SW 610 Hates Lead TC Bullets!!!

J

jtduncan

New member
What am I going to do?

I thought revolvers were designed originally for shooting lead bullets of all configurations.

Well, I reloaded some target grade hard cast lead Truncated cone 200 grain Aardvark bullets behind 5.3 grains of TiteGroup for a round doing 1,025 fps for 25 and 50 yard practice.

I also loaded the same charge behind some 200 grain copper plated flatpoints by Rainier.

I measured the Rainiers and they were .400 and the hard cast lead bullets were .401.

I belled the cases just enough to easily get the bottoms of the bullets into the case throats.

I used a Lee Factory Crimp Die on all of the them with a half turn or a light crimp per Lee instructions.

Used Federal large pistol primers.

The Rainiers, or copper plateds shot and loaded fine so my moon clips are fine too.

Well, my Glock 20 shot some 2-3 inch groups with the hard cast lead bullets. But my SW 610 would not seat the bullets flush into the charge holes of my cylinder. I had to use some force to push them in deep enough to be able to push the cylinder into its shooting position.

I could only get half of the LTC bullets to get flush enough into the charge holes to shoot them and the groups were very tight - 2" at 25 yards.

But what is causing this seating problem so that I can't easily drop them into the charge holes by themselves?

Help!!!!:eek:
 
Have you ever shot any .40 S&W ammo in the 610? It sounds like there is some buildup of "stuff" in your cylinders that is causing the problems. The lead in the chambers could be dorty also and cause some problems. I could also guess some other problems but since you said you used a Lee crimp die they woudln't occur. I also am assuming that you have seated the bullet so the edge of the case is right at where the taper starts. I have found (in my 625's) there sometimes can be problems if there is any part of the full bullet diameter out past the edge of the case.
 
Yes I have. Some 155 grain Montana Gold FMJ flatpoints driven to target and self defense velocities. Very accurate and no problems with them.
 
Vigorously and thoroughly brushed out and cleaned the charge holes and the bore with some lead remover solution, some bronze brushing, and several patches run through with brass jag.

610 was spotless to eliminate fouling or leading problems.

But LTC bullets still didn't seat into charge holes fully.
 
Hmmmmmm?

It sure sounds like the case head has been expanded by firing with hot loads in an auto (G20) and that is preventing the case from going fully in the cylinder. I didn't mention this at first because the Lee factory crimp will usually take care of this unless the case heads have been expanded too much. By chance were these cases used for some warmer reloads in one of your autos? I always keep my brass (10mm/45 ACP) used in my revolvers seperate from my auto brass by head stamp to keep this from possibly happening.

If you r brass is nice and shiney, try pushing it into the chamber and then take it out and look for some very fine scratches where the tight fit is. I have a suspicion that the brass you are using has expanded heads that are not getting resized. This ammo would work fine in an auto but will caus problems in your tight chambered revolver.

Another thing you can do is to use some new brass or size a once fired case. Check to make sure the case fits in the cylinder before you bell it and then seat a bullet and crimp like normal. If the case fits before belling and bullet seating/crimping, it should fit after.
 
Funny you should mention this. I had the same problem with my 625. It won't run lead, but there is no problem with my 25-2.
 
STOP! READ. THINK.

Suggest trying a high-quality lead bullet sized to .400" (Beartooth or Cast Performance).
Try a different powder like AA5 or AA7, HS6, Power Pistol, or WAP (yeah right).
Try a shorter OAL, but be very very careful and just make them short enough to enter the chamber fully.
Try a different powder like AA5 or AA7, HS6, Power Pistol, or WAP (yeah right).

This sentence bears repeating.

You might also try using a REDDING Profile Crimp die on your 610-only loads; let it give a light gentle roll to finish.
Suggest your seat trouble caused by the bullet, not case. Its diameter is too large to fit the mouth of the chamber.
 
Not worth the hassle

I agree with the comments about the problem being caused by possible fouling and bullets seated too long.

As an aside, you are going to have lots of accuracy and cleaning problems pushing lead bullets that fast. Anything moving much over 850 fps needs to be jacketed or gas checked. The amount you save on bullet cost wouldn't pay for the labor it will take to keep the gun running.

Just my opinion

Mikey
 
I ran into the same problem with mine. Here is what's happening. The taper crimp is shaving a teeny amount of lead of the side of the bullet as it is being seated and is being pushed upward. If you gently grip one of your cartridges between your thumb and index finger and twist you will probably get a little ring of bullet shaving to come loose. You may have to start it with your thumbnail. Look closely at the bullet where it touches the case mouth and you will see what I mean. There really is no way I know of to avoid that. If you use lead bullets for a 610, you will have to scrape the excess off. I no longer have those seating problems. But it is a pain in the neck to have to do that.
 
Mobias,

The way to prevent that is to seat and crimp the bullet in seperate operations and making sure you have a decent bell on the case.
 
Don't use brass what's been shot in a Glock to reload for your 610. Sloppy chamber in the M20 is expanding the ring too much. Use fresh brass, keep it separate & check for the lead ring smear at the case mouth. Dillon sizing die is the tightest .40 I've found-but I still keep brass separate.
 
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