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Thinking about going coated...


IGOTGLOCKED

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Background:

I have a G19 & a 43 (gen 4's) and I have been reloading for going on two years with a Dillon 650XL. Till now I have tried different plated bullets and have settled on the 147 xtreme hpcb (heavy plating concave base). I shoot in IDPA & GADPA and practice regularly. I don't shoot as much as I'd like however I shoot about 200 or so rounds a week. My home rolled ones load and shoot great, no issues. However recently I've noticed my stash beginning to dwindle and with the election in a couple of weeks I went to the website to order and saw the prices and fell out of my chair! When I came to I began recalling conversations with the guys on match nights regarding shooting coated bullets and am thinking what a great idea! (DUH!) 

I'm reading as much as I can find here and perhaps have missed some however I'd appreciate those experienced with shooting and even competing with coated pills to spill the beans for me! I probably don't really even know the extent of what to ask however I do clearly know this is where I need to be to get experienced help and advice, so...

Manufacturers - who should one consider and which should one stay away from for sure? 

I can't find any info on accuracy comparisons for coated bullets, does such data exist?

Should one expect any accuracy differences either way given the other dynamics remain the same?

Any cause for concerns regarding barrel build up / fouling, etc?

Do they load any differently than plated? If so how and what adjustments do I need to make or be aware of.

Do they require being lubed?

I see some with "lube rings/grooves", what the heck is this? Is it better to have them or not?

Ok, I'll stop here. Apologies for the overload but thanks in advance for any help and advice.

Cheers from IGG!

 

 

 

 

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YOu need to open up case mouths a little more than for plated with the coated lead.  

If you get your process down there can be a little build up of coating in the barrel but you can get it out with solvent.  It's not a problem.  I haven't had any leading. 

Accuracy is supposedly better from lead, but off hand I can't exploit a difference.  They're not any worse and a lot cheaper.

Old molds have grooves for lube as if they were bare lead - they don't need lube, the coating IS the lube. Some profiles are only available with grooves and that's OK. 

As far as MFGs are concerned - I like Acme Bullets.  Very reasonably priced, has a forum discount code, excellent service, good profile.  If you're married to that weight they've got a good 145 grain profile.  

I've used Bayous, and they're great, their TCG 124 is excellent.  I've used SNS Casting, they're great too.  I've used Black Bullets International and I wasn't wild about them.  I've used Blue Bullets and their coating comes off on your fingers (a lot), but they're OK.  The only one I wouldn't recommend of the lot is BBI, which is a shame because they're very reasonably priced.  

You will get more smoke than with plated, especially with titegroup.  it's not bad, just noticeable on stages where you're shooting into a berm with the sun directly over it at the right angle.  The rest of the day you won't even notice.

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I like and shoot the Blue Bullets.  My preferences are 125gr in 9mm and 230gr in 45acp.

I shoot the 9's in both my Glock 17 and my 1911.  Haven't had any problems whatsoever with leading or fouling.  I will typically go about 500 rounds before performing a field strip (1911 or Glock) with only adding lube (1911) every couple of hundred rounds.

No lube and the Blue's have no lube groove.

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24 minutes ago, ArrDave said:

YOu need to open up case mouths a little more than for plated with the coated lead.  

If you get your process down there can be a little build up of coating in the barrel but you can get it out with solvent.  It's not a problem.  I haven't had any leading. 

Accuracy is supposedly better from lead, but off hand I can't exploit a difference.  They're not any worse and a lot cheaper.

Old molds have grooves for lube as if they were bare lead - they don't need lube, the coating IS the lube. Some profiles are only available with grooves and that's OK. 

As far as MFGs are concerned - I like Acme Bullets.  Very reasonably priced, has a forum discount code, excellent service, good profile.  If you're married to that weight they've got a good 145 grain profile.  

I've used Bayous, and they're great, their TCG 124 is excellent.  I've used SNS Casting, they're great too.  I've used Black Bullets International and I wasn't wild about them.  I've used Blue Bullets and their coating comes off on your fingers (a lot), but they're OK.  The only one I wouldn't recommend of the lot is BBI, which is a shame because they're very reasonably priced.  

