A couple questions about these lead boolits

I

IALoder

Member
Joined
Oct 23, 2020
Messages
622
Hey guys, a couple days ago I was going through my pistol bullets and found an old Hornady box with "44 cal" being the only legible thing on it, and 53 lead bullets inside. I measured and weighed them, they were all right at .4305 to .431" diameter, and between 239.5 to 241.2gr. Going through my Hornady book it looks like the discontinued 240gr Lead SWC-HP is a dead on match. They have an almost shellac feel on em, which I'm guessing is lube. I'm a newbie to lead boolits, and would love to use these in either 44 mag or 44 special cases with HP-38 for some plinking loads in my Super Redhawk.

So now to the questions. Is there anything I need to do to these before loading with them? Is there anything special I need to know about loading or shooting with lead boolits? I took a couple pictures of them so people that know can maybe find something I missed.

Thanks in advance!
20230823_193245.jpg
20230823_193313.jpg
 
Very soft. I shot a thousand of them through my 624, 720, and Bulldog. 6 grains of Unique, IIRC.
 
I always crimped into the side of the bullet on those.
Light roll, profile or taper crimp. Don’t need much hold on a light load.
 
The coating on those boolits ( :neener: @.308 Norma) is wax dusted with mica. It works surprisingly well at low velocities and terribly at higher ones. It also looks like a lot of it may have come off. I would absolutely load them at minimum "target" velocities and keep a sharp eye out for leading. They most likely will be fine, but as @PO2Hammer notes, you may find that you have to add additional lube.

<edit> And after re-reading the opening post, being as you only have 53 of them, I'd just load them in .44 Special cases with the slowest starting load you can find, shoot them at paper, and then scrape out the lead with Chore Boy or 0000 steel wool.
 
Thanks guys! Looks like I'll be using them in 44 special brass, and sending them slow. 5.0gr of HP-38 with a 240gr SWC is in the middle or lower end of all the load data I have found, so that sounds like it's worth a try. I should be able to load some up tonight and maybe shoot them on Sunday, while checking heavily for leading. If needed a buddy at work said he'd let me use a little alox, but hopefully it's not necessary.
 
They are soft , and don't have a lot of lube on them . Stay around 800 fps don't push them hard .
On another site it was said that you could spray these types with a "Dry Film Lubricant " which was what they were originally lubed with ... since the bullets are so old a little extra Dry Lube will do them some good .
Make sure it is a Teflon or Moly based Dry Lube not a silicon based lube . Silicon doesn't work as well as Teflon Based Dry Lubes . Liquid Wrench Dry Lube L512 works great , lead doesn't stick to metal treated with it .
Gary
 
Last edited:
IALoder said:
Hey guys, a couple days ago I was going through my pistol bullets and found an old Hornady box with "44 cal" being the only legible thing on it, and 53 lead bullets inside. I measured and weighed them, they were all right at .4305 to .431" diameter, and between 239.5 to 241.2gr. Going through my Hornady book it looks like the discontinued 240gr Lead SWC-HP is a dead on match. They have an almost shellac feel on em, which I'm guessing is lube. I'm a newbie to lead boolits, and would love to use these in either 44 mag or 44 special cases with HP-38 for some plinking loads in my Super Redhawk.

So now to the questions. Is there anything I need to do to these before loading with them? Is there anything special I need to know about loading or shooting with lead boolits? I took a couple pictures of them so people that know can maybe find something I missed.

Thanks in advance!
View attachment 1168302
View attachment 1168303
Click to expand...
Send 'em....but under about 700 fps. If you have a Charter Arms Bulldog, these are a fantastic defense round out of that revolver.
 
I just loaded up 5 of them. Got a little ahead of myself and seated one before flaring, and peeled all the lube off! Pulled it and resized that case, flared all the cases, then loaded em all to Hornady's book OAL and put a light crimp on em with the Lee FCD. Hodgdon says 5.2gr of HP-38 with a 240gr LSWC is 858 fps out of an 8" barrel, so I'm guessing 5.0 out of my 7.5" will be a little above 800fps. Hopefully get a chance Sunday to shoot em!

