First Cast in 40 S&W

[mnsharpshooter1984]

I just started shooting some cast bullets out of my Glock 22. I installed a Lone Wolf barrel just for the sake of shooting lead and the added chamber support is a big bonus. Cases have a much smaller bulge in them with the aftermarket barrel. I wanted to try some boughten cast before i invest in a mold so I bought a bag of 500 180 gr TCFP cast bullets from Rocky Mountain Reloading. They are supposed to be pre lubed/sized w/ brinell hardness of 18. My buddy advised me to still tumble lube them with Alox (which everyone on the chat room said was junk). I measured quite a few bullets and they ranged from .4005 to .401.
The load I worked up to is:
180 gr RMR TCFP
5.4gr of Silhouette
Federal SP match primers
COL 1.135"
Ave Vel 902fps
ES 14fps
Accuracy was phenomenal. Did not see any leading after 25 rds. No pressure signs. Silhouette meters incredibly well and the bullets were very consistant as I rarely see velocities that are this consistant.

My questions are:
Is 900fps too fast? Can a guy push them harder?
What is the solid blue lube ring on these things and am I wasting my time additionally tumble lubing them?
Why does Alox suck and what's a good alternative?
I'm sorry, I'm new to cast and I searched and searched for answers to no avail so here's my first post. Thanks in advance for any advice.

[willie_pete]

Why do you want to go faster? Are you looking fo speed or accuracy? The blue ring is lube. You don't need to do anything else. An extreme spread of only 14 is very good. Unless you have a "need for speed", I would stay where you are if the accuracy is ok.

WP

[Love Life]

A) Alox works well for me, it just never dries. I've had success with it in many calibers.
B) Look for pressure signs. Those will let you know when you are pushing them to hard.
C) The solid lube could be any lube brand to be honest. Maybe LBT, maybe Magma, maybe TBA.
D) If it is working, then keep doing what you're doing and practice a bunch. You have a good load. Roll with it.

[mnsharpshooter1984]

I like how these loads shoot. I didn't know if there was a rule of thumb for jacketed vs hard cast velocities. The fastest I've pushed fmj's was 1030 where I started seeing primers crushing. I was more so wondering if 900 was too fast?

[Love Life]

As long as you are not seeing pressure signs, your gun is not breaking, then you are good. 900 FPS is just peachy.

[tazman]

I tumble lube as a matter of preference. Other than needing to clean out my seating die every few thousand rounds, I have no issues with it. It just works for me.
It sounds like you have a good load. Don't change anything and keep shooting.

[bigarm]

I think your load sounds fine. I load 200 grain cast and powder coated bullet at less velocity and make major power factor for USPSA (can't remember the exact velocity at the moment). As long as you are happy I would leave it alone.

[taco650]

I'll echo other posts, "if ain't broke, don't fix it". I would try a few without the tumble lube-that just seems like a waste of time to me since the bullet come with lubed.

Also, be careful with trying to get more velocity. The 40 SW operates at the same pressure level as a 357 mag but with a smaller case. Pressure can spike quickly with seemingly minor increases in powder. The G22 is a solid platform but I'd rather ere on the side of caution. Also, lead bullets have lest friction to overcome going down the barrel than jacketed so you actually use a little less powder to get them to a similar speed as jacketed.

[jcren]

If you like the tumble lube, but not the sticky, try the "New" tumble lube blend by Ben on here with half Johnson's liquid floor wax and half alox. Spreads easier and dries hard.

[mnsharpshooter1984]

All good responses. Thanks a bunch. I'll keep with what I got going. Next step, find a good 180 gr TCFP mould.

[jcren]

Lee has a great 175 tc mold, and I have had good luck with their 175 swc (more of a tc with a driving band, drops 178-182 depending on my alloy) in Smith m&p. Lee may not have the finest molds available, but by the time your skill/knowledge exceeds the mold, you will k ow which mold you want next.

