Ammunition & Hand Loading > Cartridge and Shotshell reloading

reloading question

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SemperFiGuy:

--- Quote ---sometimes you get little peels of lead that clog up your seating die
--- End quote ---

Yeah......... Lead bullets are more sensitive to this shaving condition because the lead is (obviously) softer than a copper jacket or plating.  Good way to deal with it is monitor the cartridge case mouth flaring/belling operation to ensure that it's just right: 

(a) Large enough bell to allow the lead bullet to seat without shaving lead and
(b) Not too large, such that the brass cartridge case mouth is work-hardened, leading to case mouth splits.

Like anything fairly important, gotta walk that middle line which combines both sufficiency and moderation.


--- Quote ---I load on the light end of the specs.
--- End quote ---
Also, cartridges w/lead bullets generally are best loaded at low-end velocities (1000fps or less) so that the lead doesn't cook off into the barrel and redeposit when it cools.  Which gums up the works.   Or--as a minimum--is just plain hard to clean.   Nothing removes lead easily, neatly, and well.

FWIW, many reloaders won't mess with making, reloading, and shooting lead bullets because the economy just isn't there.   Add to that consideration the significant additional time required to mess w/lead bullet manufacture, breathing lead fumes, scrounging for surplus/scrap lead, etc., etc.

Which is how BerrysBullets got to its prime position in the bullet market.

Nevertheless.......................It's all fun.

sfg

DR4NRA:

--- Quote from: SemperFiGuy on January 13, 2015, 01:58:01 PM ---Yeah......... Lead bullets are more sensitive to this shaving condition because the lead is (obviously) softer than a copper jacket or plating.  Good way to deal with it is monitor the cartridge case mouth flaring/belling operation to ensure that it's just right: 

(a) Large enough bell to allow the lead bullet to seat without shaving lead and
(b) Not too large, such that the brass cartridge case mouth is work-hardened, leading to case mouth splits.

Like anything fairly important, gotta walk that middle line which combines both sufficiency and moderation.
Also, cartridges w/lead bullets generally are best loaded at low-end velocities (1000fps or less) so that the lead doesn't cook off into the barrel and redeposit when it cools. Which gums up the works.   Or--as a minimum--is just plain hard to clean.   Nothing removes lead easily, neatly, and well.

FWIW, many reloaders won't mess with making, reloading, and shooting lead bullets because the economy just isn't there.   Add to that consideration the significant additional time required to mess w/lead bullet manufacture, breathing lead fumes, scrounging for surplus/scrap lead, etc., etc.

Which is how BerrysBullets got to its prime position in the bullet market.

Nevertheless.......................It's all fun.

sfg


--- End quote ---

So what you are saying is that I cant shoot a hard cast lead (read Non-swaged) bullet to magnum speeds of say 1400 fps without problems. I find this very interesting.

shooter:
 you can shoot them faster with gas checks, but you get to a point where the softer lead cant grab the rifling in yor barrel, and they will just blast strait down it, and really lead your barrel bad.

DR4NRA:
Understand the gas check, my point is if I shoot a commercial hard cast of 18-21 Bhu then my hard cast lead is actually harder than a Berrys, as they advertise only a 20 Bnh on the jacket, not suitable for magnum loads. I have some 22 Bnh in 41cal that I would have no qualms of pushing 1400 with no gas checks, no leading. BTDT many times, damn good 100 yard deer load out of a Blackhawk.

unfy:
Buy a barrel snake cleaning rope for your pistol.  (I prefer one slightly over sized myself).


I've done both home done lead and missouri bullet company lead in my progressive.

Be a bit aware of shaving possibilities.  As in, maybe add a bit more bell/flare to your case and make a more conscious effort to get the bullet vertical.

That's about it for loading concerns.


Shooting concerns - you'll have to work up a load that suits your gun.  By suiting your gun, I'm referring to produces the least lead fouling.

It's by no means a linear graph for powder weight to fouling.  Hell, it's a zig zag of a line.

Basically, load up a dozen rounds at a given powder weight.  Change it by 0.1 or 0.2 grains and load up another dozen.  Do this a few times so that you have, say, 5 or 6 loads to test.  Hell, maybe even a dozen.  Up to you.

Now that you have your loads boxed and labeled.  Pack up your cleaning snake and head to the range.

1) make sure your barrel is clean (field strip and inspect)

2) shoot a couple rounds

3) inspect barrel, make note of condition.  use a cell phone to take a pic maybe ?

4) shoot the rest of the rounds for that recipe

5) inspect / note / pic

6) run that cleaning snake through a bunch of times and get her clean.

7) switch loads and start over again

If you feel that your first magazine is at unfair (dis-)advantage, you could always make up two magazines of them and run them again at the end of your sessions to inspect again etc.


You'll note that things can be 'ugly', 'not so bad', 'purty', 'hideously ugly', 'not bad', 'hideously ugly', etc.  Don't expect your results to make any sense.


At then end of a lead shooting day, I'll usually put a few plated rounds through in rapid succession and give'er a good snake'in quickly while things are hot.


You'll want something like:



Be careful with bluing though (it can be hard on it).   You can also just get the paste and make your own etc etc etc.

But on a stainless gun, the above stuff is godly.

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