20230825_183750.jpg
 
I think you'll probably have good results - and if they fit the gun, and the gun has reasonably correct dimensions, leading should be fairly minor. (Copper fouling seems to really encourage leading, in my experience, so you might consider giving the bore a good cleaning beforehand.)

Good luck, and please report back with your results!
 
Last edited:
I tried the Hornady swaged bullets in .357 Mag caliebr for Cowboy Action Shooting, and ran into a problem: They are SO soft that when I was seating them into the cases, insetad of the cases expanding, the cases further swaged the bullets down in diameter! They shot rather large groups as a result, even at 25 yards!

I'm told that using a larger diameter expander might have oovercome this, but I found a bullet that was easier to load.

Jim G
 
Well, the range trip was good, they are an absolute joy to shoot in this big ol pistol! 765 fps, very low velocity spread, as accurate as I am with the pistol, and hit at POA. No leading that I can see, but it was only 5 shots. Gonna clean the pistol up to make sure it's not leading, but I'll definitely be loading up some more!
 
Last edited:
IALoder said:
Well, the range trip was good, they are an absolute joy to shoot in this big ol pistol! 765 fps, very low velocity spread, as accurate as I am with the pistol, and hit at POA. No leading that I can see, but it was only 5 shots. Gonna clean the pistol up to make sure it's not leading, but I'll definitely be loading up some more!
Click to expand...
765 fps is low enough that I would not expect any leading at all!
 
IALoder said:
Well, the range trip was good, they are an absolute joy to shoot in this big ol pistol! 765 fps, very low velocity spread, as accurate as I am with the pistol, and hit at POA. No leading that I can see, but it was only 5 shots. Gonna clean the pistol up to make sure it's not leading, but I'll definitely be loading up some more!
Click to expand...
Finding that load that results in accuracy and no pain is a win.
 
Just cleaned it, bore and forcing cone were spotless in no time, and there was MAYBE some light leading on the forcing cone, but it was gone after a couple swipes with a bore brush.

JimGnitecki said:
765 fps is low enough that I would not expect any leading at all!
Click to expand...
Good to hear! I don't like cleaning guns more than necessary!

AJC1 said:
Finding that load that results in accuracy and no pain is a win.
Click to expand...
By no means am I a great shot with a pistol, but all 5 smoked the center of the 6" plate at 25 yds. They're great to shoot, pretty much zero recoil. I definitely call it a win!
 
5.0 HP38 is THE load.
my first pound of HP38 in 1978 was to load that load. I believe Skeeter Skelton mentioned it in an article he wrote in Shooting Times. I loaded them under 240gr Zero swayed bullets. From my 6-1/2” M29, in .44spl. Cases they didn’t disappoint!
I now use 5.5gr under a Lee 240gr TL-SWC from a 6-cav mold tumble powder coated, sized .431” in a M69. A tad more “pop” but just as accurate!
 
FROGO207 said:
Just wait, once you find a great load you'll be out of them. Then you will go down the rabbit hole trying to find another lead bullet that works as well. Just wait LOL!
Click to expand...
That's exactly why I cast my own.... time spent in load development is precious and I'll hand the mold to junior.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

gotboostvr
  • Locked
Lead boolit questions
Replies
19
Views
1K
dragon813gt
D
Catpop
  • Locked
Leading and cast bevel base boolits
Replies
7
Views
414
GRIZ22
G
Billy Jack
  • Locked
Advice on 1st boolit selection 44 mag
Replies
3
Views
397
Fatelvis
Fatelvis
T
  • Locked
Unique in 44 Special Question
Replies
8
Views
927
Don McDowell
Don McDowell
R
  • Locked
Swagged Lead-Barrel Leading-HP38
Replies
11
Views
845
happy old sailor
H
Back
Top