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44 lead bullets
- Thread starter Xwrench3
- Start date
I may be wrong,
But I believe the velocity for leading is up a bit higher than 1000fps... I shoot my lead heads at about 1180 with no probs. I think it has alot to do with the alloy you use in the projectiles. Pure lead has a higher melting point than bullet alloy melts lower, but it is harder, so the correct bullet alloy should be able to do 1250fps easily without leading, IMO.
I shoot 44 mag using Trail Boss (full case less projectile depth) and 200 gr projectiles.
But I believe the velocity for leading is up a bit higher than 1000fps... I shoot my lead heads at about 1180 with no probs. I think it has alot to do with the alloy you use in the projectiles. Pure lead has a higher melting point than bullet alloy melts lower, but it is harder, so the correct bullet alloy should be able to do 1250fps easily without leading, IMO.
I shoot 44 mag using Trail Boss (full case less projectile depth) and 200 gr projectiles.
Cast bullets are a hole different animal than jacketed bullets .the 1000 FPS that you hear about for cast is a base line. Some cast bullets do fine a little faster. But some don’t. A gas check will allow you to load them a little hotter and faster. But never use jacketed load data for cast bullets. Most commercial bullets I have tested came in at about 24 on the BNH, but wheel weights are only a 9BNH. As you can see theirs a big difference in hardness. Wheel weights can be heat treated and made harder. But they are the exception.
madmo44mag
New member
Since I started using "Lazer Cast" lead bullets I can load them almost out to max velocities before seeing any leading.
What leading does occur is very minimal.
What leading does occur is very minimal.
I shoot lead, non gas check, bullets in my Model 29, @ 1328 FPS. I don't get leading. I use range lead and home made lube. I dont get leading.
I believe lube has more to do with preventing leading then gas checks or velocity (within reason).
Gas checks do more to prevent damage to the base of the bullet then prevent leading. Not all guns & Load like gas checks.
I believe lube has more to do with preventing leading then gas checks or velocity (within reason).
Gas checks do more to prevent damage to the base of the bullet then prevent leading. Not all guns & Load like gas checks.
I'm a size the bullet .001 or .002 larger than the chamber (throat?) guy, gas cutting can be a major cause of leading. I hear that powders like 2400 have a higher flame temp than say H-110, however I use it without a problem. I push wheel weithts to my flinch point of 1000 to 1200 fps in .44s and .357s with very little trouble. My limited experience with gaschecks has been mostly positive, .223 55gr rcbs @ 2300fps, 32/20 115gr lbt @ 1900fps, and .357 160gr. lyman @ >1250fps shoot many rounds before cleaning with no loss of accuracy.
Velocity is just a small part of it
I shoot plain-base commercial cast bullets in my .30 Carbine Ruger Blackhawk at 1700+ fps and get no leading. The bullets I'm using now have tan lube in them, so it's probably the NRA mixture of alox and beeswax. The previous bullets had a hard blue lube and they didn't lead either.
In my .38/357 Taurus Gaucho, I get leading no matter how slow they are (I think the barrel is rough) -- but the leading doesn't hurt accuracy and it's not that hard to clean.
Both of these guns are probably unusual. But in .45 caliber, all the brands of hard cast bullets I've tried seem to be good up to at least 1300fps, and I don't know why .44 would be any different.
I shoot plain-base commercial cast bullets in my .30 Carbine Ruger Blackhawk at 1700+ fps and get no leading. The bullets I'm using now have tan lube in them, so it's probably the NRA mixture of alox and beeswax. The previous bullets had a hard blue lube and they didn't lead either.
In my .38/357 Taurus Gaucho, I get leading no matter how slow they are (I think the barrel is rough) -- but the leading doesn't hurt accuracy and it's not that hard to clean.
Both of these guns are probably unusual. But in .45 caliber, all the brands of hard cast bullets I've tried seem to be good up to at least 1300fps, and I don't know why .44 would be any different.