I bought some S&S Hardcast coated 148 DEWC's (.358") for 38 Special back in Dec '13. I loaded 50 of them (on 12/25/13 - you'd think I'd have better things to do on Christmas day
), and when I shot them, I noticed a horrific smell of burning electrical insulation (PVC?). Anyway, the smell was disgusting and outright noxious. I've smelled coated bullets before at the range and just thought is was shooters using some funky new powder or something. Now I know what I was smelling. Anyway, I put them away after that.
Last summer, I loaded 200 of those same coated 148's (I bought 1000 of them), but never got around to shooting them until today. I wanted to test to see how they do as far as leading, clean barrel, etc. - all the advantages coated is supposed to deliver.
They were loaded with 2.8 grains of Bullseye; WSP primer; Starline brass; taper crimp at the crimp groove. This is my tried-n-true IDPA Power Factor recipe (except usually with a non-coated slug). It chronographed at 734 f/s today (30 round sample). A little high, as the recipe usually yields around 724 f/s, but I could have been just a touch heavy with my powder drops - I don't quibble over 10 f/s.
When I shoot lead, I usually run a copper brush though the cylinder throats and barrel every 50 rounds or so - just a habit I picked up over the years. Anyway, before the first scrubbing, I took a peak down the barrel with my little flexy-light-thingy and saw a bunch of lead in the breech and throats. The gun was leaded up pretty good.
I shot the remaining 150 rounds - scrubbing every 50. When I got home and "cleaned" my gun, I could only scrub out about half the lead in the breech. The first 3/4" or so of the breech end still has its grooves piled up with lead.
So no. The coating didn't help with leading at all. At least, not in this application.
I don't want this to get into a bullet fit / hardness / slugged bore kind of discussion - I know all the things needed to minimize barrel leading. I have never slugged the bore or throats. I have fire-lapped the gun (Smith M67 4") per Unclenick's instructions and the barrel is nice and polished shiny. When I shoot a softer slug (Missouri Bullet Co) of the same type (148 DEWC), leading is much less. So yes, I believe there's a hardness thing going on, or whatever. None-the-less, the coating didn't help. I have also shot SNS non-coated DEWC's; and they lead about the same as these coated jobbie-doo's.
Bottom line: I can't stand the smell. And the coating certainly didn't help with the leading - at least, not in my most common application. So that leaves me with no advantage of coated - just a noxious smell. I'll shoot off the remaining 750 slugs I have; but I don't intend to buy any more.
Coated bullets just aren't my thing, I guess.
P.S. This is not an indictment of SNS Hardcast Co. They make great, consistent bullets; and deliver well packaged and timely. They're a good company to do business with from my experience.