You might want to go to BEAR TOOTH BULLETS website. He makes, and has a world of info. on shooting cast bullets and the kinds of issues your having. He makes precision cast bullets that will shoot as well or better then jacketed.
William
Causes of revolver throat leading?
- Thread starter Lefty Trigger
- Start date
William
Marshal does provide an excellent product and he will custom cast and size.
It does take some time to receive an order but that is because he makes up the order on a first come first served basis, and hand casts and sizes personally, at least that is my info.
That is another good forum to learn about cast bullets.
It does take some time to receive an order but that is because he makes up the order on a first come first served basis, and hand casts and sizes personally, at least that is my info.
That is another good forum to learn about cast bullets.
How do you know what cut the barrel has now?
This is exactly what the guys from Missouri Bullet company told me. They will custom cast what I am shooting (9mm SWC) in the softer alloy (B12) for a 2 box minimum purchase.
I have pulled about 25 bullets that I did not like the load on and there is no damage to the coating. We have also recovered fired rounds that are seriously mangled and the coating is still on there. I also spoke with the guys at Missouri Bullet company and they said you can actually melt the led out of their coating leaving the coating intact like a "shell",... I have not tried it but if that's true its impressive.
From all the posts above I have some homework to do and some things to measure and checking the forcing cone has me intrigued....
From all the posts above I have some homework to do and some things to measure and checking the forcing cone has me intrigued....
The 11 degree throat is on all "newer" {I am going to say something like the last 10 years???} Ruger revolvers. It definitely works, but it's not just that it's 11 degrees of angle, no, all of the throats in Ruger revolvers I have scoped have been very nice and smooth with no tool marks.
Been casting and shooting lead bullets in my handguns for a long time...both the throat in the barrel as well as the leads in the cylinder has more to do with accuracy than with leading.
I always found that softer lead bullets with a good quality lube would lead up a barrel way less than so called "hard cast" that everyone raves about these days. This is due, in part, to a thing called "obturation". Upon firing, the softer lead gets compressed and squeezes tight to better fit the interior of the bore.
You might also want to consider a Taylor throat. This is a freebore just ahead of the forcing cone two times the diameter of the bullet in length. Not sure why that figure, but it works. Taylor throats were done to silhouette pistols back when that was a popular sport to help with leading problems. I had Dave Manson make me up 357 and 44 magnum Taylor throat reamers. It worked great for me and there was no issue at all with jacketed bullets.
Newer {again last 10-12 years???} Smith &Wesson handguns can be a lot of trouble to get to stop leading because they went to rifling that is cut with an EDM. This leaves the surface of the bore with a frosted, almost like it was blasted with fine sand appearance.
Castboolits forum is a very good place to learn about the making of, use and problems/solutions associated with lead bullets.
Been casting and shooting lead bullets in my handguns for a long time...both the throat in the barrel as well as the leads in the cylinder has more to do with accuracy than with leading.
I always found that softer lead bullets with a good quality lube would lead up a barrel way less than so called "hard cast" that everyone raves about these days. This is due, in part, to a thing called "obturation". Upon firing, the softer lead gets compressed and squeezes tight to better fit the interior of the bore.
You might also want to consider a Taylor throat. This is a freebore just ahead of the forcing cone two times the diameter of the bullet in length. Not sure why that figure, but it works. Taylor throats were done to silhouette pistols back when that was a popular sport to help with leading problems. I had Dave Manson make me up 357 and 44 magnum Taylor throat reamers. It worked great for me and there was no issue at all with jacketed bullets.
Newer {again last 10-12 years???} Smith &Wesson handguns can be a lot of trouble to get to stop leading because they went to rifling that is cut with an EDM. This leaves the surface of the bore with a frosted, almost like it was blasted with fine sand appearance.
Castboolits forum is a very good place to learn about the making of, use and problems/solutions associated with lead bullets.
Problem Found!
