44 mag input

[cohunt]

I've never had issues with leadding barrels with hard cast bullets. I shoot them in 357mag, 10mm,44mag and 45colt (no gas check) -- but then again, I fire lap my barrels, slug my bores and shoot proper sized bullets

 

[hunterbob]

I bought a special lead removal tool. It had small copper screen patches to pull through the barrel. It cleaned the lead out perfectly when I made lead wad cutters
for a 357 after seeing the results.
I would never shoot lead bullets in my 44 though after seeing the results.

Same here after having done the making of bullets back in the 80s and cleaning out the lead. I stick to jacketed bullets now.

 

[memtb]

I've only had one disaster in all my years of shooting cast. I was only about 19, and shooting my first cast rifle bullets in my .308 Win. After about 5 shots, I couldn't have hit a #3 washtub at 50 yards. The bore looked like someone poured molten lead down it!

I did everything that someone could do to create my debacle……no gas check, poor lube, bullet seated "WAY" to deep in case, ect., ect.

It took many hours of cleaning to get the bore acceptable! But, I wasn't deterred…..corrected my errors and have loaded for several rifles ( 270 Win., .308 Win., .338 WM., .375 H&H and the AI version, and a 45-70 in a Marlin GG) since then. And, "knock on wood" haven't repeated my first event.

Here's a photo of my first group fired from my Marlin GG in 45-70. With my cast 430 grain, powder coated bullets…..pretty decent velocities, pretty decent group @ 100 yards, pretty happy shooter! I had loaded 10 rounds with the same charge, the first 5 rounds were to get me on paper and to check for proper feeding, and potential pressure issues!

Also shoot cast in numerous handguns, some of which have never seen a jacketed bullet. My latest cast bullet endeavor that I'm pretty happy with is my 400 grain, powder coated, cast bullets from my S&W 460 XVR (8 3/8" barrel)……near 1500 fps mv, giving a few 4 shot groups (I have one bad chamber that is slightly "out of timing"), under 3" @ 100 yards from the bench using a 3 moa red dot sight. I suspect that the groups could be a little better if I were using a scope!

I love my cast bullets, I use only wheel weights, I don't do anything exotic with the exception of now powder coating, and can push them to pretty decent velocities with accuracy and no leading! memtb

 

[Old Rooster]

Same here after having done the making of bullets back in the 80s and cleaning out the lead. I stick to jacketed bullets now.

If you don't want to go through what cohunt and memtb mentioned sticking with jacketed bullets is the easy button.
I enjoy casting and proper fitting of bullet to bore size and it gives me more options.

 

[sw282]

I am not crapping in anyone's nest, so take this as just my opinion.

I do not shoot anything harder than wheel weights, and I do not do that very often.

I have been shooting cast bullets since sometime in 1967, prolly the summer of that year.

Believe me when I say I used to cast bullets so hard that I could shoot them thru an 18" diameter willow tree and they would look as if they were just cast, except for the rifling marks.

Those things would lead barrels like crazy. I learned my lesson from that. Nowadays, I shoot from an 8 to about a 14 BHN bullet. Mostly the 8's go into 45ACP and 38 Special. The 14's go in my higher velocity ammo, such as 44Mag, 454 Casull, 500 S&W, and various rifle ammo, including my 460 WBY.

Here is an example of what my cast bullets look like before and after.

Nasty job in casting these days is separating the lead from all the other junk mechanics and tire changers throw in the scrap ww bin. Zinc, aluminum, steel, plastic all go in. Not as dangerous as in the past when South Carolina had annual lnspection Stickers tho. ln those days mechanics would throw the old scraped stickers along with the Gem blades them off the windshields with