7kings Posted August 9, 2015 Share Posted August 9, 2015 Hey guys. I loaded 50 rounds of Precision Bullets 200gr SWC coated, trying to find a new bullet for general range use. These are the details of the load: Dillon 550b Dillon carbide dies Bullet: .4515" SWC coated bullets Bul. Wt: 200gr Primer: Winchester LPP Powder: HP-38 Wt.: 5.2gr OAL - 1.250" I only crimped enough to remove the bell, and no scarring or marks of any sort were present on the bullet after being pulled from a cartridge during die setup. I took these to the range today and ran them through an RIA 2011 Tactical (I was there primarily breaking in my new Les Baer, but I didn't want to run these through the Baer until I knew how they would perform). I found the accuracy to be generally satisfactory and there wasn't an excessive amount of smoke or flash (more smoke than FMJ, but that's to be expected). The first thing I noticed was that the load I was using seemed VERY light. Recoil was minimal and the brass wasn't exactly rocketing out of the ejection port, but that's to be expected since I started with a light recipe. I had a few FTF, but I attribute this mostly to the recoil impulse being so light that the slide may not have had enough return velocity to strip and chamber the next round consistently. When I got home, I broke out the cleaning supplies and got to work. I ran a mop with Hoppes through the bore and let it sit while I cleaned the rest of the gun and then came back to it afterwards. I then ran a bronze brush through the bore several times, followed by several patches, so that I could properly inspect the bore without worrying about carbon or copper fouling. The patches kept coming out dirty, but it should have been good enough to get a good look at the bore. What I saw amazed me; there was a significant amount of leading present, streaking the length of the barrel. I spent the better part of the next hour alternating between bronze brushes and patches of lead remover cloth. I was shocked by the amount of lead that was being removed by the patches - there were actually shiny flecks of lead that were being pushed out of the muzzle. In the end, I was able to get the bore back to looking good again, but now I'm scratching my head. The entire reason I went with coated bullets was to avoid leading altogether, but my experience was even worse than I would ever expect to experience even with uncoated hard-cast lead. I know it wasn't a matter of loading these rounds too hot and I know that I wasn't breaking the coating during the loading process, so I'm at a loss. I'm definitely not interested in dealing with this sort of experience moving forward and won't be loading the rest of these bullets unless I can figure out what's going on. Has anyone else experienced anything similar? I've seen a couple of videos on YouTube while researching this today where folks have had similar experiences, but there was nothing concrete. Thanks for the help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
usmc90 Posted August 9, 2015 Share Posted August 9, 2015 Not all coated bullets are the same.. the coatings seem to be very different from one manufacturer to the other. I use one in 9mm and 45acp and never get leading after..Some seem to just be nothing more than powder coated and I have heard those have a tendency to lead up. Don't know for sure though Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TDA Posted August 9, 2015 Share Posted August 9, 2015 Not the answer you are looking for, but I have used those in my 1911 with no real problem, but tried some in .40 cal and never got them to work at all regardless of load, powder, or pistol used. After 15-20 rounds it would take hours to get the lead out of the barrel. Sometimes they work, and sometimes they just don't! I gave up and switched to Hi-Tech coated bullets and have had no problems whatsoever in anything I shoot them in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bowenbuilt Posted August 9, 2015 Share Posted August 9, 2015 Try some coated bullets at .452 and I bet they shoot clean. I had the same problem as you describe and found that it took a larger diameter bullet to solve the problem. I never did get the black moly coating not to leave some moly behind. Most of the coated bullets shoot completely clean with nothing left behind as long as you size them correctly to your bore. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
7kings Posted August 9, 2015 Author Share Posted August 9, 2015 These coated bullets are only available at .4515 from Precision Bullets, so I might have to try another manufacturer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HOGRIDER Posted August 10, 2015 Share Posted August 10, 2015 (edited) Heard some good recommendations for the Acme Coated line: http://www.brianenos.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=217969&page=2 http://www.acmebullet.com/bullets-reloading-brass/HiTek-Coated-bullets?product_id=428 Edited August 10, 2015 by HOGRIDER Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarge Posted August 10, 2015 Share Posted August 10, 2015 (edited) These coated bullets are only available at .4515 from Precision Bullets, so I might have to try another manufacturer. Precisions are still using the older moly coating I believe? The moly is hard to get out too sometimes. Edited August 10, 2015 by Sarge Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
