Leading

[longcruise]

I wanted to start this topic as a poll but I don't see how to do that. So I'll pose a couple questions and call it a poll. :-P

1. Have you NEVER experienced leading in your career of shooting cast?

2. Have you frequently experienced leading in your cast shooting.

[firefly1957]

First I have had leading in several guns .

Second I have had some loads and alloy lead terribly I am currently using powder coat or enamel paint baked on bullets and have a lot less barrel fouling .

The worst leading I have ever had was a very hard alloy in my .44 magnum the alloy was wheel weight alloy but I added the backing off a old silver mirror to the alloy in the pot .

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

somewhere in the middle of 1 and 2

[Randy Bohannon]

Only leading I’ve experienced was from commercial cast bullets that was before I started casting my own and this website. I haven’t had leading since with one exception a Winchester BB 375, I suspect the lube grooves don’t carry enough lube or my bullets are to small @ 378” or both.

[BLAHUT]

Leading at the chamber end is caused by bullets not upsetting, a softer lead or a bigger bullet diameter, leading at the muzzle is bullet not caring enough lube. IMHO......

[Wheelguns 1961]

Here you go.http://http://www.lasc.us/Fryxell_Book_Chapter_7_Leading.htm

[Carrier]

Here you go.http://http://www.lasc.us/Fryxell_Book_Chapter_7_Leading.htm


Link doesn’t work for me.

[Hick]

I had leading in my first two Win 94's just when I first started casting and reloading. Took me a little while (a month or two) and a bit of serious searching on this forum to understand the importance of slugging the bore and properly sizing. No leading since in those rifles, and no leading ever in any of the firearms I have bought since.

[Wheelguns 1961]

Link doesn’t work for me.

I don’t know what is wrong with the link. If you google the lasc (los angeles silhouette club) from ingot to target chapter 7 it should come up.

[44Blam]

I have leaded a lot of guns! It just means you are doing something wrong.
Some common things that will lead your gun:
1) Exceed the RPM of a boolit and thus basically strip the boolit in the lands. This can be pushing too hard, sizing too small, wrong barrel twist or a combination of these.
2) Size incorrectly - too small can be caused by actually sizing without slugging your barrel or it can be caused by swaging from the case or from a crimp die.
3) Push too hard without a gas check - higher pressures can cause gas cutting.

When you do lead your barrel, just take come copper choreboy and wrap it around your wire brush and scrape-scrape-scrape.

As far as frequently, I would say no. Once I've figured out a load it tends to preform well. One thing to note is that a boolit/load that works in one gun may lead another. I recently discovered a problem with just such a scenario between a Glock 35 with a KKM barrel and a S&W M&P2 both in 40. The rounds shoot great in the glock with no leading and great accuracy. In the S&W, the barrel is ever so slightly bigger and that load leads. I *think* I have solved the issue but I need to cast more boolits to find out.

[jgstrug]

Leading at the chamber end is caused by bullets not upsetting, a softer lead or a bigger bullet diameter, leading at the muzzle is bullet not caring enough lube. IMHO......That's funny; your typo says that it is due to the bullet not caring enough!

Sent from my SM-S906U using Tapatalk

[Bazoo]

I've had a lot of leading troubles. But mostly it was the guns problem...IE guns that have some dimensional issues. I've sometimes found remedies, and sometimes not. I have had 1 gun that leaded no matter what I tried until I hit on a load that didn't. I've had others that leaded no matter what, and others that don't lead. Just part of it.

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

Here you go.http://http://www.lasc.us/Fryxell_Book_Chapter_7_Leading.htm

http://www.lasc.us/Fryxell_Book_Chapter_7_Leading.htm

[schutzen-jager]

never experienced any since i started casting + using liquid alox with reasonable loads many decades ago -

[Rockindaddy]

Have only experienced leading in rough bore guns. Driving cast boolits faster than 1600 fps without a copper gas check caused some leading. I have 4 Lyman sizer lubricators and 5 STAR lube-sizers. ALL my cast boolits get sized and lubed! I run about 70~ 80lbs of lead through my 45-70 Gatling guns a year. The cast boolits hardly ever run faster than 1400 fps. No gas checks, groove diameter sizing and plenty of lube keeps down any possibility of leading. If you plan to shoot cast boolits look down that bore and make sure there is no pitting or dark spots in the bore and you will have a good gun to run cast boolits through!!

[Half Dog]

I’ve experiences leading. My most recent issue was with a 9mm. I’m f I remember correctly I slowed the bullet down and that resolved to he issue.

[jdgabbard]

The leading I have experience was usually mild. Either right at the throat in pistols, or at the end of the barrel such as in rifles. I have occassionally had a small smear of lead in the middle of the barrel which cleaned out easily. Most of the time a bronze brush and some chore boy is more than enough to get rid of any lingering lead deposits.

[gwpercle]

1.) Yes - when I first started I had no idea what I was doing and made a few mistakes . Reading books on the subject educated me ... in 1967 there were no You-Tube Experts .

2.) No - I did a lot of reading , learned about proper sizing and discovered good bullet lubricants that worked ... lots of big brand name lubes don't work ...
Lithium Grease - Beeswax (1 part / 3 parts)has worked best ...Lithi-Bee ...
no leading in handgun or 30 cal. rifle .

Proper size of boolit + good lubricant = no leading problems ...usually !
There can be other issues ... but if casting and shooting boolits were easy ...
Everybody would be doing it !

