Should I switch from Bullseye to Unique?

[Char-Gar]

Possum...I am going to have to tell you a truth that is seldom mentioned. There seems to be no standard definition to what constitutes "leading" and what does not. Folks post about no leading and that creates and expectation by new folks that cast bullets should shoot as clean as jacketed bullets, but that is never the case, despite some folks claims to the contrary.

When shooting cast bullet there will be a mix of lube and powder trash in the barrel often accompanied by a lead wash or a few lead streaks after a long shooting session. I would consider this to be normal. I good fitting brush, with a good solvent will remove this with 15 to 20 strokes in the bore. I don't consider this to be leading.

A couple of years back, I ran a thread about what folks considered leading to be. The long and short of it, was that most folks held views like mine. However new folks get different ideas from the posts.

We are living in a time when folks have unreasonable expectation from cast bullets. They don't want to have to clean their guns! They search for "clean burning powder", and zero-zero residue in their barrels. I think these are unreasonable expectations that have been foisted off on the inexperience shooter.

The best I can make out of your thread, is that you don't have a leading problem and hence there is no need for a fix. You can play with it if you like, but this old guy doesn't see an issue at all.

My advice to the newer shooters is to clean your pistols, lubricate them and wash your hands after each shooting session. Do that and you will never had a problem. That was what I was taught to do, back in the day.

[gwpercle]

I don't think you are ever going to absolute total nothing left in a bore after shooting things thru it.
Regardless of type of powder, even powder leaves something.
You are chasing an ureasonable expectation.

[Shiloh]

Your bore is .451. What size are your boolits??

Shiloh

[Lloyd Smale]

yup, I don't even consider it leading unless it gets so bad in a gun that it effects accuracy. If my guns shooting well I'm not going to waste my time trying to brush something out of it that isn't bothering it.

I don't think you are ever going to absolute total nothing left in a bore after shooting things thru it.
Regardless of type of powder, even powder leaves something.
You are chasing an ureasonable expectation.

[Wardo1974]

I have no idea why you think changing powder would reduce leading.

A .45 ACP load at 800 fps or so that's leading probably has to be a fitment issue.

I would definitely pull a boolit and see what size it is. I have frequently encountered problems with boolits getting swaged down just by seating them into the brass.

[Kevin Rohrer]

I stopped using Bullseye a long time ago in favor of any slower powder that prevents me from double-charging cases. Now it is Unique, Longshot, and H110 for all pistol calibers.

[Lloyd Smale]

I like the faster burning powders. You use half the bullseye that you would use if you used unique so its a lot more economical and ive loaded for 45 years and have never double loaded a single shell so id say if you tend to double load that you need to do more then switch powders. You need to pay attention to what your doing.

[454PB]

I like the faster burning powders. You use half the bullseye that you would use if you used unique so its a lot more economical and ive loaded for 45 years and have never double loaded a single shell so id say if you tend to double load that you need to do more then switch powders. You need to pay attention to what your doing.

Absolutely!

[trixter]

to the OP: This is just my $.02, I use Lee TL 452-200 SWC 6 hole mold, and range lead for all of my lead boolits. I lube with BLL and use 4.2-4.3gr Bullseye. The mold casts about .453-.454 and I run them through a .452 sizer. I have not experienced any leading. Originally I used Lee Liquid Alox by itself and had no leading. The BLL works just the same it just dries with a nice hard crust. Keeps things cleaner in the boolit seating die.

[MtGun44]

Unique is a bit too slow for the .45 ACP with 200 gr cast, produces more consistent
velocities with 230 gr cast. 200 cast with Unique will be accurate, but the powder
seems to burn inconsistently, I have seen 10 shot string velocity variations of over
100 fps in a 850 fps load, although by some magic, it is still an accurate load.

I prefer a faster powder like BE or TiteGroup for .45 ACP. 4.8 or so of either under
a cast 200 gr in .45 ACP will be excellent. Be sure to taper crimp as a separate
operation. There are two types of TC dies, get one with a short tapered section,
like 1-2 tenths of an inch when you look inside the die, not one with the smooth
taper from one end of the die to the other, looks featureless inside. You want
about .465 or .467, something around .005 tighter at the case extreme edge
than the .470 of the straight case. This eliminates the last few niggling failures
to feed that you will otherwise get in many guns.

[h8dirt]

Try WST. It did the trick for me -- and, it is as accurate as any. Additionally, in problematic barrels, I have the best luck with bullets that are about 12 - 15 Bhn. As a rule, hard bullets and hard lubes are not your friends at 1911 velocities. I must admit that Oregon Trails bullets are an exception (for some reason). FWIW.

[David2011]

. . . I am not worried about how the powder "meters" because I don't have one of those fancy setups anyway.

Any and all input is appreciated!

Whether you use Lee dippers or a conventional measure, Unique meters like oatmeal or corn flakes depending on your perspective. It is hard to measure in small amounts except by trickling into a scale. YMMV

David