7kings Posted August 10, 2015 Author Share Posted August 10, 2015 These coated bullets are only available at .4515 from Precision Bullets, so I might have to try another manufacturer. Precisions are still using the older moly coating I believe? The moly is hard to get out too sometimes. I just checked their website and they say: "We use a proprietary solid dry film lubricant. This is similar to the moly/poly coatings on the market but is much tougher." I notice that bullets like The Blue Bullets use a polymer coating (and seem to have pretty good reviews generally). Maybe I'll give them a try and see how they perform. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarge Posted August 10, 2015 Share Posted August 10, 2015 These coated bullets are only available at .4515 from Precision Bullets, so I might have to try another manufacturer. Precisions are still using the older moly coating I believe? The moly is hard to get out too sometimes. I just checked their website and they say: "We use a proprietary solid dry film lubricant. This is similar to the moly/poly coatings on the market but is much tougher." I notice that bullets like The Blue Bullets use a polymer coating (and seem to have pretty good reviews generally). Maybe I'll give them a try and see how they perform. Blue bullets are pretty good bullets. They almost look like they are wrapped in a thin layer of painters tape. All the other major players in coated bullets pretty much use the high tech coating. BBI's are some awesome bullets! That's what I would try. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
7kings Posted August 10, 2015 Author Share Posted August 10, 2015 These coated bullets are only available at .4515 from Precision Bullets, so I might have to try another manufacturer. Precisions are still using the older moly coating I believe? The moly is hard to get out too sometimes. I just checked their website and they say: "We use a proprietary solid dry film lubricant. This is similar to the moly/poly coatings on the market but is much tougher." I notice that bullets like The Blue Bullets use a polymer coating (and seem to have pretty good reviews generally). Maybe I'll give them a try and see how they perform. Blue bullets are pretty good bullets. They almost look like they are wrapped in a thin layer of painters tape. All the other major players in coated bullets pretty much use the high tech coating. BBI's are some awesome bullets! That's what I would try. Thanks for the suggestion. I'm going to grab one of their 250 sample packs of the 200gr SWC and see how it goes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishsticks Posted August 10, 2015 Share Posted August 10, 2015 I've used Blue Bullets, S&S Casting and Leatherhead. Blue bullets use a different coating, the other 2 are the hi-tek. All shot well with no leading. Of the 3, I've found the Learherhead to be the most consistent in weight and the coating seems to be more even as well. I wouldn't hesitate to re commend any of the 3. All have subtle differences in terms of their advantages and disadvantages. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
usmc90 Posted August 10, 2015 Share Posted August 10, 2015 Fishsticks^^^ is on track. I personally like the SnS hi-tek but we all have our favorites. Try all and see what is your new one Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
7kings Posted August 10, 2015 Author Share Posted August 10, 2015 I'll let you guys know how the Blue Bullets work out for me. Thanks again! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marty123 Posted August 10, 2015 Share Posted August 10, 2015 I've been using the Bayou Hi-Tek with excellent results especially the H&G 68's. All are different from the various vendors so just get a sample pack as not to put out too much money for testing. Once you find the product that works best buy in quantity. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
7kings Posted August 10, 2015 Author Share Posted August 10, 2015 I've been using the Bayou Hi-Tek with excellent results especially the H&G 68's. All are different from the various vendors so just get a sample pack as not to put out too much money for testing. Once you find the product that works best buy in quantity. Yeah, that's what I did. With any luck, I'll receive them this week and can load and try them this weekend. I'm wondering if anyone has a "pet load" they like for 200gr coated SWC with HP-38 for plinking? Like I said above, I loaded them with 5.2gr, but that seemed very light. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
atbarr Posted August 10, 2015 Share Posted August 10, 2015 I've put thousands 200 SWC and 230 RN thru my G21 and G41, one pass with a Bore Snake and clean as new. http://www.bayoubullets.net/coated-bullets/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NuJudge Posted August 19, 2015 Share Posted August 19, 2015 It would really be good to slug your bore. With Lead bullets, I like to have bullets be at least .001" larger than groove diameter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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