How many rounds untill leading

[primerless]

Hello all..... I am new to casting and have started with the RCBS 09-124-EN mould. I used 50 ww and 50 lead. The average weight was 127grains.
The lead was from an old sailboat, it was not as hard as the ww but it was harder than the stick on ww so it is not pure pb. I just shot about 60 rounds that were loaded with 4.2 universal clay. My fisrt cast boolits fired was just as fun as the first handload I loaded years ago.

The question is....have I shot enough rounds to tell if there is a problem with leading yet.

[mooman76]

I'd say you shot enough.

[Buckshot]

..............primerless, first of all, welcome to the board! If your load had accuracy issues due to leading, you would have known about it long before 60 rounds went downrange.

..............Buckshot

[Shiloh]

What Buckshot says. What does the barrel look like?

Shiloh

[primerless]

Thanks yall for the response and thanks for having me onboard. I am sure you will be hearing from me again.

I have been reading alot here and have already learded alot, and I am looking forward to learning more, yall have alot to offer.
I was a little excited light night after shooting my first cast boolit's and how well they grouped, After I cleaned my gun today I did find a little lead but the rounds last night had grouped very well.

I still have a little room to try a hotter load and see if I can get a little cleaner barrel. If that does not work I will try adding a little more ww to the recipe.

What do yall think?

Thanks again for your response.

[Buckshot]

................Accumulative leading is what a lot of folks MEAN when they say leading. It's bad. First couple of shots may be okay but rapidly deteriorates form there.

Another form of leading that's just as bad accuracy wise, but 'may' not accumulate is stripping. Where the boolit just doesn't or can't get a bite on the lands and skids a bit, dumping lead. Succeeding slugs can remove most of it but then lay their own back down. Same result is poor accuracy.

Leading can also occur yet the firearm remains accurate. Or accurate for it's condition? I have a couple old military rifles that shoot just fine, if not pushed. Pleanty of hunting and plinking accuracy to be had. You can shoot all day long with that load, then clean it and on the patch you'll get some lube sludge with little lead 'sparklies' . If you cleaned after every shot, you'd get the same thing, so what leading there is isn't accumulative. Change the load beyond what the worn or somewhat rough bore can handle and you begin to get accumulative leading, and all the fun goes out of the shooting.

.................Buckshot

[Leftoverdj]

Primerless, EVERYTHING counts with cast bullets. The longer you cast and shoot those bullets, the more variables you will run into. For a beginner, you are doing well. A usable 9mm load on the first try is an accomplishment. You've missed all the major pitfalls and just need to refine the details.

I very much doubt that increasing your charge will help. Reducing it might, if you can still get functioning. Your alloy sounds just a bit softer than I would use in a 9mm, but not much. The most common error with the 9mm is bullets undersized for the barrel. Yours cannot be much undersized or you would have far worse problems, but a thou larger might help.

At a distance, all this is guesswork. Flail around. You'll get it right.

[Bret4207]

As Buck and DJ said, you're doing well. Sounds like your boolit fits. Many of my loads give a light lead wash in one place or another, but the accuracy remains consistent for many, many rounds, hundreds in fact. I consider that a good load and that type of leading inconsequential.

You can try playing around at this point. You have an alloy and load that work. Do one thing at a time, don't make 5 changes all at once. Change one thing at a time and observe what happens, write it down, you'll see the pattern and trends.

I think you're off to a great start, far better than I did!

[primerless]

Thanks for the tips, and for the pat on the back. I think some small adjustments will get this round were I want it.

One more question.....how do I get that NRA Member under my name?

Thanks again!

[Buckshot]

Thanks for the tips, and for the pat on the back. I think some small adjustments will get this round were I want it.

One more question.....how do I get that NRA Member under my name?

Thanks again!

Send Willy or Ken a PM.

.................Buckshot

[shotman]

I too send a welcome and thanks for your support to the server. I really like the handle. Most all of us can relate rick

[45nut]

One more question.....how do I get that NRA Member under my name?

Thanks again!

Got it added for ya, Welcome aboard! :drinks:

[1Shirt]

Welcome aboard! You can make book on advise that Buckshot and a few of the others with many many posts on this forum. I would only add that in general, I have found that a lot of leading can be cured by going to a larger blt.
1Shirt!:coffee:

[primerless]

Thanks Shotman, at the time I thought it fit. My wife came up with the username she had been checking Midway almost every day for the last six months. I did just get in five thousand that cost an arm and a leg, but it gave me a little room to get back to shooting. I did not want to dip into the back-up supply.

Thanks 45nut.......looks good!