Casting weather...

Josh Smith said:
It's getting to be about that time.

Which is easier, tumble lubing or powder coating?

Regards,
Josh
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Tumble lube it by far easier, cheaper, and faster. It takes a little more effort to sort out but once you get your recipe right, it's quick and easy.

I have been working on getting a full house 357 Magnum recipe going, tumble lubed without gas check. I've been able to work it out so I can shoot 158gr bullets @ 1250-1300 fps with no leading and excellent accuracy at 25 yds out of a revolver.

Now I cast my 357 mag bullets, (Plain base, semi Wad cutter based on the HG51) with water quenched Wheel Weights that come out to a hardness of approx 18-22BHN. Light Tumble lube them in 45/45/10 lube, size to 356 with a lee sizer, then TL them with a heavier coat of 45/45/10 lube. The whole operation is very quick and produces great results in most of my revolvers. Just need to use a different sizer for the other revolvers (.358) This makes for cheap and quick practice ammunition.

The thought of having to bake them in batches is just painful to me. Seems like a waste of electricity and time. They do look a lot nicer in those fandangled colours though!!

If I didn't shoot as much volume as I do I'd consider powder coating but given the numbers I shoot it was worth the time to figure out how to use TL and save lots of time.

I also make very accurate full house 300gr 460 Mag cast ammo with home made gas checks and TL with no leading. Those are lower numbers but still not worth the time to Powder Coat in my opinion. YMMV.
 
yomomma said:
Tumble lube you have to pay attention because lube stays stickey and attracts sand, dirt, etc. Not something you can throw in your coat pocket for a day of hunting or shooting.
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Very true!

Edit - I just realized you said it stays sticky but the 45/45/10 lube is much better at drying than regular Lee LLA. My double coated loads will still attract dust/lint though.
 
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hometownhero said:
I also don’t have to deal with sticky lube. And can run a mighty soft alloy. Use less powder too
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Interesting comments!

I'm not looking for an argument on which is better because the answer to that dependent on the caster and shooters needs. I'm curious though, isn't the alloy and subsequent obturation a constant across both methods? I thought both systems require the bullet to reshape and form to the barrel, which would be governed by the pressure of the load vs the softness and size of the bullet. I'd have thought the required hardness of the alloy would be constant across both methods.

I also run a mighty soft alloy with Lee TL'd 158gr RN bullets for 38spl applications. BHN 8-10. They're so soft I don't resize them at all and only use one light coat of 45/45/10 that dries to the point it's not visible and they're not even sticky. My load for them is 3.5gr Bullseye that gives me ~ 750 fps so not particularly demanding on the bullet.

You also have me curious about the less powder thing.... How's that work?

My personal experience has been that copper plated bullets have far more friction than tumble lubed bullets and require more powder to get identical muzzle velocities to that of my lubed lead. From what I read on Castboolits forums PC loads were described as similar to copper plated. What's your experience?
 
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My 9mm loads are also around 10-12bnh on my tester but have them running 1100-1300fps. I have ran bullets that don’t even register on the Lee tester they are so soft. I size mine to 2 thou over what my barrel slugs at. For 9mm with some loads I get book max speeds from start powder charges. They are slippery.
 
PC is A LOT less smokey than tumble lube too. Not a big deal if you shoot outside, but a nice side benefit if you'de an indoor shooter.

Auggie D.
 
Looking good sitting atop of 32 grains of D4198.
No filler.
Should be mild enough for her...i hope.
AOrg2t4.jpg
 
Should be a nice light load, I bought a 292 gr and a 435 grain to try in my Pedersoli, it didn't like the 405 grain and best accuracy so far is with the 500 plus grain.
Any idea on accuracy at 100 yards with the 340 grain?
 
I’ve tried both tumble lubing and powder coating, I have to say pc is the way to go. To the issue of speedy process, I have two toaster ovens in my casting shed so I can have two batches going staggered, so I can bake lots of pretty bullets per hour, not 1200 in five minutes but I also don’t have to wait for them to DRY. I’ve loaded up rounds with the lead still warm from the oven. I also cannot stand the low level stickiness. Pc bullets are slick and tough, once you go powder coat you will never go back to the sticky mess of tumble lube.
 
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