Hi guys,
I've got a brand new Freedom Arms Model 97 (44 special) that seems to have a severe leading problem
When I got the gun I slugged the chamber throats (0.430") and the barrel (0.429"). Also, when I slugged the barrel I did not feel an obvious constriction, so all seemed well. (but then again my perspective might be biased as the constriction I had on my other revolver was quite bad).
Then, I took it out to shoot last week. The ammunition I had were all moderate-to heavy hand loads using non-gas checked Beartooth bullets (250 Keith). Before loading the ammo, I sized all the bullets through a 0.430" die (resulting bullets ended up being just shy of 0.431"). The bullets were lubed with the standard Beartooth blue lube. Most of the velocities were in the 970fps range and the other loadings clocked in around 1200fps so I'm assuming that was hot enough to melt the lube.
However, after just 30 rounds there was a severe leading in the barrel and it has not been easy to remove. The lead was deposited mostly in "splotches" toward the rear-half of the barrel which seems like a tell-tale sign of a constriction at the barrel threads.
Right now, I have pin gauges on order to both double check the cylinder throat dimensions and to check the barrel for constrictions. Is there anything else I should look to in order to correct this problem?
Since this is a new gun, should I be asking Freedom Arms to do anything?
Thanks for any help/advice