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Thread: Bad leading

  1. #1
    Boolit Mold
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    Bad leading

    What does a badly leaded barrel look like? I get streaks of lead but doesn't seem to build up much. Haven't found a accurate load yet for my Ruger Super Blackhawk Hunter. I have 255 grain Keith bullets and Alliant Bluedot and 2400 powders. If anyone can recommend a load.

  2. #2
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    The old Lyman manual I keep handy at the computer gives starting loads for that bullet weight as 14 grains for the Blue Dot and 18 grains for 2400.

    If your bullets are .430 or bigger and lubed with decent lube, you shouldn't get any leading. A general rule of thumb is to take the cylinder out of the revolver and try to drop a bullet through the chambers, it should stick in the forcing come of each cylinder and take a gentle pressure to push it through. If it falls through on its own, you'll likely get leading.

  3. #3
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    Quote Originally Posted by garnerboy View Post
    What does a badly leaded barrel look like? .
    The grooves will be filled in, and it'll remind you of looking down inside a sewer pipe.
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  4. #4
    Boolit Buddy
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    You may be seeing antimony wash as some call it. Imagine cleaning a paint brush and it’s 99% clean but you still get a a faint stain when you brush something. Antimony wash would look faint like that. Leading is physical deposits of lead. Hope that helps.

  5. #5
    Boolit Master 44Blam's Avatar
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    I leaded a rifle all to heck once by pushing the boolits too hard and seating them to deep.

    There were places where you could not tell that there were groves.

    It took about 3 days of running chore boy through it to get it all cleaned...

    I do remember when I was shooting them, I was shooting at a target sitting at 50 yards. The first one was on the paper about 3" high, then the next one was on the cardboard about 18" off center at about 2 o'clock. Then I couldn't even tell where they were going after that. I think I only shot about 10 or 15 rounds and got MASSIVE leading.
    Last edited by 44Blam; 03-16-2020 at 10:58 PM.
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  6. #6
    Boolit Grand Master Bazoo's Avatar
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    In my winchester 94, 30-30. With wheel weights and minimal tin, running full speed, I get a grey painting of "lead" in my bore. It doesn't build up nor does it impede accuracy. It will brush right out with a bronze bore brush. That's not leading, rather fowling.

  7. #7
    Boolit Master facetious's Avatar
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    Whan I started loading for my .357 I tryed some Speer swaged boolits and leaded it so bad it looked like little wires coming out the end of the barrel where the rifling was.
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    Just to clarify, I assume you are shooting a .44 Magnum when you said it was a Super Black Hawk, is that correct?

  9. #9
    Boolit Master
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    You can feel a marked change in resistance when pushing a tight brush through it.
    Kroil works wonders on leading, as does firebrushing. Good luck

  10. #10
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    My favorite and most accurate load with that bullet is 17.5 gr. 2400.
    The solid soft lead bullet is undoubtably the best and most satisfactory expanding bullet that has ever been designed. It invariably mushrooms perfectly, and never breaks up. With the metal base that is essential for velocities of 2000 f.s. and upwards to protect the naked base, these metal-based soft lead bullets are splendid.
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  11. #11
    Boolit Buddy
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    You will not get decent accuracy if you are leaving streaks of lead in your barrel . Shooting cast bullets which don't lead a barrel and have great accuracy requires some effort on your part . You have to determine the groove diameter of the barrel . Then make sure the cylinder throats are a tad larger . You need to push a lead slug all the way through the barrel to determine if there are any tight spots . The usual one is where the barrel threads onto the frame and sometimes where they " roll " stamped the side of the barrel or small machine marks inside your barrel . If all of these conditions have been checked and any remedied that were a problem then we move onto your particular bullet that you are using . Is it too small in diameter ? I cast / size all my 44 bullets .431 . If your bullets have a hard lube , like what is used on crayons ? Then that's all it is good for . Are your bullets too hard for the velocity you are loading for ? You might try tumble lubing your bullets with Alox . It will help fix your problem . I have always told those that want to shoot cast to go to the " LBT Mold " website and purchase Veral Smiths soft bound book called " Jacketed Performance with Cast Bullets " . He explains in detail the problems associated with shooting cast and how to fix it , in handguns as well as rifles . You might even find it on Ebay . I have shot cast many a year and have learned a lot . The accuracy has always increased significantly when I fixed any and all of the above mentioned trouble area's that need attention . I can load from " mild to wild " and don't need gas checks . Regards, Paul

  12. #12
    Boolit Master

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    The above two posts wrap it up quite nicely! I will only add that when I was hunting with a 44 magnum handgun I found that I did not have o push a 250 grain Keith boolit very fast for it to be VERY effective. 1100-1200 fps was PLENTY!

    And, during load work-up I found that I could run that plain base boolit with a max charge of H-110 without leading the bore of my 10" Contender.
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    I love my RBHH, it is really accurate with 2x leup on it, 3" groups at 100y is pretty routine. Check cyl throats, it is the biggest issue with cast bullets. It wont matter how larger you size them for the bore if the throats are tight. I have a RBH/ss in 45colt, had 0.4505" throats & shot ok but leaded badly in the first 1-2". After opening the throats to 0.452" & running that size bullet, leading went away & accuracy improved.
    I get good results with most any cast bullet. I shoot a 250gr SLWC for practice & my hunting load is a 270gr cup point, no gc. Either over upper midrange loads of 2400 or h110 will shoot into 3" @ 100y off the bench or braced sitting position for me. The cup point wont stay inside a deer broadside, haven't had a chance to shoot pigs with it yet, but expect total exit there too.
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  14. #14
    Boolit Master
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    Bad leading looks like a straight pipe, no groves left.
    Chunks of lead on the bench or ground.

