.357 magnum 158gn lead projectiles

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iagbarrb

New member
Hy folks

Even if I reload 9mm 223 and 308 for a long time, I have not so much experience with revolver loads.
Where I live good projectiles are not so easy to find, or are just unexistent.

I've reloaded .357 magnum loads, 158gn round nose lead, 1250 fps dan wesson 8 inch barrel. No overpreassure signs I would notice.

With this issues. Nice lead deposits in the barrel and the projectile of the 5th or 6th round trend to flip out of the shell causing that the drum will not rotate because the projectiles nose touches the barrel.

Is there a way to avoid this lead deposits so you do mot need to brush so long after firing?

The second issue might be a crimp problem. How much crimp?

Thanks in advance for your posts. Sorry for my bad english.
 
First off welcome to the forum. I hope you find it a place to frequent. There ar some great folks here with many years of experience in just about all aspects of the shooting and loading world.

It would take a while to get in depth on loading cast or swaged lead bullets, so I thought I would pass along a link which should give you some great information and possibly get you headed down the right track.

There are several good write ups posted here and most of them can be downloaded in PDF version as well. Articles on LASC

But for the quick answer, shooting lead is a balancing act between the fit of the bullets in the bore, the hardness of said bullets, the lube used, and the pressures at which your driving them. Usually leading comes from either the bullet being a touch small for the bore, the lube not being sufficient, or the load driving them to hard.

For starters you might simply try a different powder which gives you a little less velocity. This may help out. You might also slug your barrel, (instructions are in that link above somewhere), If your bore is .358" and your bullets are smaller this is simply asking for a leaded up barrel. That said if the majority of the lead is in the forcing cone area just ahead of your cylinder, this is more likely to indicate a size issue. If it is more ar the muzzle end a lube issue.

For your slipping bullets, yes you need a good solid roll crimp to hold them in place. Usually I set the seating die so that the lip of the case is right at the top edge of the groove on the bullet, so that when it is crimped it will grab or roll into the full groove. This is usually sufficient to hold against the recoil of even my 454 with full loads.

Browse through the link above and see if that sheds some light on things, come on back if you find more questions.
 
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Like Mike said, the powder you use will help or hurt you. Use something in the burn range of Unique, if you are using Titegroup or something as fast it can make the problem worse, that would be the place to start, and stay mid range in your loads.

Try staying around 1000-1100fps and if you still are getting leading then you will need to start trying different brands of bullets.

I tried using bevel based commercial made bullets and had nothing but leading so I started making my own and my problem went away.

You could also try coated bullets.
 
I'll add my welcome to the forum.

The guys are right. Your two questions are really one. Lack of an adequate roll crimp is why the bullets back out. The Dan Wesson is heavy enough that you should be able to load that fast without bullets backing out if the crimp is adequate. I like the Redding Profile Crimp die best for this.

The other factor is likely how rough your bore is. My DW's 8" barrel was particularly rough. I firelapped it (use the board search engine to find threads on firelapping).
 
I'll add my 2 cents to the good replies above. The key to shooting lead bullets is bullet to gun fit. A good place to start is slug/measure the cylinder throats of your revolver. Slug the barrel to make sure the groove diameter is smaller than the cylinder throat diameter. Size or purchase bullets that are the same diameter as the cylinder throats and has decent lube is used (many commercial casters use a lube designed to stay in place during shipping/handling and only so-so as a bullet lube). Larger than throat diameter will not hurt, but the bullet will be swaged down as it passes through the throat and sometimes lead can be "sprayed" on the cylinder face.

I too use a Redding Profile Crimp Die and am very happy with it. In my heavy loaded lead bullet loads (.357 and .44 Magnums) with a medium to heavy crimp, the bullets never budge...

Welcome to the wonderful, confusing and often frustrating world of reloading. Go slow, double check everything, and most important, have fun...
 
