Help on leading

[Walknman]

I'm new to cast bullet loading and this site, but have been reloading for many years. I recently bought some HSM 240 gr. SWC Boolits for my .44 mag. I loaded them to around 1150 fps. Two things I noticed that were unusual to me, were smoke coming out the barrel upon firing and the lead residue afterwords. My one watt mind figures the smoke may have been from the boolit lube. Does anyone have a suggestion on limiting the leading problem in the bore? Thanks

[waksupi]

Welcome aboard. I'm in the Flathead. where are you located?

It sounds like the bullets are undersized for your mag. Drop a bare bullet in each cylinder, and push them through with a pencil. There should be some resistance. If this checks out ok, you will need to slug your bore, to see what difference there is in the diameter between cylinder and bore. You want the bore smaller than the cylinder throats. Commercial bullets are a real **** shoot, and that is why we cast our own!

[Walknman]

Thaks for the info. I'mabout sixmiles out of Helena, but hang out over by Helmville quite a bit. Hope I'm doing this right. I'm just learning the ropes. Thanks again.

[sagacious]

Walknman,
Follow Waksupi's advice and reply back with some numbers and feedback, and perhaps give us some more info on your load recipe. With that info, the folks here can probably give you an accurate diagnosis on how to remedy your leading problem. Barring that, the best we can offer are guesses.

Best of luck! :drinks:

[243winxb]

44 (.430) 200 gr. RFP Cast (Cowboy Action) $108.13
44 (.430) 240 gr. SWC Hard-Cast (Cowboy Action) $138.05
44 (.430) 240 gr. SWC Cast (Cowboy Action) $125.06
44 (.430) 290 gr. SWC Hard-Cast $161.91 What bullet are you loading. The cowboy(soft lead) ones should be kept to under 900fps. The "Hard-Cast" are good for hotter, faster loads. The diameter of .430" is standard and should work. You will get more smoke and some fouling with cast, but if accuracy is good, dont worry about

[runfiverun]

108 dollars for boolits???
whatn'ell.
if the cowboy ones are properly fit to your revolvers cylinders, 900 is where i'd start and go up from there.
unless they are pure lead and have plastic lube.
remember some powders produce more smoke with cast also especially if the humidity is high.
a lube i use constantly here and a friend uses in the west also produces a pretty good bit of smoke in the south east.

[Walknman]

Thanks guys. The leading wasn't real bad and the load shot very well. Maybe the question I should have asked is, what solvent is best for removing the lead from the bore. I used Hoppe's. It worked, but required some elbow grease to get her clean. Is that common? Thanks again for all the help.

[243winxb]

Hoppe's #9 works for me. Wet the bore & cylinder, let it soak for a few days, or a week, wet it when you walk by the bench. Then brush, patch. Oil and done. I only clean if not going to use the gun for a month or more. The lube conditions the barrel. After shooting i wipe off the outside.

[HORNET]

You might also try taking some of those boolits that you bought and tumble lubing over the existing lube. Sometimes that helps. Look in the boolit lube forum for other easily made lubes if you don't have any LLA. Do a size check as per waksupi's suggestion. He might even give you a good deal on loob grooves..:kidding:

[waksupi]

Get some copper Chore Boy at the supermarket. Unravel a few strands, wrap around a bristle cleaning brush, and have at it. Cleans fast!

[MtGun44]

If you fit your boollits to the cylinder throats and the barrel, you should be just fine
with the soft boolits at 1200 fps unless you have a rough bore or some other unusual
situation.

Hardness does NOT prevent leading by itself, and in fact undersized and hard boolits
are the most common cause of leading.

Ideally you want your cyl throats to be .001 or .002 larger than the bore, and your
boolits about .001 larger than the throats, with no constriction in the frame and
a pretty smooth bore.

I drive plain based air cooled wheelwts that are about 10-12 BHN at max .357 mag
and max .44 mag velocities with no leading in multiple revolvers, and this is not
unique. Good boolit design, good lube, proper fit, proper revolver dimensions, and
you will be there, too.

Bill

[thegreatdane]

I'm experiencing leading from HSM boolits too in moderate 9mm loads. Also, I've noticed a fair bit of inconsistency in diameter. My 9mm were .355 to .353 (the latter being few and worst-case).

The good news is, I only bought a few of 'em for some sample reloads until I purchase my own molds. Hoppes and a good bore brush took care of the prob until next time.

[qajaq59]

Get some copper Chore Boy Make sure it is really copper. The Chore Boy will be, but there are a few brands that are copper coated steel. Those scratch. Chore Boy wont. And yes it works well.