how fast can you push PC bullets, had a little leading.

So I am mainly looking at some 44spl with lee 200g RF plain base bullets. but I am doing some other loads and other cartridges. I have heard varying numbers during my research. How fast can you push plain base PC bullets before you start having issues? and how much more can you push them with gas checks? I have spent a bit of time researching it, but could never find any good numbers.

I did some shooting the other day, doing some load testing, and had a little bit of lead buildup nothing crazy but a nuisance.... but not sure which one cause it. all bullets were powder coated with powder by the pounds glass clear.

Fired out of a 20in barrel Henry for 44mag or spl. I have not slugged the bore. I powder coat then size to .430.

44spl, NOE 284g WFN gas checked. most loads subsonic, around the 1060fps range. I did fire one round that was magnum range, at about 1300fps about 15rnds total

44spl, Lee 200g RF, plain base moving a little faster at around 1300fps, but only about 10 or so. these will probably be my go to plinkers.

44mag, lee 244g SWC, gas checked, moving pretty fast at about 1500fps around 10 of these.

With cast bullets it's usually not the velocity, it's the pressure.
Rick

I have been up just over 2000 fps with a plain base 180 gr ASBB HF red PC out of a 18" 357 AR Max. Real close to 2 MOA. Zero leading.

The load was prone to a flyer now and then. With a gas operated gun, I attribute this to the plain base and gas cutting as the boolit passes the gas port. I knew there was gas gutting at the gas port due to lead build up noted in the bolt. I need to make a plain base gas check maker for 35 cal, but have not gotten around to it.

In a 44 Mag lever gun, a plain base PC boolit should do full power with good performance.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by RickinTN

With cast bullets it's usually not the velocity, it's the pressure.
Rick

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what kind of pressures are we talking about, the 44 specials were all around 15k psi, except the 1 hot 284g which was around 27k. and the 44mags were full power loads at around 32k psi.

If I recall correctly it is something like 1,422 times the BHN of the metal to obturate. More than that of course to cause leading. The LASC sight has a lot of really good reading on the subject.
Good Luck,
Rick

Im running air cooled, ar around 13bhn. I could water drop and see if that solves the problem. but based on the 13bhn thats right around 18k psi just to obturate. but my understanding was 44 mag was designed around 12bhn, give or take with traditional lube? Isnt powder coating supposed to be better?

Assuming there is no pitting in the barrel.

What kind of crimp is applied ?

If you seat and crimp in one pass in the same die, it's a roll crimp that turns the case mouth sharply inwards, and if the case mouth is turned in enough can scrape the powder coat off the lead.

Back the crimp out so that it just takes the flare off, and doesn't turn the case mouth into the bullet shank.

I am adding a heavy crimp into the crimp groove using the lee factory crimp die. i can give the lighter crimp a try, but thats rather counter intuitive for rimmed cartridges. what I may do is see if I can catch a couple bullets in some sand and see how the coating looks.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Shadow9mm

I am adding a heavy crimp into the crimp groove using the lee factory crimp die..

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That could help remove the powder coat on the way out.

Your bullets have a good length of shank.

With the bullet at .430, if you full length sized the brass, you have great neck tension, you can definitely back that crimp off to the point where the powder coat remains intact, and you get zero setback.

My 45ACP leads more than my 44Mags, I have always had cleaner barrels by pushing the bullets harder using Smokes powder.

I have had them up to 2600fps out of 22-250 Encore pistol with a gas check, shot thousands of them in the 416 Rigby 1600 to 1900fps PB (accuracy seems like it gets better about 2000), and 44 and 444 I can not even try to guess how many of those I have sent down range.

Getting ready to try out the Lee .429 200gn FN today, it was dropping them at .433 so I do not even need to lap the mold.

Try taking the pressers up a bit and see if that helps. Been shoot air cooled the last 2 years mostly just WW. It seems like in the 44s I get leading below 1000FPS but as soon as I push them harder it all goes away. My accuracy will completely fly out the window when I get them too fast but the barrel stays clean.

Give H110 or W296 a try in your 44. I mostly use H110 and W231 in my 44s.

After reading your post more thoroughly you might try bullets at .432". 44 caliber rifles have a larger bore spec than 44 handguns. I would love to tell you why but I don't think anyone knows.
Rick

I will say that last summer my daughter and I experimented with 221 Fireball in a bench grade rifle that both of us have significant trigger time with. We both ran the FB up to the top of the velocity of the round and never, never had any sign of leading. We were able to maintain 100 yard groups that never exceeded the diameter of a quarter and most were dime to nickle size. 47 grain cast at a velocity of 2693 fps with SD's in the 8-15 range depending upon weather, barrel heating and humidity.

I have also been running 22TCM, in pistol, with a 41 grain cast and various loads with velocities of 1808 to 1868 fps. Again with no leading.