Welcome

I had the same issues. I experimented with hardness, powder and size and found that it is a balancing act. I don't try to push lead past 1100fps and even then leading can be a problem. Generally speaking, getting a bullet that is a tight fit, but soft enough to engage the rifling well is the key. On of my revolvers does good with softer bullets but the others like harder bullets. ....all pushed at the same velocity
 
"...lead deposits in the barrel..." Hi. Those are usually caused by trying to drive a cast bullet too fast.
What's the load?
Your 1250FPS may be coming from the 8" barrel or too hot a load. The only cast load Hodgdon lists at that speed is a Max load of Universal. There are some Accurate powders that go there though. Most don't get even close.
Crimping is only needed for hot loads. Even then it should be just enough to keep the bullet in place and no more.
A .358" bullet is going to fit.
 
Also, here is the "rule of thumb" for cast bullets.

Use your thumbnail, try to dig in to the base of the bullet. If you can leave a noticeable dent or groove, your bullet is "soft" and you should keep loads below 1000fps (possibly less) to minimize leading.

IF you can only make a bright mark by pressing hard with your thumbnail, your bullets are "hard" and can be driven faster (1200fps) with little leading.

There is a hardness scale for lead alloy, but until you get some more experience the numbers won't mean much. The rule of thumb WORKS.

For a proper crimp, your cases need to be a uniform length. TO set your crimp, get a factory round, and adjust your die so the crimp shoulder of the die is firmly in contact with the case mouth of the loaded factory round with the press ram at full extension. (firm meaning hand tight) This is the proper amount of crimp for that length case, and a good place to start for your cases. It may be just right or you may need a small further adjustment, depending on the exact length of your brass but its a good place to start.

Bullet to bore size fit is a bit more complex, and something to look at, (if you need to) AFTER you are shooting the right hardness of alloy for the velocity desired.

Hope this helps, and good luck!
 
I must say the consensus here on alloy hardness does not jive with my experience.

Assuming the firearm in question is designed to shoot cast bullets, at handgun or even handgun cartridge chambered rifle velocities, I have gotten zero lead deposits in the bore with alloys as soft as 30-1. In my experience, bullet size, lube groove capacity, and choice of lube are the important factors.

Personally I have migrated to the "big groove" type bullets that carry a wagon load of lube, as I like to shoot lever guns.

If your handgun has fairly proud rifling, and the bullet is at least .001" to .002" larger than groove diameter, will pass through the chamber mouths, and you use suitable ball grease, you shouldn't receive any leading. Even with softer alloys.
 
All the factors come in to play, and I don't know what you personal experience is, but I have to wonder, what speeds were you driving those soft lead slugs at?

Suitable cast slugs can be driven up to 2200fps using all the right "tricks" of hardness, sizing, lube, gas checks, etc.

My experience is that there is a velocity threshold, which varies with bullet fit in the bore, lube amount & type, and alloy hardness above which leading is common, and below which it is not.

If the combination is right for the velocity you are getting, all is well. IF not, you get some degree of leading, which also varies with which factor of the combination is most "wrong" for the velocity. OFTEN it is the allow hardness.

Take, for example a simple soft lead swaged .38 wadcutter. Designed to be fired at low speeds, (800fps+/-) it seldom leads. Same bullet, same bore fit, same lube, etc., driven to 1400fps the slug usually leads badly, often stripping the rifling with very poor accuracy.

Change nothing but the bullet alloy (harder) and the velocity where the bullet is being "overdriven" is much higher.

There are possibly exceptions, but this is the general rule I have observed over decades.
 
FWIW and just to balance out the "keep lead bullets slow" opinions; I have driven .44 Magnum and .357 Magnum lead bullets (WW mix alloy about 12-14 BHN, plain based, air cooled) to Magnum velocities with no leading, but these bullets fit my guns. One particular load stands out; an OOPS! of slightly overcharge of True Blue over a 160 gr LSWC, my alloy, in my .357 did not lead at all. The max listed velocity was around 1400 fps and I think my OOPS! may have been a bit over that. I have been able to eliminate 95% of the leading in my 7.62x54, and 303 British rifles and loads are usually around 2,000 fps...
 
Are we to assume that you aren't in the USA if you are apologizing for your English? (which is extremely good, btw!)

I would recommend jacketed or plated bullets to avoid the learning curve of cast lead... but the sources we use for jacketed and plated bullets are NOT likely available to you if you aren't in the USA.
 
I would suggest backing your load down significantly to where there is no leading and then working back up to what seems to be the threshold for leading. Do that while staying within published ranges or max less 10%. If already as low as advisable, a powder change would be indicated.
 
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