I have been reloading for a while now and I've always used jacketed bullets never just lead. I just bought a .44 mag rifle and would like to use lead bullets to keep down the cost. I've been reading on some forums that they really foul your barrel and very hard to clean. I did purchase some hard cast Missouri bullets and was wondering if anyone else has used them and your thoughts on lead bullets.
Lead Bullets
- Thread starter Sumack
- Start date
Not a simple answer.
With proper fit and lube plain base bullets should not lead a lot.
With gas check should lead even less
With powder coat not at all
If you have copper left in you barrel before switching to lead you will have more leading.
Lots to learn. Lots of info in the bullet making section and on the net
With proper fit and lube plain base bullets should not lead a lot.
With gas check should lead even less
With powder coat not at all
If you have copper left in you barrel before switching to lead you will have more leading.
Lots to learn. Lots of info in the bullet making section and on the net
I shoot lead in just about everything. My leading issues have been due to too high of velocity and lead to soft. I actually I countered it in my 44 Rem mags. My Raging Bull will shoot wheel weights at max with no leading. Same bullet in my Contender 44’s will cause leading. Longer barrel 6 inches for RB and 10 for the Contender pistol. My 44 carbine contender definitely leads. The fix was to harden my lead. I now run a hardness of 16 BHN. I knew my lube and bullet size was good. Bullet is 1 thou over bore diameter. With gas checks and straight wheel weights I can push them to max but cost goes up and also more time putting them on. The two lubes I currently use are SPG and Lyman Moly. As mentioned above keep velocity down. Your punching paper or hitting gongs and as long as your hitting them , you can’t kill anymore with more velocity. The 44 can easily be pushed to maximum velocity without leading in both pistol and rifle. I always found the 250 gr Keith style bullet shot well with 110 or 2400.
With proper bullet fit, good lube and suitable alloy high velocities are not a big deal. Or you can just PC... That is beyond the scope of the OP's question of course but it always annoys me when guys spout off about keeping velocity down. It's pressure you should be concerned with.
I'm not having much issue with leading in my Marlin. I'm not pushing lead bullets very hard in the 44mag. I don't get the 'crack' of them breaking the sound barrier, so less than 1100 fps.
I shoot DRG 240gn, Jet 220 & 240gn in my rifle.
These 240gn HP Jet bullets splatter really good on the gong's when shot from the rifle. God help the first skunk or coon that show's up this spring.
These are loaded up with 7gn of Universal & CCI MPP.
I have not made it to the range to test these in the 629.
I shoot DRG 240gn, Jet 220 & 240gn in my rifle.
These 240gn HP Jet bullets splatter really good on the gong's when shot from the rifle. God help the first skunk or coon that show's up this spring.
These are loaded up with 7gn of Universal & CCI MPP.
I have not made it to the range to test these in the 629.
Lead hardness and lube. I’ve pushed 240 gr with a hardness rating of 25 in my 444 to 2200fps with 2400 pounder. After 40+ rounds it’s a little dirty but not drastic. Shoot a 100 or 2 of 240gr in my ranch hand at 900fps with Trail Boss. My favourite for plunking and head shooting grouse.
^Bullets can easily be too hard. Brittle bullets perform poorly on game and may cause leading from lack of obturation. It's more of a concern with commercially cast bullets not fitted to a gun but yeah. If "25" is BHN then I would consider them possibly too hard for most applications. They are obviously working for you though so that's good.
Same with myself only I will add that other than a few .223 that are now evil, I run exclusively lead in all my Handguns and rifles. Proper fit, hardness and the correct lube and you will never need to buy jacketed bullets from the store again.
Great place to start reading is http://www.lasc.us/ArticleIndex.htm
Yup they do. In my target shooting cross grain into dry fir timbers I’ve never had them brake up even on knots but neither do they expanded at under 1000fps. Most look like you just run them back through the lube diy and shoot em again. At 1500fps fairly deformed but still together, 2000fps definitely and deformed and coming apart. Not my first choice for hunting big game but would if I had to.
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I cast quite a lot myself, but I will highly endorse Jet bullets. They are easy to find and really great to deal with.
I read an article by Mike Venturino on casting/shooting "hard" bullets.
He went on to say that he used pure printer's Linotype for casting/shooting bullets in his match Creedmore rifle, chambered for the 45-70 on long range targets. He also suggested using a special lube, which one I don't remember.
In that article he made mention that they would likely work for hunting large game quite well.
Linotype used by printers is 4% tin, 12% antimony and 84% lead. Brinnell hardness is around 25+ but still quite ductile.
Jethunter could easily explain it better.
He went on to say that he used pure printer's Linotype for casting/shooting bullets in his match Creedmore rifle, chambered for the 45-70 on long range targets. He also suggested using a special lube, which one I don't remember.
In that article he made mention that they would likely work for hunting large game quite well.
Linotype used by printers is 4% tin, 12% antimony and 84% lead. Brinnell hardness is around 25+ but still quite ductile.
Jethunter could easily explain it better.
For hunting you would need a bullet with a large meplat since they dont expand a lot. Most 45/70 bullets have this. More ore less punch a hole the size of the bullet strait through the animal.
Take a 2 pound sledge and start wailing a way on a bullet keeping the impact straight on. No mushroom, the full length of the bullet grows in diameter.
Caveat being you don't hit anything rock hard.
Recovered some pointed .308 after going through plywood and an old tree trunk. Other than the rifling marks, bullets were not deformed.
Here is a hammer test on a .308 COWW bullet.
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The only lube Veturino uses is SPG. Made by his friend Steve Garby, owner of SPG lube. Veturino use to own part of SPG, sold back to Steve. Originally a black powder lube which works well with smokeless powder. I use a lot of SPG. An excellent lube. I believe I have come close to duplicating it. My lube is slightly harder. Currently testing it at velocities over 2000 and so far is working.
Since it was ignored the first time, here is the specific link to some good reading on alloys and BHN. My experience mirrors what is said. 25, BHN is too hard for game and needless overall. If you think your lead is that hard and you are getting good ductility on targets of any kind I would say you are simply incorrect about the hardness.
My .223 and .308 cast bullets are only 16-18BHN and work fine at high pressures/velocities, I even have loads that cycle gas guns. I do powder coat though... Linotype is used with range scrap or pure lead for bringing up BHN without water quenching. Anything else is a waste of good material.
http://www.lasc.us/CastBulletAlloy.htm
My .223 and .308 cast bullets are only 16-18BHN and work fine at high pressures/velocities, I even have loads that cycle gas guns. I do powder coat though... Linotype is used with range scrap or pure lead for bringing up BHN without water quenching. Anything else is a waste of good material.
http://www.lasc.us/CastBulletAlloy.htm
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