Powder Coated Bullets

These seem to be the latest fad: http://www.missouribullet.com/details.php?prodId=211&category=20&secondary=&keywords= Has anyone done any accuracy testing at 50 yards?

Coating bullets for bullseye is Not new by any means, Doc Young and many others used to shoot moly coated bullets back 15 years ago. They found out the moly would destroy a barrel over time and the moly craze ended. They don't say if  their coating contains moly but before I used them I would call and ask them.

I tried coating my rifle bullets with boron nitride. sold by David Tubb.  In eliminated that first shot out of the group syndrome, due to cold bore.  Not sure if it helped my groups overall though.

- Dave

The coating being played with by the cast bullet crowd is powder coat paint. Not moly or boron nitride. It is applied either with an electrostatic spray gun or by tumbling with plastic BB's and some powdered paint and then baking to cure. I have tried some coated bullets in an old rifle that leaded badly no matter what I did. Results are showing promise. I have not tried it on any pistol bullets. Lots of info: http://castboolits.gunloads.com/forumdisplay.php?184-Coatings-and-Alternatives

DavidR wrote:Coating bullets for bullseye is Not new by any means, Doc Young and many others used to shoot moly coated bullets back 15 years ago. They found out the moly would destroy a barrel over time and the moly craze ended. They don't say if  their coating contains moly but before I used them I would call and ask them.

I knew about Doc Young's trial with moly. When he was an active shooter, he was always experimenting and trying new things. As has been stated, this is a different animal. I believe I read that Aussie shooters have been using powder coated bullets for quite a long time. I've also heard that some of the advantages are less smoke and no leading in the barrel. I haven't seen anything about bullseye quality accuracy.

i wish i had some info for you guys
but ive been powder coating all my handgun rounds for a number of months now
just shake and bake

i dont compete at all yet but i see no difference except less mess and less smoke
and you can use a softer alloy with out issue

Well, when you start, you will certainly look good doing it!!

Those look fantastic! 
With the "shake and bake" method:
-how do you make the powder stick evenly?
-is there a powder that you use that is easier to work with than others?

guess ill have to send you over to cast boolits

extremely long but useful thread at castboolits forum

that thread is REALLY LONG  and it doesnt get rolling till about halfway thru
but its full of good info and examples

long story short

take a cool whip tub
add 2 layers of airsoft BBs
add 1/2 teaspoon powder coat paint (harbor frieght red works well but better powder works better these guys sell 1/2lb bags of really good powder the powder coat store and 1/2 pound goes ALONG WAYS)
add clean bare lead bullets
cover and swirl for a bit (its the static charge that sticks the powder to the bullet
pick out with tweezers
stand up on nonstick foil or parchment paper on a cookie sheet
bake for 15 minutes or so at 400F in your old toaster over (watch the temp as they dont always work that well , i know im nutz but i use the kitchen oven with the vent fan on a bit of stink as the powder melts then thats it)
cool
size to fit   (the Lee push thru sizers work best for this they wont scratch the coating)
load and shoot

http://www.pcimag.com/articles/the-effect-of-crosslinking-chemistry-on-superdurable-powder-coatings  " Due to concerns with the toxicity of TGIC, powder coatings that contain more than 0.1% of the compound would have to carry a warning label that included the European Toxic label, which includes a skull and crossbones logo. The performance of TGIC in weathering is quite good, so this has significantly affected the use of the crosslinker in superdurable architectural coatings. If suitable replacements are found that can perform as well or better, they could be used to replace this compound. Clearly a need has developed in the European marketplace.
The United States does not yet have the same labeling requirement and there are no indications that a similar labeling requirement is imminent. However, most of the major powder coating producers operate globally and wish to have formulations that are universal. These requirements have encouraged North American producers to also look at alternatives to TGIC. "   https://www.osha.gov/dts/chemicalsampling/data/CH_273775.html

Thanks for that information about toxicity of one type of powdercoating media.

Based on what I was able to find, the exposure to this one particular type of powdercoating media is harmful only while applying the product, not exposure to the cured product.

The symptoms are primariy reproductive with other symptoms similar to lead exposure.

Just like everything we do, be careful and do your work in a well ventilated area.

I would assert that if you avoid powdercoating media that contains TGIC to powdercoad your bullets, you may see additional protection from lead exposure from vaporizing of the lead bullet during firing.

Based on some analysis on other pages, the powdercoated bullets don't need any lube, and leave the bores perfectly clean.  We are unsure about 50yard accuracy however.

A minor factor could be the use of colors to code bullets for 50 yds or various pdr charges.
I use small tabs cut from primer boxes for charge wt etc and they are falling out or blowing away.

R711

Colt711 wrote: colors to code bullets

actually thats a major reason
since the color palette is more or less unlimited
it has become a very good way to keep things labled
and it should be obvious to anyone else as well
like this

or


and yes they were! bright, orange and snappy!

If I find any of your bullets in the backstop I will let you know how well they melt back down to make new bullets:-)

Chip

ChipEck wrote:If I find any of your bullets in the backstop I will let you know how well they melt back down to make new bullets:-)

Chip

ohh i know they melt down just fine
got back a bucket of my own today
ive been reusing my lead for sometime
i shoot from the left side so you can root around over on the right side
if it wasnt for range scrap i wouldnt be able to shoot near as much as i do

Rifle bullets were burnished with MoS2 (tumbled in pure fine powdered MoS2). There were reports of MoS2 coating the barrel (and not being removed during cleaning) and water would be adsorbed into the interface and cause rust. Never heard of this happening in the aerospace industry, but there you have it.
The moly-coated bullets are not burnished with pure MoS2. They were originally a mixture of some MoS2 in a silicone rubber compound or other polymer. These have never been implicated as causing rust and have worked great for about 15 years or more. Precision Bullets makes fantastic swaged lead moly-coated bullets that are very accurate.
I am not sure what the advantage is with the new coatings, other than a person who casts their own bullets and has a toaster oven can apply a coating themselves.

I spent a lot of time over on CastBoolits last year reading up on it and never pursued PC ''lube" because I saw a disadvantage over using even the Lyman lubri-sizer in how often and how carefully you need to handle/process the projectiles.

AND as noted above, few if any were shooting handguns to BE accuracy levels.

One of the reasons I wandered off from the FiringLine and another online shooting BB several years ago was I tired of reading reports of "great accuracy" that 9 times out of 10 either had NO group size mentioned, or were useless to me "2 inches offhand at 10 yards" boasting. I even tried asking for quantification but too few ever acted like the really even READ the posts or questions.

Now, I don't believe that BE shooters are all that totally hide-bound and resistant to change. If the PC bullets could hold the X-ring at 25 yards, word should have spread by now and we as a community would be all over it like bees on honey. Until shown otherwise by at least three different shooters using at least two different calibers each with 50-yard testing, I will consider PC pistol bullet accuracy to be unproven as far as our search for the 10 ring is concerned.

guncheese wrote:

ChipEck wrote:If I find any of your bullets in the backstop I will let you know how well they melt back down to make new bullets:-)

Chip

ohh i know they melt down just fine
got back a bucket of my own today
ive been reusing my lead for sometime
i shoot from the left side so you can root around over on the right side
if it wasnt for range scrap i wouldnt be able to shoot near as much as i do

That explains it.  I always shoot on the far right side.