Online it seeming like powder coating is to becoming very popular thing with cast boolits. So, do you lube or powder coat your bullets?
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Online it seeming like powder coating is to becoming very popular thing with cast boolits. So, do you lube or powder coat your bullets?
I've been lubing for 40 yrs, and I'm not changing my ways now. I like the looks of a properly filled out lead bullet, sized and lubed. I don't like the looks of a painted bullet.
Powder coat has been cheap and easy. Guns clean up spotless, to date.Attachment 178284
I seem to shoot about everyday and always have ammo available. This is without using a progressive press or lube/sizing machine. I pan lube, dip lube and tumble lube. For me, it is cheap and fast, but not always neat.
I an lube and shoot as cast. But I also only am casting for BPCR rifles currently. On some low use bullets I hand lube filling the grooves with SPG and my thumb / finger also.
In tests with my ransom rest the powder coat lacked a slight amount on accuracy. For the normal shooter it would not matter. It was enough that I will stay with my squeeze and grease.
I will say the powder coat Bullets averaged 3.78 faster than lube. If I had guns that leaded I think powder coat would help with clean up. Now the P C people will debate but the same barrel same brass same components was used in the tests.
lube.
and I don't clean my cast boolit barrels so who cares if p/c is super clean[er?] I wouldn't know the difference.
Powder coat, only...now...but I used conventional lube for YEARS...TOO long.
Five not every body shoots smooth bore
For me the low cost barrier and cleanliness of shake and bake powder coating was a key factor when I first started casting. Although one day I will buy a lubrisizer to play around with.
I see the advantages to powder coating; but after 40 years of sizing and lubing boolits, I'm pretty happy with the procedure and I've enjoyed stellar results from the beginning. I'll stay with what I know, but I appreciate other technologies as well.
Still one that sizes and lubes because I see no need to become dependent on a source for powder coating. Not saying I will not try it at some point, but have not found the need yet.
don't own a lubrisizer so...tumble lube, pc, and hitek for me
I went with PC and Other since tumble lube was not mentioned and is different than filling the lube grooves with slickem.
There are some places where PC seems to be the right choice, getting good result in an auto loader in .223 is one place. 7.62 x 39 Russian seems like another. In magnum pistol it might make a difference. By allowing softer lead at higher velocities might provide better expansion in a particular cast bullet. Not required for 30 caliber bolt rifles but also works well with minimum equipment up front.
Tumble lube allows one to decide tonight that they want to load up a few hundred pistol bullets tomorrow and for 10 minute time investment the little lead pills are ready to load the next day.
Tumble and shake and bake PC allow for wide range of calibers, wide range of velocities with very little up front expense. With PC picking up where TL falls short. One of these days I might look into some sort of lube press. But it is way down on the list, more of a "if I happen to find one cheap" than I am actively looking. I may try pan or dip lubing with one of the stick lubes just because it don't cost much to play with and winter is coming so more time to dink around.
I PC exclusively. I like the cleanliness of it and the lack of leading. My faster and long range rifles still get a steady diet of jacketed.
Eastwoods basic gun is on sale for 59.99 right now. I've used mine for a year and a half with no problems. Gp
I am curious how 61.54%, 50% and 11.54% add up to 100% is that new math? I lube, but would be interested in coating if hyper velocity can be had.
I've been doing PC, tumble lube and lube-sizer. I use my lube-sizer on bullet's from molds with the lube groves, that's just the 38 and 32L. My 9mm, 308 bullet's are from Lee molds and mostly I tumble lube them. Tried PC a few time's and most the bullet's came out nice but seem's time consuming to me. But is nice to handle such clean bullet's, no lube to touch. As far as the gun's staying clean, I haven't seen an advantage to either way. but thinking about upping the velocity some with the 308 bullet's and guess i'll find out if tumble lube keep's on keeping on. On the subject of PCing, I had to go to the hospital last weekend and get my thumb sewed up. They had what looked like a pair of tweezers bu they had point's built into the ends. They gave me a set and i tried picking up some bullet's with then and they are beautiful. i can see no more powder missing where I picked up the bullet's with reg tweezers. have no idea what they are called.
I haven't been casting for very long. I started with tumble lube at first. Now that my uncle gave me his Star sizer I have started to use that. I am just starting to dabble with the pc. Haven't made up my mind yet as to what I will settle into.
