding probably about 3/4 tsp.

banger

[farmerjim]

I figure 8,000 to 10,000 125 grain 9mm per pound.

[jcwit]

I go along with bangerjim. A little goes so far it is of little consequence.

[pergoman]

I figure a pound lasts for at least 10-15K 125 grain 9mm's using my method. I vigorously dry tumble/swirl/shake about 120-150 at a time in a 1 quart yogurt container with a spoonfull of powder for less than a minute. Smokes stuff works the best but I have good luck with HF red as well. I dump the whole mess on a fine mesh tray (it was a letter tray for organizing a desk) on top of a baking pan. The excess powder passes through the mesh and gets used on the next batch. I bake right on the mesh wherever they land. Only one layer deep. As soon as I remove them from the oven I roll them around to break them free from the mesh and each other if they were touching. I get some small bare spots but don't care since it does not effect accuracy. I have checked. Just yesterday I shot bullets coated this fast and easy way, dumped onto NSAF and baked, as well as stood up on NSAF (slowest method by far). There was absolutely no accuracy difference sandbagged at 25 yards from 2 different pistols. My SPS keeps 5 shots under 1" all day long using any of the 3 methods. My Rock Island 9mm keeps them under 1.5" with irons which is as good as I can see the sights.
I will be coating a few thousand more this week using my "sloppy and fast" technique with the mesh. A pound goes a long way.

[fredj338]

I've used about 1 lvl tsp to do about 300 175gr/40s. So about 5k per #?? Even buying higher end powder than HF, pretty cheap.

[wv109323]

Thanks for the responses. I had no idea of useage. I don't shoot the intended firearms a lot.I mostly need to increase the diameter of the bullets from Lee molds to fit the microgroove barrel.
I will order a pound from Smoke.

[pergoman]

Alloy used and the temperature of your melt will alter diameter.

[ebner glocken]

Wow, you guys actually measure the amount of powder you dump in your bbs? I PC bullets the same way I cook. A little white and a little red to make a nice pink. A dab of this and a touch of that for desired result with nothing written down. This tells me how forgiving PC bullets are, my results are always positive and repeatable (with the exception of HF black). The rate I was going through powder was how I came up with the 4 to 10K number.

When I first started PC cost was a concern. After seeing how far it was going it's really no longer a concern at all and am starting to think perhaps more expensive powders can be used and still remain WAY under budget. When all my HF powder is about gone the better ones will be tried, but this will be quite awhile.

Ebner

[redfir]

I just finished up a pound of Smoke's jet black and I was able to coat 13,500 bullets. The count was 5000 9mm,
4000 38 spl.,1500 41 mag., 1100 40 cal and 1900 45 cal. I was curious as to how far it went and how much to buy to keep on hand. One pound goes a long way.

[Advil]

We've done the math. It's something north of 30,000 per lb for 105gr and 125gr bullets. You read that right. We have about 5 years worth of powder for about what one year of lube used to cost.

[Walter Laich]

^ if that's accurate I can do about 4½ billion and 6 bullets :D

it's part of my hobby costs, I like doing it, it helps/eliminates leading and looks great! what more could I ask for?

[Bama]

Hard to say, have gone through +15K and hard to tell I have even made a dent in a pound using shake and bake.