Anyone have an idea what velocity and pressure would be...

with 6.0 gr of Unique and a 240 gr Keith type bullet in a 44 mag (5.5" SBH)?

Alliant's website shows 899 fps with a 240 cast and 7.0 grains Unique in a 7.5 inch barrel in 44 mag cases (CCI 300 primer), so maybe 800 fps in your gun with 6 grains.

You are getting to the point where it won't burn as effciently at those low levels and you will likely get unburned kernels and lots of soot on your cases. Bumping up to 8 or 9 grains will be cleaner and more consistent. That said, most of mine are 7.5-9 grains with an RCBS 245 cast SWC.

captainkirk

PS I don't know the pressure figures, but they will be lowww

I too would bump it up...Unique has a nasty habit of putting "pepper" all over your gun if it isn't pushed hard enough.

The problem is I'm having trouble with leading. It leads everywhere from 6.0 to 9.0 gr of Unique. It gets a little better when I drop down to 6.0 gr and real bad at 9.0 gr. These were supposed to have a BN of 15. That seems unlikely to me. Seems like I would find a spot where the leading would minimize without dropping below a starting load. What do you think?

They could be undersized. If they are 429 you will have problems no matter what the load, they should be more like 431-2. Are these commercial cast bullets? Bevel based? Hard lube?

Also make sure you get all of the copper out of the barrel before shooting cast.

captainkirk

They are commercial bullets. They only offered them in 0.430 - I hadn't thought of that as a possible problem, but it makes sense. They are beveled bases and hard lubed.

Jayhawkhuntclub":3js4uy4x said:

They are commercial bullets. They only offered them in 0.430 - I hadn't thought of that as a possible problem, but it makes sense. They are beveled bases and hard lubed.

Click to expand...

Hi,

I've had problems w/ leading using commercial cast bullets at low to moderate velocities. The general consensus I found on this problem is the lubes used by a lot of commercial casters is too hard to do a good job until driven hard.

For myself, the solution was to lube them w/ Lee Liquid Alox. Over whatever was already on there.

It might be worth a try for you--the stuff's pretty inexpensive.

I haven't used it for such a purpose, but Johnson's paste wax has been suggested as an excellent choice instead of the LLA.

Regardless, be sure to put a good snug crimp on anything you're loading w/ Unique, but it seems more critical on those light loads than the heavier ones. It seems to get the stuff lit off better. I use the Lee Factory Crimp Die, and the Redding Profile Die is frequently suggested, but you can use your standard seater/crimper die satisfactorily if you're careful and set it up to crimp in a separate step from the seating.

Rick C

And driving them hard with Unique is going to cause troubles. I had some commercial cast RNFP bullets that would lead my barrel. Opening the cylinder thoat to the correct dimension helped a lot, but didn't eliminate it. Switching from Universal to H4227 did. 15 HBN isn't all that hard though so you'd think that they'd obturate. Have you measured your thoats by chance? Most 44's are accurate, but your's could be the exception.

Jayhawkhuntclub":rw4l394d said:

The problem is I'm having trouble with leading. It leads everywhere from 6.0 to 9.0 gr of Unique. It gets a little better when I drop down to 6.0 gr and real bad at 9.0 gr. These were supposed to have a BN of 15. That seems unlikely to me. Seems like I would find a spot where the leading would minimize without dropping below a starting load. What do you think?

Click to expand...

I think your gun would benefit by polishing the inside of the barrel. A smooth barrel picks up less lead, and is easier to clean, too. The tools for lapping a barrel are not very expensive and it takes only a little while longer than removing a bunch of lead. Firelapping is easier, but it seems too easy. There's gotta be a catch.

Just a thought. I have not seen your barrel but this is the first conclusion to jump to.

Good luck

Is this a brand new revolver? If so, I agree with Lost Sheep. These days I rarely break in a new Ruger (not enough screws). However, when doing so I use jacketed bullets for the first 200 rounds to smooth things up.

SAJohn