Difference between cast lead & hard cast lead
- Thread starter 375rum
- Start date
actually , it depends on the bullet manufactuer- some bullet makers cast theirs harder than others- it really doesn't matter untuil you reach that "magic"1000 fps mark, then the "hard" cast are less likely to leave lead deposits in the bore - basically it's all about the speed- straight cast is going to leave more lead in the bore than hard cast, and some hard cast is "harder( meaning you can push it to greater velocities) than others- since your bullets are typically bought in thousand lots, when you start getting into the "hot" 45 colt loads, it should be easy to find out from the manufacturer the hardness factor- i've got some bullets that are around 11 for so called hard, and some from another manufacturer that run as high as 14
There is far more to it then hard or soft, everything else considered equal, one would use hard cast for small bore over 1400fps and large bore over 1800fps. There are however far to many variables, if your bullet doesn't fit the bore well(too small), you will get leading no matter how hard your bullet is. a bullet with lots of big lube grooves and a good lube is more important than a harder bullet, a gas check helps in alot of cases more then a hard alloy. we make bullets from BHN 5 (pure lead) to BHN 25 or more(Monotype) and have found that bullet size/design go furthest towards good accuracy.
