PC, & Gas Chex ???

[larryw]

Greetings folks, don't really know where to put this so, I'll put it here.
I'm new to PC & gas Chex & in the big picture, still a rookie with casting & cast bollits.
Question..
1-) How much harder can we push PC'd boolits &, pc'd gas checked boolits respectfully ?

I don't know how many different, actually stupid, things I've heard??
The best has been. " With PC, you don't need gas checks, & you can drive them to high end jacketed loads"
Nope, not buying it, I might be stupid but I'm not dumb!!!!
Thanks in advance, Take care & be safe...

[RBHarter]

I know nothing but what I've read .
Like greased bullets you'll hit a place where it all falls apart and you need the check on check design bullets . The upside is that you can get to normal gas check speeds , the often misrepresented , 1800 fps without a check on them .

Alloy is less important to get it going to the top end .

It appears that it will also allow you to exceed the twist , rpm , windows much like paper patched will . As an example I can run a 1-12 222 2600 fps and only get 2100 in a 223 1-8 greased , there are reports of 2300 in 1-8 twist with checks .

JW knows more about this than me . Experience vs practical knowledge .

[jwfilips]

I have shot PC'd Bullets in my 243 Win without checks in my Ruger 77 Tang safety at 2200 fps without any leading
The were pc'd in Smoke clear PC This load was with NOE 105 gr bullets Pretty darn accurate

[GasGuzzler]

I will be PC and GC on my rifle bullets I expect to break 2000 FPS (hunting type loads for .30-30 WIN as well as "predator" loads for 7.62X39). I will PC and GC my heavy NOE 360180 .357 Magnum bullets.

I will PC only my slow .30-30 WIN loads (pistol powder loads), all 9X19, all .45 Colt, all 158-170 grain .357. I do not cast for 5.56X45.

[mikld]

I have always thought of PCed bullets as having a "soft jacket", and treat them as such (loaded to a bit higher velocity than my nekkid cast). Nope, haven't tried using any "hard" jacketed data for my PCed bullets, but have used upper cast data. I have fired hot 9mm and recovered the bullets with bases still covered. I have PCed a few cast bullets for my 308 bolt gun and my Garand. No leading from plain based bullets. I have attached gas checks to some 429244 that I PCed, mainly to see if there was any difference in accuracy or function (?). My "testing" didn't show anything to speak of...

After all my playing (experimenting/testing?) I don't see a huge benefit of PCed over nekkid cast for my use. But the learning and experiences were great fun. My cast bullets/lube don't lead the barrels. They are accurate and maybe because I have cast and processed many, many plain lead bullets the process is less labor intensive and cleaner...

[Macd]

I have very limited experience with PC cast. I believe Richard Lee when, after testing, he determined that lead bullets are limited by pressure. I have pushed 35 Remington loads with a Brinell 30+ checked 205 grain bullet to normal jacketed velocoties without any problems but the 35 Rem is a pretty low pressure calibre and the stout load makes certain good obturation. I question whether a thin plastic coating is going to provide support enough to a regular cast and checked bullet to allow it to be pushed to jacketed or even plated load levels in more modern, high pressure calibres.

[GasGuzzler]

It's been a mainstream practice for ten years now so I bet it works.

[Macd]

I am speaking of rifle calibres not handgun. Lee's research on alloy hardness and cast bullet failure appears to agree with the popular wisdom on the performance of PC cast, at least what I have read. If you have a good reference I would be grateful if you would pass it on. As I said, my own experience is limited. I have done some work with plated to see how they stand up to max jacketed loads. This doesn't translate over to PC as the lead used in plated is a low strength alloy. As an aside, I believe twist rate plays an important part in this discussion. A 1-10 rate put a lot more stress on a bullet than a 1-12 at the same velocities.

[GasGuzzler]

Yes, my simple point is that people have been doing it for a decade so it most likely works.

[BC17A]

I've pushed PC'd 440gn 500 mags into the mid 40k psi range without issue(1400-1500fps). Once close to, and over 50k I got some gas cutting so I now use checks regardless of load. I've had no problems with full power loads and PC'd plain base castings from 357 or 44 magnum, but although close, they're typically not pushed as hard as a jacketed load.

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