Hurray i think i solved my leading problem

[Catpop]

I tested 25 357 mag 158 gr LSWC today. I cast them from air cooled WW with a Lee mold (.358). Boolit is a flat base. They were loaded with 5.0 gr. Unique. Whereas prior I was severely leaded at this point , I now had almost none and it cleaned up with only a bore brush and Hoppes #9 and not the Chore boy routine!
The difference, I quit using liquid alox tumblelube and am now using the Lyman 450 with solid Ideal non alox lube. Hey it really smokes, but NO MORE LEADNG! HURRAY!

 

[GRIZ22]

You're also using a light load for 357. Where you getting leading with this load before using the alox? If so your bullets need to be harder.

 

[tightgroup tiger]

I'm glad you solved your leading problem, I have never been able to in my many .357s , my 41mag and my 9mms. My 327 Federal loves lead to the tune of shooting 100 at a time and having a very easy clean up.

That's with using liquid alox. Go figure.

It's the only handgun I own that will shoot lead without leading and I think it's because my mold is a full .002"+ over bore. There is no leading period.

I better not say anymore, I'll just make my self mad.

I'm glad your not leading any more and wish you luck with all the smoke.

 

[kgpcr]

I have shot thousands of rounds in my .357 many full power and my .38 and never had any leading problems. Start with a good hard alloy and I used alox/beeswax 50/50. I even shot full power .44mag in my rifle with no problems

 

[LiveLife]

Hey it really smokes, but NO MORE LEADNG! HURRAY!

Have you considered powder coating your bullets? You may eliminate both smoke and leading issues without having to lube your bullets.

 

[Catpop]

I will increase the powder charge to see if and where i get any leading. More info later!
OREGON TRAIL BULLETS: Prior I tried Oregon Trail 158 gr LSWCs and got terrible leading from 3.5 hrs to 7.5 grs of unique. I called Oregon Trail with the problem and they told me their boolits were 24 br hardness (hardness should not have been an issue at 24). The one thing i did notice about them was the very pronounced base bevel. I always felt this was a mistake and the base of a lead bullet needed to be flat to better seal the bore and to reduce leading by hot gas burn off in the bevel.
I will continue to test! Thanks, Catpop

 

[41 Mag]

I will increase the powder charge to see if and where i get any leading. More info later!
OREGON TRAIL BULLETS: Prior I tried Oregon Trail 158 gr LSWCs and got terrible leading from 3.5 hrs to 7.5 grs of unique. I called Oregon Trail with the problem and they told me their boolits were 24 br hardness (hardness should not have been an issue at 24). The one thing i did notice about them was the very pronounced base bevel. I always felt this was a mistake and the base of a lead bullet needed to be flat to better seal the bore and to reduce leading by hot gas burn off in the bevel.
I will continue to test! Thanks, Catpop

With the OT 24BHN bullets you need to load those to top end loads like with H110 or 296 and they usually run fine. They are WAY harder than they need be, but if you drive them hard enough they shoot well IME.

With your bullets, without knwoing just where and how your previous leading was distributed, it's a guess to say whether it might have been fit, lube, load or all. Usually the load or fit causes leading at the start of the bore around the forcing cone and out an inch or so in the beginning. Lube usually presents down around the muzzle. Harder allloy isn't always better, as you can just as easily lead up your barrel using too hard, as you can too soft. It is a balancing act, but the key thing is FIT and then LUBE.

I posted up a few pics in another thread on .357 bullets of how my barrels looked with a few shots(severe leading), verses over a hundred shots though another one. This was the exact same alloy however the loads were using different powders which produced different pressures. I also thought I saw in a previous post of yours, where you said your bullets fell through your cylinder with ease? If this is the case they are a touch on the small side which is probably not helping things out either. THey should go through but with just enough resistance that you can push them through with a pencil and JUST feel the resistance, not having to put a lot of pressure on them at all just not free falling though. The mouth of your cylinder should measure right at .358'ish, and your bore should be right in there as well. That said if the inch or so where the barrel is screwed into the frame is smaller, your not going to have much luck getting away from leading even if everything else is perfect.

As for Alox, some use too much some not enough. I fall into the first catagory. I lube them once before sizing and again after, and I don't worry about having too much on them. I shoot outside and what smoke is there isn't a issue. I usually will wipe off just the nose before I set them though just to keep it from gooping up my die. That said though, the powder is about as important as the lube as far as smoke goes. Some like Unique will smoke pretty bad at lower charges but clean up when on the upper end of the load. Combine that with the lube and yep you CAN get a smoke ball just about equalling black powder loads.

You also mention your using a 450 now. I would suggest looking over at the White Label Lube website and maybe picking up a couple of sticks of Carnuba Red and maybe some of the BAC. Either of those are great just depends on if you want a bit harder or softer lube. I use the CR for about everything and it works great. Needs just a little heat to flow well but easily accomplished with just a light bulb on the back of the lube cylinder and about 15 minutes. The BAC works pretty good with not much if any heat.

Hope this helps.

 

[35 Whelen]

I will increase the powder charge to see if and where i get any leading. More info later!
OREGON TRAIL BULLETS: Prior I tried Oregon Trail 158 gr LSWCs and got terrible leading from 3.5 hrs to 7.5 grs of unique. I called Oregon Trail with the problem and they told me their boolits were 24 br hardness (hardness should not have been an issue at 24). The one thing i did notice about them was the very pronounced base bevel. I always felt this was a mistake and the base of a lead bullet needed to be flat to better seal the bore and to reduce leading by hot gas burn off in the bevel.
I will continue to test! Thanks, Catpop

41 Mag is spot on. Contrary to what you might think, you're bullets are TOO hard/your load TOO light (take your pick) with the Oregon Trail bullets.

35W

 

[Catpop]

Thanks 41 for the pointers
I'm going to recheck all the measurements tonight
Most of my issue with the 357 Blkhwk is at the forcing cone to 1" into the rifling. Also almost none down the barrel.
35, it leaded terribly with OT at 7.5 grs Unique, which I felt was a very high load.

 

[41 Mag]

Most of my issue with the 357 Blkhwk is at the forcing cone to 1" into the rifling. Also almost none down the barrel.

This could simply be the powder your using not getting along with that particular bullet. Unique is a GREAT powder don't get me wrong, and can be used to do a TON of loads with, it isn't however the overall best in all of them.

35, it leaded terribly with OT at 7.5 grs Unique, which I felt was a very high load.

Like I mentioned above, the powder can and does have an influence. It is how it burns or the pressure it produces that does it. While your charge of Unique, might be on the upper end for that powder, if you look at the pressures listed in the bok along side most of the data, you will see that maybe using something like HS-6, 2400, or AA-7 or 9 will give you higher velocity but slightly lower pressures.

You don't necessarily HAVE to load to the very top end, but one powder going say 1150fps, might lead the heck out of your barrel, another slightly slower or faster, loaded to the same FPS might do just fine. Like I mention it is a balancing act to match the load to the lead.

With OT bullets I ran them to the top loads in my GP-100's with 296, and they shot excellent. Doesn't mean they will in your revolver, but you have to play with it a bit to find out. I know right now isn't the BEST time to be trying out new powders or even finding them for that matter, but with a little patience they are there and can be found. Personally I would set the OT aside, and work on the other ones you have. Those cast from the wheel weight alloy should do much better with the Unique, but you might find they do their best at a lower end charge. Start low and work up. If your size is good and your lube is good, they should fall in line in short order.

One other thing, if you find that your bore is restricted where it is screwed into the frame, this can be corrected. Do a net search on fire lapping Ruger barrels, and it should bring you up plenty of good reading.