Gary:drinks:

[Cast10]

NEVER - I powder coat 9mm Glocks 19, 26, 43X, Glock 20 and Carbine in 10mm, 38-55 Win 1894 Sporter. Velocity in the carbine and sporter are both at 1600fps.
I’m kinda still a newby, but learned a lot of info here. The only think got me in to casting boolits was Powder Coat, due to the stories of LEADING.

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

So, I just de-customized my 10-22. When I removed the Green Mountain SS bull barrel, I noticed some lead fouling starting at the throat and going in about 1". I've only put about 400 rds through this barrel since it was bought new...Probably 7 or 8 different brands. I also noticed fairly heavy carbon build up on one side of the barrel breech face.

[ioon44]

I haven't had any leading problems with my reloads since I started using Hi-Tek coating.

[firefly1957]

In my previous post I was thinking about my cast bullets reading though replies someone hit on store bought bullets leading that took me back to the 1970's
Before I was casting much I was buying Speer & Hornady Swaged bullets in .35 & 45 Calibers both leaded badly even the graphite coated type.

Most of my cast bullets today are powder coated or painted and baked. Early this year I was at a gun show and bought a bag of 150 grain .38 caliber Hollow Base wad cutters I am not sure who made them . I loaded these slow at 700 f/s and they shot terrible from my old S&W target masterpiece and the same from my Taurus model 608 . Catching some in snow banks I found the copper was peeling off in flight I also found copper specks in the bore .
In June I had a thought and sprayed a couple dozen of those plated bullets with enamel paint and baked it on . The same 700 f/s load shot a 1 1/2" 25 yard group from both pistols with the bullets coated !

I went a bit further and loaded some of the now coated bullets backwards in .357 Magnum cases seating them out to the same depth as a 158 grain bullet a load of little gun powder claims 1500 f/s for a 158 grain bullet . The loaded rounds needed to be pushed into the chamber throats' but pressures were good and accuracy to 15 yards was good . Two where fired into gallon jugs filled with water laying on their side the jug was blown up and the bullet did not exit jug bottom. All I found was small bits of lead and of copper plated & coated lead . It is not a load I would carry but a interesting fix for the weak plating and may be an idea for plated bullets in the future . The coating of two layers of spray paint did not make the bullets large enough to resize .

[Tall]

No never. I started reloading maybe 45 years ago. Back then I always used jacketed bullets because I was scared to death of leading. Eventually I started using bullets from a local guy who cast them. I followed his directions and didn't try to get the highest possible velocity. Instead I went for the most accurate reload.

[Bigslug]

Have mostly experienced it in revolvers; the causes being frame crush and cylinder throat issues needed lapped out, or alloy too hard for proper upset.

Also went through the common 9mm drama of insufficiently flared brass sizing the bullets down below nominal diameter on seating.

[firefly1957]

Something often overlooked on revolvers is the size of the cylinder throats if those openings to the barrel forcing cone are smaller then the barrel groove diameter cast boolits are not for that revolver. This is mostly and issue in .45 long colt (old or new revolvers) and older revolvers of other calibers .

One article on a gun made not long ago stated a .45 Long Colt revolver had .451" cylinder throats wild the barrel had a groove depth of .454" leaving the gun best for J-bullets. I forget the revolver make ...

[charlie b]

Yes, but not very much. I've only been casting for 40 years :)

In the beginning, there was ignorance.... Tried pushing bullets too fast (without gas checks). Not sized correctly. Also did a lot of experimenting with different alloys, wads, lubes, coatings. Some worked. Some didn't. Some pretty spectacular 'failures' resulting in learning how to remove large amounts of leading (not easy :) ).

The only recent example was shooting in my 9mm. It has no throat in the barrel. The edges of the bore and rifling just kind of peel off a layer of lead and the burning gases seems to deposit it in the barrel. Until I throat it or get a different barrel I just shoot jacketed in it.

[justindad]

I had terrible leading with a Lyman .40 S&W mold cause by eccentric cavities. The sharp edge of the parting line was shaved off by the rifling. Had to send the mold back and the replacement isn’t very good either. We’ll see what happens at the range.

[MT Gianni]

1.0033 is my answer. If you have never had a serious leading problem then you are not much of an experimenter. If the thought of having to clean a gun worries you, you should find another hobby. When starting, I have leaded bbls within 5-6 shots. I have guns now that I have not sent a patch down in over 200 rounds as they tell me it isn't needed yet. If that scares you, recognize that your drill sgnt was as full of it as anyone else.

[firefly1957]

MT Gianni You reminded me of the worst leading loads I have they are factory Remington in the green and white box 158 grain semi wad cutters !
The loads at one time claimed 1500 f/s fired from my Taurus 608 6.5" barrel they were hitting 1250 f/s and just a few shots leaded the bore badly. I am not sure how old they are mid 1970's at least I remember leading the heck out of my S&W model 28 with the same factory ammo back in 1976 and leaving the bore filled with Mercury overnight!
The two boxes I have now were given to me about 20 years ago by a retired officer who had to remove all his guns and all ammo from his own home when his son got out of prison and lived there! It was a wasted effort the then 40 plus year old reoffended and even caught federal charges in just a couple years almost putting his mother in legal jeopardy as well as he was using her computer for counterfeiting and child porn!

[405grain]

When I first started out casting I'd get leading in both pistols and rifles. The more I learned the less leading I experienced, but it was always there to some extent. Once powder coating became a thing all leading has disappeared. I only shoot powder coated bullets today and leading is no longer an issue.