Cast bullet reload questions

Boolit Mold Join DateMar 2013Posts3

Hello all. This is my first post. I will try to keep this short. I've been reloading for about 6 years now. I have loaded lead for .38's since day one with no issues in any of my revlovers. I use an advertised hardness of 12 and keep them slow. Last year I made the switch from coated lead bullets for my 10mm's and 40 S&W to regular cast bullets due to the price increase. The advertised hardness of the bullets I bought are 16. I couldn't find any softer for the 10/40 with the exception of the 38-40 cowboy bullets. They are brinnel 12 but they have a cannelure and I don't know if they would work in the auto cartridges. From my research it seems like the bullets I have tried are too hard for slow speeds. They lead more at the start of the rifling.

The loads I have tried are with 3 different types of bullets from different manufacturers. A 155 grain lead swc over 4.0 grains of Bullseye, 175 gr swc over 3.6 grains of Bullseye, and 180 gr fp over 3.6 grains of bullseye. Any lighter than that and the gun stops cycling reliably. I get significant leading with all bullets within 100 rounds. I have shot all the rest of the bullets I had except the 175 swc. They were the most accurate so I bought more of those. I have around 800 left. I have considered trying different powders I have Unique, Power Pistol, and Blue Dot on hand. I will use what I have left and I will be buying from Missourri Bullets next time to see how they work but all their bullets are brinnel 16 or 18 for the 40 except the 38-40 bullets but I have no idea if they will work. Has anybody tried them? I want to stay with lead bullets since they are so much cheaper. My next step is casting my own but I have a lot of equipment to buy before I can start. I appreciate any help.

take your dedication for hardness and apply it to the fit of the projectile to your barrel.

how the projectile fits in your barrel probably has more to do with leading than the hardness. I would slug your barrels and then find someone who can cast the projectiles for you to the size you need, generally .001 over bore dia is a good place to start.

I second that, fit is king. When a hard CB is pushed in a light load, it will lead if the fit is not right @ aboutr .001" over barrel size. Heavy loads sometime work but a good fit is best.

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Boolit Mold Join DateMar 2013Posts3

My M&P Pro 40 barrel is .4005. The current bullets I have on hand are .402. I haven't slugged the other 4 barrels but I shoot the M&P the most.

+1. Fit is critical. Hardness is at best moderately imporant, and at worst - harmful.

In .38 Spl, hardness is not helpful, most likely hurtful.

In .40 (no experience in this caliber), since it is a hot cartridge, you really need good fit and
MAYBE a bit harder than .38 Spl.

In general, commercial boolits are very often 1) too small (very bad)
2) too hard (irrelevant to bad) and 3) have a marginal 'crayola lube' (very bad if
the boolit is too small and too hard).

You need to slug the barrel and use a boolit which is about .001 larger than groove diam, or
more. You need a micrometer, not a caliper for this measurement.

Bill

If it was easy, anybody could do it.

Boolit Mold Join DateMar 2013Posts3

+1. Fit is critical. Hardness is at best moderately imporant, and at worst - harmful.

In .38 Spl, hardness is not helpful, most likely hurtful.

In .40 (no experience in this caliber), since it is a hot cartridge, you really need good fit and
MAYBE a bit harder than .38 Spl.

In general, commercial boolits are very often 1) too small (very bad)
2) too hard (irrelevant to bad) and 3) have a marginal 'crayola lube' (very bad if
the boolit is too small and too hard).

You need to slug the barrel and use a boolit which is about .001 larger than groove diam, or
more. You need a micrometer, not a caliper for this measurement.

Bill

I have never had a problem with commercial .38 lead bullets in 6 years in any of my revolvers. I have always used the same bullets made by Magnus because they are reasonable and I never have leading issues with them. I shoot them slow. I am also shooting the .40 slow as well but the bullets are harder and some say that is what is causing my leading issue. I have bought cheaper bullets for the .40 and I want to cast my own but it will be awhile. I might be wrong but I think the bullets I am finding are too hard. One of my shooting buddies loads lead for .45 and uses brinnel 12 bullets and has never had leading issues. The coated lead bullets I used to use do not lead at all but they don't cost much less than plated now. They are .402 just like the uncoated lead I am using currently. I have shot the coated bullets close to 1300 fps out of my 10mm with no leading and even slow they don't lead. I guess I will just have to go back to them but I was trying to save some money.

If you have access to a kinetic boolit puller, I would recommend pulling one of your loaded 40S&W boolits, and measuring it to see if it's still .402

40S&W brass is fairly stiff, and you can easily swage down a lead boolit while stuffing it into a case. That's why many folks make and use custom oversize expander spuds for cast boolits. Most factory dies sets (with the exception of some cowboy dies) come with an expander spud that is intended for use with standard (.400) jacketed projectiles.

You might be starting out with a .402 boolit, and after pressing it into the case end up having squeezed it down to a .400 or smaller sized boolit. Either soft or hard, a .399-.400 sized boolit is a sure recipe for leading with the 40S&W.

The fastest way to see if you are having this problem is to pull a loaded round and measure it. I recommend using a micrometer to measure it with.

If you find that your boolit size is still correct after pulling a loaded round, then start to look in other places for your problem besides fit.

Be sure the barrel you are using is clean and clear of copper jacket fouling. Lead can build up on top of copper fouling in a barrel. Clean the barrel thoroughly removing ALL copper fouling with an ammonia based solvent before shooting cast.

If you still have problems try looking at the transition in the throat on your M&P pro 40 barrel. A sharp edge is much more likely to cause leading problems. A gentle smooth taper is more cast friendly, rather than an abrupt sharp edged transition to the rifling.

You could try using a slower burning powder. I have had good results using both Blue Dot and Unique with the 40S&W in my guns. I am not saying that fast powders like Bullseye or Red Dot don't work with the caliber, but often a slower burning powder can give a cast boolit a gentler shove or launch. That may give you a little more wiggle room.

I would also use a known boolit lube already proven to work.

Best of luck.

- Bullwolf

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Abbreviations used in Reloading
Pointed Soft Point "Core Lokt"

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