How much do I need to worry about lead fouling?

[black_hog_down]

I'm new to shooting cast bullets.
I will be shooting in a 7.62x39 at around 2000fps.
The bullets are gas checked 12 BHN (94-3-3).
I don't shoot that much at a time. Maybe 50 to 100.
Can I run a few jacketed bullets in the mix to scrape it out?
What am I looking for to know if leading is occurring?
Thanks.

[GhostHawk]

Comes down to bullet fit.

I leaded up my Yugo SKS with 50 rounds, took 3 days to get it clean. But it also got rid of the dark gunk in the bottom of the grooves.

But I was running undersized bullets, with the wrong lube and pushing the power side a bit much.

With large enough bullets, better lube, lower powder charges I've had no problems at all with leading.

You can see it, leading. Looks like lead, dull gray, filling up the grooves.

[evoevil]

you can always powder coat the bullets, I just started so I don't have info on it yet. There is a lot of info in PC Bullets group on Facebook pushing them faster than 2000FPS. YouTube has a bunch of videos, check out elvis ammo, he does a lot of casting and testing

[Wayne Smith]

Fit is king. If the boolit fits - under the condition you describe, and your lube is adequate, no leading. If the boolit doesn't fit - leading. If the leading is throughout the barrel it's fit, if it is the upper end toward the muzzle it is inadequate lube.

Test a boolit in the muzzle - does the shaft of the boolit drop in loosely? You will at least have boolit slump when you fire it, and loose accuracy at least. Does the whole boolit drop in? It does not fit - don't fire it. If the shank of the boolit - the part with the lube grooves, does not drop in you just might have a boolit that fits. If the nose is a tight fit and the shank doesn't drop in - shoot it and expect good accuracy. This is not infallible, there are other variables acting on the boolit, but it is a start.

[Panman213]

I agree with Ghosthawk, its all about the fit. If you are gonna gascheck them and you cast for a good fit you shouldnt get leading. If you do get leading, maybe try powdercoating.

[brewer12345]

I had a recent episode of leading due to lube failure. I knew right away when problems occurred because a 5 shot group went from tight on the second shot, to 6 inches high on the third, to keyholing on the fourth. I stopped and looked closely and found the start of leading a few inches from the muzzle. Pay attention as you are shooting and maybe look down the bore periodically as you start shooting with cast in your rifle.

If you get the size right, gas check, and lube them appropriately, leading isn't an issue. I ran roughly 94-3-3 alloy at over 2000 FPS earlier this week in a 30-06 without any issues. I even found a really nice load that made a 1 inch group at 100 yards despite having a fair bit of wind around and me starting to get tired.

[gwpercle]

If you do it right....No need to worry at all.
Size matters and a good lube/coating will take care of everything.
Slug your barrel and make sure your boolits are +.001 or +.002 .
I have always thought it best to clean a barrel with a rod and brush. Shooting J-words in a leaded barrel just never made sense to me.
Gary

[Oklahoma Rebel]

yep, I would think it would just smear it into a more uniform coating of lead, that would then be harder to remove. you should try a different lube, well, I would like to know what lube you were using in the first place, what size do you size them to? also I just re-read your post... it sounds like you are worried about leading, but it hasn't happened yet? don't worry so much, if you size it right, ( I used .314 in my sks) and I also used homade moly-beeswax lube, with some 2 stroke oil, just about as hard as you can go without using a lube heater, and the cast shoots cleaner than any manufactured ammo I have ever shot, doesn't even mess with the gas tube, but if you lube does it's super easy to clean anyways. a lotta people claim that lead will mess up gas operated guns, they probably only heard that, from someone, who heard it from someone else!!! good luck, and let us know how it goes. P.S listen to ghost hawk, he has some rough edges sometimes but he knows what he is talking about!- Travis

[Tom W.]

Leading? Back when I was just starting a friend of mine bought some moly and had me dump my .45 acp boolits in there. After about an hour he proclaimed them good and I asked about lube. He said it was a new process and didn't need anything more than the moly. I went home and loaded a box and headed for the range. After five shots I had trouble with the slide going into battery. It wasn't anything a bump on the back of the slide couldn't fix, at least for a while. I put in my second magazine and couldn't hit a thing. I cleared the pistol and looked at the muzzle. Imagine my surprise when I saw what looked like fine silver spaghetti coming out of the bore.

Get a good lube. If you just have to make your own be prepared for tweaking. I now use Carnauba red, and every now and then in my rifle will tumble lube with JPW...and a gas checked boolit.

[Rcmaveric]

While doing load work ups, every other group i inspect the bore. When i get to hotter loads i check after every group when pushing the envelope. Once i have load or bullet size chosen that produces good accuracy without leading. I dont worry about it any more. I hardly even clean my guns. Only time i have groups go unexpectedly south is during pistol experminets. I did try to put a few copper jackers down the pistol to nock loose the leading on my 9mm but it didnt help and still took all day to clean it. If you ever fill grooves of a barrel, its a pita to clean out. Light leading comea out surprisingly quickly. I use mostly bore snakes now. I only use the rods on badly leades barrels. The bore snakes clean every thing out on a few passes.

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