What is all the fuss about powder coating your bullets?
Well, I can put this into perspective. I just bought a new handgun. Next time I go shooting, I'd like to have more than a few shots through it. If I had some powder coated bullets, I would have plenty of ammo that, like plated, is almost guaranteed to not foul the bore. If I bring only cast reloads, I won't know if they work in that gun until I get all the way out there!
Third, with the shake and bake method that I use, it is no more labor than tumble lubing and I don't have to wait for them to dry. Granted, if you count the time they spend in the oven, it takes more time.
This is where you lost me. I have tried the shake and bake, and it's not the same.
When I tumble lube bullets with my version of 45/45, I shake them around in a cake tin over a heat gun. Let cool a bit, then dump into a plastic bag. They do not need to dry. They just need to cool off a little so the lube solidifies.
With the shake and bake, you have to separate the bullets from the powder and/or BB's. I used a mesh screen for this, but a lot of the powder fell off, completely, in the spots where it contacted the mesh. A lot of people are using their fingers or forceps for this reason. That's handling each bullet, individually.
On top of that, most people are spacing out each bullet individually, nose-up, on a tray covered with nonstick foil. This is more work. And it doesn't work so well for 223 bullets. I just baked my 223 in a pile, and when I pried them apart some of the coating came off in small chips.
And then, you have to bake them.
I'm waiting to see if powder coat stops gas tube fouling before I go thru that process, again.
I have been doing this for awhile for many reasons. First, it allows you to drive your lead bullets pretty much as hard as you want (within max pressure of course) with zero leading.
What info do you have regarding this claim? I mean, no leading, ok. But will they still be accurate? I can shoot gas checked cast bullets as fast as I want out of my rifles with no leading of the bore. But that doesn't mean the bullet is going to hit the target, or even reach it in one piece. Velocity is seemingly limited to around 2100 fps, or so, with common alloys - not including copper alloyed lead.
Second, it doesn't gum up my dies like the 45/45/10 stuff does. This is especially a big deal for re-loaders who seat and crimp in the same operation. 45/45/10 builds up in the dies slowly reducing OAL. I still use a lot of 45/45/10 but, when I run out, I won't be buying more.
Maybe I do it different, but I have not yet experienced this problem. With commerical lubrisized "blue goop" bullets, yeah. But with tumble lubed, nope. You only need a thin coat, and the 45/45 lube dries hard. In fact, it works just as good if you let all the mineral spirits evaporate - as I found out because my container wasn't air tight. You're left with a hard, dry, chocolate colored solid. Press something against this and see how much comes off... it's basically none. The lube won't indent or smear. It's hard and brittle. Just break a few chips and drop them in the tin on top of the bullets. Hit with a heat gun until the chips melt, then roll the bullets around. I suppose, I'm technically using 50/50.
