first reloads

[boomfactor]

i am new to casting and reloading. i have an xdm 5.25 .45 acp. using a lee 452-230 truncated cone mold,sizing to 452 on lyman 450 with rooster red lube. 3.7 gr. clays. im not positive of the alloy mix,my dad gave me a bunch of ingots he casted himself,this mix he has shot in several calibers for thuosands of rounds with no problems. my oal is 1.165 any more and they hit the rifling you can see the angled lines on the bullet if i tap the back a little while doing the the barrel drop test.
i use a slight taper crimp around 471 some at 470.they fit nicely in the barrel and shoot fine,but when i put them in my wilson guage almost all of them wont fit unless i crimp a little more. the problem is i am getting a fair amount of leading in the chamber and the first inch or so of the barrel after only about 100 rounds.everything i have read points to to small of a bullet. i guess the question is how much leading should be expected?and am i over thinking this. its not that hard to clean it out, just wasnt expecting to see any so soon.

[MtGun44]

Not sure of the quality of Rooster Red lube. First thing is to try a known good lube like
NRA 50-50 or LBT soft blue on 100 rounds and change nothing else. It is VERY rare
that .452 is not perfect for a .45 ACP. This caliber has proven to be one of the most
consistent for me, with almost all barrels slugging at .451 or .4515 from many different
manufacturers and over many decades of samples.

Bill

[boomfactor]

i will do that and get back later with results.thank you

[codeNshoot]

I think you share a common problem with the gentleman in this thread.

http://www.castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?t=147923

[boomfactor]

so after more testing,my boolits are dropping 454 from the mold and im sizing to 452.checked with an accurate dial guage.i switched to lyman super moly lube,adjusted my length to 1.20 witch fits better and my diam. is 472 and some even at 475.everything functions 100%.but i still get leading in the throat and rifling near the chamber in only a few rounds like 50 or so..i m sure my measurements are correct,that lube is very common and worthy.i still dont know the hardness of my lead but head to head in a vise with a lazer cast semiwadcutter,they seem evenly matched,could they be to soft or too hard maybe.someone mentioned a sizing issue,could you be more specific,my measurments seem right according to all manuals.

[gwpercle]

Are you sure it is lead and not just powder and lube fouling ? The important thing is accuracy. How does it compare to factory ammo ? When shooting your cast loads does accuracy start out good and go downhill as more shots go down the barrel ? Everything you are doing sounds right. I would try loading some bullets of known alloy that have proven not to lead bores and see what happens. You have tried another lube so you are starting to home in on the problem.

But rember a little fouling is to be expected and as long as accuracy doesn't suffer it shouln't harm anything. Severe leading will cause accuracy to go from groups to patterns and is a chore to remove from your barrel.

[mktacop]

so after more testing,my boolits are dropping 454 from the mold and im sizing to 452.checked with an accurate dial guage.i switched to lyman super moly lube,adjusted my length to 1.20 witch fits better and my diam. is 472 and some even at 475.everything functions 100%.but i still get leading in the throat and rifling near the chamber in only a few rounds like 50 or so..i m sure my measurements are correct,that lube is very common and worthy.i still dont know the hardness of my lead but head to head in a vise with a lazer cast semiwadcutter,they seem evenly matched,could they be to soft or too hard maybe.someone mentioned a sizing issue,could you be more specific,my measurments seem right according to all manuals.

I'm not sure what your issue might be for sure, but I'll be happy to test the hardness of your cast bullets if you want. I'd only need 1 or 2 from the batch of lead you are having trouble with. I can test them and let you know the results. I could also test 1 or 2 of the lazer cast and compare the 2 for you if you'd like. Shoot me a PM if interested.

[boomfactor]

im pretty sure its leading,it looks like the pics on here i have seen of moderate leading.i scrubbed and cleaned and solvent #9 and it still left the little trails along the rifling and what apeared to be like shiny plating around the throat and part way back in the chamber.i could not remove it all until i used chor boy on it.

[9-toes]

Maybe I missed it . . . what does the barrel slug at? Also, after you have the round fitting in the Wilson gauge - what is the diameter of the bullet? Has a bullet been pulled to see if it is sizing down any?

[boomfactor]

i gave up on the guage,im only loading for my gun anyway and i had to really crimp down alot to get them to fit the guage,i just do the barrel drop test.yes they were undersized when fit to the guage,but now when pulled they still measure 452. at this point everything checks out fine,my accuracy is awesome no matter how many rounds fired, it doesnt seem to change. i have not slgged the barrel yet. im not looking for perfection,i dont mind cleaning my gun its all fun to me,just wasnt sure what would happen if i started maybe compition shooting and shot a couple hundred rounds at each session,other than maybe accuracy degrading could anything else happen? just seemed like a pain to clean half way through a session.

[captaint]

boom - Sounds like you're just getting streaky? not accumulating, lead buildup. If that's the case and accuracy doesn't go south, I would keep on rockin. I think you're doing the right thing by using the dismounted barrel drop test to set your taper "crimp". My ammo gets left right at .472 at the case mouth and that has been working well. Do scrub what's left in the barrel out each time. Might try a little JB Paste also. You might have a little rough spot that you can smooth up in time. enjoy Mike

[boomfactor]

i have a fresh 100 rounds,a day off from work, and heading to the range now.thank you.

[41 mag fan]

i gave up on the guage,im only loading for my gun anyway and i had to really crimp down alot to get them to fit the guage,i just do the barrel drop test.yes they were undersized when fit to the guage,but now when pulled they still measure 452. at this point everything checks out fine,my accuracy is awesome no matter how many rounds fired, it doesnt seem to change. i have not slgged the barrel yet. im not looking for perfection,i dont mind cleaning my gun its all fun to me,just wasnt sure what would happen if i started maybe compition shooting and shot a couple hundred rounds at each session,other than maybe accuracy degrading could anything else happen? just seemed like a pain to clean half way through a session.


What do you mean by crimping down alot? At .473 crimp it should fit in the gauge.
When using a gauge, it is an overall across the board gauge. Some barrells are less than perfect, where the guage goes out the window.
Also how many rounds had this barrell been shot thru it?
It might as captaint posted on here, a burr or rough spot, that'll smooth out over time.

[trixter]

I used to try for .468, and a few would actually measure out to that diam. but have backed it off to .470, and my XDM likes it there.