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Thread: Shooting cast and jacketed bullets

  1. #1
    Boolit Master
    Lefty SRH's Avatar
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    Shooting cast and jacketed bullets

    Do you need to clean the barre before switching from jacketed to cast.....and vice versa?
    "In GOD We Trust"

  2. #2
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    The general wisdom is yes, and I do. That said, most of my guns only see cast and the ones that do shoot jacketed don't tend to get shot much

  3. #3
    Boolit Grand Master Bazoo's Avatar
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    Pends in what you're doing. If you're going for accuracy, yes. If you have a 30-30 and shoot offhand for fun like I do, no.

  4. #4
    Boolit Master 444ttd's Avatar
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    i do but i shoot cast exclusively. i have about 1500 cast rounds thru my 444 and the bore is still clean. the only thing i do is wipe an ballistol rag over the gun.
    Ad Reipublicae his Civitatum Foederatarum Americae, ego sum fortis et libero. Ego autem non exieris ad impios communistarum socialismi. Ora imagines in vestri demented mentem, quod vos mos have misericordia, quia non.

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  5. #5
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    Quote Originally Posted by 444ttd View Post
    i do but i shoot cast exclusively. i have about 1500 cast rounds thru my 444 and the bore is still clean. the only thing i do is wipe an ballistol rag over the gun.
    I hear guys talking about what they do to remove leading all the time and I just don't get it. I load and shoot a whole lot of .38-55 cast loads on my little range here and can't remember the last time I actually cleaned it. Just keeps chugging along, accurate as ever. If I took it out and ran some Ed's Red through it right now, I just get some ash and burnt lube, I'd bet pay checks with anybody there wouldn't be a speck of lead.

    Back to the original question, no doubt jacketed bullets leave some copper fouling, how bad depends on the bore, the bullet and how fast. Likely a lot worse with a .220 Swift than a .30-30. That said, it seems to me any fouling on a bore can't be conducive to good accuracy, so I clean any rifle I get ready to shoot cast with thoroughly using something designed to remove copper fouling. I might be wasting my time, but it's peace of mind if nothing else.

  6. #6
    Boolit Master
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    I clean after every shooting session. I have noticed shiny flakes on the cleaning patches if I use foaming bore cleaner and let it soak for awhile. As for lead/jacketed, I will shoot jacketed bullets after lead, but not the reverse. A jacketed bullet will remove a lot of lead, and copper solvents are more common than lead displacers (Kroil?).

  7. #7
    Boolit Master
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    i dont clean, but i shoot a few rounds before i expect the best accuracy .

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    I know the conventional wisdom is that your accuracy will suffer if you switch between the two.

    But when I had a lot of jacketed bullets laying around (remember those days?) I could shoot jacketed 357 mags and cast 357 mags through my Marlin interchangeably and not see a difference in accuracy. A slightly different POI yes but the same group size.

    YMMV


    Steve in N CA

  9. #9
    Boolit Master 444ttd's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by richhodg66 View Post
    I hear guys talking about what they do to remove leading all the time and I just don't get it. I load and shoot a whole lot of .38-55 cast loads on my little range here and can't remember the last time I actually cleaned it. Just keeps chugging along, accurate as ever. If I took it out and ran some Ed's Red through it right now, I just get some ash and burnt lube, I'd bet pay checks with anybody there wouldn't be a speck of lead.

    Back to the original question, no doubt jacketed bullets leave some copper fouling, how bad depends on the bore, the bullet and how fast. Likely a lot worse with a .220 Swift than a .30-30. That said, it seems to me any fouling on a bore can't be conducive to good accuracy, so I clean any rifle I get ready to shoot cast with thoroughly using something designed to remove copper fouling. I might be wasting my time, but it's peace of mind if nothing else.

    i don't either. boolit fit is king.

    ya want to know the truth? i was tired of shooting bullets and cleaning the guns, esp the bore. i just cleaned my carcano that i bought($50) at an auction. it will be cast boolit only, whenever i get the dies, brass and mould.
    Ad Reipublicae his Civitatum Foederatarum Americae, ego sum fortis et libero. Ego autem non exieris ad impios communistarum socialismi. Ora imagines in vestri demented mentem, quod vos mos have misericordia, quia non.

    To the Republic of these United States of America, I am strong and free. I will never surrender to godless communist socialism. Pray to images in your demented mind, that you will have mercy, because i will not.

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  10. #10
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    I clean after every shooting session.
    If I'm going to shoot both, I've never had a leading problem, but always shoot the jacketed stuff first 'just in case'.
    Then go to shooting cast without cleaning the bore until I get back home.

