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Thread: Coated bullet question

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  1. #1
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    Coated bullet question

    I have switched this past summer to a bullet with a soft lube..my barrels are cleaner than ever and certainly consistently accurate.

    When seating the bullets the lube is slightly messy compared to the harder lubes I have used for years.

    I wipe the excess lube off from the case mouth, is this necessary? The reason I do is I don't want lube to interfere with head spacing or make a mess of my ammo boxes.

    I have never used coated bullets and am wondering if they are any good...do they lead barrels being sans lube in the lube ring?

    It takes awhile to wipe the lube off of a 1,000 reloads but if a lubed bullet yields better results it is not a waste of time to do such.

    Any comments and experience is as always appreciated.

    Thanks.

    P.s. I went to the shop today for some 231 and was told it is no longer made...all of the Internet stuff that showed up on this subject was 2014 and 2015. Anyone know of this?
    Last edited by Tawadc95; 5th February 2017 at 01:49.


  2. #2
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    Other than Crisco with black powder I have not much experience with soft lubes other than Lee liquid Alox.
    The Alox dried enough not to interfere with head spacing.

    The coated bullets that I have used do not show signs of leading.

    Powder Valley lists 231 as being available.

  3. #3
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    I have an issue with Alox building up on my seating die. I have hence switched over to powder coated lead bullets and have not looked back. Additionally, Alox makes a mess of my RCBS bullet feeding tube on my feeding die for my progressive press.
    Beauty is skin deep but ugly goes right to the bone.

  4. #4
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    2nd May 2006
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    I had trouble with both 50% Alox 2138F/50% Beeswax lube, and with Lee Liquid Alox building up in my seating die. The fix for me was Dillon seating dies, which allow one to disassemble them for cleaning without losing adjustment.

  5. #5
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    I completely gave up on conventional cast bullets fifteen years ago.
    The benefits of coated "black bullets" - clean handling, clean shooting - more than makes up for the (sometimes only slightly) higher cost.
    No more lube and lead residue in the dies or in the gun, and bore clean-up is a few strokes with a dry bore brush, even after 1000 rounds.
    I've shot tens of thousands of bullets from Precision and Bear Creek, and highly recommend them.
    "A grip safety is just another excess moving part. I have never known one to prevent an accident, and moreover, it is difficult to postulate a circumstance in which it might." Jeff Cooper

  6. #6
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    I think I'll give it a whirl.

    The other benefit of a coated bullet is I could shoot hand loads at the indoor range in the town I live. I normally shoot Alongside my runway 22 miles from home but there are times like weekends I want to shoot and hate buying expensive factory ammo for the indoor range.

    Pyrenean, thanks for the 231 tip...ordering tomorrow morn.

  7. #7
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    No, you don't have to wipe off the lube and it won't interfere with head space.
    Personally, my favorite lube is LLA with my as-cast (unsized) bullets. I always found NRA 50/50 to be excellent, but I didn't want to use a Lubri-Sizer. With LLA, I simply lube 200-500 all at once in a glass casserole dish by squirting a LITTLE LLA on them and then shuffling/rotating the bullets around for 30-60 seconds. If all the bullets look wet and shiny, I'm done.
    Coated bullets work well, if the coating has been applied properly and cured properly. I have been 100% happy with Precision Bullets swaged and coated bullets--accuracy is great and no leading.
    NRA Life Member

  8. #8
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    2nd January 2016
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    I ordered some Missouri Bullets 185gn .45 H&G 130 with Hi -Tek coating, I am open to other brands but my little Kimber really loves that 130 mold.

    Noylj,

    What sort of velocity are you running with your swaged bullets?

  9. #9
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    I haven't seen any Winchester 231 in stores for over a year, not even stores with stocks of other powders. But Hodgdon HP-38 is the same powder. And I don't mean it's close to the same burn rate -- it IS the same powder. And I have seen HP-38. Better yet, it's usually a buck or two cheaper per pound than W231.
    Hawkmoon
    On a good day, can hit the broad side of a barn ... from the inside

  10. #10
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    The 231 statement from the store guy had me distraught or thereabouts.

    I have used Bullseye and Unique for close to 30 years. Due to the inability to find either and running out I switched to 231 because it has been readily available at several stores in my area...what a terrific powder it has proved to be for me, I really sincerely like it! I did not want to go through wondering what to use next, again and so soon at that.

    I will keep my eyes open for HP-38, I see it around as well.

    At times it seems powder availability/scarcity has a regional overtone to it, makes no sense to me.
    Last edited by Tawadc95; 8th February 2017 at 23:17.


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