rustybayonet Posted December 3, 2015 Share Posted December 3, 2015 I have been shooting black powder for a long time and have been casting just as long. Now my thought is to start casting for cartrage rounds. Has anyone tried to make coated bullets, if so how? Paint or other coating? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ttolliver Posted December 3, 2015 Share Posted December 3, 2015 Yup, I sure have. I dabbled in coating my own cast bullets for both 9mm and 45acp. The bullets retained their normal (excellent) accuracy. Unfortunately it adds more time to an already time consuming process. So while I always enjoy tinkering and learning, it wasn't something I would ever do for any real volume. I used Klass Kote epoxy paint with a touch of teflon powder added. Had I stuck with it I would have moved to the kits that Bayou sells. Klass Kote was just available on local hobby store shelves and easy to pick up in very small quantities. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dave33 Posted December 3, 2015 Share Posted December 3, 2015 The two main coatings people use currently are hi-tek and powder coating. Both of these methods work well, if you have not found your way to the cast boolits forum (castboolits.gunloads.com) go there and read up. Enough information there to get a PhD in bullet coating. I don't cast bullets yet, may start this winter, but I did try my hand at the shake and bake method with harbor freight red powder coat on some cast bullets I bought a while back but couldn't shoot because they leaded up the barrel of my gun terribly bad. They didn't turn out too bad for a first time attempt. Now I need to find a bullet sizer to borrow so I can shoot them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miranda Posted December 3, 2015 Share Posted December 3, 2015 I may yet take up photo shop first thing I thought when I saw the photo. from left to right. that bullet fainted. middle one says how tall is that building? last one OMG!!! I cast bullets. it is time consuming. and like the rest of this it can get you benefits like accuracy (I have not seen that yet, it could be me) and you can address the leading issues if commercial bullets give you that problem. so far I have not had leading problems and you can cast 9mm bullets for about 3 cents each. I am very curious about the hollow points in the photo. miranda Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Intel6 Posted December 3, 2015 Share Posted December 3, 2015 I cast and coat my own bullets, I use the same stuff Bayou uses, Hi Tek. I coat mostly pistol bullets but I do coat some rifle bullets fo lower velocity plinking loads. In the pic below you can see some I coated to try out a new color Bayou had called Bronze 500. L to R: NOE .40 cal 200 gr. TCFP and one loaded to 1.200 in a .40 case Lee 500 gr. RNL GC and one loaded to shoot subsonic in .458 SOCOM NOE 189 gr. collar button for light short range plinking loads in the 45-70 and it loaded in a 45-70 NOE 350 gr. RD style with GC and one loaded in 45-70 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dave33 Posted December 3, 2015 Share Posted December 3, 2015 I may yet take up photo shop first thing I thought when I saw the photo. from left to right. that bullet fainted. middle one says how tall is that building? last one OMG!!! I cast bullets. it is time consuming. and like the rest of this it can get you benefits like accuracy (I have not seen that yet, it could be me) and you can address the leading issues if commercial bullets give you that problem. so far I have not had leading problems and you can cast 9mm bullets for about 3 cents each. I am very curious about the hollow points in the photo. miranda Thats funny, I think I can see it now. What are you curious about regarding the cast hollow points? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miranda Posted December 3, 2015 Share Posted December 3, 2015 dangit my post went away... I assume you cast them. what mold and what you think of it? how do the hollow points perform for you? I am looking for more accuracy if possible. I want a four hole mold but.... the price gives me pause. things like that. miranda Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmorris Posted December 3, 2015 Share Posted December 3, 2015 This is how I do it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dave33 Posted December 4, 2015 Share Posted December 4, 2015 dangit my post went away... I assume you cast them. what mold and what you think of it? how do the hollow points perform for you? I am looking for more accuracy if possible. I want a four hole mold but.... the price gives me pause. things like that. miranda No, like I said above I don't cast, I bought them from a commercial caster and they leaded up my gun badly. I've loaded and shot tons of cast bullets and never had leading before these. Anyway instead of trashing the remainder I thought I would try powder coating since the shake and bake method is almost free. Just need to find someone with a sizer now so I can shoot them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miranda Posted December 4, 2015 Share Posted December 4, 2015 (edited) oh. I mis read that. If you are getting leading, the traditional thinking is to go up in size. (or to cast softer bullets) If what I have read is correct, another 2 thous bigger would be good. so after you coat them, they should fit properly. the coating is not all that thick. measure them and see if you have a large difference your bullets before coating should be .355. I size my castings to .357 through a lee sizer. my dial caliper says the bullets are .356 when I am done sizing. eta... I guess I should mention I have not seen leading and I use tumble lube. miranda Edited December 4, 2015 by Miranda Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
