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  • rp-

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    Sold my ak 4 years ago. Today bought it back for 2/3 of what I sold it for. It's the rifle that got me into reloading because it had a .308 bore. I was able to get 110gr v-max to shoot 1.5" groups.

    Of course it came with the same 1k or more or ammo so I don't think I'll need to be reloading for it again anytime soon. But once that's gone I'll figure it out again.

    Sent from my LM-G820 using Tapatalk
    Texas SOT
     

    xdmikey

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    Nov 27, 2009
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    Sergeant69 or TheMailMan, do either of y'all or anyone else powder coat? Because you're sick of the lube crap?

    My buddy gave me a luberisizer but it's making me nuts. After I size and lube I still need to wipe the boolits down with mineral spirits so they fit in the case. Most are good after this but some are a little skinny and drop down into the case, necessitating a resize of the case and that usually fixes everything.

    This is 9mm and it ain't match ammo!
     

    xdmikey

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    Nov 27, 2009
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    Sergeant69 or TheMailMan, do either of y'all or anyone else powder coat? Because you're sick of the lube crap?

    My buddy gave me a luberisizer but it's making me nuts. After I size and lube I still need to wipe the boolits down with mineral spirits so they fit in the case. Most are good after this but some are a little skinny and drop down into the case, necessitating a resize of the case and that usually fixes everything.

    This is 9mm and it ain't match ammo!
     

    rp-

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    I do powder coat. It's easy. I have never lubed bullets though so I don't know if it's easier or not.

    I have a small lunch meat container I use to tumble them. It has a triangle #5 on the bottom. That's important because that's what makes them build static due to the type of plastic. I add maybe 100-150 depending on what caliber and weight. Add about 2 knife tips (2 tsp worth) of powder in and close the lid. I shake like hell about 20-30 seconds. First circular ish right to left. Then left to right. Then kinda vertically about 10 seconds each. Dump them in a wire pan I made out of hardware cloth. Shake them flat a little but still usually not in a single layer, sometimes 3-4 layers. It's ok if they touch. Cook about 375-400 for about 12 minutes. Take the tray out and dump the whole thing in a bucket of water to cool. While cooking I use my hand to break up any stuck together bullets and scoop them out onto the same pan to dry for a few hours.

    After they're dry I'll size them. Load like a mild-meadium load for FMJ bullet.

    Sent from my LM-G820 using Tapatalk
     

    rp-

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    Here's some I did. A blue 45. Then 2 loaded 380s with one unloaded under it. And a row of 9s.

    When I did the 380s I didn't clean the blue out of the plastic shake container so when I did the next batch with black it picked up a touch of blue and turned great. You can see the plain blue bullet and the blue/black/grey is the loaded 380 on the right. The plain black is the 380 on the left.

    From left to right on the 9, there is a red done with powder from harbor freight. The green was with Eastwood powder.
    The brown is a mature of the red and green together. The tan is a single color from a guy on another forum and the darker than is a mixture of that tan and the black.

    Don't waste your money on harbor freight powder. The Eastwood powder I used sucked and end result was clumpy. The blue, tan (brown orange), and black came from smoke4320 on the castboolits forum and so far have been far superior. I picked up another pound of green from someone in this thread that worked just as well as the stuff from smoke but I don't know who or where he got it.

    If you want to get into it I can get your the smokes info. You just PayPal him and tell him what colors. Next week it's in your mailbox. Below is a picture from smokes page with some of his colors and his pricing. He has a few other colors not shown like clear, black, and "zombie green". Also "bacon grease" is shown under the pricing.

    My blue is the Carolina blue but I call it handicap blue. My tan is the brown orange but I call it longhorns orange

    Edit : you can also order a sampler with 3 colors each 1/3# for the same price as a normal 1# that's what I did and 1/3 pound will do a hellava lotta bullets!

    .
    de7d17216ef61340d6ac6c927ac0e4b0.jpg
    910162f3b229d9b6043576c645bbbfe1.jpg


    Sent from my LM-G820 using Tapatalk
    683b305c9e88577b501c6f5e25963f24.jpg
     

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    Dawico

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    Oct 15, 2009
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    Lampasas, Texas
    Reloaded my first rounds ever today.
    38 special using the hp-38 powder with 125gr bullets using the Lee 4stage turret.
    I measured every round just to make sure and I had in between 4 and 4.4 grains of powder.
    I think I set them good and also the crimp didn't turn out to bad.
    :)
    Does the load look good? I don't want to damage my gun.
    View attachment 204181 View attachment 204182 View attachment 204183

    Sent from my SM-G950U1 using Tapatalk
    If anything a little light even for 38 Special.

