Powder coating lead bullets

[AJC]

So i see a ton of information and videos on people having a lot of fun and great experience with powder coating bullets. What i have not seen is information like if a bullet designed for a gas check still works well and what the new velocity limits would be. Is the powder coat as good as a gas check at preventing leading while shot at full power loads. Does powder coat completely remove the need for gas checks on all bullets at all speeds. My specific area would be the common lyman 155 cast bullet with the dual crimp rings in 38 and or 357. Should a custom mold be made or modified to remove the gas check in this bullet if powder coat is used???

 

[jds holler]

I'm also interested in this. I've been casting - off and on- for years. The lube thing has always been kind of a pain, and messy to boot.

I was talking to a friend about powder coating the other day and he made it sound too easy. Harbor Freight for the powder/media/ or whatever it's called, an a toaster oven.

A little more info from someone who knows more, and I'm in. jd

 

[Terry]

I moly coated lead bullets for my 45 acp. Worked great!

 

[thatguyshm]

Rifle or pistol for your 357? I powder coat NOE 357 bulldog HP bullets without GC of any kind, but when I coat them, they are upside down so I get a nice heavy coat on the bottom.

I only shoot mine in pistols and find no need for a GC. I've read that any time you are pushing your casts past above 1600 fps it's best to just add one. There isn't much for a downside to adding a GC other than it's two trips through the sizing die. You need to put the GC on before you apply paint. And you can run the risk of them coming off when you bake if any powder gets between your GC and whatever you set your cast on to bake.

I've noticed NOE does 224 boat tail bullets for hitek coating, so maybe that's what to look at rather than powder coat. I have some just haven't used it yet.

 

[AJC]

I got the Eastwood powder coat that had great reviews. I watched fortubecookie45 videos a ton, and he had really good luck with that powder. They have had some hit and miss with the harbor freight stuff. The baking sheet looks like the way I'm going because breaking them appart using the with the basket method does not seem to meet the quality standards I would want. The process of coating goes in much detail and answers any questions one would have. I would love to see some range analysis videos, comparing accuracy and some velocity tests with the bullet bases examined. I plan on finding a 155 to 160 grain option I can run in pistol and rifle. I have a 180 mold I plan for rifle only.