You will get more smoke than with plated, especially with titegroup.  it's not bad, just noticeable on stages where you're shooting into a berm with the sun directly over it at the right angle.  The rest of the day you won't even notice.

ArrDave---

Good to hear from you, hope all is well! I have always been grateful to you for the initial conversation regarding reloading and igniting my interest and the advice since. I don't have any money left however I've been a happy shooter with my 650 and have spent many late nights with "The Marshall"!

Does it require pure solvent to clean the build up or will CLP work as well? 

Are you shooting all coated now or still some plated? 

"Accuracy is supposedly better from lead" --- Meaning non coated, or plated lead, or coated?

Thanks again Dave!

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36 minutes ago, techj said:

I like and shoot the Blue Bullets.  My preferences are 125gr in 9mm and 230gr in 45acp.

I shoot the 9's in both my Glock 17 and my 1911.  Haven't had any problems whatsoever with leading or fouling.  I will typically go about 500 rounds before performing a field strip (1911 or Glock) with only adding lube (1911) every couple of hundred rounds.

No lube and the Blue's have no lube groove.

Awesome, thx! And no reservations regarding the resulting blue fingers? What is the blue coating made of, is it toxic?

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I like the Blue bullets as well as Bayou and I cast and coat my own with HiTek  which is what Bayou and S&S use.

The blue on the fingers is just coating dust from the bullets rubbing together in shipment. Just because your fingers get some of this on them doesn't mean they are bad or the coating is coming off. I don't think anyone should take it as a sign of poor quality. IF it was bad enough to where there was bare lead showing on the bullets then I would think there is an issue.    

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34 minutes ago, IGOTGLOCKED said:

Awesome, thx! And no reservations regarding the resulting blue fingers? What is the blue coating made of, is it toxic?

The blue comes off of your fingers quite easily - I just use a paper towel and some hand cleaner/goop and it comes right off.  I doubt it is any more toxic than any other coating and would always clean my hands before touching my eyes, eating, etc. while loading.  As an FYI - I notice less of an odor when shooting indoors with the Blues than with some of the other coated bullets.

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56 minutes ago, IGOTGLOCKED said:

ArrDave---

Good to hear from you, hope all is well! I have always been grateful to you for the initial conversation regarding reloading and igniting my interest and the advice since. I don't have any money left however I've been a happy shooter with my 650 and have spent many late nights with "The Marshall"!

Does it require pure solvent to clean the build up or will CLP work as well? 

Are you shooting all coated now or still some plated? 

"Accuracy is supposedly better from lead" --- Meaning non coated, or plated lead, or coated?

Thanks again Dave!

The coated lead is supposedly more accurate than plated, probably similar to lead I would imagine. 

 

Blue fingers aren't a big deal, unless you touch something before washing your hands and you smudge (won't happen every time, but did happen to one of my pairs of pants, if I recall it came out in the wash so NBD).  You have a quality press so I would steer you toward getting the ones you feel you're getting the best deal on and come in colors you personally like.  

 

You should save powder too, a 124 berrys pill needs about 3.9 gr vs. 3.7 gr of TG behind a coated lead with similar seating depth.  

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1 hour ago, ArrDave said:

The coated lead is supposedly more accurate than plated, probably similar to lead I would imagine. 

 

Blue fingers aren't a big deal, unless you touch something before washing your hands and you smudge (won't happen every time, but did happen to one of my pairs of pants, if I recall it came out in the wash so NBD).  You have a quality press so I would steer you toward getting the ones you feel you're getting the best deal on and come in colors you personally like.  

 

You should save powder too, a 124 berrys pill needs about 3.9 gr vs. 3.7 gr of TG behind a coated lead with similar seating depth.  

Awesome, I like saving! Saving = more shooting :D

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2 hours ago, techj said:

The blue comes off of your fingers quite easily - I just use a paper towel and some hand cleaner/goop and it comes right off.  I doubt it is any more toxic than any other coating and would always clean my hands before touching my eyes, eating, etc. while loading.  As an FYI - I notice less of an odor when shooting indoors with the Blues than with some of the other coated bullets.