    They should work just fine.

    Next time I'd bump them up to 4.3 grains as the minimum though.

    The crimp looks a bit heavy too. No need to work your brass that much with such a light load.
    6bfd46e7f28379f5d946b489f1d2a9ff.jpg
     

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    rotor

    TGT Addict
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    Nov 1, 2015
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    Reloaded my first rounds ever today.
    38 special using the hp-38 powder with 125gr bullets using the Lee 4stage turret.
    I measured every round just to make sure and I had in between 4 and 4.4 grains of powder.
    I think I set them good and also the crimp didn't turn out to bad.
    :)
    Does the load look good? I don't want to damage my gun.
    View attachment 204181 View attachment 204182 View attachment 204183

    Sent from my SM-G950U1 using Tapatalk
    Looks good to me. Next you need a chronometer. Make sure you crimp enough so that you don't get bullet migration. Your powder range is the safe range.
     

    rotor

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    Nov 1, 2015
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    If anything a little light even for 38 Special.

    They should work just fine.

    Next time I'd bump them up to 4.3 grains as the minimum though.

    The crimp looks a bit heavy too. No need to work your brass that much with such a light load. View attachment 204227
    I think you are using xtp data. He is using cast bullets. 3.8-4.8 gr for HP-38. He is right in the middle. Just got that off their web site. I really can't tell crimp from pictures so he needs a calipers and I always use a case gauge. I load some really light loads of 3.9 gr win 231 for my wife. She still won't shoot them from a LCR.
     

    TheMailMan

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    Dec 3, 2015
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    North of Kaufman
    Sergeant69 or TheMailMan, do either of y'all or anyone else powder coat? Because you're sick of the lube crap?

    My buddy gave me a luberisizer but it's making me nuts. After I size and lube I still need to wipe the boolits down with mineral spirits so they fit in the case. Most are good after this but some are a little skinny and drop down into the case, necessitating a resize of the case and that usually fixes everything.

    This is 9mm and it ain't match ammo!

    I have used powder coat. I really prefer Hi-Tek.

    You shouldn't have to wipe down the boolits. You need to expand the case mouths.
     

    Dawico

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    14   0   0
    Oct 15, 2009
    38,007
    96
    Lampasas, Texas
    I think you are using xtp data. He is using cast bullets. 3.8-4.8 gr for HP-38. He is right in the middle. Just got that off their web site. I really can't tell crimp from pictures so he needs a calipers and I always use a case gauge. I load some really light loads of 3.9 gr win 231 for my wife. She still won't shoot them from a LCR.
    Yep, you are correct.

    Strange thing is the cast load is showing hotter than the XTP load. The cast is loaded 0.01" shorter I am guessing due to bullet profile. Could be the cause and I am guessing they are both at the top of the pressure curve for 38 Special at their max loads.
    84da722eb61cfe8de1130f7b2a85eee9.jpg
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    xdmikey

    Well-Known
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    10   0   0
    Nov 27, 2009
    1,445
    46
    cypress, tx
    I have used powder coat. I really prefer Hi-Tek.

    You shouldn't have to wipe down the boolits. You need to expand the case mouths.

    Since I wiped the bullets down they load well and firmly stay in the case, making it possible for me to duplicate the load from Lyman’s 50th.
    The test will be if they lead the barrel or not.
     

    xdmikey

    Well-Known
    Rating - 100%
    10   0   0
    Nov 27, 2009
    1,445
    46
    cypress, tx
    Here's some I did. A blue 45. Then 2 loaded 380s with one unloaded under it. And a row of 9s.

    When I did the 380s I didn't clean the blue out of the plastic shake container so when I did the next batch with black it picked up a touch of blue and turned great. You can see the plain blue bullet and the blue/black/grey is the loaded 380 on the right. The plain black is the 380 on the left.

    From left to right on the 9, there is a red done with powder from harbor freight. The green was with Eastwood powder.
    The brown is a mature of the red and green together. The tan is a single color from a guy on another forum and the darker than is a mixture of that tan and the black.

