To Lube or Not to Lube PC 9mm Boolits?

[mtgrs737]

I am finishing up the PC coating of about 1,000 9mm boolits to load and take to a 4th July fun shoot. Do any of you guys lube you PC'd boolits or do you just shootem plain?

[shell70634]

Just size, load and shoot em.

[Rcmaveric]

My first few attempts at PC i had to tumble lube to prevent leading in 9mm Luger only. Now i use PB gas checks on my PC 9mm without lube and bo issues. All other calibers had zero issues from the get go.

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[GregLaROCHE]

I’ve heard about people lubing PCed boolits, but it makes no sense to me. The main reason for PCing is not having to lube. If you are going to lube, why not go with plain lube. If you are pushing the boolit really hard and getting leading, you probably need a gas check or maybe a larger diameter boolit or harder alloy.

[charlie b]

Success with PC and 9mm depends in part on the throat of your barrel. If it is like my HK then PC does not do much for you. The sharp rifling edges just strip off the coating and leave bare lead against the barrel. And plain lubed bullets don't work well either :( It is a jacketed bullet only kind of barrel.

If you have a nice tapered throat the PC will do fine by itself.

[phidelt208]

That's a good point Charlie brings up however, most people have success just PC. Try a 200 without lube and see how it works in your gun.

[freddyp]

I found that sizing is very important to success with Pc. I take my bullets and vibratory tumble them in new walnut media for about 5 minutes. This takes the shine off and makes the powder stick better once it melts. I found I'm able to push them to max speed this way. If the design permits, I’ll double coat them and size them. It helps with rough barrels.

[mtgrs737]

I just got through sizing the 9mm boolits and I had a time holding on to them due to the slickness of the coating. Because of that slickness, I am just going to shoot them un-lubed as some here suggest. I know that the lube would not hurt anything and might help seal the bore but it also makes them sticky and in the hot 4th of July weather might not be a good thing.

I thank all whom posted here! I always appreciate the helpful posts of those whom have knowledge on a subject and are willing to share.

Many Thanks!

Mtgrs737

[dahermit]

I sometimes lube my PCed bullets with Lee case lube (shaken in a plastic bag), but just for small bullets that I have difficulty with them slipping though my fingers when sizing the PCed bullets in my Lyman lube/sizer. Otherwise, I drop too many on the floor. I do not remove the lube after sizing but only leave it on the bullet because it seems not to be a problem if left there.

[rfd]

As already posted, the idea behind PC or HT is to eliminate lube ... the coating is the lube.

With my .45-70 Henry SS and either Lee 457340 (drops @ 348 grains) or Accurate 46-407B (drops @ 420), I cast @ 1:20 and air cool with no sizing, PC with Eastwood powder in Gloss Clear or Ford Light Blue for 20 minutes at 400F, cold water quench the bullets immediately (ups the BHN quite a bit), dry off, size to .459, load. I've only shot these loads out to 300 yards and was happy with the results of both bullets. Will be testing out lots farther next.

[fredj338]

The entire point of PC is to NOT shoot messy lubed bullets. Just shoo them.

[Forrest r]

As already posted, the idea behind PC or HT is to eliminate lube ... the coating is the lube.

With my .45-70 Henry SS and either Lee 457340 (drops @ 348 grains) or Accurate 46-407B (drops @ 420), I cast @ 1:20 and air cool with no sizing, PC with Eastwood powder in Gloss Clear or Ford Light Blue for 20 minutes at 400F, cold water quench the bullets immediately (ups the BHN quite a bit), dry off, size to .459, load. I've only shot these loads out to 300 yards and was happy with the results of both bullets. Will be testing out lots farther next.

Shooting out to 300yds doesn't prove or dis-prove anything. It's how fast they get to the 300yd line that makes the difference. Bump that pc'd bullet up to 2700fps+ and then take a peek in the bbl.

FWIW:
Using a shilen select bbl chambered in 308w I ran into this using pc'd bullets.
https://i.imgur.com/ltVgHNy.jpg?2

If I keep the pc'd bullets under 2700fps I don't see things like that in the bbl. I use 45/45/10 on my pc'd rifle bullets when shooting hot/fast loads above 2700fps and the black marks went away. I've only tested to 2950fps, but so far so good.

