resizing cast bullets to powder coat

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BJung

New member
My barrel must measure .357 because I slugged it for Dardas ( when he was in business still ) and he was sending me .358 bullets. That's great for my Lee cast bullets measure at .358. But, I want to powder coat and only have a Lee .357 resizer and not a .358. I've read that powder coating will add at least .001" to the diameter making the cast bullet .359".

The question concerns accuracy. Should I (1) resize the cast bullets and powder coat up to .358" (or more), (2) powder cast and shoot a .359" (or more bullet), (3) buy at .358 resizer, or other? What is your experience tell you?
 
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Mike / Tx

New member
I would pick up a .358 sizing die, powder coat, and run them through the sizer. That will assure that you get the proper size.
 
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P Flados

New member
Before you spend any money, I would recommend you try a couple of things.

One would be to size some to 0.357", then apply the PC and do not size again.

The other would be to PC some and then size to 0.357 and see if they work. I have some guns that do OK with PC bullets sized very close to bore diameter.
 
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Grey_Lion

New member
You do get that you put the finished dry powder coated bullets thru the sizer again - right?

I don't even bother sizing the cast round before the powder coat. I do it after.
 
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reddog81

New member
You can test out both powder coating then sizing and sizing then powder coating. It is certainly possible and won't hurt anything to size then PC. You should still end up with reasonably consistent bullets.

I prefer to PC then size but I have sized and then PC'd on numerous occasions without any noticeable change in accuracy at 15 yards. I'm sure bench rest testing and shooting at 25 yards would reveal small differences however 95%+ of shooters would never notice.
 
G

Grey_Lion

New member
reddog81 said:
You can test out both powder coating then sizing and sizing then powder coating. It is certainly possible and won't hurt anything to size then PC. You should still end up with reasonably consistent bullets.
Click to expand...

The absolute WORST feed jams I've ever had in my glock where when I first started powder-coating cast bullets. The powder coating added just enough diameter to the bullet that the rounds would stick and prevent the bolt from closing fully. We almost required tools to eject the rounds. After the second one of these, I dumped the mag. Pulled all these bullets. Put them through the sizing die.

Never had an issue since.

TRUST ME! - you SERIOUSLY want to run the rounds through the sizer AFTER the powder coat. PC can add a couple thousandth of an inch and, being plastic, it doesn't quite glide or feed like any metal jacket does, Any good PC won't come off in a sizing operation unless the projectile was significantly over sized to begin with.
 
U

Unclenick

Staff
I think his point is that IF you can consistently get the PC half a thousandth thick, then sizing down to .357 before coating would give you 0.358 final diameters and those would not over-expand the cases and cause feeding issues. The problem is that big "IF". I don't think my own efforts control the thickness that closely. Of course, you can always use the Lee Carbide Factory Crimp die to crimp your cartridges and add final sizing if it is needed to keep the cartridge case OD down where it belongs. Probably a lot of ways to skin this cat.
 
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Dead-Nuts-Zero

New member
I resize after powder coating & have had excellent results with several batches. However I used a different color coating on my last batch & out of about 500 bullets I had a few tight one and about 10 that were almost impossible to force through my resizer using a light duty press. My guess is the powder coat was a little thicker.

I cast 38 full wad cutters at .358, powder coat, resize with Lee .358 die, load on Dillon 550b using Lee Factory Crimp Die at my last station. Have not had one problem whatsoever, they shoot great in my S&W 686.
As they say...YMMV.
 
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