New Lyman Cast Bullet Handbook

[ColColt]

I received the Lyman Cast Bullet Handbook today and was a bit surprised at some of the loads for 357 Magnum. With HS-6, one of my favorites, the starting load for a 158 gr LSWC(#358156) was 8.8 gr and max at 9.7 gr. The 158 gr #358665 was 9.2 and max 10.2. These are all pretty much on par with the old Speer #8 manual that everyone thinks is a time bomb as their max load was 10 gr with the same powder and weight bullet.

Velocities are right up there and without a hard bullet of maybe BHN 15 or 18 I'm sure leading would be pretty bad. Still, I'd like to try some of these soon. I don't know where you'd find a BHN 15 bullet but Missouri Bullet makes an 18 for magnum loads. Come to think of it, I believe Rimrock makes a BHN 15 LSWC.

 

[LiveLife]

"A Few Comments on Cast Bullet Alloys" By: Glen E. Fryxell

A very common misconception is that leading is caused by the bullet being too soft and the lead gets stripped off or abraded away from the bullet's bearing surface as it passes down the bore. This misguided belief leads many new bullet casters to turn to expensive alloys like linotype, and/or elaborate heat treating methods to harden their bullets, thinking that this is the only way to prevent leading.

There are very, very few revolver applications that require a BHN of over 20. In my experience, revolver leading can almost always be traced to some other factor (inadequate lubrication, improper sizing, barrel/frame constriction, etc.). Only very rarely is barrel leading caused by the bullet being too soft. In support of this claim, let me point out that many muzzle loaders prefer bullets cast from 30-to-1 alloy (which is quite soft, BHN of about 9) and these smokepole slugs are routinely driven to 1300-1400 fps. In addition, high-velocity .22 Long Rifle ammo uses an even softer bullet at over 1200 fps (and if a .22 leads, it's a gun problem, not an ammo problem). Elmer Keith's favorite cast bullet alloy was 16-to-1 lead/tin, which has a BHN of only 11. This is the alloy that gave a roaring birth to the .44 Magnum using plain-based cast bullets loaded to 1400+ fps. Properly loaded and lubed, Elmer's alloy will leave a magnum revolver barrel shiny and clean after a long day shooting.

 

[ColColt]

A most informative link. thanks for pointing me to it and definitely a book mark. I guess that box of BHN 18 will get little usage since I'm not going to be driving 38/357 to the 1400 to 1700 fps range.

 

[Russt]

It's been my experiance that bullet "fit" is key. For example, if you have a .357 diameter lead bullet & your bbl slugs out to .358, with a too hard bullet you may get leading. Going to a softer bullet, it is possible for it to slug up to the bore size & not lead. The cylinder throats act like a sizer. Slug them & see what size you have. IF they're smaller that the bbl. diameter, with the right combination of alloy and powder you may not get leading. Don't mistake velocity for pressure. You can't have velocity w/o pressure but if you overdue the pressure limit of the bullet, it will likely lead the bbl and be inaccurate. A good lube, not the hard crayon, holds up to handling & shipping well lube, is good too. I haven't purchased a cast bullet in over 5 years, since I started casting my own. There's a TON of info over at www.castboolits.gunloads.com & it's where I've learned a lot about cast bullets. Nothing beats trial & error though.
These are some bullets I shoot from a 327 & 45 Blackhawk. BHN is about 13-16. I use speed green & carnuba red for lube and get no leading from 700fps to 1100fps in the 45 to over 1600fps in the 327.

 

[USSR]

It's been my experiance that bullet "fit" is key.

Yep! BHN is highly overrated, especially once you start casting hollowpoints.

Don

 

[highlander 5]

I get leading in my SRH 454 using 45 Colt loads with a swaged semi wadcutter,but my problem is a rough/constricted bore. I have 3 Ruger revolver that don't lead using a 50/50 mix lino/ww and sized .454 and various bullet styles.RNFP,SWC and a wadcutter. Chamber mouths are .4525 and bores .4515-.452. Firelapped all but the SRH and once the weather get a little warmer that's next on the list of thing to do.

 

[ColColt]

My GP100's groove diameter mikes at .355 and I use Missouri bullets either in BHN 12 or 18 that mike at .357-.3575". I mostly use the softer ones in both 38 and 357 cases unless I'm using 2400. With a groove diameter like that and bullets about .002-.003 over groove diameter, I should be getting a pretty good seal.

I took a .375" round ball for the Remington black powder pistol I have, oiled it and drove it down the bore with a dowel rod to get a groove pattern in order to mike it. I haven't checked cylinder diameter as yet. I get good accuracy in most all loads. I'm going to try working up a good load with HS-6 with CCI 550 primers and see how things go. From Lyman's book, the 158 gr bullet should be loaded with an average of 8.5 gr of HS-6 with this bullet, but, I'll back off a bit and work up to that.