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bamaranger · January 25, 2012, 02:00 AM

I have for a long time tried for a midrange (1000 fps) .357 load with 158 gr commercial lead bullets and have never found anything that did not lead unacceptably and some of it was just awful.

I got frustrated enough that I started shooting the Speer 160 "half jackets" and that got me the velocity I wanted with no leading, obviously, since it was a jacketed slug. Alas Speer no longer makes the bullet.

I was working with 5.5-6.o grains of Unique.

The problem, I think is that commercial slugs are too soft. Not enough alloy, or whatever the slugs are cast with to increase hardness. And swaged slugs are softer still. I am not getting into bullet casting and have pretty much given up on 1000 fps load in lead.

January 25, 2012, 02:00 AM	#9
bamaranger Senior Member Join Date: October 9, 2009 Location: North Alabama Posts: 8,312	same problem I have for a long time tried for a midrange (1000 fps) .357 load with 158 gr commercial lead bullets and have never found anything that did not lead unacceptably and some of it was just awful. I got frustrated enough that I started shooting the Speer 160 "half jackets" and that got me the velocity I wanted with no leading, obviously, since it was a jacketed slug. Alas Speer no longer makes the bullet. I was working with 5.5-6.o grains of Unique. The problem, I think is that commercial slugs are too soft. Not enough alloy, or whatever the slugs are cast with to increase hardness. And swaged slugs are softer still. I am not getting into bullet casting and have pretty much given up on 1000 fps load in lead.