    Everybody's situation is different; and it'd probably be OK to shoot jackets after cast, I'm just not comfortable with it.
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  11. #11
    Boolit Grand Master
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    Conventional wisdom says "Yes, clean prior to switching." Conventional wisdom also used to recommend cleaning everyday for three days after firing (due to corrosive priming) (Or if you drank the koolaid about that nasty Breakfree CLP).

    My thoughts are that if the barrel is good and smooth, i.e. non fouling, it doesn't really matter. For most usage.

    Robert

  12. #12
    Boolit Master Win94ae's Avatar
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    I clean once a year, maybe a little less often. When I think my cast bullets are leaving something behind, I'll stop using that particular load and remedy the situation. So no, I see no reason to.

  13. #13
    Boolit Grand Master uscra112's Avatar
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    Lead will bond to copper fouling. I remember seeing a photo in The Rifleman of a pretty crusty bore that wasn't fully de-coppered before shooting cast. I created one myself by not cleaning out the first milsurp I ever bought, back in the mid-90s. Ever since I've aggressively de-coppered any milsurp I get before shooting cast. (Sometimes what's under all that copper is too rough for cast. Win a few, lose a few.)

    Same token, clearing a leaded bore by shooting a few jacketed bullets does work.
    Cognitive Dissident

  14. #14
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    When I shoot jacketed through one of my rifles I generally take a gradual couple days to clean. I mop the bore with a patch soaked with Hoppe's #9 solvent and let it set overnight. The next day I mop again and leave it set for a couple more hours. Then I run a few dry patches through, this usually brings out all of the copper fouling. Then a few more patches to get the carbon out. It may seem like overkill to some of you, but I really enjoy cleaning almost as much shooting. As for cleaning after shooting cast it only takes a mop and a couple dry patches.

  15. #15
    Boolit Master
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    I shoot gas checked, powder coated, cast bullets in a bolt .308Win so YMMV.

    I have found that shooting jacketed first and then cast works out better.

    The interesting part is the cast bullets 'remove' most of the copper fouling left by the jacketed bullets. Don't know why that happens either. Maybe the gas checks 'scrape' it away?

    Last tidbit. If I shoot cast first the jacketed accuracy is poor and I get the copper fouling to boot.

    At a point of reference I consider 1MOA marginal accuracy for jacketed and 1.5MOA acceptable for cast.

  16. #16
    Boolit Grand Master uscra112's Avatar
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    PC cast bullets are jacketed, just plastic instead of gilding metal. Ditto paper patched. No lead touches the bore, so it doesn't matter of there's copper there or not.

    Never thought about it, but do PC bullets leave plastic in the bore, the way plastic shotgun wads do?
    Cognitive Dissident

  17. #17
    Boolit Master
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    I agree, but, why do the PC gas checked bullets remove copper when the GC is copper itself?

    I suspect they do, but, since the residue (if any) is not shiny or 'sticky' I can't really tell. The patches come out a bit 'blacker' after shooting PC bullets than jacketed. But, that may just be the lower power loads I am using, ie, more powder fouling.

  18. #18
    Boolit Grand Master uscra112's Avatar
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    The coating removes more than the check can deposit?
    Cognitive Dissident

  19. #19
    Boolit Grand Master
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    Quote Originally Posted by Lefty SRH View Post
    Do you need to clean the barre before switching from jacketed to cast.....and vice versa?
    I always clean my rifle after I shoot so my answer is yes
    but it is not absolutely necessary
    I just try to remove any build up if either lead or cooper
    Hit em'hard
    hit em'often

  20. #20
    Boolit Master
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    I think the rifle in question is a winner! I cleaned it before I tried cast. I couldnt get any copper out of it, could not get a patch to turn blue or green. That was a little surprising.
    I shot just a handful cast and I dont see any leading. Going by book data I ran plain base bullets from 900fps (12.0gr TrailBoss) to about 1550fps (47.0gr of Benchmark). Next step is to work up with Benchmark and TrailBoss.
    "In GOD We Trust"

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Abbreviations used in Reloading

BP Bronze Point IMR Improved Military Rifle PTD Pointed
BR Bench Rest M Magnum RN Round Nose
BT Boat Tail PL Power-Lokt SP Soft Point
C Compressed Charge PR Primer SPCL Soft Point "Core-Lokt"
HP Hollow Point PSPCL Pointed Soft Point "Core Lokt" C.O.L. Cartridge Overall Length
PSP Pointed Soft Point Spz Spitzer Point SBT Spitzer Boat Tail
LRN Lead Round Nose LWC Lead Wad Cutter LSWC Lead Semi Wad Cutter
GC Gas Check