testing new loads and and checking for leading

[oley55]

when you are out testing brand new cast bullet loads and working your way up through increased powder loads, how often do you inspect for leading?

[tomme boy]

After each set of loads

[runfiverun]

if accuracy suddenly drops off.

[44man]

Both answers correct. Once you get it right you can shoot forever with no loss in accuracy.

[bangerjim]

I run loads up and down the spectrum for different powders and boolits. Since I powder coat everything, there is never ever any lead in the barrels.

Just this last week I crammed over 250 rounds of 45LC and 38SPL thru two carbines..... testing different loads/boolits. Clean-up consisted of 3 patches each and some #9 to get rid of the tiny bit of black gook in there! No leading. Amazing clean barrels, even after a bunch of rounds from low to high loads. And you know low loads tend to gunk up a bit more.

banger

[44man]

I run loads up and down the spectrum for different powders and boolits. Since I powder coat everything, there is never ever any lead in the barrels.

Just this last week I crammed over 250 rounds of 45LC and 38SPL thru two carbines..... testing different loads/boolits. Clean-up consisted of 3 patches each and some #9 to get rid of the tiny bit of black gook in there! No leading. Amazing clean barrels, even after a bunch of rounds from low to high loads. And you know low loads tend to gunk up a bit more.

banger
I fear powder coating since no consensus is made for bore wear.

[bangerjim]

Thousands and thousands of us around the world have fired hundreds of thousands of combined rounds of PC with no scientific data proving ANY wear at all! Only "Doubting Thomas" here-say.

I do not worry at all about it. And neither do many MANY others.

FMJ's will wear a barrel much faster than PC. And you know how long those take to wear out.

I will stick PC for: ZERO leading, NO grease, NO grease smoke, NO more mixing witch's brew lubes, NO sticky boolits in the summer, MINIMUM barrel cleaning time, MAXIMUM range shooting time, NO decrease in accuracy, REDUCED personal lead exposure after boolits are coated.

But use whatever lube fits your needs in our hobby.

banger

[44man]

I might just have to try it. However I get no leading with what I shoot.

[bangerjim]

I used to pan lube......then 45/45/10. Once everything was aligned and defined, I got very little if any leading. But the smoke and summer sticky boolits got to be a pain.

Grease has been used for many many years and is an excellent process.

I started playing around with PC a year or so ago and found how simple it was and how clean all my barrels were after shooting tons rounds......MUCH cleaner than when I was using grease-based lubes.

I have done a lot of microscopic/close-up examination of my barrels and have seen no unusual wear, scoring, or deterioration. And many others have also no problems.

But don't take my word for it. Try it on a couple boolits. The BBDT method is very easy to get into. I prefer the ESPC spray method, but use both with excellent success.

Use what works for you. Most important thing......HAVE FUN OUT THERE!

banger

[oldfart1956]

After each set of loadsThis. Any other way won't tell you a thing. For revolvers it's 25/30 rounds and run a patch thru and peek to see what I got. For pistols it's 50 rounds at least and again a patch and peek. This is for each change, whether powder/lube/alloy etc. If it passes I increase the numbers. If I can get 100 rounds thru a revolver or 300 thru a pistol with acceptable results in one trip I call it good. Then I work on the accuracy end. I'll accept minor leading if accuracy is good. I won't accept poor accuracy even if it doesn't lead. Accuracy based on my near blindness/flinch/wobbly stance...of course. :) Audie...the Oldfart..

[oley55]

range trip yesterday and ran some loads through a couple .357 revolvers and a 24" Rossi R92 in .357". I of course had no problem identifying when leading began in the revolvers via visual inspection.

Not so with a 24" barrel. After shooting 5 rounds of new load, I would run a loose dry patch through to push out all of those IMR4227 granules and then inspect with a bore light looking for signs of leading and couldn't see squat (yea or nay). I ended up running a small/loose dry patch to clear the trash and then followed up with a couple Kroil soaked patches looking for any chips/slivers of lead.

The receiver and bolt travel is so small there is just no way to peer into the throat to spot any leading from the breach end.

[tazman]

In my 9mm and 38 handguns I can easily see when leading begins to build if any is present. When doing a ladder test I check after every set. Normally there are no issues as I know what boolit diameter I need to use to prevent that.
In my 9mm carbine the bore is shiny enough that by using a flashlight with the receiver open, I can see through the barrel(18") quite easily. This barrel is so smooth, there has been no trace of leading in it whatsoever.