Help my thought process-leading the bore

[Jim Flinchbaugh]

OK, My Ruger Redhawk 7-1/2 inch barrel leads profusely, always has.
I cleaned the handgun today, measured the diameter of the forcing cones
.4308"
.4309"
.4311"
.4320"
.4316"
.4320"
even if you drop the tenths, there is 2 thou variation
Ruger has some QC issues apparenetly :)

Bore measures .4165"
Groove diameter is .430"

I assume this tells me why its leading, the boolits aint fat enough (unlike me)
I have always shot purchased cast boolits for this, till recently. Never even considered a j-word

Both my Lee and LBT molds drop at .430. Can I achieve enough by beagling to "get the lead out" ?:groner:
I'd think I'd need like .432?

I first shot my boolits cast of straight wheelwrights, they came in light, but on size.
Yesterday, I mixed some pure with the wheel weights (about 35% pure to 65 % WW), they got heavier but not fatter & likely softer. (hardness tester should be here Monday :) ) Do you think these might obdurate better for sealing the bore, or are they still gonna just be too small?

BTW,
I know you folks say Copper Chore Boy works great for getting the gunk out. No copper ones here, but the stainless steel version available here, saturated with turpentine, really leaves a clean tube!

ON EDIT: I should have mentioned, the purchased boolits where Rimrock 300 grain TC shot at 1200fps. I have not chronographed any of the 240 grainers

[Larry Gibson]

What lube?

What load?

Add 2% tin to your WWs. They will fill out better in the mould and probably give a larger diameter by perhaps as much as .002. They will also amke the antimony mix in better solution in the lead/antimony/tin alloy (ternary / 3 part).

Did the Commercial cast lead?

Your throat/barrel measurments are almost identical to my FTBH .44s. I"ve shot lots of .430 size cast bullets in it with zoro leading or antimonal wash at 44 SPL upwards of magnum velocities of 1400+ fps. I've also shot a bajillion 429 sized cast bullets, commercial and my own through numerous .44 magnums before I ever knew about "fit" to the cylinder throats with no leading. Personal I think we go over the top on the "fit" to cylinder throat issue. It may be an issue in older .44 SPLs and .45 Colts with throats .004 - .006" over the bore size but most all .44 Magnums will shoot just as well, without leading, with .430 sized bullets cast of correct alloy, lubed properly and with a correct load.

Larry Gibson

[geargnasher]

A .430" boolit in a .430" groove might seal in a perfect world, but not likely.

Check for thread choke, i.e. a restriction where the barrel is threaded into the frame. Rugers are famous for it, but evidently not famous enough for it to be common knowledge and it causes a lot of grief with cast boolit shooters until they fix it by Taylor reaming or firelapping. If there is any thread choke at all, your marginal boolits will leak gas badly after passing through the frame area of the barrel and the leaks will cause gas cutting of the boolit and leading from there on out toward the muzzle.

My experience with adding tin differs from Larry's, and I've studied it quite a bit. Two percent tin only gives half a thouandth to wheel weight alloy in .45 Caliber, it won'd get you where you need to be on size. Try Beagling the mould with one layer of foil tape per the Beagling instructions on the LASC dot US site, that should get you a touch over .431", and you should be able to lube and shoot them as-is, let the gun do any sizing that may need to be done.

I'd also ream the cylinder throats for uniformity even though it won't improve leading in your case, since they are all larger than groove, but it might improve accuracy some.

Gear

[btroj]

My SRH leaded horribly with a .429 bullet. I beagled the mould, sized to .432 and no more lead.
I have done a bit of fire lapping but not much considering this is a stainless Ruger and that steel is tough.

Try shooting a bigger bullet and see what happened. Getting all the throats to the same size sure isn't going to hurt either.

[jandbn]

BTW,
I know you folks say Copper Chore Boy works great for getting the gunk out. No copper ones here, but the stainless steel version available here, saturated with turpentine, really leaves a clean tube!
I would consider using something other than stainless. You may be scratching your tube if too aggressive.

[btroj]

Many here use 4 aught steel wool to remove leading. I have used it some but not as much as the chore boy.
Don't know how much I would like the stainless pot scrubber in my barrel.

[Jim Flinchbaugh]

To answer Larry's question the 300 grains were purchased, all I know about the lube is it was a blue hard wax lube in a single groove. Load was 9.5 grains of VihtiVuori N320, CCI LP mag primers

The 240's I cast were lubed with Recluse's 45-45-10 tumble lube. 10 grains N340

I just loaded 100 rounds of the new (softer) alloy tonight. I will get to the range before the gong shoot tomorrow and see what happens. Load is 6 grains of 231, Fed LP mag primers should be about 875fps, a touch slower than previous

First shoot of the year tomorrow, wish me luck!

[cbrick]

Yesterday, I mixed some pure with the wheel weights (about 35% pure to 65 % WW), they got heavier but not fatter & likely softer.
BTW,

For sure softer, you diluted the antimony and the antimony is what makes it harder. Nope, no fatter, you diluted the antimony. A higher not lower antimony percentage casts larger because the antimony doesn't shrink as much.


I know you folks say Copper Chore Boy works great for getting the gunk out. No copper ones here, but the stainless steel version available here, saturated with turpentine, really leaves a clean tube!

Think I'll keep the stainless out of my barrels. It will create tiny scratches in the bore that will collect fouling making cleaning more difficult.

Rick

[44man]

How were the throats measured? If you used a caliper, it will be wrong.
If accurate, the throats can be fixed. But those measurements will not harm a .430" boolit and if you try to shoot larger then throat size, it is of no advantage. A .430" boolit in a .430" groove should work, I do it all the time with no leading.
Lube or alloy, fast thumping powder, skidding boolits, high pressure primers and a few other problems that boolit size will not cure.
I hate to say it but just changing boolit diameter is not going to fix it.
Too many things wrong with your loads to start with.
Keep steel wool out of stainless barrels and never use hard wire brushes like stainless either. The stuff is harder then barrel steel and will scratch it. Use brass, bronze or Curly Kate brass or copper, not the plated steel junk. If a magnet grabs your cleaner, toss it quick.

[Nobade]

I have had really good luck in my lead-o-matic Ruger revolvers using Cream 'O' Wheat as filler between the boolit and powder. 1/2 case of H110 and 1/2 case COW in a 44 mag is a fairly powerful load and doesn't lead or throw fliers even with lousy factory cast boolits that usually aren't even remotely useful. Remember don't use fillers with powders faster than this due to high pressure.

[Iron Mike Golf]

I had leading problems in my RH Hunter. Significant thread choke, minor front sight choke. Cylinder throats are a loose .432 (can see specks of daylight here and there around a .432 pin gauge). Tried many loads and never got better than 25 rounds between de-leading. Shot well.

I ended up firelapping the thread choke and opening my sizing die to .433. I have a SAECO sizer and the biggest die in that cal is .431. Shoots fine and no residue that dry brushing doesn't remove.