reloader74
New member
Thinking about starting cast 30 cal. and 9 mm. 30 cal. will be 300 blk. out subs. and 9mm will be around 1100 to 1200 fps. My question is can you shoot regular cast bullets without coating them or with out a gas check?
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Sub sonic cast bullets
- Thread starter reloader74
- Start date
Yes and no. Some years ago there was a guy who was experimenting with shooting cast lead bullets with zero lubrication and he seemed to be getting away with it (no leading). However as I remember he used a hard alloy and may have limited his velocity to very low...I do not remember the particulars now...too many years ago.Thinking about starting cast 30 cal. and 9 mm. 30 cal. will be 300 blk. out subs. and 9mm will be around 1100 to 1200 fps. My question is can you shoot regular cast bullets without coating them or with out a gas check?
As for gas checks, again it depends on how heavy of a load. Slow and easy loads do not require a gas check even it the cast bullet has a heel for one.
Jim Watson
New member
My .38-55 and .40-65 are shooting plain base cast bullets (with suitable lube in the grooves) at 1100+ fps. Naked, dry lead bullets would be kind of a stunt, not usually done.
Powder coating for all intents and purposes is just another form of lube that encapsulates the entire bullet and adds strength to a lower BHN bullet that normally would lead otherwise.
Unless your casting your bullets from Zinc which is a natural lubricant you're going to have to lube your bullets in some fashion regardless of the velocity or pressure or both that you plan on shooting them at.
Bullet fit is KING regardless of if your shooting plain base or gas check bullet.
Plain base bullets can be shot at high velocity / pressure you just have to adjust your alloys BHN to accommodate for that.
Bullets designed to use a gas check will at some point always shoot more accurately with the gas check installed than left off, but you can shoot those same bullet at lower velocities and still get excellent accuracy. I shoot plain base bullets for plinking in all my 30 cal. rifle up to 1300 fps. or less on average with excellent accuracy. in handguns, I only have two gas check molds for 38 / 357 Mag. as I push those loads hard with soft alloys for expansion otherwise plain base bullets with PC, traditional or tumble lube work fine for my 38/ 357 / 9 mm and 45 ACP loads.
Unless your casting your bullets from Zinc which is a natural lubricant you're going to have to lube your bullets in some fashion regardless of the velocity or pressure or both that you plan on shooting them at.
Bullet fit is KING regardless of if your shooting plain base or gas check bullet.
Plain base bullets can be shot at high velocity / pressure you just have to adjust your alloys BHN to accommodate for that.
Bullets designed to use a gas check will at some point always shoot more accurately with the gas check installed than left off, but you can shoot those same bullet at lower velocities and still get excellent accuracy. I shoot plain base bullets for plinking in all my 30 cal. rifle up to 1300 fps. or less on average with excellent accuracy. in handguns, I only have two gas check molds for 38 / 357 Mag. as I push those loads hard with soft alloys for expansion otherwise plain base bullets with PC, traditional or tumble lube work fine for my 38/ 357 / 9 mm and 45 ACP loads.
PocketCamera
Moderator
bore fit is what matters, and if you are using standard lead bullets, WITHOUT powder coating, do yourself an important favor and make sure that the bullet does NOT go below the neck when seated. Learned that merely makes any bullet lube become a glue for lead deposits when fired.
I load a lot and almost all of it is with my own cast bullets. My 223 reloads are the only exception. I also cast bullets (tumble lube for 45 acp and PC for 44 mag) for a shooting buddy.
You do need lube but you may get by with the easy option, tumble lube. Lee lube is a common product but it leaves the bullets pretty sticky. There is a small time guy at White Label Lube that has a better product, 45-45-10 (https://lsstuff.com/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=13). I use tumble lube for mild loads, think 38 special, 32 Long.
Traditional lube is normally applied with a lube sizer. It can be applied other ways, but few bother. For many applications, traditional lube will handle higher power loads than tumble lube. Getting leading free medium to higher power loads with traditional lube can require getting everything (bullet alloy, bullet diameter, case prep, etc) just right. Even still, some guns just seem hard to please with traditional lube. If you do want to try traditional lube, the products at White Label Lube are considered great choices.