Not even my math is that bad to get those totals :)
I more or less use the shake and bake method with a non stick coating. I used lee alox years ago, i didn't like the sticky projectiles and the smoke, but it worked just fine. I went for the polymer coating and haven't looked back.
I only shoot pistol, it works great for me, no idea how effective it is on rifle speeds.
You're missing a response category...how 'bout 'BOTH'? I haven't been doing PC for very long but have pretty much converted for all my handgun boolits BUT, for now, I'm still shooting CF rifle rounds sized/lubed the old-fashioned way. Reason: I've got a better'n fair quantity of good, accurate rifle ammo and ready-to-load boolits on hand. When I get to the point where I need to cast again for the rifle calibers, I'll probably have a go at PC load development for one of my 'easy' calibers...but without seeing some kind of substantial gain, I don't see myself committing too much time to reinventing the wheel.
Bill
Pc works for me, I like how much cleaner my gun's stay.
I pc my higher velocity handgun boolits but for plinking rounds 45-45-10 works and is faster and easier to apply than pc.
I will admit, powder coating would be a good thing to know. So is sizing and lubing in a lube/sizer. Pan lubing has it's place also.
However, I've got more reloading 'stuff' than I can say grace over as is. Lord help me if I discovered something else to toss on the pile. That being said, after 30+ years of lube sizing, I don't see myself changing anytime soon. Not that I won't, but I don't see good old fashion lube sizing ever going away.
Murphy
I don't use straight alox for tumble lube, I use 45/45/10 and looking at trying BLL with Johnson Liquid wax. The purpose of mixing the alox in these other recipes is to get something that is as effective as a lube without the sticky surface and long drying time.
There is this source for pre-made 45/45/10 and the owner is good people from all reports.
http://lsstuff.com/store/index.php?m...=index&cPath=2
The page also has bulk xlox (Alox from Lee but without the name infringement) but in larger sizes for good prices.
Worth looking over there web site since they make good assortment of lubes, some being similar to the homemade recipes that are well established here as being good but without you having to do the home cooking. http://www.lsstuff.com/home
There is a lot of difference in the results on the bullet between straight Alox and 45/45/10 when used as tumble lube. Both do smoke maybe a bit but if it bothers you fire off a cylinder of cap and ball first and then even Alox will seem minor smoke in comparison. Really not bad at all as far as I'm concerned.
I have powder coated and now Hi-Tek hand gun loads. Still working on rifle boolits and until then nothing to replace a good old homemade traditional lube for what I am doing there. I may be getting close though with the rifle boolits using Hi-Tek
Since I started using Star lube/sizer I find sizing and lubing the easiest and fastest way to do both operations in the same time.
I tried PC and shake and bake is not that fast. Arranging the bullets on the tray one by one is kinda slow. But the slowest and most annoying at shake and bake is removing the coated bullets from the aluminium foil. Holly guacamole, takes forever to remove 100 bullets without having leftovers foil on the bullet bottom. That's what I call a chore.
Lubing for me. I follow the PC accuracy threads. At this point it's to much work w/ little to no results. White Label makes great lubes so I don't have to chase a magic lube. It takes very little work to find an accurate load w/ conventional lube. And BLL is making things even easier.
I voted other as most of mine get coated with HItek, still tumble lube a few pistol bullets that are used in light loads and shot as cast but even my black powder rifle bullets get HiTek and then run through the lube sizer to fill the groves.
I lube most on a magma lubesizer , but tumble lube with Bill for unsized wad cutters is fast , powered some to . I'm in the lube size camp but with options , and it's a good place to be .
"Do I lube or powder coat?"
Why yes I do!:bigsmyl2:
Nice to see you out and about Hickok .
I do both but pc more. If I want to go faster (over 2000 fps) I lube(PC also) and use Simple Lube. For some reason that lube(on PC) works for me at higher speeds, 1800 and above. I used to use Bens Red but Simple Lube won my affection in the long run.
I use lube only, mainly white label. It gives me great results now, no reason for me to switch.
I'm a newer caster and almost quit because LLA was too messy/sticky and pan lubing was too slow for me. I got a lyman 450 luber and it's just right.
I only load 45 acp and I think you could just spit on it and not get leading.
Yes, me too...
Hmmm. I wonder if the OP has seen the Coatings and Alternatives sub-forum? It dates back at least 3 years...