What hardness should gas checked 357 bullets be?

[m1garand_man]

I am trying to find out how hard my alloy should be for gas checked 357 bullets should be. I'll be casting 155gr bullets and sizing them to 358 for my 357 magnum. I'll be shooting them at 1200 fps and I'm concerned about trying to get a brinell of 20 using a mostly linotype alloy because it will cause to bullets to be too brittle. I don’t think I need to go this hard with a gas check but I don’t know how soft I can get away with.

Will a hardness of 16 be enough? Also will these shoot well with out gas checks at 38 spl velocities?

[Love Life]

16 is more than enough, and especially with gas checks. My boolits for .357 mag are usually at 12 bhn and do just fine and are plain base.

[btroj]

Don't sweat the BHN. It is a number. Try your bullets, if they work, then the gun is happy and all is good.
I am willing to bet that if they are sized to fit the throats and you don't have a throat/barrel size mismatch that all will be fine. This is far more critical than hardness.
As for using therm wi no GC, sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. This is another try and see situation.
Learning to shoot cast is about testing, testing, testing. Sometimes you just don't know until you try it and find out. If you lead up a barrel now and then it is OK, we all do it. This is how we learn.

[hes]

Thanks for the question so I didn't have too.

[MtJerry]

Fair question ... often asked, but rarely asked correctly.

I have a question back for you? What do you plan on using it for?

I use three different alloys for three different purposes.

Alloy #1 = 40/1 - BHN of about 6. This alloy is for making hollow point 358156's use in my Ruger LCR for personal concealed carry. I also use this alloy in my Marlin 1894 for an explosive varmint load.

Alloy #2 = 50/50 - BHN of about 10-12. This alloy is my general purpose alloy for hunting loads in my .357 revolvers and the Marlin 1894.

Alloy #3 = Wheel Weights water-quenched - BHN of around 20. This alloy is used for making hard-cast 190gr Ranch Dog bullets that I use as a bear load in my Ruger Security Six.

So .. there ya go ... several alloys that serve my purposes. I hope this helps you decide what you need.

[Larry Gibson]

MtJerry gives an excellent BHN range for GC'd handgun bullets. It is pretty much what I use although I use a couple different alloys in addtion to those he mentions.

Larry Gibson

[badbob454]

12 bhn should be enough for 1200 fps with or without gas checks , try some and see ... also read all the other comments, and see what is closest to what your need is . and try it for yourself ..my 2c worth .

[Sonnypie]

'Scuse me...

:hijack:

Does anyone know what the hardness of commercial jacketed bullets is/are?
Are they generally pure lead with the jacket to hold it in a general lump?

END :hijack:

OK, I'll go wash my mouth out with soap for mentioning those other bullets. :lol:

[geargnasher]

Anywhere from pure to 9% antimony.

Gear

[fredj338]

With a gc, you can shoot soft 25-1 bullets @ 1200fps. It would be a waste of lino & a gc to run them @ 1200fps. A plain base ww alloy bullet will easily handle that.

[357shooter]

Air cooled WW with a plain base bullet is the most common alloy and design for 1,200 fps in a 357, or just about any other velocity for that matter. At least in my guns.

WW is harder than what's needed (see Gears post, he's not kidding) but is what most casters have, and it works just fine. If that's what you have, try it.

I shoot BHN 8 faster than 1,200 FPS and get no leading. It's with a bullet design, fit and lube that works in my guns. You'll need find what works in yours.

Some guys love using gas checks. So if you really want to, just about any alloy will work in the gun. There's no need for using anything hard with them.