You’ve probably seen and read about one of the cool new reloading products unveiled at last year’s SHOT show- the RCBS pistol bullet feeder. This attachment is a great way to increase your reloading efficiency.
One of the limitations of this product is the fact that it does not work with cast lead bullets. The reason is pretty straightforward- the lube on the bullets pretty much gums things up. That makes sense. RCBS states that this attachment works with jacketed and FMJ bullets. But what about the less expensive alternative: plated bullets?
I spoke with ATK product line manager Kent Sakamoto about this, and he said the machine will work with plated bullets. So, I thought I would try it out!
In the following video:
RCBS Bullet feeder on Lee Loadmaster for 45 ACP (HD)
I show the RCBS pistol bullet feeder working with the Lee Loadmaster reloading press. In this video I used Rainier Ballistics 200 grain flat-point plated bullets, and they fed perfectly! So this is good news for those of you that want to use the RCBS pistol bullet feeder and want more options for bullets.
Screenshot:
Most cast bullets have a wax type coating on them and I can see how this would gum things up. Have you tried dry film (moly or polymer coated) bullets in the RCBS feeder?
No, actually I have not- sounds like a good experiment!
What I was told was that you can’t use any bullets with a lube groove in them. The reason is that the lube groove apparently does not work well with the rotating part that orients the bullets in the proper direction. Bullets with a groove tend to just all fall off.
That was the answer I was given when I asked.
In theory, something like the precision moly coated bullets should be ok as they have no lube groove.