When is leading considered "excessive?"

[TargetTerror]

What is the general consensus on when leading is considered excessive or unacceptable. I realize that any gun/ammo combination will lead to a certain degree, much as jacketed ammo will leave copper fouling.

I was shooting my SBH 44 with some new 240gr bullets I loaded up. It seemed to be getting some small traces of lead in the 1/2 half of the barrel (by the muzzle) after shooting maybe 25 rounds (at which point my transfer bar stopped working correctly, but that is another story. I honestly don't remember if my other loads lead to this degree or not, but there is usually some lead in the barrel for me to clean.

 

[Slamfire]

Lead becomes excessive in a revolver when your point of impact changes. At least in my opinion.

I purchased 1000 rounds of Aquila 32 S&W Long. The bullets were soft lead. In less than 50 rounds the barrel leaded so much that you could not see the rifling!

As I would shoot, the point of impact would just change, and change, and change. I would typically shoot about 100 rounds of the stuff, and I can tell you around round 50 I was holding way off my target, because point of aim and point of impact had nothing to do each other. The revolver I was shooting had fixed sights, so I had to hold off. I forget how much, but it was easily six inches at 25 yards.

Leading creates more leading. And you will see that.

As for my 32 S&W Long, and all my pistols, I simply shoot the lead out using jacketed bullets. The jacketed bullet simply swages the lead out the front of the barrel.

I believe that trace amounts of lead, swaged into tool marks of the rifling, is fine. I think it lubricates the bore. Of course leading in the forcing cone is a problem.

I have one Electrochemical discharge machined barrel, a M625-9 S&W, and it is easier to lead that barrel than the older broach cut barrels. Always thought that strange, especially as the EDM has got to be much, much smoother than a cut barrel.

 

[Walkalong]

If you are getting gas cutting from the bullet not obturating to fill the bore it doesn't matter how smooth the barrel is. Same thing for not enough lube.

A rough bore only makes things
worse.

 

[dmftoy1]

This may sound stupid . . .but I consider leading excessive when it takes me noticeable time to clean the gun after shooting it. In most cases one pass with a patch covered with chore boy takes out what I would consider "minimal" leading. If it takes me more than that to remove any leading in the barrel then I figure I need to change:

Bullet size relative to bore size
Lube
Hardness

(in that order)

FWIW

Have a good one,
Dave

 

[ranger335v]

"When is leading considered "excessive?" "

When it degrades accuracy.

A proper alloy, properly sized bullet with a good lube (Alox/bees wax) fired at reasonable speeds will not lead a barrel.

 

[Snapping Twig]

Properly sized (.001 oversize) and alloyed (not too hard) bullets lubed with alox or other soft lube (not crayon hard) will prevent leading up to and including high velocity magnum speeds.

I shoot both gas checked and plain based bullets in a .357 and a .44 with NO leading. When I say NO leading, I mean I can't see any at clean-up time.

I have a .45LC that leads a bit at the forcing cone, but a couple passes of a Chore Boy wrapped brush eliminates this. I suspect some roughness at the forcing cone to be the culprit, so I'll pump rounds through it until it abates. It's already far better than it was when it was new, so I believe we're on the right track.