Casting curious

[rudigan]

Oh, thought it was the other kind of casting....Sht, have to put the dick lure back in the tackle box, nevermind

[bruce381]

IMHO if you powder coat you do not really need a gas check, also I think you need a lyman or RCBS type sizer to seat a gas check but I have never made any.

Also bullets look great nice and filled out with flat bases very nice job

[bruce381]

also I powder coat THEN size no need to do twice and my 44 mags are all .430

make sure bullets can fit through the cylinder throat. if you want to shoot in a .429 barrel bullets should be .430 and throat should be .4295-.430
so bullet goes from case to barrel forcing cone with minimal distortion. Cast booilts site has all this into on sticky things.

[rsrocket1]

One thing to note, PC adds about 2-3 mils (or more) to the diameter of the bullet. Gas checks such as the Hornady's are tapered outward so they will accept a fat bullet and the sides will crimp nicely into the shank. Some gas checks don't accept fat bullets quite as well. I had problems with Vulcan checks on powder coated rifle bullets. They worked, but the thin Aluminum checks were not as easy as the Hornady checks. So for my rifle bullets, I stick with conventional lube and the Vulcan checks or if I want PC, I use the Hornady checks.
YMMV

[Capt.Dunsel]

IMHO if you powder coat you do not really need a gas check, also I think you need a lyman or RCBS type sizer to seat a gas check

Nope Lee push through sizer dies do it just fine .

And for faster rifle bullets gas checks are needed , even if you want pretty PCings . Even pced bullets will lead at good rifle speeds ( think 2500 or more fps) . it is a balance between speed and alloy and sizing .

[Toxic Shock]

On pistol bullets I powder coat, then seat the gas check with a push through sizer. On rifle bullets I was starting to have problems putting the gas check on after powder coating. Now I take 30 caliber cast bullets and run them through a .312 push through sizer to seat the gas check. Then I powder coat the bullets gas check and all. After they cool I run them through a .309 sizer and they're ready to go. Your technique depends upon your circumstance: do what works best for you and gives the best results.

[NeilMo]

How fast are you guys pushing pistol bullets to need a gas check? I've fed a steady diet of PC'd bullets through everything from 357, 44 mag, 40, 9mm to 38 super at velocities from 1200-1400fps and can't recall ever having a leading problem.

[Capt.Dunsel]

How fast are you guys pushing pistol bullets to need a gas check? I've fed a steady diet of PC'd bullets through everything from 357, 44 mag, 40, 9mm to 38 super at velocities from 1200-1400fps and can't recall ever having a leading problem.

One of the rounds I shoot in a handgun runs 2800 to 3200 fps , cast bullets , even pc'd need gas checks .

Another round , in handgun ( call it a super magnum) needs them as well.

First one is a 22 cf , second is a .357 max.

And that are just 2 of them .

[rsrocket1]

I shot about 20 rounds of Lee 312-185-1R with 10.8g Unique PC'ed without gas checks yesterday through my 91/30 and the barrel is as shiny as ever. Last time I chronied the rounds at 1450 fps.
At 100 yards I can barely see the circle so the inaccuracy is more of my own eyesight than the load or the gun.

[croue]

Good stuff all!
I have read a lot on castboolits.
Very useful forum.

Those are some really high speeds quoted without checks. Maybe I could get by without.

Was planning to push some speed and pressures up as i get better at casting and keep a close watch on things for leading or other problems.

Can powder coating and/or gas checks help reduce the criticality of alloy selection? In other words make a particular alloy more versatile across a variety of speeds/pressures? Seems like it might. Alone and in combination.


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[Capt.Dunsel]

Good stuff all!
I have read a lot on castboolits.
Very useful forum.

Those are some really high speeds quoted without checks. Maybe I could get by without.

Was planning to push some speed and pressures up as i get better at casting and keep a close watch on things for leading or other problems.

Can powder coating and/or gas checks help reduce the criticality of alloy selection? In other words make a particular alloy more versatile across a variety of speeds/pressures? Seems like it might. Alone and in combination.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

The heat to cure powder coat can change the alloy used , think of heat treating . Depends on air cooled , water cooled , and how long they sit ( alloy does/will change hardness over time believe it or not )