Thanks, interesting observation... Perhaps the difference in chemicals between manufacturers?

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2 hours ago, Intel6 said:

I like the Blue bullets as well as Bayou and I cast and coat my own with HiTek  which is what Bayou and S&S use.

The blue on the fingers is just coating dust from the bullets rubbing together in shipment. Just because your fingers get some of this on them doesn't mean they are bad or the coating is coming off. I don't think anyone should take it as a sign of poor quality. IF it was bad enough to where there was bare lead showing on the bullets then I would think there is an issue.    

Thanks Intel6, I suspect the natural progression after transitioning to coated would be casting my own, and that is definitely something I'd be interested in! I'd guess one just puts them in an oven to "bake" the coating on? If so we just replaced our kitchen appliances and I could install the old oven in my reloading area - hmmm... Whoa, one step at a time!

Cheers!

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2 hours ago, MemphisMechanic said:

I shoot Black Bullets International. A coated pill needs less powder behind it compared to a plated/jacketed one (they seal in the rifling sooner and better)...

So a BBI 135gr feels almost exactly like the $$$ soft shooting 147 FMJs did

Do you have any of the process on your YT channel?

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4 hours ago, ArrDave said:

YOu need to open up case mouths a little more than for plated with the coated lead.  

If you get your process down there can be a little build up of coating in the barrel but you can get it out with solvent.  It's not a problem.  I haven't had any leading. 

Accuracy is supposedly better from lead, but off hand I can't exploit a difference.  They're not any worse and a lot cheaper.

Old molds have grooves for lube as if they were bare lead - they don't need lube, the coating IS the lube. Some profiles are only available with grooves and that's OK. 

As far as MFGs are concerned - I like Acme Bullets.  Very reasonably priced, has a forum discount code, excellent service, good profile.  If you're married to that weight they've got a good 145 grain profile.  

I've used Bayous, and they're great, their TCG 124 is excellent.  I've used SNS Casting, they're great too.  I've used Black Bullets International and I wasn't wild about them.  I've used Blue Bullets and their coating comes off on your fingers (a lot), but they're OK.  The only one I wouldn't recommend of the lot is BBI, which is a shame because they're very reasonably priced.  

You will get more smoke than with plated, especially with titegroup.  it's not bad, just noticeable on stages where you're shooting into a berm with the sun directly over it at the right angle.  The rest of the day you won't even notice.

What % off is the forum discount?

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No, nothing on YouTube. Only things to do different:

Any time you change bullets, make sure they pass the "plunk and spin" test.

Bell the case mouth a bit more so that no coating is scraped off.

Crimp just until the case wall is no longer flared. Then pull a bullet and verify that the coating is not being cut, nor the bullet accidentally resized during crimp. You should barely be able to see and feel a line on the bullet where the case mouth was.

Edited by MemphisMechanic
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I recently switched from Xtreme 147 HP 9 mm to Blue Bullets 9 mm 147 RN......very, very satisfied.....substantial cost reduction and 20% less powder for minor. I agree with slightly increasing your bell from plated.....make sure the coating is not disturbed when seating .....pull a couple and check after loading.....

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17 hours ago, MemphisMechanic said:

No, nothing on YouTube. Only things to do different:

Any time you change bullets, make sure they pass the "plunk and spin" test.

Bell the case mouth a bit more so that no coating is scraped off.

Crimp just until the case wall is no longer flared. Then pull a bullet and verify that the coating is not being cut, nor the bullet accidentally resized during crimp. You should barely be able to see and feel a line on the bullet where the case mouth was.

Thx Memphis!

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1 hour ago, TANFARM said:

I recently switched from Xtreme 147 HP 9 mm to Blue Bullets 9 mm 147 RN......very, very satisfied.....substantial cost reduction and 20% less powder for minor. I agree with slightly increasing your bell from plated.....make sure the coating is not disturbed when seating .....pull a couple and check after loading.....

Thanks Tanfarm, that is a pretty strong testimony!

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