cast boolits in revolvers.

[rbf420]

does shooting cast boolits in revolvers cause hard to clean fouling in certain areas? even if they are well lubed?

[ClarkEMyers]

Bullets of the proper hardness for the load pressure and properly lubed will scarcely foul at all. Bullets of the wrong hardness for the load pressure will foul more - and improperly lubed considerably more. Some revolvers have a choke point or point of reduced diameter where the barrel passes through the frame - most people associate this with screwing the barrel into the frame and the torque and dimensions involved. Bullets that pass through cylinder throats, forcing cones and are then squeezed down at a choke point before passing into a larger diameter barrel - such bullets live a hard life and can indeed foul. If a careful hand on a patched cleaning rod feels a choke point then perhaps and in some cases lapping the choke point to match the rest of the barrel size will improve the bullet performance.

[MSD Mike]

It will depend on the gun and velocity. I can shoot cast bullets in my Smith model 19's at 950 FPS with zero lead left behind but the same loads in my Blackhawk make a mess. Keep velocities moderate and you should be fine but you wont know for sure until you try it in your particular gun.

Thanks
Mike

[LHB1]

Haven't had any leading problems shooting cast lead bullets in my S&W revolvers in .357 Mag (3 guns) or .44 Mag (6 guns). My bullets are cast in Hensley & Gibbs molds using wheel weights and lubed with ALOX lube. Top load in .44 Mag is 1425 fps thru Oehler chrono.

[Stick_man]

Another cause of leading is bullet diameter vs bore diameter. If you have a bore that mics at .357 and shoot a bullet that is sized to .357, you will likely get considerable barrell leading regardless of velocity or lube. Accuracy will likely suffer as well. A general rule of thumb is to size the bullets .001 larger than the bore diameter. Only then will you get good gas seals upon firing and consistent velocities and accuracy. Shooting undersized bullets often leads to lots of smoke as well.

I would recommend "slugging" your barrel to verify what size bore you actually have so you know what how much sizing is needed for your particular bullet/gun combination.

Happy shooting!

[GP100man]

also the cyl throats need to be .001 larger than bore so the bullets not "resized" when exiting.

so if the bore is .357 the cyl needs .358 & the bullets need to be .359

[mac266]

You can also cut down on leading by using gas checks for higher velocities.

I keep my velocities moderate and therefore don't have to bother with them.

[LHB1]

Quote: "You can also cut down on leading by using gas checks for higher velocities. "

BUT you can use gas checks ONLY if the bullet is designed for them, with a rebated/smaller rear section where gas check fits. I have used them with rifle bullets but never found them necessary on cast lead pistol bullets.

[Ivan]

Revolvers give cast bullets a very hard time. I don't cast bullets if they won't work with just plain wheel weight material. To me, it isn't worth my while to make up a special hard alloy for bullets that need it. With revolvers especially, the boolit gets a really good running start before it hits rifling. That needs a much harder / tougher alloy than even a medium velocity rifle which has the boolit engrave without that jump. I have pushed plain ole wheel weight boolits at almost 1500 fps out of a rifle with no leading at all. Try THAT out of a revolver. The only non-revolving pistol caliber I cast for is the .45 ACP, so I can't make any velocity claims there.

- Ivan.