Powder Coating bullets

[ultraz]

I've been shooting powder coated bullets in everything I own pistols and rifles for over a year now. Even shot PC bullets from a Glock the other day with no problems.

Cleaning is easy just run a patch through and its clean. I've have had a lil bit of residue left in the barrel from the PC, but one patch with lacquer thinner cleans it out.

Leo, If you would like to try a sample just let me know.

SS, They look good, fast easy process for sure.


Learn something new every day

 

[Fullmag]

Powder coating is plastic... last I heard bullets are made of metals including lead, copper steel and others. If you are concerned about barrel wear you better just stop shooting your gun now... clean it, put it in the safe and never shoot it again. Your metal bullets are causing more wear than the powder coated bullets...

Yes pressure, heat and friction do cause wear. Have known a friend that had to cut some the barrel off due to throat erosion but it's not for me to run a load that hot.

Every few years something new comes along some change the game and others are quickly forgotten. Smokeless powder and noncorrosive primers has helped saved barrels more than anything. Copper jackets was once new and improved over just lead. Then the coatings, the first I recall was graphite, only to find out it was very abrasive and ruined barrels. Next was molybdenum, only find out they coat the barrel and the moly cannot be removed and the shooter must always use moly coated bullets or accuracy will suffer. Not sure about Teflon but if memory working it not the best answer either.

Just wanting to make good decision. To me sending plastic down the barrel is not a good idea so by asking questions I might learn something new.

 

[ghitch75]

Yes pressure, heat and friction do cause wear. Have known a friend that had to cut some the barrel off due to throat erosion but it's not for me to run a load that hot.

.

did here rechamber the barrel after cutting the chamber off to get rid of the erosion?..

 

[ifr2]

I've been power coating my cast bullets for about a year. I'm very happy with the results. It does add another step, but it's leaves almost no lead in the barrel. I use an Eastwood sprayer with Harborfreight powder and an old toaster oven. I can coat 500 bullets in an afternoon. It beats the heck out of dealing with the messy lubes.

 

[Fullmag]

did here rechamber the barrel after cutting the chamber off to get rid of the erosion?..

Yes. The round is 6.5-284 it's a thousand yard wildcat cartridge and very, very fast . He did it to get some more life out his custom barrel so they cut off up to the eroded part and re-chamber and re-thread the barrel.

 

[ghitch75]

Yes. The round is 6.5-284 it's a thousand yard wildcat cartridge and very, very fast . He did it to get some more life out his custom barrel so they cut off up to the eroded part and re-chamber and re-thread the barrel.

must have been pretty short when it was done?

 

[Fullmag]

must have been pretty short when it was done?

No we are talking about rifles here and you can only do it once. So a 26 inch barrel becomes a 24 inch barrel. It would be funny if it would become a pistol barrel with enough shooting.

 

[straight-shooter]

How about trying this with a Powder Coat Sprayer instead of the tumbling method... well that's what I did yesterday and the results were very good. I didn't use the tumbling method this time because handling the bullets would be almost impossible to make them stand on their own and move them into the oven without them falling over.

I Installed gas checks then I made up a wood tray yesterday and drilled shallow holes in it. Covered it with non-stick aluminum foil and pressed the base of the bullets in it.

I then hooked up my Powder Coat sprayer and grounded the aluminum foil and sprayed the bullets. Eureka! End result was darn near jacketed velocity bullets that require no lube.

Tests show their capable of up to 2,900 fps and maybe more. Although these are for the M1 Garand so I'll be pushing them around 1,800 fps. The barrel will be a breeze to clean with nothing but a little powder residue.

The sweet part to this whole endeavor is that I can now use up a lot of my pure lead that I have laying around since I can do a 70/30 mix of wheel weight and pure lead along with 2% tin added. Powder Coat isn't so picky about harder alloy.

You can actually smash the bullet with a hammer and the coating doesn't even flinch as far as cracking or chipping. It's tough stuff.

 

[warthog]

what is the actual powder coating made of then? I guess I wonder if this is meant as something to color or if it is an actual lobe of some sort?

 

[straight-shooter]

It's what they call a TGIC Polyester coating. It completely replaces any type of lube used in the past. After coating it sizes easily in a size die with absolutely no damage to the coating. Velocity is increased to near jacketed velocitys.

There are cheap powder coats and metallics out there that one would need to avoid. I mainly stick with solid colors and make sure it's TGIC rated.

I order from several sources:

all powder paints
powder by the pound
DMC2 on Ebay

Harbor Freight sells powder coat but I've have less than satisfactory results with it.