[tazman]

I concur about the Lee 175TC. I shoot that boolit and it works well in my pistols. Can't speak to the swc since I haven't tried it.

[guncheese]

i like the 145gr swc from lee in my 3rd gen smith and my friend likes it in his g22 and his XDm over 3.8 or 4gr of BE its accurate and awesome
saves lead!
and when you shoot alot it adds up
im even thinking about trying lighter 45s instead of 200gr
maybe even 160gr
thats a extra 12 bullets per box!

[ipijohn]

I have both the 145 and 175 TC Lee molds, my CZ's like the 145 better and my hands like it better also.

[dakotashooter2]

If your not getting any leading the existing lube is probably OK. Sometimes the lube of commercial stuff can be too hard to be effective. But they are often forced to use a hard lube to effectively handle and ship them. Allox is effective but most guys don't want to deal with the mess. It also tends to leave residue in the barrel (which usually cleans up with 1 stroke of a brush every 3 rd or 4th mag.

[ioon44]

I just started shooting some cast bullets out of my Glock 22. I installed a Lone Wolf barrel just for the sake of shooting lead and the added chamber support is a big bonus. Cases have a much smaller bulge in them with the aftermarket barrel. I wanted to try some boughten cast before i invest in a mold so I bought a bag of 500 180 gr TCFP cast bullets from Rocky Mountain Reloading. They are supposed to be pre lubed/sized w/ brinell hardness of 18. My buddy advised me to still tumble lube them with Alox (which everyone on the chat room said was junk). I measured quite a few bullets and they ranged from .4005 to .401.
The load I worked up to is:
180 gr RMR TCFP
5.4gr of Silhouette
Federal SP match primers
COL 1.135"
Ave Vel 902fps
ES 14fps
Accuracy was phenomenal. Did not see any leading after 25 rds. No pressure signs. Silhouette meters incredibly well and the bullets were very consistant as I rarely see velocities that are this consistant.

My questions are:
Is 900fps too fast? Can a guy push them harder?
What is the solid blue lube ring on these things and am I wasting my time additionally tumble lubing them?
Why does Alox suck and what's a good alternative?
I'm sorry, I'm new to cast and I searched and searched for answers to no avail so here's my first post. Thanks in advance for any advice.

You said "Accuracy was phenomenal" what size groups did you get at 25 yards.

[mnsharpshooter1984]

I shot two mags at my steel popper target after I ran some over the chrono. The steel plate is a 3 inch circle. At 25 yds I rarely missed. I did shoot some pulled federal hydro shock jhps and accuracy was terrible with the same charge of Silhouette but very good with a small dose of red dot. I just worry about red dot in 40s&w as a tenth of a grain makes a huge difference and I don't wanna blow stuff up. I need to buy more paper targets. My buddy's mom prints the shoot n see style targets for Cabelas. I need to pay them a visit soon.

[taco650]

Midway has free PDF target files you can download, one for pistol & one for rifle. That's what I use, just print off a few whenever I need them and go to the range.

[mnsharpshooter1984]

Midway has free PDF target files you can download, one for pistol & one for rifle. That's what I use, just print off a few whenever I need them and go to the range.
I should print my pistol targets and save the hi vis ones for my rifles. Thanks.

[reloader28]

If you want cheap targets, buy a stack of paper plates and make a 1" circle in the middle with a magic marker.
I cant afford to buy or print the near amount of targets I go thru and this is what I do.

If your wondering about speed, cast boolits do not need near the speed of jacketed bullets to get the same job done. Go with accuracy.

[mnsharpshooter1984]

Still wondering why all the guys on castboolits chat were saying that alox sucks? I know these bullets are pre lubed/sized but am I hurting anything adding a little more? Is there any harm in it?

[tazman]

None what so ever.
The worst that can happen is you will need to clean out your bullet seating die. Some say it will not be as accurate but that depends on the individual gun. It works for yours so go with it.