There's no logic in this...

[jonk]

I have long had trouble getting a 9mm load that would cycle the gun, and not lead, using the Lee 124 gr 6 banger. Tried most every suitable powder on my shelf from the manuals- from bullseye to unique to red dot to 700X to HS-6 to etc. etc. Different lubes, etc. Some did pretty well, in so far as the leading could be removed with a brush and I didn't have to break out the Lewis.

Well, a few weeks ago I posted that I thought that I had gotten some zinc contamination in a melt with wheelweights. I cut the alloy with pure lead, and it still came out as registering about 10 on the bhn. SO whatever was in it was pretty damned hard, to come out at a 10 after a 50% cut with pure lead. It was hard to get fill out; even with the pot on 10, it solidified almost instantly on pouring. 10 is, btw, about the same as I get with ACWW normally (well, usually they are around 9, but close enough).

I was just loading up some blasting ammo, and, with the unknown alloy, I got poor fill out at the bases for about 30% of the boolits.

Resigned to it, I just loaded them up, figuring i'd have to scrub out lead. I was loading for a Luger P08 and a P38. I just didn't have time to re-cast, and had too many that would normally be defects to just toss them- I wanted 100 rounds (50 per gun) to let a co worker shoot.

So: 50 rounds per gun. Rounded bases. Inconsistant weights. 4 gr of bullseye, which has leaded for me in the past. Normal 50/50 lube.

No leading. Boolits were sized to 1/1000" over for both guns.

Now I have to wonder: was it the 1 point higher on the BHN scale (doubtful as I have tried WQWW before), the zinc in the alloy, or this particular batch of otherwise unremarkable lube? Or was it just a fluke, made to make me pull out my increasingly white hair?

[btroj]

A hard, undersized bullet will lead sometimes when a softer, undersized one won't. Softer bullet can slug up to seal the bore, harder one is less likely to do same.

Sometimes it just takes detective work to figure things out. I would size .002 over of possible.

Now the hard part, figure out what was the key change. Good luck

[jonk]

It could be you're right, that the 10 hardness was the magic number; the WQWW come out notably harder, the ACWW not so much.

Maybe it was just the fact that the pretty female co worker was shooting them, and the guns liked her ;) I'm not interested in her so much, but maybe the guns are. :)

To continue the story, she's looking to get her CCW, and while she has a decent gun that her EX bought her, she has been a bit erratic with it, which is why I chose the 2 guns in question- I wanted a heavy 9mm as she has early onset arthritis and can't handle much recoil.

[Harter66]

Are/were the bbls free of copper? I had a FEG HP-9 that I went round and round with much like you are/have been. The bbl finaly went in an ultrasonic cleaner full of Hopes . I will add the 1st 15min run didn't do anything at 45 min I was able to brush about 2/3 of the bore clean, so I ran it again another 30 min the rest of the lead came out w/coppper. All toll it spent all but 2 1/2 hr in the ultrasonic bath, brushed ,swabbed w/copper solvents,bathedagain. Even now ,well at the last annual strip and scour cleaning I get a blue/green patch line that matches up w/the lands that still attract lead deposites but none of the major leading I used to get.

I had a couple of old rifles that did the same leading gig sure enough they also had layered fouling in them . that was discovered by simply changing solvents.

[fredj338]

The9mm is diff to get right. It seems actual bore dia are all over the place. Many get best results with bullets 0.357". Something to consider. Bullet dia seems likely the leading issue before BHN or lube. If you haven't slugged the bores, you are guessing. If you are going to guess, go bigger.