45 acp barrel leading

[Catpop]

Murf, that is a possibility but I don’t think so.

 

[murf]

Are you suggesting he may be over crimping and reducing the diameter of the bullet?

no, shaving lead and the shavings causing the leading.

murf

 

[nettlle]

I don't slug bores. If I buy a decent 45acp pistol slugging the bore certainly isn't going to part of my purchase process although this could be a part of it's selling process. I keep a bore brush wrapped with Chore Boy in my cleaning kit. If the bullets shoot well and cause leading I will clean the bore with a few swipes of Chore Boy. That's the extent of my efforts dealing with leading.

 

[LiveLife]

But it's so much better to have a clean bore after several hundred rounds of lead bullets.

I have Sig 1911, M&P45 and PT145 ... PT145 has oversized bore (.453"+ groove diameter)

My bore is .4527 which is why it tends to lead with .452 boolits. .453 did better.

PT145 groove diameter is larger than your barrel yet 12 BHN MBC 200 gr SWC (Bullseye #1) sized .452" eliminated the leading issue. Key is using fast burning powders with high enough powder charge for the initial "thump" deformation of bullet base to seal with the bore. I seat and crimp in the same step and use minimal taper crimp so case mouth can seal with the chamber faster (I use .473" taper crimp which will still "plonk" in the tight Sig 1911 chamber with no leade).

I seat MBC 200 gr SWC (both 12 and 18 BHN bullets with same profile) to 1.240" OAL with just a thumbnail's thickness of shoulder above case mouth and even light charge of 4.0 gr Red Dot/Promo will deform the bullet base enough to seal with the oversized PT145 barrel.

 

[Catpop]

Key is using fast burning powders with high enough powder charge for the initial "thump" deformation of bullet base to seal with the bore

I’ve used Nitro 100. Most accurate powder I’ve ever used in 45 acp and like they say “a little goes a looong way “
But alas it leaded also.

 

[Blue68f100]

Some leading can accour if you using a powder that run extremely hot (temp). TG falls into the class. This can happen no matter what harness your use or bullet fit. This is the reason it's a balancing act of powder vs bullet fit vs hardness. But for the most part with lead, you want to use a fast powder and a soft bullet for the low pressure 45acp. I can shoot 200 rounds of LSWC in my 1911 and not have any leading what so ever. I've shot as many as 500 between cleaning, still with no leading. All it takes to clean is solvent patch and jag, 1 pass and done.

 

[Catpop]

You are blessed

 

[blue32]

Everything from MBC leaded my non 1911 45 auto. Once I began to cast and dropped the bhn to 12 or under the problems went away. My experiences with bullets of a variety of diameters has led me to believe fit is not king if hardness has anything to say about it.

 

[Walkalong]

Another way to look at it is that if the fit is poor, the hardness is more critical, and if the hardness is soft enough to bump up and seal the bore, the fit isn't quite as critical. Get them both right and you can shoot a great many lead rounds and still have a clean lead free bore.

 

[Catpop]

So many good theory’s. Thanks to all for sharing.
I will follow the actual results of my range testing and continue to share back with you.
I still believe “fit is king” and “all bores are different”.
Problem is oversize lead boolits are awful hard to come by commercially resulting in need for proper over size molds, and sizing dies to achieve proper fit.

 

[kerreckt]

I shoot my handcast lead bullets exclusively in my 45acp pistols. They are .002 oversize and no harder than 12bhn. I shoot lots of Titegroup and get no leading. When, the bullet is large enough and soft enough, I get no leading regardless of powder used. Bullet size and hardness is what determines leading. Powder used is not a big factor for leading....in my experience.

 

[earplug]

I'm using .451 cast bullets in a KART barrel. The larger .452 wouldn't chamber consistently with mixed brass.
I'm surprised your able load and chamber a .453.

 

[Catpop]

They are .002 oversize and no harder than 12bhn

.002 oversize meaning .353? What did your barrel slug?
My Kimber will digest .353 also.
Thanks catpop

 

[kerreckt]

I have four different .45acp pistols. After, slugging barrels, two were .449 and two were .450. Therefore, I size my castings .451 and .452, respectively. As, long as the lead isn't harder than 12bhn, I have never had problems with leading. I have had problems when using lead 15bhn and harder. Best wishes

 

[Catpop]

Kerreckt
You are blessed to have a groove less than .450. Makes .452 commercial boolits work great!

 

[Vern Humphrey]

When I had leading in my .45, I got a pack of vacuum line caps from an auto parts store, used one to plug the breech, and poured a 50-50 mixture of hydrogen peroxide and white vinegar in. A gray scum formed, which I poured down the drain, then cleaned and oiled the barrel.

 

[LiveLife]

Make sure you have VERY GOOD VENTILATION and DO NOT inhale the fumes!

Wear gloves to protect your skin as resulting lead acetate is toxic which needs to be disposed properly. Rinse with water mixed with baking soda to neutralize any remaining acid on the barrel surface.

Keep in mind 50/50 peroxide/vinegar solution will remove bluing.

There is also concern for etching metal/aluminum (known to pit barrels after 15 minutes) - http://www.texas-mac.com/Warning_Hydrogen_Peroxide_and_Vinegar_Will_Etch_Bores.html

Personally, I prefer the Chore Boy wrapped over old bore brush method. It usually removed leading within 2-3 passes.

 

[Catpop]

I loaded up one .454 to test. I was surprised it passed plunk test. If .453 doesn’t work, I’m on to .454.
Thanks to all

 

[Master Blaster]

Lee liquid alox, place bullets in jar a tsp of alox shake and let dry.
The leading will stop.

 

[Catpop]

The one super duper outstanding outstanding feature of Lee liquid alox is——-
Ease of application!

 

[hdbiker]

I cast range lead and wheel weights mixed 50/50 with a foot or so 95/5 solder per 10 pound pot of lead. Lee mold drops about 230 grain .451 bullets. I tumble lube and load over 5.3 grains of 231/HP38. They run around 825 f.p.s. with some but not a lot of leading. Easy cleanup with Hoppie's and chore boy. hdbiker

 

[BigBore45]

I loaded up one .454 to test. I was surprised it passed plunk test. If .453 doesn’t work, I’m on to .454.
Thanks to all

I'm thinking if this is fitting you must be swaging the bullets down while loading. That is huge and would be close to not fitting in my Blackhawk in 45 colt

 

[Catpop]

Swaging down while loading?????? Hum?

I did measure the od of the case at the neck after reloading the .454 and it was only .474.
I think I’ll pull that .454 and remic that boolit.

After that, if warranted, I’ll back that 4th stage of the Dillon out some and redo a .454 to see what the results are.

Thanks to all.

 

[Catpop]

As I promised, I pulled the .454 boolit (hammer method). It miked .453-.454, so if it swaged any, it was only .0005.
I do plan on playing with the Dillon 4th station adjustment.
Thanks for all for the help!

 

[2011redrider]

New boolits enroute on Monday!