The Fed drops lead HP's

L

Lone Star

New member
Bad news, lads. (You, too, Tamara!) Heard today from Federal that they've dropped their 38G load, the lead Plus P .38 SWC-HP.
It leaded if shot much, but could be cleaned out at the range to a considerable degree by firing a few FMJ rounds after shooting the lead ones, and it would expand okay in humans while penetrating until next payday!

I also checked with Winchester. Thankfully, they still make their version. Not sure about Remington. Speer has made it only in their Blazer line since about 1994. This all comes from company spokespersons, not gunshop know-it-alls...

Lone Star
 
The reason this load works so well is because the bullet is so soft. Will lead some but that's why they make brushes.

Can't recommend firing jacketed bullets to clean barrel of lead unless you want a bulged or ringed barrel. Those lead deposits are a barrel obstruction, folks. Want to see a barrel that was ruined this way? I can post the pics. I hear a lot of guys say to do this trick but you are taking a real chance if you do. Might get away with it 10,000 times. Maybe you'll need a new barrel after one shot. Toss the dice, brother...
 
Maybe Federal felt uncomfortable that their best load in .38 Special was some low-tech lead hollowpoint.

Federal probably makes more money selling those fancy Hydra-Shoks in the designer 20-round clear plastic boxes.

If I recall correctly, you can buy a 50-round box of the .38 Special +P LSWCHP's for less than the cost of a 20 round box of Hydra-Shoks!
 
SaxonPig asks,
Want to see a barrel that was ruined this way? I can post the pics.
Click to expand...
Well, since no one's answered, I guess I will.
Yes, I'd be very interested. TIA.
 
I also would like to see the bbl. ruined this way. It would help to know the amount of leading in the bore when the problem occurred, and which jacketed load was fired that caused the damage, if you know.

I got the advice about "shooting the lead out" from Col. Charles Askins some years ago, when he was among our leading gun writers, but have heard it repeated by several people at ranges. I have done it on occasion (without problems), but I can see where there's a potential for trouble, especially if a rough bore had been heavily leaded. In all, it's probably wise to not do this. Thanks for your cautionary advice.

Lone Star
 
I would think that if there was sufficient leading so as to obstruct the bore, a jacketed round would ruin the barrel. But that would be a lot of leading and your accuracy at that point would be nil. I have, from time to time, used jacketed rounds to speed up lead removal.
 
Along the same lines...

Would firing several rounds of non-corrosive ammo remove all or most of the corrosive salts from the barel (not the action)?
 
Dittos on the cost of LSWCHP's. The cost of this factory loaded ammo has been really reasonable for quite a while. But shhhh ! Don't tell anyone our secret.
 
For those who still want it from Federal, they are making the 158 grain LSWCHP +P in their Premium Nyclad......
 
... but only for the law enforcement market. Check Federal's web site or their 2002 catalog. Virtually all of the plain lead loads have been discontinued. The Nyclad line was moved to LEO status several months ago.
 
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Couple of points - - -

Firing jacketed ammo to clean out the lead - - -
This just doesn't work well, for THAT purpose. If you had some very sharp-edged full wadcutter jacketed bullets, loaded to a moderate velocity especially for the purpose, it MIGHT work, yeah. It would tend to scrape the leading deposits out pretty well. But most jacketed ammo is possessed of some sort of rounded or conical ogive, and this simply serves to push the leading and fouling deeper into the grooves of the rifling. I believe it just makes the cleaning chore take a bit longer. Probably doesn't HURT anything otherwise, so long as you haven't shot a bunch of very soft lead high velocity ammo as to leave huge lead deposits. Then it might form the obstruction mentioned.

Oleg - - -
No, sir, that doesn't work. The subject has been written up in the firearms publications several times over the decades, most particularly during the 1950s and -60s, soon after the changeover from corrosive priming in US government contract ammo. Much older ammo was released to clubs and state shooting organizations, and someone was constantly complaining, "But I shot X rounds of commercial non corrosive when I finished the match, and three days later, I found my barrel RUINED!"

Check the book, Hatcher's Notebooks for a detailled discussion of how the corrosive salts form a bond with the steel of the barrel. He gives all sorts of accounts of how cleaning with standard commercial bore solvents fails to get rid of the corrosive elements. Strangely, the simplest solution is also the best: A couple of patches, sopping wet with plain WATER, to dissolve the corrosive salts. Then a couple of tight fitting, dry patches, to remove the loose water droplets, followed by standard cleaning with solvent and such.
 
The brass patches with lead remover kits such as the Lewis are the best way I've found to remove lead. I've used the expanding jag that comes with the kit but have found one of the brass patches on the standard cleaning jag will work 99% of the time and usually with one pass.
 
I think it would help if they would just copper-plate their bullet. The Rainier copper jacketed bullets show much less leading than regular un-clad lead projectiles, and while I have not tried it out, I believe that copper coating should not affect expansion very much.
 
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