Powder coated bullets & APP Powder ?

[Rooster Ron Wayne]

OK. 

I have been loading and shooting Smokeless or BP longer then I can remember. 

About 10 years ago or so .

I started playing with APP for the convenience of loading the same bullet  in everything .

Now the last couple years or so .

Powder coated bullets have become a common thing. 

I know APP makes it's own lube .

So as a naive question from my inquiring mind.

Can I load APP powder with Powder coated bullets with No lube on them with out a issue ?

Thank you .

Rooster 

 

[Beartrap SASS#57175]

No problem, load away.

[Sedalia Dave]

25 minutes ago, Beartrap SASS#57175 said:

No problem, load away.

 

THIS ^^^^

[I. M. Crossdraw, SASS# 8321]

Sure, you can.  Have at it. 

[Erasmus]

The short answer is yes. 

 

The long answer is, as much as I like shooting real black powder, my wife likes to shoot smokeless. So in an effort to have fewer things to keep in stock we have a BUNCH of coated bullets, and very few black powder lubed bullets. So for simplicity's sake I've been shooting hi-tek (or Bear Creek) coated bullets with APP (or Shooter's World really, but same thing) for a while and haven't had a problem. I prefer real black in my cap and ball guns (which is what I shoot most) and am indifferent about my shotguns, but I load APP and coated bullets for my rifle just because I have thousands of coated projectiles. 

 

On the downside it doesn't smell the same and doesn't make the same flame. On the up side it makes plenty of smoke and everything stays cleaner while reloading (your dies, fingers, etc). The idea of it being 'non-corrosive' is a misnomer at best (hydrophilic residue still exists in the bore after shooting); and it doesn't make its own lube, it just doesn't make terrible hard fouling if no lube is used. 

[Silver Creek Jack]

Coated bullets and APP? Perfect match! Never had a problem!

[Lawdog Dago Dom]

Yes.

[Colorado Coffinmaker]

 

YES!!

 

APP does make its own lube.  The "lube" is the residue left in the bore.  It is not the same kind of lube as most know it, but it does coat the bore for the next shot.  Every firing removes the previous film so you really only have very light fouling.  This is NOT however true with shotguns.  The residue does build up but not enough to affect performance and is VERY easy to clean after a match.

[Snakebite Dust SASS 75484]

I do. I also load it and real BP on my Dillon.

[El Chapo]

1 hour ago, Snakebite Dust SASS 75484 said:

I do. I also load it and real BP on my Dillon.

 

Do you use PC bullets with real black?  I have been and now I hear maybe that's not for the best, but I haven't had any issues.

[Bingo Montana]

As others have said, coated bullets such as those coated with Hi-Tek can be used with APP with no lube.

[Erasmus]

10 hours ago, El Chapo said:

 

Do you use PC bullets with real black?  I have been and now I hear maybe that's not for the best, but I haven't had any issues.

I'm not the person you're asking but.... I'm about to use some Bear Creek Supply bullets over real black with no lube completely on accident. I meant to load APP but accidentally loaded Schuetzen and then some filler. Rather than waste the powder and bullets by pulling down I figure I'll just shoot them last in the stage and swab the bore afterward. Who knows, maybe it won't work. 

[Eyesa Horg]

7 hours ago, Erasmus said:

I'm not the person you're asking but.... I'm about to use some Bear Creek Supply bullets over real black with no lube completely on accident. I meant to load APP but accidentally loaded Schuetzen and then some filler. Rather than waste the powder and bullets by pulling down I figure I'll just shoot them last in the stage and swab the bore afterward. Who knows, maybe it won't work. 

Let us know

[Edward R S Canby, SASS#59971]

8 hours ago, Erasmus said:

I'm not the person you're asking but.... I'm about to use some Bear Creek Supply bullets over real black with no lube completely on accident. I meant to load APP but accidentally loaded Schuetzen and then some filler. Rather than waste the powder and bullets by pulling down I figure I'll just shoot them last in the stage and swab the bore afterward. Who knows, maybe it won't work. 

An alternative is to shoot them in your revolvers.  Dab some shortening into the ends of the cylinders and fire away.  Your guns will run fine but will get a fine coating of grease on them that can be wiped off at the unloading table.  I did this once before I found a source of BP-lubed bullets.

[Snakebite Dust SASS 75484]

18 hours ago, El Chapo said:

 

Do you use PC bullets with real black?  I have been and now I hear maybe that's not for the best, but I haven't had any issues.

No. I use Big Lube bullets with real BP. I only use PC bullets with APP and its just been recently that I started using APP

[Scarlett]

Just for the record… Hi-Tek coating is a polymer and not a powder coat in the traditional sense - powder coating is for tools and contains a lot of silica. Hi-Tek polymer contains NO SILICA.  
 

Hugs and SMOKE! 😉

Scarlett

[Lawdog Dago Dom]

40 minutes ago, Scarlett said:

Just for the record… Hi-Tek coating is a polymer and not a powder coat in the traditional sense - powder coating is for tools and contains a lot of silica. Hi-Tek polymer contains NO SILICA.  
 

Hugs and SMOKE! 😉

Scarlett

The Dark Queen has spoken!

[Erasmus]

15 hours ago, Edward R S Canby, SASS#59971 said:

An alternative is to shoot them in your revolvers.  

 

I might need new cylinders... I loaded these in .45-70! 

[Colorado Coffinmaker]

 

Erasmus,

 

Hope you didn't load a pile of 'em.  Yule be swabbing the bore every shot (don't ask how I know this FACT😜)

[Erasmus]

I only made up 11 of them before realizing my mistake, and I have 12 stages to shoot this weekend. I figure if I can shoot the unlubed round as the last round of the stage that'll give me a chance to run a mop (and maybe a brush) down the bore after each stage. I figure it'll work, or it won't. Either way I get to make smoke!

[Erasmus]

Just to close the loop I did as I said I would. I fired the unlubed Bear Creek Supply bullet loaded with real black last in the stage and swabbed my barrel when I got back to the cart. I didn't have any problems, but of course it's not a great test either since it's only one round and then I'm swapping with a moist mop anyway. 

 

And I did make a lot of smoke. I estimate I burned a little over 1 lb of 2F this weekend over 12 stages with a pair of 45 colts, a 45-70, and a 12 gauge. 

 

And just to keep the thread on track, APP and coated bullets works just fine.