Copper Plating Lead Bullets

[DukeInFlorida]

Farmer was outstanding in his field........ when the bull walked by.

I have made every mistake anyone could make in every aspect of my life.

That didn't deter people like Thomas Edison. He looked forward to making mistakes. He knew that at some point, he'd get it right. Several hundred mistakes before he figured out the light bulb.

I was once told than an Expert is someone who's made every mistake in a given field!

Best of luck, and happy plating!

 

[Gammon]

Even with the factory plating that companies like Rainier and Berrys do, they still suggest that you load to something like lead bullet data. Or, if you foray off in the direction of FMJ style bullets, that you keep the speed under a limit of approx 1200 fps.

I don't know how much plating is required, or know that I would have any way to even measure it, other than in terms of thickness/time.

I would think that even a thin coating of copper would be superior to plain cast lead.

While thin copper plate would still require lubrication, and a thicker amount would eliminate that need, the style of bullet would play a role if going for non-lubricated. For example: Micro-grooves (tumble lube grooves) would probably work better than the thick bees wax type lube grooves.

That's all for later development, since I'm still working on documenting and developing a process for the plating.

I'l hoping to eventually develop a rotating drum type plating process, similar to factory plating, which would allow you to place several hundred cast bullets in a drum, turn on the switch, and come back after a period of time, with the bullets plating themselves perfectly. That's a long ways off at this point. It might even require developing a casting mold or lead swaging system that creates non-lube groove bullets.

I bought some bullets with a thin coat of plating. They still needed to be lubed (in a groove). Sort of defeats th purpose of plating in the first place.

 

[DukeInFlorida]

Well, as I said earlier in the thread....... If cast bullets are good, then I am hoping that plated cast bullets would be better. For example, there's a thread on the subject of dropping cast lead bullets into water to heat treat them (make them hard)... But the issue of them softening over time comes into play.

What if the copper plating allows them to be hard on the surface (copper is harder than lead), over riding the softening/time issue? That would be better, no?

Or, if the pistol bullets could be plated, and thereby allow me to shoot them faster (with out a gas check). Maybe not as fast as factory (Berry) plated bullets, but faster than just as-cast. That would also be good, no?

That sort of thing is what I am hoping for.

 

[Gammon]

I have used industry standard 92/6/2 alloy bullets in a 38 Super at close to 1200 fps with very little leading. I don't see how a plated bullet could be much of an improvement. I use plated bullets for matches to avoid the lube smoke, not to improve performance. I also find my hard cast bullets to be more accurate than plated.

Plating could be a way to get around the softening that comes with age. Another solution is to just shoot the stuff before this becomes a problem.