    Really bad leading, particularly in a 22, is keyholing bullets, a stuck, then broken cleaning rod and a torch to melt the lead out (remington thunderturds in a students new Taurus TX22)

    Light streaks that come out easily while cleaning are not normally leading.


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  15. #15
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    Quote Originally Posted by mjwcaster View Post
    Bad leading looks like a straight pipe, no groves left.
    Chunks of lead on the bench or ground.

    Really bad leading, particularly in a 22, is keyholing bullets, a stuck, then broken cleaning rod and a torch to melt the lead out (remington thunderturds in a students new Taurus TX22)

    Light streaks that come out easily while cleaning are not normally leading.


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    I would never use a torch to remove lead.

    Hydrogen Peroxide and vinegar work quite well. If you can get your hands on it mercury works even better.

    I really wish I could afford a pint of mercury.
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  16. #16
    Boolit Master gnostic's Avatar
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    You didn't say, the size of your bullets, anything under .430 expect lead in the barrel. I'd use Chore Boy to scrub lead out. The powder and alloy seldom matters, it's all about bullet to barrel fit. If you're getting lead at the muzzle it's lube failure, streaks from the forcing cone forward is gas cutting and the result of bullet size....

  17. #17
    Boolit Master
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    Bad leading

    Quote Originally Posted by Burnt Fingers View Post
    I would never use a torch to remove lead.

    Hydrogen Peroxide and vinegar work quite well. If you can get your hands on it mercury works even better.

    I really wish I could afford a pint of mercury.
    I wouldn’t recommend a torch for lead removal, always start with the least destructive methods.

    I used a torch to remove a broken cleaning rod that was cold welded into the lead.

    Heating the exposed portion of the rod, not the barrel.
    Then as soon as the rod was removed, taking a majority of the leading with it I used conventional deleading methods.

    This was a worst case scenario, caused by rushing the initial cleaning job, not a suggestion for a normal cleaning method.

    Normally choir boy, Ed’s red, soak time and elbow grease is my normal method.


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  18. #18
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    Many good answers here. The "low-down" is making sure your alloy is not too hard! I made that mistake in my S&W 500. Used like 30 BHN and powder coated. PC only saves your butt if your alloy is "firm" (not too soft or hard). I'll say it till the cows come home-PROPER FIT. If your bullets enable obturation (not allowing gas cutting) then leading is nil to none.

    50/50 mix hydrogen peroxide/vinegar makes peracetic acid. Plug one end of barrel and pour in. When fizzing stops pour out and run clean patch through. Do NOT leave in over night as this could be detrimental to your bore! At any rate always use Chore Boy first and then go to the big guns.
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  19. #19
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    Leading in a Ruger usually involves two things. First and foremost, the cylinder throats are likely smaller than you would like them to be, so remove the cylinder and take one of your boolits and try and push it through the throats from the front. If it won't go then the cylinder is pretty much a multi-port sizing die at this point and is sizing your boolits down to throat diameter as they are fired. This presents a projectile to the bore that is smaller than groove diameter and won't make a decent seal in the bore.

    If it goes easily, boolit diameter may be too small to begin with. Most will use .431" for a SBH, some will use .430" but either should be able to work without leading, provided throat diameters are not too small.

    The other side of this story is the alloy you are using may be too hard to be malleable enough to seal in the bore once it gets there, and hard lube as well will only compound issues, as mentioned above.

    An alloy of 50/50+2% (50% COWW clip on wheel weight and 50% pure soft lead plus 2% tin) is the ultimate perfect mix for any Ruger 44 or 45 revolver, with soft lube, boolits cast of this alloy take to Ruger rifling like a duck to water. Once you get cylinder throats sized properly, checking to make sure there is no significant thread choke where the barrel meets the frame, and you get the right alloy and lube, you won't have leading at all, in fact you will have a seasoned bore that virtually never needs cleaning. It just works. I have Ruger 44s and 45s here that haven't been cleaned in YEARS. Running a patch through the bore comes out dark with powder and lube residue but no leading. This is what they often call a "black bore" where the residue serves as seasoning which remains in the bore from shot to shot and will actually lube the front of the boolits as they are fired. Another sign you got it right is a lube star at the muzzle. This confirms that the lube is pressed against the bore walls by the pressure of firing and also the torque of the spinning boolit. Hard lube doesn't do this. It also doesn't lube very well either.
    Last edited by DougGuy; 03-18-2020 at 03:22 PM.
    Got a .22 .30 .32 .357 .38 .40 .41 .44 .45 .480 or .500 S&W cylinder that needs throats honed? 9mm, 10mm/40S&W, 45 ACP pistol barrel that won't "plunk" your handloads? 480 Ruger or 475 Linebaugh cylinder that needs the "step" reamed to 6° 30min chamfer? Click here to send me a PM You can also find me on Facebook Click Here.

  20. #20
    Boolit Grand Master


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    I've had luck with Bluedot pretty much anywhere on the map with that bullet, even down to 44 special levels. For a very soft hollow point I like 13 grains. For a harder bullet like clip on wheel weight, I like 16 grains. 17 grains is a good maximum.

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BP Bronze Point IMR Improved Military Rifle PTD Pointed
BR Bench Rest M Magnum RN Round Nose
BT Boat Tail PL Power-Lokt SP Soft Point
C Compressed Charge PR Primer SPCL Soft Point "Core-Lokt"
HP Hollow Point PSPCL Pointed Soft Point "Core Lokt" C.O.L. Cartridge Overall Length
PSP Pointed Soft Point Spz Spitzer Point SBT Spitzer Boat Tail
LRN Lead Round Nose LWC Lead Wad Cutter LSWC Lead Semi Wad Cutter
GC Gas Check