Noob problem first attempt at loading cbs

[el roboto]

what is strange is it was mostly on the petruding grooves. It followed them and slicked them all up. Im wondering if the alloy might be to soft. im using strait ww unquench to cast my boolits.

[454PB]

If leading is truly a problem, accuracy will go bad quickly. From what you describe, I doubt you have a leading problem.

[ultramag]

what is strange is it was mostly on the petruding grooves. It followed them and slicked them all up. Im wondering if the alloy might be to soft. im using strait ww unquench to cast my boolits.

You don't have a too soft problem with air dropped WW's either. If it was gonna be anything related to boolit hardness it would be too hard for a low pressure .45 ACP round. All the .45 ACP boolits I've cast so far have been of lowly 'ol range scrap and no leading issues.

[el roboto]

You don't have a too soft problem with air dropped WW's either. If it was gonna be anything related to boolit hardness it would be too hard for a low pressure .45 ACP round. All the .45 ACP boolits I've cast so far have been of lowly 'ol range scrap and no leading issues.

I did read an article that lead following the rifleing of the barrel was an indication of the bullet being cast to hard. Perhaps i should order some pure lead and mix it with the ww's. Though i am not sure of the ratio i should use.

[jcameron996]

Check your wheel weight stash. If you have a bunch of stick ons they are just about pure lead. All my .45s have been loaded with a 50/50 mix of stick on and clip on wheel weights and lubed with the same lube you are using. I have noticed a small amount of leading but nothing to be concerned with. That would give you someplace to start and not have to order any pure lead. Good luck.

[el roboto]

Hmm, thinking back i did fire the minimum 5 gr rounds alongside the 6 geain rounds. Perhaps it was the lower velocity 5gr rounds that caused the leading. I think my first thing will be to double lube my bullets and try only the higher velocity 6 grain rounds.

[el roboto]

Check your wheel weight stash. If you have a bunch of stick ons they are just about pure lead. All my .45s have been loaded with a 50/50 mix of stick on and clip on wheel weights and lubed with the same lube you are using. I have noticed a small amount of leading but nothing to be concerned with. That would give you someplace to start and not have to order any pure lead. Good luck.

Unfortunatlymy wws never seem to have any stick ons mixed in.

[jcameron996]

Be careful on the "double lubing" your bullets. If you get too much lube on the bullets it will build up on your bullet seater and cause your OAL to get progressively shorter. Its a pain to have to repeatedly remove the seater stem and clean it off and then get it set again. Don't ask me how I know.

[Wolfer]

Be careful on the "double lubing" your bullets. If you get too much lube on the bullets it will build up on your bullet seater and cause your OAL to get progressively shorter. Its a pain to have to repeatedly remove the seater stem and clean it off and then get it set again. Don't ask me how I know.

I know how you know!

If accuracy doesn't fall off I don't consider leading an issue. Most of my bores a pretty dirty and I clean them ever 300 to 500 rds, maybe.

[el roboto]

I know how you know!

If accuracy doesn't fall off I don't consider leading an issue. Most of my bores a pretty dirty and I clean them ever 300 to 500 rds, maybe.

I am perhaps to anal about cleaning my guns, as I clean them after every range trip even if its 20 rounds. I only fired around 40 rounds though and the rifleing was completly slicked with lead so I imagine accuracy would have to fall of at some point below 100 rounds. I typically shoot 100-200 rounds during a range visit so im worried it will become a problem. Im still somewhat murkey on just how hard leading is to clean out as about half the internet sources say its easy and half say its a nightmare lol.

[tcbnick]

Did you happen to clean out all of the copper fouling from previous shooting? Lead will stick to copper real easy.

[jcameron996]

First of all I commend you on being dilligent on cleaning your firearms. Wish I could say I did as well. I wouldn't worry too much about cleaning the lead out. Get some bronze wool or all copper scrubbing pads. Chore boy works well if you can find it. Whatever you use check it with a magnet first to make sure it is not steel. Wrap it around a bronze brush and go to scrubbing. I am still on the quest to find a 9mm load that doesn't lead so I have had a bit of experience. I have never had one that took more than 15-20 minutes to get cleaned out.

[el roboto]

First of all I commend you on being dilligent on cleaning your firearms. Wish I could say I did as well. I wouldn't worry too much about cleaning the lead out. Get some bronze wool or all copper scrubbing pads. Chore boy works well if you can find it. Whatever you use check it with a magnet first to make sure it is not steel. Wrap it around a bronze brush and go to scrubbing. I am still on the quest to find a 9mm load that doesn't lead so I have had a bit of experience. I have never had one that took more than 15-20 minutes to get cleaned out.

Thanks for the information. Im wondering how much leading is normal leading? I dont want to spend endless hours obessing over trying to formulate some perfect non-leading load that perhaps doesnt even exist? Is leading just a part of shooting cbs? I dont mean a few pieces of lead but I mean, is it pretty common for rifle grooves to be slicked with lead? Im willing to do what it takes to make this work even if it entails extra cleaning time because copper jacketed bullets are just way to expensive, and to be honest im having a blast casting these boolits. Also, is there ANY amount of soap that will remove the LLA smell off your hands lol.

[Wolfer]

A lot of people will disagree with this but unless a bore is leaded bad a couple jacketed rounds will clean it right out.
I believe Paco Kelly ( I could be wrong ) seats a jacketed flat base backwards over a medium load. One of these every so often cleans em right up.

I routinely shoot jacketed and cast with no cleaning between with no problems.

[el roboto]

A lot of people will disagree with this but unless a bore is leaded bad a couple jacketed rounds will clean it right out.
I believe Paco Kelly ( I could be wrong ) seats a jacketed flat base backwards over a medium load. One of these every so often cleans em right up.

I routinely shoot jacketed and cast with no cleaning between with no problems.

I've seen a few people suggest doing this, and a few others saying it could damage your barrel. Personally I dont see how it could damage a barrel unless the leading is extreame.

[WallyM3]

It might "compress" the lead rather than shoveling it out, but barrels are stronger than both materials discussed. And the pressures that might be generated by such procedures.

This may not be the most compelling support I can supply, but I believe EK used this type of barrel to develop his notion of the .44 Mag.

[el roboto]

Ok guys, loaded up 50 more rounds with 6 grains and double lubed them. Took to the range again today. shot about 40 rounds off, had the gunk buildup that i think might not be leading now. Shot a couple factory rounds through the gun (7) wanted to see how they kicked compared to the 6 grains of unique loads I was shooting. They kicked significantly less. They also cleaned all the stuff out of my barrel. I then loaded up my last 10 cast rounds and fired them. Below is a picture of whats coating my rifleing. I believe its not lead but is instead the LLA/JPW lube because there is a lot of the gray substance on the feed ramp. I do see what looks like some metallic slivers in there. Does this look like lead coating my rifling or does it look like lube?

[el roboto]

Also on another note, after shooting the 50 rounds the VERY LAST round of the day jammed on me. When I imspected the failure to feed the bullet was cocked somewhat sideways in the throat. Wondering if maybe im tamper crimping just a little to much? Or maybe its just the junk factory 1911 magazine, though I never had any problems with factory ammo through it.