Lead on brass

[Pitchnit]

Why am I getting lead on some of the cases. It's only on a few (less than 10/100 but I'm wondering why and what I can try to do to eliminate it. 45 ACP, straight WW, sized to .452. Regards-Pitchnit
http://castboolits.gunloads.com/imagehosting/thum_219135016f999eafc2.jpg (http://castboolits.gunloads.com/vbimghost.php?do=displayimg&imgid=6097)

[Swede44mag]

How hot is your load, what powder?
It may be that the load is not hot enough to fully open the brass then some blow-by is coming back into the chamber.
Or it may be your lead is to soft or undersized boolit.

[popper]

I've had a few shaved when loaded and the shaving not removed when firing, ends up on the brass in 40SW.

[runfiverun]

see post #3

[Grandpas50AE]

Same opinion as post # 3 - it is the only time I've ever had lead on my brass (and that's been quite some time ago).

[rintinglen]

I vote for lead shavings too.

As the boolit leaves the case the expanding gases push against the little slivers of lead left from the over-sized boolit being shaved while being seated into the under-sized or under-belled brass. These flow back onto the case.

As a cure I rcommend flaring the case a tad more, and seating and crimping in two steps rather than one. Also, I had similar problems when I was loading the Lee 45-200 swc tl unsized. My boolit casting technique was throwing some boolits a little larger than the rest, which lead to issues similar to what you show. Sizing is your friend, in this case.

I had a lot of trouble with reloading the 32-20 until I separated the seating from the sizing... Hope this helps

[462]

Agreed:
1. Case mouth not expanded enough.
2. Seating and crimping in one operation.
3. All of the above.

[Pitchnit]

I'll look for shaved lead but I haven't noticed any lately (I have in the past). I do try to keep the flaring down to avoid over working the brass. The load is 4.0 gr Bullseye with a Lee 452-200 SWC (non-TL) and 1.250 COL. Regards-Pitchnit

[rond]

Bell the case mouth a little more, some of your brass may be shorter than the rest so they don't bell as much. I don't think you can overwork .45 ACP brass, some of mine is over 30 years old and works fine.

[Lively Boy]

ok, i have the same problem. I was overbelling the cases but still had the problem. no lead shavings tho, at least that i can see. I'll try to make a better expander and see if that will help. thanks pitchnit for asking i clean my brass then forget to ask. need to shoot more!!!

[geargnasher]

I agree with the culprit likely being shaved lead turning to dust upon firing, but seating into an insufficiently belled case is not the only place autoloading pistols often shave the boolits. Look about 1/8" more toward the muzzle.

Gear

[Pitchnit]

Gear- Can you explain a bit further. Regards-Pitchnit

[MGySgt]

Did you chamfer the inside of the case mouth? If not you will get some lead shaving INSIDE the case. Lead can blow back during the extraction cycle and the case is partly out of the chamber.

[David2011]

I don't think you can overwork .45 ACP brass, some of mine is over 30 years old and works fine.

A lot of my older .45 ACP brass has been shot so many times the headstamps are unreadable but it doesn't crack.

David

[mpmarty]

+1 on the lifespan of 45acp brass. I've got some that has no visible headstamps at all and have been recycled over fifty times. No splits but some of the primer pockets have expanded a bit.

[geargnasher]

Gear- Can you explain a bit further. Regards-Pitchnit

Sharp step at throat/barrel transition. Not to be confused with step at end of chamber, although that can shave lead too if the throat isn't big enough.

Gear

[runfiverun]

you could get a ring of lead in the area gear is talking about.
it would be a regular occurence say something like 8-10 every 100.
if those numbers [or whatever number] keeps coming up per hundred then i'd start looking in that area based on the average number of shots needed.
based on the number of cases per.

[Pitchnit]

Thanks-I have not noticed a step in the throat to barrel transition area but I will look closer. Barell is ready for cleaning. I have a 25x video borescope at work. If there is a step I will see it with that. Regards-Pitchnit

[Lively Boy]

would a chamber cast show the culprit?

[popper]

I found lead squiggles in the lube grooves when seating soft lead. Any roughness in the case will roll up the lead. The cases were fired and unsized, just bell'd. That myth of lead not rubbing off on other metal is exactly a myth. Seat a nice shiny sized CB up to the lube groove, then pull it and look at the scratched up drive band. BHN doesn't seem to make a diff. The forcing cone of my shotgun tells me different when I get around to cleaning it. Those oval flecks are hard to get out too.