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Why & How To: Powder Coating Bullets - Sniper Country https://www.snipercountry.com/powder-coating-bullets/
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In spite of the growing popularity and supply of jacketed bullets, many shooters still shoot
cast bullets. Cast bullets are easily made at home or are inexpensive to purchase in
quantity, are economical, and don’t require an elaborate set-up or supply chain to
produce. �My bullets come from plain old wheel weights that a friendly tire shop is glad to
get rid of.� Another plus is that cast bullets you make can be very accurate, versatile and
useful. I can’t remember the number of deer I’ve taken over the years (not to
mention squirrels, with the right load) with my .44 and .45 cast bullets.
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For many reasons, cast bullets are viable in the hunting field, on the range and for self-
defense. From mouse-to-moose loads, cast bullets have proved to be game-stoppers for
many years. In the early 20th century, Elmer Keith and Phil Sharpe among others used
hard-cast bullets in the development of the .357 and .44 magnum cartridges at velocities
that were guaranteed to go almost end-for-end through a decent-sized deer. Elmer Keith
blew up a few guns developing his heavy .44 Special loads which evolved into the .44
Magnum. But he proved, to choose one example of his experiments, the penetrating
power of a good, hard-cast .44 Magnum semi-wadcutter by shooting into a water tank
after a .30�06 rifle had been shot into it and the penetration distance marked…his .44
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went past the point of the .30�06 bullet and dented the far wall of the long chamber. The
seminal semi-wadcutter bullet he developed, the Lyman 429421, is appropriately called
the Keith bullet and is still extremely popular with reloaders (Best Reloading Presses) and
commercial bullet casters.
Accuracy
Economical
Easy to make at home
Many different styles of bullets are available; you can custom-tailor to your needs
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Powder Coating
What, exactly, is powder coating? It is coating a metal part with powdered paint using
heat, and is popular in industrial applications. But, for our purposes, powder coating
involves taking a freshly-cast bullet (not lubed) the right diameter and baking on
powdered paint in an oven.
That’s it. A very simple and inexpensive process brings about these advantages:
Cleaner shooting – there is no bullet lube to produce a cloud of smoke when shot
Customization – many different colors of paint are available. You can use different
colors for different loads
Economical
5 of 20 2/26/2023, 5:24 PM
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One of the main advantages of shooting powder coated bullets is that barrel leading is
greatly reduced. I’ve shot .45ACP powder coated bullets in my Glock 30 (with a Lone
Wolf barrel) and have had to use nothing more than a plain brass brush and Hoppe’s
with a few passes to clean the barrel, just about like cleanup after shooting jacketed
rounds. When shooting plain cast, I usually have to resort to the Chore-Boy-scrubbing
method.
In terms of customization, you can take a bullet for one specific load and paint it one
color, and paint a bullet for a second load another color. You can also combine different
color powders for a truly customized look. It is economical, as well…the whole set-up to
get started cost me about $40, and ongoing costs are minimal.
One initial concern about powder coating is fear about adding to the bullet’s diameter.
This is not the case; the layer of paint is very thin.
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Equipment Needed
Here is a list of what you need to get started in powder coating…
1. The paint
…here is a bottle each of red and yellow from Harbor Freight. They also sell white. There
are other brands of powdered paint out there that have different adherence capabilities,
other colors, etc. but these tend to be more expensive. The plain ol’ Harbor Freight
paints work for me.
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Why & How To: Powder Coating Bullets - Sniper Country https://www.snipercountry.com/powder-coating-bullets/
with silver showing through here and there won’t hurt anything.
Typical container
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Trays
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The Process
The easy way to powder coat bullets:
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Next, put the bullets into a tumbling container and shake until all are evenly coated, about
a minute…
Pour bullets and paint into a strainer/sieve, then shake the excess paint onto the
cardboard…
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“Bake†for 20 minutes at 400 degrees. When timer goes off, pull tray out of oven.
Obviously, it’s hot, so wear gloves!
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After cooling for about a minute, drop the tray gently from a couple of inches up onto a
hard surface to dislodge the bullets and to break them apart. Repeat, forcefully if needed,
until all bullets are loose in the tray. You may then dump them onto that hard surface to
cool, or leave them in the tray once all have been loosened. The initial 60 second cooling
-off period is an important step – I’ve learned this the hard way. If you remove the
bullets from the tray early, you stand the chance of the paint (which hasn’t set up all
the way yet) coming off in globs as it is still somewhat “wet.†On the other hand, if
you wait too long, they will stick to the tray and you may have to pry them off with a
screwdriver.
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That’s it. Pretty simple. You will have to experiment to find the right shaker container,
the amount of paint needed, etc. for your needs, but this is what works for me. Some
guys will put small plastic Airsoft balls in the shaker container with the bullets to add to
the static electricity, or even use some type of spray gun to spray the powder onto the
bullets…I’ve never found these processes necessary.
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barrel clean-up, and produce little to no smoke from bullet lube – what’s not to like? I
was a skeptic at first, but now I coat all my cast bullets. The benefits are worth the time
and investment.
References:
Fortune Cookie 45LC
Elvis Ammo
Johnny’s Reloading Bench
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Author
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Why & How To: Powder Coating Bullets - Sniper Country https://www.snipercountry.com/powder-coating-bullets/
Author
Mike
Mike has been a shooter, bullet caster and reloader for over 40 years. Never one to be satisfied with
the status quo, he is often found at his reloading bench concocting yet another load. With a target
range in his backyard and after 40 years of shooting, his knowledge of firearms and reloading is fairly
extensive. He is married, with four sons and daughters-law and 9-and-counting grandkids.
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BY MIKE · 8 MIN
Table of Contents
Rifle Calibers [Ultimate
1 Why Cast Bullets? What Are They? Guide]
2 Powder Coating BY MIKE · 18 MIN
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