Powder coat (PC) is the new kid on the block. I use the ASBB tumble method and hand stack for cooking. I use this for my 9 mm loads, my magnum pistol loads, my 357 Max loads, my 357AR loads and my specialty pistol (7 TCU, 30 Herrett, etc) loads (all full power). The lube performance with most of my PC loads have been great with no fiddling around at all. The 9mm loads were the exception. It took lots of work to get leading free 9mm loads.
Many have pretty good luck right off the bat with cast subs in the 300 BO. I would not hesitate to try any of the above for 300 BO subs. Again, the 9mm can be a problem child. You can try any lube you want with the 9mm, but consider yourself lucky if you get happy without a lot of effort.
You do need lube but you may get by with the easy option, tumble lube. Lee lube is a common product but it leaves the bullets pretty sticky. There is a small time guy at White Label Lube that has a better product, 45-45-10 (https://lsstuff.com/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=13). I use tumble lube for mild loads, think 38 special, 32 Long.
Traditional lube is normally applied with a lube sizer. It can be applied other ways, but few bother. For many applications, traditional lube will handle higher power loads than tumble lube. Getting leading free medium to higher power loads with traditional lube can require getting everything (bullet alloy, bullet diameter, case prep, etc) just right. Even still, some guns just seem hard to please with traditional lube. If you do want to try traditional lube, the products at White Label Lube are considered great choices.
Powder coat (PC) is the new kid on the block. I use the ASBB tumble method and hand stack for cooking. I use this for my 9 mm loads, my magnum pistol loads, my 357 Max loads, my 357AR loads and my specialty pistol (7 TCU, 30 Herrett, etc) loads (all full power). The lube performance with most of my PC loads have been great with no fiddling around at all. The 9mm loads were the exception. It took lots of work to get leading free 9mm loads.
Many have pretty good luck right off the bat with cast subs in the 300 BO. I would not hesitate to try any of the above for 300 BO subs. Again, the 9mm can be a problem child. You can try any lube you want with the 9mm, but consider yourself lucky if you get happy without a lot of effort.
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If the bullet is cut for a gas check ...put a gas check on it .
Lubricate the bullet in some form or fashion . Tumble lube , pan lube , conventional lube/sizer ...bare naked lead bullets don't cut it ...they need something ...
even a teflon tape or paper patch ... something is required to keep the bare lead from rubbing off on the barrel lands and grooves . A gas check helps but more than a check is required .
Gary
Lubricate the bullet in some form or fashion . Tumble lube , pan lube , conventional lube/sizer ...bare naked lead bullets don't cut it ...they need something ...
even a teflon tape or paper patch ... something is required to keep the bare lead from rubbing off on the barrel lands and grooves . A gas check helps but more than a check is required .
Gary
Segregate the lead
You'll need to keep the bullet lead away from your barrel. I started casting in March for both 30cal and 9mm ( and more ).
I think the Lee Alox is the fastest to apply but messy.
I don't want to invest in a resizing press so I stayed away from the classic lube.
PC is just as or more time consuming ( have haven't done the previous ) but it can be done with minimum investment. I use small recycled #5 tubes with some pieces of styrofoam to shake up with the paint and cast bullets. Why buy the bbs? Get a used/thrown out toaster oven. And use paint recommended by other PCers. I plan to gas check the 30/30 bullets. Some paint doesn't melt well. My future test will include 100% range lead vs. 50/50 range/WW lead. Here's what my Lee 9-120TC bullets look like.
You'll need to keep the bullet lead away from your barrel. I started casting in March for both 30cal and 9mm ( and more ).
I think the Lee Alox is the fastest to apply but messy.
I don't want to invest in a resizing press so I stayed away from the classic lube.
PC is just as or more time consuming ( have haven't done the previous ) but it can be done with minimum investment. I use small recycled #5 tubes with some pieces of styrofoam to shake up with the paint and cast bullets. Why buy the bbs? Get a used/thrown out toaster oven. And use paint recommended by other PCers. I plan to gas check the 30/30 bullets. Some paint doesn't melt well. My future test will include 100% range lead vs. 50/50 range/WW lead. Here's what my Lee 9-120TC bullets look like.
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