newboy Posted December 4, 2015 Share Posted December 4, 2015 I would caution that adding Teflon to your paint would fall into a definition of illegal "armor piercing" bullets. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wgj3 Posted December 4, 2015 Share Posted December 4, 2015 Ummmmmmm....???? ^^^^^^ Wut? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmorris Posted December 4, 2015 Share Posted December 4, 2015 I would caution that adding Teflon to your paint would fall into a definition of illegal "armor piercing" bullets. It wouldn't be illegal as PTFE coating itself would not make a bullet armor piercing by itself but I can tell you that if you call up DuPont, the folks that own the brand name Teflon for PTFE you had better come up with some other application than bullets or they will hang up on you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rustybayonet Posted December 5, 2015 Author Share Posted December 5, 2015 I would caution that adding Teflon to your paint would fall into a definition of illegal "armor piercing" bullets. Armor piercing are not illeagal, last I heard they are banned. So you can own them and buy them, but companies cannot make or sell new ammo. Being a collector, I can still find WWII AP's without a problem. The teflon coating does not make them an AP round, it makes it easier for the bullet to go thru a kevlar fabric vest. A trauma plate or any hard surface thick enough to stop a standard bullet will stop a teflon coated bullet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
newboy Posted December 5, 2015 Share Posted December 5, 2015 Maybe you are right. I know AP bullets are not illegal for rifles. But the last time I read the BATF definition of AP pistol bullets they referred to brass, bronze, steel, and Teflon specifically. Anyone got the specifics? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmorris Posted December 5, 2015 Share Posted December 5, 2015 Maybe you are right. I know AP bullets are not illegal for rifles. Sure they are, that's how I poke holes in 1" thick steel plate. With my AP and API 50 BMG rounds. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmorris Posted December 5, 2015 Share Posted December 5, 2015 This link my help you out. https://www.atf.gov/firearms/firearms-guides-importation-verification-firearms-gun-control-act-definition-ammunition Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
newboy Posted December 5, 2015 Share Posted December 5, 2015 (edited) Well my finger was going faster than my brain when I said AP was illegal in rifles, I meant handguns. But I have no excuse for the Teflon. Thanks for the link. Edited December 5, 2015 by newboy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smokecloud Posted December 5, 2015 Share Posted December 5, 2015 I have been casting my own bullets for a few years now, there was a bit of a learning curve, but its kind of a fun event to do. I got tired of the mess of various bullet lubes and stumbled across the Shake and Bake powder coating method over on the castboolits forum, I ordered up a couple pounds of powder from "Smoke" who is a moderator over there and started playing with powder coating. its all tedious work, but its rewarding to me. I mostly use them for practice rounds, but I have gotten consistent enough that I have started using them in matches from time to time. My biggest problem is that I shoot more than I have time to cast. Most of my cast and powder coated bullets typically run about 50fps faster than anything else with the same powder charge, there is zero smoke and no fouling. And as long as my wife doesn't run the stopwatch from the time I start a smelt tell the time that I size the coated bullet, they are always cost effective to me. Truthfully though, I wouldn't make them for someone else for less than they could buy factory bullets for. I currently cast for 9mm, 40sw, 45acp, 300blk and 12ga slugs, and a fishing weight or two. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
acoop101 Posted January 25, 2016 Share Posted January 25, 2016 This is how I do it. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b8tWaN5PrTY You sir are amazing, I wish I shot enough to justify this level of automation.Sent from my XT1080 using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shmella Posted March 18, 2016 Share Posted March 18, 2016 This is how I do it. I have to say I admire your ingenuity. I wish my brain worked like yours does. The things you come up with that I've seen you post on here are freaking cool to say the least lol. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
earplug Posted March 18, 2016 Share Posted March 18, 2016 I cast, use the Harbor Freight Red PC and shake the bullets in a plastic jug, pour them out on a wire mesh tray and bake at 400F for 30 minutes. Then push through a LEE sizer. Works great for my 9MM. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beastly Posted March 18, 2016 Share Posted March 18, 2016 I am intrigued with casting/coating/sizing but don't see that I can afford the time for the quantities that I would like to shoot. Assume somewhere around 20-30K x 9mm / year. Assume I am not proficient in home fabrication and creation of automated machinery. Are there automated commercial machines within the reach of a home reloader, say comparable to the Mark 7/1050/Mr. Bullet Feeder, for casting, coating and/or sizing bullets? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmorris Posted March 18, 2016 Share Posted March 18, 2016 Go over to castboolits and search for Hatch. He has pneumatic/PLC conversions for factory magma master caster machines. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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