Need some help! New to casting.

[garrett762]

Hi guys, I just joined the forum and have recently taken up casting. I just bought a Ruger SBH Talo in 44 mag. I bought a lyman 429421 mould and have mostly been casting 50/50, WW/pure lead. Also, I have been lubing the bullets with Lee Liquid Alox but not too much. The first 30 of my cast bullets did great with little to no leading. Just shot yesterday and after 35 shots had very severe leading in the last half of my barrel. The first batch of bullets was sized down to a .430 and barely did anything in terms of sizing. The batch from yesterday was not sized because they were dropping at .430 to begin with. The load itself is 10 gr of Unique with a medium roll crimp. I was wondering if the charge, lube, and the bullet were the same between the two test, why severe leading in the last batch? I also just slugged my barrel and got a .430 diameter with the cylinder throats being slightly larger but easy enough to push through with a pencil. Any ideas and or suggestions would be much appreciated. Thanks.

[454PB]

LLA can sometimes fail to do the job, especially with powders like Unique loaded at near maximum. If the barrel slugs .430" and the throats are slightly larger, you may need a bigger boolit. You can do that with your present mould by using a higher percentage of antimony in the alloy, or by beagling the mould.

Leading is cumulative, the more rounds fired, the worse it gets. It's possible that your leading doesn't start until more than 30 rounds.

I recommend using a lower charge of Unique, a slower powder than Unique, and a slightly harder alloy.

[garrett762]

Thanks, 454PB I just got done reloading some with a different lube and lower powder charge. If that doesnt work I will mess with a harder alloy. After further thinking, I may have not been belling the case enough and potentially making an already small bullet even smaller. Thanks again for the suggestion.

[Bzcraig]

You should be sizing to the throats not the grooves when using a revolver. I have shot LLA to 1700fps without a problem so I wouldn't suspect the lube in any way.

[runfiverun]

lube size lube.
that's the proper way to apply the LLA.
at least do 2 thin coats.
I don't like the stuff but it works for some.
you just kinda have to figure out your process to make what you have work for you.
the way LLA works is it is pressed between the lead and the steel insuring the two don't touch.

[w5pv]

I have shot thousands of rounds without any leading using Ben's Red I have enough to last me for a few more thousand rounds so I am going to set on it.

[243winxb]

50/50, WW/pure lead To soft.

[44man]

I made thousands of lube tests and Alox is the last I would ever use, I don't even want a mix. I am convinced it burns and leaves ash in the bore.
Ben's Red indeed stops leading but I found for a revolver it needs some lanolin for more sticky. I love it in my rifle but think it is too slippery in a revolver, breaking tension early.
Hard lubes fail in most applications too.
I was astounded with the differences in groups between lubes. It led to years of experiments and I found Felix dependable with MML and Satan's lube also good, LBT Soft Blue is good. CR is kind of hard but also shoots good.
TL boolits also benefit from a good lube.
Next is the boolit design with a Keith the worst, they need to be real hard to let them clock the cylinder without the little edge wiping off. That worthless shoulder should not be! It serves no purpose other then a hole in paper but too soft and it will slump away but to slump straight is hit and miss. I only got them accurate at 28 to 30 BHN. 50-50 is way too soft.
Yeah, I know, everyone shoots soft OK and soft is pushed constantly but my demands are 100X more and anything over 1" at 50 yards is rejected with most guns doing 1/2" or less. I have shot 1/2" to 1" at 100 yards with revolvers and my best was 2-1/2" at 500 yards for five shots.
Fit to throats is over rated, my .44 has .4324" throats and a .430" groove, this is a .430" boolit at 200 yards.174996 How about a .500 JRH at 50 yards? 174997 A shot gun shell at 100 yards. 174998 same gun.
Steerage at the cone does the work, Notice my boolit at 200, The ogive is as close to my 11° cone as I could get. My revolvers can go 3 to 4 years without the bore cleaned, only the cylinder is done for new lube and I use STP on the pin, ratchet and front bushing.
The SBH that shot the 200 yard group has over 81,000 heavy loads through it and the brass has over 40 shots. New brass is BAD for tension and it must be shot to even out. I can measure seating pressures and sort. From boolits/bullets that go in easy to tight can be groups 10" or more apart.
Your travels with the .44 has just begun. I worked on the caliber since 1956. If you think I am done, not so, ongoing process that never ends. I can dispute 90% of what you read.
Anyone tells you to soften to OBTURATE, look sideways. Fit is important but it is to the groove and hard boolits do not lead a gun if done right. How do you steer a boolit if soft and the side is wiped?
Cast must be made close to jacketed but I have beaten jacketed bullets.

[OS OK]

Run those casts with WW only, that'll be hard enough but, fit is first.
I would look into Powder Coating straight up WW casts.

[44man]

New brass test at 50 yards, scoped from the bench.175001 Would you shoot this way? 50 shots from new brass.
Maybe I am crazy!

[mdi]

"Normally" leading further down the barrel indicates the lube has "run out". I'd drop the Unique down to 9.0 and switch lube. I've found 45-45-10, dip lubed, to work quite well in my 5, .44 Magnums...

[gwpercle]

Agree with mdi....The lube is running out before it reaches end of barrel. Pan lube with something that will fill that generous lube groove , store bought or home made like Ben's Red.
That might be all it takes.
Gary

[garrett762]

Wow, thanks everyone for yall's input and advice. If I try another lube is pan-lubing a viable method? Dont really want to spend the money on a lube sizer early in the game but, I am not opposed to it either if it is the best way and a time saver in the long run. Thanks again.

[Walter Laich]

pan lubing works fine. Takes a bit of time which is where a lube/sizer will help out: you get the job done in less time.

It's easy to do and cheap so give it a try. You can always take the lube you're using to pan lube and melt it and pour in a lube/sizer down the road

[rda72927]

Wow, thanks everyone for yall's input and advice. If I try another lube is pan-lubing a viable method? Dont really want to spend the money on a lube sizer early in the game but, I am not opposed to it either if it is the best way and a time saver in the long run. Thanks again.

When I started, I had the same thought; I'll pan lube because I didn't what to spend the money on a lube sizer. For me it was a mistake. All the time I spent trying pan lubing, making different lube's for it and poor results. I should have just started with the lube sizer. I now have one and regret all the time and money wasted on pan lubing.

[MARCORVET]

Garrett,
Where in Ga are you located. I may be able to help.

[paul edward]

If I try another lube is pan-lubing a viable method? Dont really want to spend the money on a lube sizer early in the game but, I am not opposed to it either if it is the best way and a time saver in the long run.

Yes, pan lubing is a viable method. And it is inexpensive. All you need is a pie pan, lube, heat source and a cutter. Make a cutter by drilling out a cartridge case. A 44 caliber cutter can also be made from 7/16" ID tube.

I used pan lube for many years until I could afford a sizer lubricator.

[454PB]

And powder coating is another option.

[garrett762]

Ok, I'm and going to try pan lubing for a while, I believe. But will probably try to pick up a lube sizer eventually. MARCORVET, I'm in McDonough, not to far north of you, it seems.

[MARCORVET]

I moved to Byron. Still not to far away. I have Lyman 450 ans a 4500 if you want to try lubrisizing. All you would need is top punch and sizing die. I don't have any 44 tooling. PM me if you are interested.