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Thread: Partial powdercoat, ie: soft point style?

  1. #1
    Boolit Master
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    Partial powdercoat, ie: soft point style?

    I've noticed that in all the videos and images of lead boolits with powdercoat that the boolits is super tough, and acts like it has a very thick j-word, with almost no deformation or expansion, even with fairly soft lead.
    Has anybody successfully left the tip of the boolits bare lead, or is a waste of time?

  2. #2
    Boolit Grand Master
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    Depends on the terminal vel, target material and bullet shape.

    I recovered some nicely mushroomed rifle bullets fired at a 500 yd berm. I used to have some .45acp hollow points that were also mushroomed nicely at closer ranges.

    If I wanted expanding bullets I'd get one of the several nicely made HP molds and use plain COWW or similar alloy with PC.

  3. #3
    Boolit Master
    405grain's Avatar
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    I powder coat the driving bands, but leave the bullet nose bare. I do this for a completely different reason, and have no worries about expansion. A powder coated bullet is going to expand pretty much just like a conventionally lubed bullet, and the amount of expansion is based on the bullets velocity and its alloy hardness. The reason that I only powder coat the driving bands is that I like to use "bore riding" rifle bullets. With this design the nose of the bullet is at nearly the same diameter as the rifles bore, and this causes the bullet to be exactly centered when fired for best accuracy. The problem with powder coated bore riding bullets is that the powder coat will increase the diameter of the bullets nose, and then the cartridges will not chamber.

    I powder coat just the driving band area, then swirl lube the whole bullet in 45-45-10. This gives me the best option for an accurate rifle bullet using a bore riding design. Doing this is time consuming, and certainly isn't for everyone, but I have been able to shoot 1" groups at 100 yards from time to time (not as often as I'd like), so the extra effort is worth it to me. As far as the powder coating restricting expansion, that's a myth. Take two bullets: lube one and powder coat the other. Use the same load and shoot them both into the same medium. They will both expand the same.

  4. #4
    Boolit Buddy braddock's Avatar
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    Click image for larger version. 

Name:	powder coat in holders.jpg 
Views:	9 
Size:	89.4 KB 
ID:	334641 I accidentally discovered that if one loaded the boolits to be coated like I have in the image the tips(noses) of them didn't get any powder on; as it heated it dripped off.
    These are 0.2255" diameter boolits that I coated until they were nearly 0.228" so they would obdurate in my 22 Savage Hi Power which has a slugged groove diameter of 0.228"
    I can't say if it makes them any more likely to expand as I used them up plinking and target punching but the theory worked they did obdurate and they did stabilise I just didn't have enough of them to dial in an accurate load.
    Just my $0.02 worth.https://castboolits.gunloads.com/att...9&d=1738622946
    This link shows the boolits after they've been coated for the 3rd time and have a diameter of just over 0.228"
    Attached Thumbnails Attached Thumbnails powder coating at 0.228.jpg  
    Regards,
    John.

  5. #5
    Boolit Grand Master fredj338's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by 405grain View Post
    I powder coat the driving bands, but leave the bullet nose bare. I do this for a completely different reason, and have no worries about expansion. A powder coated bullet is going to expand pretty much just like a conventionally lubed bullet, and the amount of expansion is based on the bullets velocity and its alloy hardness. The reason that I only powder coat the driving bands is that I like to use "bore riding" rifle bullets. With this design the nose of the bullet is at nearly the same diameter as the rifles bore, and this causes the bullet to be exactly centered when fired for best accuracy. The problem with powder coated bore riding bullets is that the powder coat will increase the diameter of the bullets nose, and then the cartridges will not chamber.

    I powder coat just the driving band area, then swirl lube the whole bullet in 45-45-10. This gives me the best option for an accurate rifle bullet using a bore riding design. Doing this is time consuming, and certainly isn't for everyone, but I have been able to shoot 1" groups at 100 yards from time to time (not as often as I'd like), so the extra effort is worth it to me. As far as the powder coating restricting expansion, that's a myth. Take two bullets: lube one and powder coat the other. Use the same load and shoot them both into the same medium. They will both expand the same.
    ^this^
    EVERY GOOD SHOOTER NEEDS TO BE A HANDLOADER.
    NRA Cert. Inst. Met. Reloading & Basic Pistol

  6. #6
    Boolit Buddy
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    I've experimented casting 9mm, 38cal, .357, 40, and .45 hollow point MP HP bullets of various alloys. I didn't lube the bullets and opted to powder coat them. To ensure expansion based on the alloy and not influenced by the powder coat, I used a case mouth deburring tool to remove the paint on edge of the hollow point. Bullets with the right alloy expanded well. The rest did not. I did not shoot a controlled test of cast hp bullets without removing the paint.

    I would like to conduct some cast rifle bullet tests like you are interested in, this year. I've read that a bullet caster in African water drops his cast bullets and then removes the temper on the tip with a torch. Maybe a series of testloads with removed pc on the tip would be worth looking into vs powder coast vs scraping off some off the tip.

  7. #7
    Boolit Bub SkyKid's Avatar
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    This is how I get uncoated noses These are for my 44 mag
    Attachment 334988

  8. #8
    Boolit Master


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    Quote Originally Posted by SkyKid View Post
    This is how I get uncoated noses These are for my 44 mag
    Attachment 334988
    Not being able to see the picture.

  9. #9
    Boolit Master
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    SkyKid: "Attachment 334988" links to "Invalid Attachment". We're not seeing what you're posting.

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Abbreviations used in Reloading

BP Bronze Point IMR Improved Military Rifle PTD Pointed
BR Bench Rest M Magnum RN Round Nose
BT Boat Tail PL Power-Lokt SP Soft Point
C Compressed Charge PR Primer SPCL Soft Point "Core-Lokt"
HP Hollow Point PSPCL Pointed Soft Point "Core Lokt" C.O.L. Cartridge Overall Length
PSP Pointed Soft Point Spz Spitzer Point SBT Spitzer Boat Tail
LRN Lead Round Nose LWC Lead Wad Cutter LSWC Lead Semi Wad Cutter
GC Gas Check