.358 Lead SWC ?

[UglyTruckNut]

Hi all, new to the forum.

I recently bought these from a local retailer.

Cast Performance.



Load data is not an issue, but what prep do I need to do to load these?

TIA

[Der Gebirgsjager]

It appears that they will need to be lubed--have lube applied to the grooves. I assume you're going to load them into .38 Special or .357 Magnum cases? Being cast bullets, you'll need to flare the mouths of the cases a bit to allow for easy entry, and they will squeeze back down snugly around the bullets when run through the seating die and when crimped.

Welcome to the Cast Boolits Forum! Glad to have you aboard.

DG

[Time Killer]

lubed or powder coated. May need to be sized depending on the size of the bullet after powder coating or lubing. Flare the mouth of the brass and load.

[facetious]

Something that caught my eye is that it says LBT style . I thought lbt were more of a rounded wide nose , that looks more like a bevel base keith.

Can't add much to the advice above .

[toallmy]

I’d suggest talking to the local supplier you purchased from .

[No_1]

Hi all, new to the forum.

I recently bought these from a local retailer.

Cast Performance.



Load data is not an issue, but what prep do I need to do to load these?

TIA

Most likely size then lube if you are going to using them traditionally. You will need a sizer, sizer die of the correct size and lube which is appropriate for your application.

Robert

[megasupermagnum]

It appears to me that they are sized. They look to have shiny driving bands, and the box says .358". All you need is lube. There's a ton of ways to do it. Assuming you don't have a lubesizer, my preference is for tumble lube with alox. White label lubes 45-45-10 works well, as does Lee alox. There's more than one way to tumble lube, and you can find good way on this site in the lube section of the forum.

[tazman]

Interesting. This is the first time I have seen someone selling an unlubed/uncoated boolit that has been sized.

The others above have given good information to get you going.

[243winxb]

If bullet diameter is close to .358" Lube with Lee's Alox , load and shoot.

[Burnt Fingers]

I’d suggest talking to the local supplier you purchased from .

Interesting. This is the first time I have seen someone selling an unlubed/uncoated boolit that has been sized.

The others above have given good information to get you going.

I've never seen unlubed lead bullets being sold before either.

I'd go back to the shop and ask them if that's normal.

Most people buying these won't know they need to be lubed and are going to be in a world of hurt.

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

Could they be PC coated with clear PC?

[mdi]

Answers above are fitting, but this is a cart before the horse kinda thing; buying components way before any reloading experience/knowledge. My suggestion if you are going to continue to reload using cast bullets is to study the process. A Lyman Cast Bullet Handbook is a very good text. Methods, tools and "whys?" are addressed an of course one of the most informative, in depth texts is "From Ingot to Target" by Fryxell; http://www.lasc.us/Fryxell_Book_Contents.htm. There is nothing really difficult about lead bullet casting, prep, and loading, just some things one needs to know to get good, accurate shooting handloads.

Castboolits is probably the best place for a new boolit shooter to get info as questions on every aspect of cast lead bullets is answered and most with excellent suggestions.

As for your box of bullets, they will need some sort of lube. Easiest is probably tumble lube (I have been casting since late '80s and I still don't own a lubersizer), but many don't like the mess (I don't like the brown bullet noses and I dip lube with alox or 45-45-10). Pan lubing is also easy but can be a bit more work. I'm set up for pan lubing so for me it's no big deal. There's a lot to learn, a lot of tools to acquire, but for millions of shooters it is well worth the effort...

[Land Owner]

Welcome to the forums. Good question for starters that suggests you are not unfamiliar with reloading cast boolits. "New to the forums" is not the same as new to reloading.

Some very good answers above. "LBT-style" sounds an awful lot like a knock off but they may be OK. I think they could be LBT boolits of a "Keith-style", but in that IDK.

1.) lube*
2.) load**
3.) crimp***
4.) shoot


*tumble lube maybe to start

**into cases slightly belled. The boat tail of the boolit is helpful, but you don't want to shave lead from the driving bands

***or no crimp. Single shot Handi-rifle = no crimp. 357 Mag., Ruger SP101, 5 shot, revolver, maybe taper crimp (a little), though some will say no crimp in theirs. Crimp or no crimp will be determined by the powder and the boolit's inertia (resistance to movement). If too small or the interference fit between case and boolit is too loose, the boolit can move in or out of the case at recoil, which changes the C.O.A.L., affects the pressure spike, and all testing for accuracy goes haywire.

Your barrel will tell you if it likes the powder, crimp (or no crimp), C.O.A.L., boolit, and lube combination.

Personally, I like LBT boolits (Veral Smith of LBT knows how to make dies and make cast boolits perform). I like SWC's, like "Keith" and "Keith-style" boolits, and from my 357 Mags I would shoot those all day...and pay Veral to sell me a die of his that is original, to skip the middle man.

[1maineguide]

If the label is correct... They would have had to size them before the heat treat process. If you size them after the heat treat process than they have been treated for no reason. sizing after heat treating works the lead and destroys the heat treating process.

[mehavey]

Lube with Lee's Alox , load and shoot.

^^^^ THIS ^^^^

"Grease" your fingers with Lee Liq ALOX and then thinly "greeeease" the bullets w/ same.
Put on plate, bake in 230 Oven for an hour (evaporates solvent/uniformly thins coating)
Cool, and shoot the next day. (final dry to hard-wax finish)

* You can also "tumble lube," but I've adopted the greasy finger/bake method for fast-dry/heavy rifle w/ superb results
** You can also bake in a fan-circulated toaster oven, w/ final cool in front of house fan -- which actually allows shooting same day.
*** THIN coat.... thin coat. What part of THIN ! remains unclear ?

[Hanzy4200]

That's weird. I've never seen a vendor sell unlubed bullets. You could tumble lube them. Just mic them to be sure they are actually .358.

[Larry Gibson]

I've bought unlubed cast bullets from several different venders over the years [Greer, Liberty, Laser Cast to name a few]. Just needed to order a certain quantity is all. I then sized and lubed them to my own specifications.

[243winxb]

https://missouribullet.com/results.php?category=21

Missouri Bullet Company, coated, sized & lubed, 0r as cast. Your choice.

[sniper]

Something that caught my eye is that it says LBT style . I thought lbt were more of a rounded wide nose , that looks more like a bevel base keith.

Can't add much to the advice above .

YUP! A Keith or similar for sure. If lubing is necessary, you might try BLL (a sticky here) or Lars' 45-45-10 magic elixir. Even over another lube.

[JoeJames]

It appears to me that they are sized. They look to have shiny driving bands, and the box says .358". All you need is lube. There's a ton of ways to do it. Assuming you don't have a lubesizer, my preference is for tumble lube with alox. White label lubes 45-45-10 works well, as does Lee alox. There's more than one way to tumble lube, and you can find good way on this site in the lube section of the forum.

I agree. .358 works like a charm in my 38 Special Smiths and in my Thompson Contender. I tumble lube all of my cast bullets with a 50-50 mix of Lee Liquid Alox and mineral spirits, including my home cast Lee .358 148 grain wad cutters, which do have lube grooves. In my opinion it would be gilding the lily to re-size a .358 boolit. Don't re-size them.