OK, I tried PC but I’m too “sat in my ways.”

[Brother_Love]

I found a nice oven at thee Goodwill store, tried Smoke and Eastwood powders and got some good results but mostly mediocre. Some of you guys are good at it because I’ve seen your bullets and they look great. But honestly, I’m just too old school and I really like my lubed bullets with a coat of BLL and they have served me well, my targets tell me so. I will continue to follow you PC guys because I love reading about your results but I’m sticking with traditional lube. I see a lot of vacant space opening up on my reloading bench too!

 

[Rick H]

Just another tool that is available. If it ain't broke, don't fix it!!

 

[Brad]

I was on the fence for a long time.
Once I got a few things figured out PC is all I use for handguns. No leading, no smoke, guns don’t get covered in greasy goo, bullets store well in bulk, and dies stay clean.

It isn’t for everyone. I was very skeptical at first. It took me some time to learn it can be a little different in sizing needs for some guns. Once I learned I was hooked,

 

[Brother_Love]

I love it, but after 6-8 months trying it, just doesn’t work for me and I read and studied every thread about PC on this forum. I’m not good at finishing sheet rock either ;>). As Clint Eastwood said, “a man has to know his limitations.”

 

[Joshua]

Or you may just use PC when you need to increase the diameter of a bullet. A mold that you would have just resold because it dropped a little to small, or had a small gas check shank might still be useful to you.

 

[JWFilips]

No Reason that a light coat of BLL is fine on the PC coated bullets!... For rifles it seems to stabilize the groups...& I do it most of the time!
PC is slippery... A light coat of BLL on them seems to really help with groups

 

[Ian]

If it wasn't for suppressors and high-velocity hunting loads I probably wouldn't be using PC either.

 

[Brother_Love]

I would really like to try some groups with it but the applying it to the bullets correctly has escaped me. I even set my thumblers up for PC but it was a no-go.

 

[CWLONGSHOT]

 

[Brother_Love]

CW, those look great! I wish i had got results like that!

 

[CWLONGSHOT]

CW, those look great! I wish i had got results like that!

Im more then happy to do anything Im able to help you do same!
CW

 

[jordanka16]

I was in the same boat, I tried it years ago but didn't get great results so I forgot about it.

I really need to apply myself and give it a try again though.

 

[Joshua]

I watched both Brad’s YouTube video and another video by CW. Both videos showed shake and bake methods that used wire baskets to bake in. I ended up buying the EastWood Clear Gloss powder that Waco was using because it hid coating flaws well. The consensus among the PC veterans was that small coverage flaws created by the baskets wouldn’t affect accuracy.

I have bought a few colors, but have yet to use them. The clear PC is physically working well, and also cosmetically looks good.

 

[Joshua]

These were all Eastwood Clear Gloss PC’ed. I guarantee there were a bunch of wire basket marks, and more than a few stuck together bullets in these batches. But my 47 year old eye need to wear reading glasses to find those flaws. They all shoot pretty good!

 

[Brad]

I get very few marks from the wire or where bullets stuck together. I dump them from the hot tray onto a chunk of chicken wire to cool. That gives the soft coating a chance to heal?
Ido this mostly so I can cool that fray so I can prep it for the next run. Having 2 in rotation leads to no down time.

 

[Brother_Love]

Thanks for the help. Let me start and say my bullets are not touched after leaving the mold. I scoop them up with a metal spoon and store them in cans and bottles. I tried the shake and bake with the BB’s and the powder would not stick. I also tried them in my Thumblers tumbler without success. My powder is about a year old so I am about to get some new powder and try it again. I live in the south so humidity may have gotten to my powder. I will order another pound or two. What powder brand do you recommend besides Eastwood clear. Thanks again, I would like to make this work.

 

[Brad]

I plug bullets in a container by hand and use my bare hands to add them to my container for shaking.
I really think the powder makes a difference. High gloss is better. That clear just works for so many people. When I get low that is what I will likely buy.
I also size some bullets, dry, before coating. It helps prevent shaving any coating off the bullets. A gentle taper into the sizing portion of the die seems to help as well.

 

[jordanka16]

View attachment 23219
These were all Eastwood Clear Gloss PC’ed. I guarantee there were a bunch of wire basket marks, and more than a few stuck together bullets in these batches. But my 47 year old eye need to wear reading glasses to find those flaws. They all shoot pretty good!

That looks really good, I'll have to order some of the clear, I prefer the plain lead look over any crazy colors.

I also like doing it the easy way by just dumping them out, lol. Last time I had to painstakingly set them up one by one to get even semi decent results and it was too much of a pain.

 

[Ian]

I've been mulling over something CW said in one of his videos that I watched a few days ago. He says it's only static electricity that makes the powder stick. I have felt for a long time that my success is based on impact coating more than anything. I tried swirling, rolling, tumbling, vibrating, you name it and didn't have success until I did two things: Added Airsoft BBs and learned to "toss" the bullets inside the container in a sort of orbital motion for two straight minutes, and THEN slam them as hard as I could straight up and down between lid and bottom about five or six times, ending on the down stroke. That really set the powder and put on a good layer. If I don't do the slam maneuver, the bullets are covered in little "holidays".

Even the way I do it, I have to very carefully pick the bullets with needle-nose pliers and place on my baking trays or else the powder is raked off by the slightest drag against another bullet or the BBs. I just don't get how you guys who use no BBs can get a good coating, dump the bullets into a wire basket, shake them around a little, and not have 90% bare bullet. It just doesn't work for me.

 

[CWLONGSHOT]

I have a number if videos featuring a number of different powders. Showing exactly how they come out.

Most reciently all powders have been from Powder by the Pound.

The green above is Signal Green and tge Orange is East wood Vermillion.

Couple years back I did some field testing for GRMPS testing dozens of colors.
I have featured a half dozen of his colors as well.


CW