    Don't waste your money on harbor freight powder. The Eastwood powder I used sucked and end result was clumpy. The blue, tan (brown orange), and black came from smoke4320 on the castboolits forum and so far have been far superior. I picked up another pound of green from someone in this thread that worked just as well as the stuff from smoke but I don't know who or where he got it.

    If you want to get into it I can get your the smokes info. You just PayPal him and tell him what colors. Next week it's in your mailbox. Below is a picture from smokes page with some of his colors and his pricing. He has a few other colors not shown like clear, black, and "zombie green". Also "bacon grease" is shown under the pricing.

    My blue is the Carolina blue but I call it handicap blue. My tan is the brown orange but I call it longhorns orange

    Edit : you can also order a sampler with 3 colors each 1/3# for the same price as a normal 1# that's what I did and 1/3 pound will do a hellava lotta bullets!

    . View attachment 204194 View attachment 204195

    Sent from my LM-G820 using Tapatalk
    View attachment 204196

    Thanks rp. Look like m&ms, making me hungry.
     

    rp-

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    Thanks rp. Look like m&ms, making me hungry.
    Before anyone else notices, the rounds in my pictures are all culls. Wrinkled sides, torn cases, bullet seating issues. These are the ones I used to setup the dies.

    Sent from my LM-G820 using Tapatalk
     

    xdmikey

    Well-Known
    Rating - 100%
    10   0   0
    Nov 27, 2009
    1,445
    46
    cypress, tx
    Reloaded my first rounds ever today.
    38 special using the hp-38 powder with 125gr bullets using the Lee 4stage turret.
    I measured every round just to make sure and I had in between 4 and 4.4 grains of powder.
    I think I set them good and also the crimp didn't turn out to bad.
    :)
    Does the load look good? I don't want to damage my gun.
    View attachment 204181 View attachment 204182 View attachment 204183

    Sent from my SM-G950U1 using Tapatalk

    I have a question on these rounds.
    Have you measured the COL? They look short compared to what I'm coming up with but I'm 9mm.
    To reach the recommended COL I have a lot of bullet shank exposed, and I believe it's getting grabbed as the seating die separating from the cartridge.


    I will get some pics up in a bit.
     

    xdmikey

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    10   0   0
    Nov 27, 2009
    1,445
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    cypress, tx
    These are the pics. I believe the last pic is where I need to be per Lyman’s 50th.

    These are dummy rounds and were completed w/o the seating stem in the die. The bullets don’t move or turn so I think I’m good there. I’ll try to shoot them tomorrow after rebuilding with powder today.
     

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    xdmikey

    Well-Known
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    10   0   0
    Nov 27, 2009
    1,445
    46
    cypress, tx
    I do powder coat. It's easy. I have never lubed bullets though so I don't know if it's easier or not.

    I have a small lunch meat container I use to tumble them. It has a triangle #5 on the bottom. That's important because that's what makes them build static due to the type of plastic. I add maybe 100-150 depending on what caliber and weight. Add about 2 knife tips (2 tsp worth) of powder in and close the lid. I shake like hell about 20-30 seconds. First circular ish right to left. Then left to right. Then kinda vertically about 10 seconds each. Dump them in a wire pan I made out of hardware cloth. Shake them flat a little but still usually not in a single layer, sometimes 3-4 layers. It's ok if they touch. Cook about 375-400 for about 12 minutes. Take the tray out and dump the whole thing in a bucket of water to cool. While cooking I use my hand to break up any stuck together bullets and scoop them out onto the same pan to dry for a few hours.

    After they're dry I'll size them. Load like a mild-meadium load for FMJ bullet.

    Sent from my LM-G820 using Tapatalk

    So far, I got my #5 container! Do you have a dedicated toaster oven for baking the coatings on or do you use the family oven?

    I may have things figured out for loading the 9mm lead bullets but I'll have to shoot and see.
     

    TheMailMan

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    Dec 3, 2015
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    These are the pics. I believe the last pic is where I need to be per Lyman’s 50th.

    These are dummy rounds and were completed w/o the seating stem in the die. The bullets don’t move or turn so I think I’m good there. I’ll try to shoot them tomorrow after rebuilding with powder today.

    IMHO, those look long and may not seat in the chamber. Normally the entire lube groove is in the case.
     
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