 

[Leo]

I was shooting the Black and Blue brand coated bullets at the indoor range. They do shoot well an LOTS less smoke than my old bees wax, blue lube or alox lubed cast bullets. The guy in the next lane said that my ammo smelled pretty bad, like a burning electric motor. The barrel cleaned right up like with an FMJ load. Shot as well as any other cast bullet from the 9mm.

 

[straight-shooter]

Yep, they do have an odd smell but for the benefits vs straight cast I'll take em'. Makes cleaning a breeze and the velocity factor is a major plus since they don't have to be babied. I've heard some indoor ranges don't allow lead cast either but do allow powder coated.

 

[straight-shooter]

Oh boy Oh boy! My order of Zombie Green and Signal Blue just came in the mail. Now i'll be able to protect myself from those impending Zombies!

 

[biggen]

Here's the PC you need for Zombie bullets.

Green Glow in the Dark Powder Coating

 

[straight-shooter]

Here's the PC you need for Zombie bullets.

Green Glow in the Dark Powder Coating

Wow, that is some cool stuff right there! Quite the price tag but I don't think I would use that on bullets but could definitely see other uses for such a great powder coat.

 

[ghitch75]

Here's the PC you need for Zombie bullets.

Green Glow in the Dark Powder Coating

i wonder is you can see them when fired?.....pretty neat!!

 

[biggen]

I don't know if you can see them in the air. But wonder what the bad guy would think staring at a cylinder full of those in my 44mag in the middle of the night.

 

[cbop]

I do have a question about the powder coated bullets here in Indiana...

Indiana Code:

IC 35-47-5-11 Version a
"Armor-piercing handgun ammunition" defined; related offenses
Note: This version of section effective until 7-1-2014. See also following version of this section, effective 7-1-2014.
Sec. 11. (a) As used in this section, "armor-piercing handgun ammunition" means a cartridge that:
(1) can be fired in a handgun; and
(2) will, upon firing, expel a projectile that has a metal core and an outer coating of plastic.
(b) A person who knowingly or intentionally:
(1) manufactures;
(2) possesses;
(3) transfers possession of; or
(4) offers to transfer possession of;
armor-piercing handgun ammunition commits a Class C felony.
(c) This section does not apply to nylon coated ammunition, plastic shot capsules, or ammunition designed to be used in rifles or shotguns.
(d) This section does not apply to a law enforcement officer who is acting in the course of the officer's official duties or to a person who manufactures or imports for sale or sells armor-piercing handgun ammunition to a law enforcement agency.
As added by P.L.332-1983, SEC.1. Amended by P.L.327-1987, SEC.2.

IC 35-47-5-11 Version b
"Armor-piercing handgun ammunition"; related offenses
Note: This version of section effective 7-1-2014. See also preceding version of this section, effective until 7-1-2014.
Sec. 11. (a) As used in this section, "armor-piercing handgun ammunition" means a cartridge that:
(1) can be fired in a handgun; and
(2) will, upon firing, expel a projectile that has a metal core and an outer coating of plastic.
(b) A person who knowingly or intentionally:
(1) manufactures;
(2) possesses;
(3) transfers possession of; or
(4) offers to transfer possession of;
armor-piercing handgun ammunition commits a Level 5 felony.
(c) This section does not apply to nylon coated ammunition, plastic shot capsules, or ammunition designed to be used in rifles or shotguns.
(d) This section does not apply to a law enforcement officer who is acting in the course of the officer's official duties or to a person who manufactures or imports for sale or sells armor-piercing handgun ammunition to a law enforcement agency.
As added by P.L.332-1983, SEC.1. Amended by P.L.327-1987, SEC.2; P.L.158-2013, SEC.596.

Now, I realize these are not AP rounds and the purpose of the coating is not to make them more lethal in that fashion but could this fall into the 'letter of the law rather than the spirit of the law" type thing? The law allows a nylon jacket but the powder coat is a polyester, correct? If if you did not use these in you EDC, could the mere possession or making them put you at odds against a overzealous prosecutor?

 

[straight-shooter]

Zombie 30-06

 

[88E30M50]

I do have a question about the powder coated bullets here in Indiana...

Indiana Code:

Now, I realize these are not AP rounds and the purpose of the coating is not to make them more lethal in that fashion but could this fall into the 'letter of the law rather than the spirit of the law" type thing? The law allows a nylon jacket but the powder coat is a polyester, correct? If if you did not use these in you EDC, could the mere possession or making them put you at odds against a overzealous prosecutor?

I don't know if I'd worry about an over zealous prosecutor, but I could see where they could be used to hold you in custody if the police where still developing a case against you and did not want you to walk while they did it. Again, not something most of us would ever have to worry about, but it pays to remember that just because you know you are innocent, it does you no good if everyone else thinks you did it.

Zombie 30-06

Nice! I need to start playing with PC. Not so much for the bullets, but it looks like an easy way to protect small car parts.