cylinder push through test

[magnumuser]

The only loading of lead bullets i have done is in a 308 winchester (that test failed), speer hollow base wadcutters, and matts bullets 240 grain swc in 44 magnum.

I finally obtained a box of hunters supply 148 grain wadcutters, box states sized to .358 . Problem is when doing the push through test, all i have to do is open the cylinder, hold my revolver horizontal and insert a dewc into each chamber, and tip the muzzle to the floor every bullet falls through and onto my table.

My question is, the maker states

Hunters Supply Bullets have always been known for consistence and now features a specialized Slick Coat lube allowing bullets to be shot at high velocities. They have been tested in varies calibers above 2000 fps without using a gas check.

1. i dont trust their lube, its some sort of loose powder
2. with the bullets freely falling through and leaving a smidge of that grey powder in the chambers is it even WORTH attempting a few rounds to see if they shoot?

[Winger Ed.]

Welcome, and I'm sure you'll grow to enjoy the frustrations of the cast boolit addiction,
and quickly see that it's a whole new world compared to loading & shooting 'store bought'.

[Bird]

Your cylinders, that is cylinder throats, are larger than .358 if the bullets you have are actually .358. Find out what the size of your throats are, and get the correct size bullets.
What is the firearm?

[M-Tecs]

They list them as .357" https://www.hunters-supply.com/357-cal-148-p-2995.html

[Bird]

I see now. You have .361 throats, so those bullets will not work. You will lead up the barrel within 2 cylinder fills.
I have an uberti 357 with .366 throats, so cast boolits are out. Berry's plated or RMR Bullets, both .357, are affordable and work good for me.

[castmiester]

I find googling questions that leads me to this site quite often.

https://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?387209-What-is-the-correct-bore-diameter-for-357-magnun-pistol-barrels

[Wayne Smith]

Wow! You started with cast boolits with the 308 and 44Mag. You don't start easy, do you. Both of these are high pressure cartridges - please tell us you have a .38 Special rather than a 357 Mag.

My point is that it is easier to learn to use cast in a low pressure cartridge, 38 Special, 45 ACP, or 45 Colt for example.

Yes your boolits are too small for your gun. That's why measuring your gun before you spend money on boolits is a good idea, then you know what to get. Use a soft lead sinker to shove through each chamber to find the diameter of the chamber mouths - then do the same for your barrel. Sit down with those numbers and talk to us about what you have - gun, cartridge, and dimensions. We can then help you.

[MostlyLeverGuns]

Many many people, myself included, shoot cast boolits in the 308 with great success, 1.5" 10 shot groups or less at 100 yards being common. Follow what many on this site recommend and you should get much better results in both your 308 and 44 Mag. You usually cannot simply buy an undersize(for cast) bullet, put it over a full jacketed bullet charge and get decent results. So far, my success with some of the Hunter Cast Bullets has NOT been great.

[schutzen-jager]

old timers rule of thumb - { if bullet passes thru cylinder + falls to ground or lands on your foot it is too undersized to provide optimum accuracy } -

[magnumuser]

I dont see them as high pressure cartridges,not with lead anyway..

I was doing ok with the .308 with laser cast 170 gr GC.. until i discovered accuracy only came with the factory crimp groove, but that was to long for it to go through the magazine.

Speer claims the wad cutters are sized at 358.. But the box of hunter supply does say .358 on them, so its somewhat confusing on that part.

[reddog81]

I dont see them as high pressure cartridges,not with lead anyway..

I was doing ok with the .308 with laser cast 170 gr GC.. until i discovered accuracy only came with the factory crimp groove, but that was to long for it to go through the magazine.

Speer claims the wad cutters are sized at 358.. But the box of hunter supply does say .358 on them, so its somewhat confusing on that part.

What do the bullets measure at?
What cartridge are you trying to load - .38 Special, .357 Mag, .38 S&W or something else?
What gun are you shooting them in?
What do the throats measure at on the cylinder?

Is there any resistance when putting the bullet into the cylinder? I have had good luck even with .357 lead bullets in a .357 cylinder. They will fall through but the fit is close enough that accuracy is great and leading isn't an issue. However shooting soft swaged .358 bullets in a .360 cylinder will be a recipe for problems. Without knowing the specifics of your situation everything is just a shot in the dark... Even with knowing the bullet size, throat size it's still kind of a guess until you try it out.

[fredj338]

Too large throats are better than too small. You may get leading or not, shoot some & see.

[magnumuser]

the official hutner supply just fall through no resistance once the revolver is tipped above 45 degrees to the floor.

The speer HBWC are listed as being both .358 AND .36" diameter, a small bit of each one comes out but the bullets stay in. Cant be pushed through with a pen.

Matts bullets .359" 159 grain swc do not fall through, they stick in roughly the same spot in each chamber and pushing with a pen only seems to start cracking the ink pen. But they do need to be pushed out with force from the other end.

[gzig5]

Buy a micrometer and learn how to use it. Micrometer, not a caliper. Doesn't have a be a $200 one. A decent used 1" one can usually be had for $20-$40. If it has a tenths scale so much the better, but a standard 0.001" resolution mic will suffice nicely. You currently have no idea what diameter the bullets are or the cylinder throats. Both can easily be determined with a micrometer. You slug the cylinder throats with a pure lead slug or ball and then measure. After that, you will have valid information on which to proceed and upon which accurate advice can be given.

[reedap1]

MagnumMauser

I use Hunters Supply Slick Coat bullets in several of my rifles and handguns. You are misinterpreting the white powder on the bullets as the Slick Coat. Slick Coat is a clear powder coat applied by HS after much testing to allow them to do it in production (per my conversation with the owner). The powder is probably mica (a guess) which helps with the sizing and production process. If you wash off the powder you will see that the bullets are coated. I did a smash test and they passed. You will not get leading from the bullets assuming you use the correct size even at high velocity, I know I've tested them.

However, regardless of powder coat or traditional lube "size matters" in all cast bullets. You state that the box label shows them sized to be 0.358 for that style of bullet, but perusal of their website does not show that. The only bullet I see that is a true DEWC is this one:

https://www.hunters-supply.com/357-cal-148-p-2995.html

which shows them to be sized at 0.357" which are probably too small for your gun but we don't know what caliber you are loading for. I know that some older 38 Special target-style guns can have tight cylinders so I suspect that is what those bullets are used for. You need at least 0.358" bullets but as has been stated your best approach would be to determine the actual size of each of your cylinder throats. Do that by pushing a pure lead bullet, sinker etc through the cylinder throats, measuring them with a micrometer and then averaging.

You could load up a few of your bullets with light loads and see if the group is anywhere near the accuracy you want and go from there. Call up Hunters Supply too, they are great people and very knowledgeable as well as good customer service.

Good luck