After doing some checking form all the advice here the problem has been found. Since I'm shooting a 9mm revolver I have been ordering 9mm bullets to reload for it, standard .356 stuff. Well .356 bullets drop right through the cylinder! Measuring the cylinder throats I'm getting right at .357 to .3575 with this being a Titanium cylinder I would think it would never wear out and it only has about 1100-1200 round through it. I'm thinking larger bullets like .358 for a 357mag.
After doing some checking form all the advice here the problem has been found. Since I'm shooting a 9mm revolver I have been ordering 9mm bullets to reload for it, standard .356 stuff. Well .356 bullets drop right through the cylinder! Measuring the cylinder throats I'm getting right at .357 to .3575 with this being a Titanium cylinder I would think it would never wear out and it only has about 1100-1200 round through it. I'm thinking larger bullets like .358 for a 357mag.
SSL
Gold $$ Contributor
Sure sounds like you found your problem. With that in mind, even though you should still crimp as a final step, the Lee Factory Crimp dies that many use for crimping may not be a good choice for your application. They are good dies but also "final size" and can actually reduce the bullet size if the bullet is much larger than standard, putting you right back to the original problem. In a .44 of mine that requires a .433" bullet to keep from leading, I use a spare seating die with the seating stem removed and adjusted for proper crimp. I learned early that my Lee FC die squeezed bullets down during the crimping process.
linebaugh
Silver $$ Contributor
I did not read all the responses but I used to shoot hundreds of pounds of lead every couple years and there are a few things that cause leading.
Rough throat.
Bullets undersized.
Chamber throats undersized from bore cause bullets to he undersized before entering the barrel.
Poor lube.
Too much pressure on bullets with no gas check.
Too much pressure on alloys that are too soft.
Not enough pressure on alloys that are too hard.
Poor cylinder to barrel alignment.
Rough bores.
The keys to shooting lead is to slug your barrel. Find the diameter of the slug and order bullets .001-.0015 over this diameter. For this to work the chamber throats must also be .001-.0015 over bore diameter. Most guns will not be set up right.
You will likely also have a tight spot in the bore at the frame that needs lapped out. You can fire lap the choke out of a barrel in 50-250 rounds.
Good luck.
Rough throat.
Bullets undersized.
Chamber throats undersized from bore cause bullets to he undersized before entering the barrel.
Poor lube.
Too much pressure on bullets with no gas check.
Too much pressure on alloys that are too soft.
Not enough pressure on alloys that are too hard.
Poor cylinder to barrel alignment.
Rough bores.
The keys to shooting lead is to slug your barrel. Find the diameter of the slug and order bullets .001-.0015 over this diameter. For this to work the chamber throats must also be .001-.0015 over bore diameter. Most guns will not be set up right.
You will likely also have a tight spot in the bore at the frame that needs lapped out. You can fire lap the choke out of a barrel in 50-250 rounds.
Good luck.
Nice article:
http://www.lasc.us/Fryxell_Book_Chapter_3_alloySelectionMetallurgy.htm
The great NRA booklet on cast bullets by E.H. Harrison is out of print and sells for $70 used on E-bay.
Added later:
The book was out of copyright so someone put the entire book online for free. Poor quality but great info.
https://www.scribd.com/doc/225468029/Cast-Bullets-by-Col-E-H-Harrison-NRA-1979
http://www.lasc.us/Fryxell_Book_Chapter_3_alloySelectionMetallurgy.htm
The great NRA booklet on cast bullets by E.H. Harrison is out of print and sells for $70 used on E-bay.
Added later:
The book was out of copyright so someone put the entire book online for free. Poor quality but great info.
https://www.scribd.com/doc/225468029/Cast-Bullets-by-Col-E-H-Harrison-NRA-1979
Last edited:
For the past 10+ years I have been using Precision Bullets, For both Bullseye and IDPA. No leading, no mess reloading, shipping included. Taper crimp but do not penetrate the coating.
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