1610 fps with no leading, 357 mag.

[fourdollarbill]

For no apparent reason I pushed a pure wheel weight .358 unchecked cast bullet out to 1610 fps with 14.9 of 2400 and a cci500. I looked for yuk lead in the 1894c barrel and it looked pretty good so I blasted 24 more out. Still no leading?
25 more and I only found a nice glossy bore. (using heavy coats of liquid alox) The accuracy was not that bad at 90 yards.

I thought this was weirdly fast for a WW cast bullet but now it don't look so bad.

How fast have your driven wheel weight bullets?
How fast can they go?

 

[GP100man]

i shoot revolvers & have pushed em as hard as jacketed loads .
they have to FIT better than perfect though!!

GP100man

 

[fourdollarbill]

gp100man, do you use a liquid alox lube or paste? I'm wondering if the liquid alox is just a better performer than the paste.

 

[sqlbullet]

I push 172 grain slugs out of my 10mm to about 1300 fps as bear repellent. These are from radiation lead, similar to WW in alloy. I quench them and get a BHN from my lee tester of about 28. Use LLA to lube.

There are guys over at cast boolits that are up around 2500 fps with 223 and 308. It is all about correct size and lube, with a pressure curve mated to hardness.

 

[GP100man]

fourdollarbill
i use carnauba red from glenn larson
www.lsstuff.com/lube/ for all my cast boolit needs & it does a excellent job & very low smoke & hi melt point !
excellent products, good people to deal with !!

GP100man

 

[fecmech]

I run 1620 fps out of my Model 94 winchester .357 using the Lyman 358429 "Keith" plain base cast from wheel wts over 15 grs of wc820. I get no leading at all, in fact I use that load to "clean" the throat in my gun that leads slightly from my .38 spl 1100 fps loads! Accuracy with the wc820 load runs between 3 and 4" groups at 100 yds for 10 shot groups. Not exactly bench rest but decent for a lever gun, 4 cavity mould and an old CH progressive press.

 

[Marlin 45 carbine]

interesting post. I didn't load them anywhere near as hot, just over the data max of Red Dot for .357 and the slugs I got from 4dollar shot fine, good group. and little fouling, it mostly at the cone. easy clean up.

 

[CSA 357]

4$ i have also been shooting your cast bullets, i have been pleased! I was always told to keep cast bullets down to around 1000fps, i think the alox lube works very well its all over the bullet not just in a couple of grooves, i too cast out of ww, i have no way of testing how hard they are, but have had very good results, csa

 

[1858rem]

so how hot could you load a lead round nose tumble lube 124 grain bullet cast with strait wheel weights in 357 mag? maybe 1400 fps?

 

[sqlbullet]

Vihtavuori lists 1775 fps as a max velocity for 124 grain lead SWC. That load is a max load with 18.3 grains of N110. Starting load is 17.1 grains for 1673.

The slowest starting load for that weight of bullet is 1473 (8.6 grains of N340).

As rcmodel preaches all the time: Leading should first be addressed with bullet fit, then with lube, then bullet hardness, and then powder selection. Unless you are pushing 2500 fps, chances are the right combination of other factors can alleviate leading.