OP:
Yes I would coat my 9mm bullets with lube if you are planning on driving them over 2700fps. If not I wouldn't worry about it.

[rfd]

Shooting out to 300yds doesn't prove or dis-prove anything. It's how fast they get to the 300yd line that makes the difference. Bump that pc'd bullet up to 2700fps+ and then take a peek in the bbl.

.....

Nope, not at all about speed for my .45-70 application. 1350 at best or less. Never had PC bbl fouling, either.

[Forrest r]

Nope, not at all about speed for my .45-70 application. 1350 at best or less. Never had PC bbl fouling, either.

It is when you talk about there's "the idea behind PC or HT is to eliminate lube ... the coating is the lube."

Just because you shoot lite loads with pc'd bullets doesn't mean the rest of the world does.

[rfd]

It is when you talk about there's "the idea behind PC or HT is to eliminate lube ... the coating is the lube."

Just because you shoot lite loads with pc'd bullets doesn't mean the rest of the world does.

Yes, the IDEA behind PC and HT is they are to be a sole successful lube. There are exceptions to most everything in life and we are all experiments of one.

[Forrest r]

Yes, the IDEA behind PC and HT is they are to be a sole successful lube. There are exceptions to most everything in life and we are all experiments of one.

Thank you for enlightening me, I had no IDEA you could use pc (POWDER COAT) as a lube!!! And here this whole time I thought it was, well a protective coating.

Have you tried lubing door hinges with it??? How about your trigger groups or bolts??? Do you think it pc would work to lube the actions on a ar or slides on semi-auto's??? Have you tried lubing your reloading presses with it???

Heck I bet you lube everything with the pc powder. Me I only coat stuff with it. And 1 of the things I coat with it happens to be cast bullets.

If you bother to look up what powder coating means the dictionary states "cover (an object) with a polyester or epoxy powder, which is then heated to fuse into a protective layer."

You ought to be calling them up and setting them strait by telling them they got it all wrong. That's it's sole use is as a lube. That they should know polyester and epoxy make the best lubes.

Anyway, back to reality:
pc coating on bullets (being a type of plastic coating) will burn if too much friction/pressure applied to that coating. I ran into that in a select grade shilen bbl chambered in 308w when driving pc'd bullets 2700fps or faster.

[rfd]

Thank you for enlightening me, I had no IDEA you could use pc (POWDER COAT) as a lube!!! And here this whole time I thought it was, well a protective coating.

Have you tried lubing door hinges with it??? How about your trigger groups or bolts??? Do you think it pc would work to lube the actions on a ar or slides on semi-auto's??? Have you tried lubing your reloading presses with it???

Heck I bet you lube everything with the pc powder. Me I only coat stuff with it. And 1 of the things I coat with it happens to be cast bullets.

If you bother to look up what powder coating means the dictionary states "cover (an object) with a polyester or epoxy powder, which is then heated to fuse into a protective layer."

You ought to be calling them up and setting them strait by telling them they got it all wrong. That's it's sole use is as a lube. That they should know polyester and epoxy make the best lubes.

Anyway, back to reality:
pc coating on bullets (being a type of plastic coating) will burn if too much friction/pressure applied to that coating. I ran into that in a select grade shilen bbl chambered in 308w when driving pc'd bullets 2700fps or faster.

Yer funny. Like it or not, a coating is a lube. Just like copper jacketing. Have a nice life.

[gnappi]

The entire point of PC is to NOT shoot messy lubed bullets. Just shoo them.

Amen to that bro!

[charlie b]

Nit picking :)

Yes, you can lube a PC bullet. Just like you can lube a copper jacketed bullet with molly. Most of us use PC or copper jackets so we do not have to add lube to the bullet.

This is related to machine bearings. For short life/slow speed a softer material is used as a bearing surface to a harder material, eg, bronze bearings on a steel shaft. For a bit longer life you add lubricant. For higher speeds and longer life the lubricant is fed under pressure to prevent the bearing from touching the shaft (auto crankshafts). This is kinda what we try to do with lubrication on lead bullets.

It does not hurt to lube a lead bullet that has lube grooves. It also is not really necessary unless you get to much higher velocities.