Hey guys i'm fairly new to casting and picked up some alloy from Roto metal and they say its approximately 8 in hardness. Can I push these @ 1100-1200 fps if I powder coat?
I know I should be around 12-18 to be on the safe side if I used traditional lube.
Let me know what you experienced casters think.

1100 fps, probably depending on your barrel & what powder. !200 fps you're starting to need a harder bullet but the only way to find out is to burn some powder & see. I've shot a lot of them in the 1100 fps range at an 8BHN without any problems.

Dick

Six shot
Thank you for your reply.
Where you using powder coated bullets when you were shooting them @1100 fps? I have been shooting coated bullets for a few years now and spent about 350.00 in molds and Lee pot to cut my costs a little and for pistol bullets I see no reason to ever buy a jacketed bullet again. They just plain work and I find casting very therapeutic and satisfying when they emerge from the mold all nice and shiny.
Hell even my wife likes casting her own and powder coating them herself.
Thanks again for the reply.
Scott

Yes, all I use now is powder coated bullets. Been casting since the 60's but powder coating has changed everything. I seldom use gas checks except for a couple of caliber that I hot rod a bit, 357 Maximum & 327, the others are plain base.
Also if you think you need the a bit harder you can water quench right out of the toaster oven & let them age a week or two. That's what I did with my heavy bullets for Africa.
Dick

Dick
I have quenched a few batches right out of the mold. I'll try it out of the toaster oven after I powder coat. I have Black,Dark blue and a light brown I have been very happy with from powder by the pound.
I have a copper metalic powder coming from prismatic next week and hopefully they look a little bit like a jacketed copper bullet but not overly concerned either way as long as it costs well.

Question; Have any of you PC advocates tried doing some BHN tests AFTER applying the coating to see what the annealing effects of oven time on your alloy is?
If you are starting off with 8bhn, I wonder what the the hardness of the finished product will be?

it depends on how you cook them.
oven quenching takes longer than the 20 minutes it takes to cure the powder.

for heat quenching to work the alloy has to be heated all the way through.
and then quickly cooled down [no you don't need water just cold]

anyway if he air cools his alloy and cooks them and water drops he will most likely be right back to 8 again.

if however he is able to heat soak the bullets before bringing them all the way up to the 400-F cure temp then he will receive a hardening effect when he water drops them.

I step my temps up and hold them for 20 minutes in 3 stages.
it isn't long enough to get the maximum BHN but it is consistent since I don't start the timer until the temp levels off at each step.

yep.
it takes me a long time to do a batch of bullets.
but they sure are pretty, and I can even swage them up over 20 thou without the coating suffering any ill effects.

quote:

Originally posted by Lamar:
and I can even swage them up over 20 thou without the coating suffering any ill effects.

Now thats interesting. About how much thickness does the PC add? Do you typically size your bullets after coating them or before?

Westernhuner i have not tested for hardness in anyway. I'm still new at this casting thing but I can say that every bullet I have cast has been accurate. Once my mold gets to temperature they come out fast . I toss the ones back in that are not perfect. I don't quench until after I powder coat them nor do I resize until they are coated. All I can say is I will never purchase a jacketed pistol bullet again from my trials in casting. I do think that after powder coating if you allow them to cool on their own the do indeed mushroom. I do a little of both now that im catching on. Just depends on what you are after but in all processes quenched or not but coated all of mine have been as accurate as any jacketed bullet I have tried in a pistol and with absolutely no leading in my barrels on 3 different diameters.
I'm completely sold on cast/powder coated pistol bullets. I have bags and boxes of them and my initial 400.00 investment has paid for it self in a years time.
Just my experience on the subject and a guy very early on this post was a great help and a wealth of knowledge.
Thanks Dick!

On top of it all I find it very therapeutic

I size after coating.

the diameter gain depends on the powder I'm using.
one powder I have gives me .001 gain.
and the other gives me .002.

I wish I knew exactly where they come from.

but one was given to me by a friend.
and I got the other on a close-out deal sheeze 9-10 years back.

I'd like to know the first one for sure since most powders give .002 gain if used judiciously,,, more when glopped on like I see many done.

oh and I agree on Dick [six shot] being a great guy..
but then I kinda gotta he knows where I live... LOL

Right! He's a great guy!

I've got to mess with this water-quenching business one of these days just to say I have ...

Sorry, haven't been over here in quite a while, I've got 3 grandson's playing basketball in different towns & I'm doing a lot of running but it sure is fun.
Can't really change anything Lamar said, I think everyone sizes after they powder coat, at least they should. If you're water quenching do it fairly soon after or you can get a bullet locked up in your sizer die, depending on brand. Use Hornady One Shot Lube to prevent that.
Dick

I shoot quite a bit with old falling block rifles like Ballards, Winchester 1885's, and Stevens 44 1/2's. I use flat base bullets cast 30-1 which is soft. Velocities are generally in the 1300-1400 fps range. I experience little to no leading. My bullets fit my barrels straight out of the mold so no sizing. Pan lube. So, I don't understand the need for powder coated bullets or harder bullets.
Phil

Phil
For me itsvthe guarantee that they wont lead up my pistol barrels and I shoot them in. 38/357 .44 and Heavy .45 colt as well as 45acp/45 auto rim. I especially like being able to identify certain loads by color as I load the Colt from mild to wild.
At a glance I know what I have on hand and my.44mag cast bullets are the only ones that get coated with red, that enables me to identify them from the colt. I have several reasons why but mostly as a barrier that I know will not leave a trace of lead in my barrels. I have some .308 flat points I want to try in my .30-30 and I expect decent accuracy and no leading, if that works out I'll go ahead and shoot them in .30-06 and see what the results are.
I really like the coated in my .45-70 with the warmer loads, I get excellent results @ 1800-2000 fps with no leading as well.
Happy holidays
Scott

Phil, I don't shoot rifles so I'm just guessing here but I'll go out on a limb & say if you cut those rifle barrels to 6-8 inches you wouldn't be getting 1300-1400 fps with your loads.
Also your rifles are closed breech guns unlike a revolver that can get quite dirty after 40-50 rounds using regular lube compared to powder coating which allows you to shoot hundreds of rounds without having to clean your barrel or cylinder. I've shot 3 day matches before & never had to clean my gun using powder coated bullets.
Also the coated bullets allow you to shoot a much softer bullet, much like a paper patched bullet or a gas checked bullet & not get leading in your barrel. I never worry about leading anymore, even with soft, 8-9 BHN bullets.