Coated lead vs plated - Do i need to worry about leading?

[Len5E1]

Hi all,

I’m looking for more affordable 300 blk bullets to load subsonic and am not having much luck. I have always loaded plated or jacketed bullets when I reload and just never felt like I wanted raw or coated lead. Well I think it’s time to try some coated bullets that are Missouri bullets coated with hi-tek 2, which from my quick research just now seems to be pretty good? I just don’t want to deal with the hassle of barrel leading if I can avoid it, do I have anything to worry about going this route? I did read that leading is mostly caused when the bullet is either damaged during loading or isn’t quite the right size for the chamber/barrel but wanted to confirm with more experienced people! Thanks in advance.

Len

 

[Sirshredalot]

Ive never used Missouri bullets, but used acme quite a bit.
I have not experience any leading from them, but i have only pushed them to 1200fps.

Coating is good to go.

Shred

 

[GBMaryland]

So yeah, it’s probably a really good idea if you’re pushing them hard to make sure they have a coating of some sort. Sometimes that’s being copper plated, and other times it’s being coated with nylon.

back in the day we would just use linotype lead with a fair amount of lube, but you don’t see that kind of hard high antimony lead anymore.

 

[GBMaryland]

So I just looked up that bullet powder coating that they’re using / selling...

it says it reduces lead fouling not stop lead fouling...

If it were something like nylon coated, it would stop lead fouling.

curious

 

[Gustav7]

So I just looked up that bullet powder coating that they’re using / selling...

it says it reduces lead fouling not stop lead fouling...

If it were something like nylon coated, it would stop lead fouling.

curious

Pretty sure thats just a precautionary statement. You also have bozos pushing 12/15 BHN lead to velocities not meant for that bullet without taking into account proper bore diameter to bullet diameter and knowing nothing about lead hardness, and then complaining that the bullet sucks cause it leaded their barrel.

In my experience the HI-tek 2 coating is legit. I have used a little over a 1000 bullets from Missouri Bullets and the coating is substantially darker and thicker than another company who used the standard Hi-tek coating. Both work fine in my .38/.357 at subsonic velocities, and I would be confident using them at 9mm velocities for sure. I know alot of guys using the same Hi-tek 2 coating from Missouri in their 9mm at ~1200fps without issue.

The .309 diameter options they have are pretty legit, I'm assuming you're looking at the 245gr version? You can always get a sample pack, and load to chose subsonic velocity, shoot 20-50 and check out the bore. I doubt you're going to have a problem and they're substantially cheaper than anything else.

Good luck

 

[sinister]

The hard (18 Brinell) Missouri bullets are legit in pistols. Very little (if any) lead fouling.

HiTek coating does in fact reduce but not eliminate fouling. Some of that is due to aggressive crimping which separates the coating from the bullet. Some comes from gas blow-by peeling the coating off the bullets in the grooves area between lands in oversize bores (especially in 9mm, in my experience).

I have NONE - NO - ZERO experience using cast bullets in rifles.

 

[Len5E1]

Thanks guys. At the end of the day I'm using a ~$200 BA barrel on my 8.3" 300blk so I probably shouldn't overthink this. I just wanted to get some general feedback. I am in fact looking at the 245 grain bullets and obviously have no plans on trying to push a subsonic load hard

 

[Gustav7]

The hard (18 Brinell) Missouri bullets are legit in pistols. Very little (if any) lead fouling.

HiTek coating does in fact reduce but not eliminate fouling. Some of that is due to aggressive crimping which separates the coating from the bullet. Some comes from gas blow-by peeling the coating off the bullets in the grooves area between lands in oversize bores (especially in 9mm, in my experience).

I have NONE - NO - ZERO experience using cast bullets in rifles.

There shouldn't be any difference between rifles and pistols, with the exception being that it may actually be easier in rifles due to rifle barrels seeming to have better tolerance. For example, on a couple coated cast lead sites, for 9mm bullets, they give you FOUR options for bullet size (.355-.359) due to the variability in 9mm barrels and difference calibers.

Thanks guys. At the end of the day I'm using a ~$200 BA barrel on my 8.3" 300blk so I probably shouldn't overthink this. I just wanted to get some general feedback. I am in fact looking at the 245 grain bullets and obviously have no plans on trying to push a subsonic load hard

I think you're gonna be fine man. Keep in mind, leading isn't harmful to your barrel, its just a bitch to clean out. But I doubt you have issues. Give em a try and make sure you post up your thoughts after some use. I'm sure theres plenty of guys like myself who are interested in the results.