Lead bullets for RBH .357

[sbyrd]

im new to reloading for pistols have reloaded for rifles for years but heres the? im wondering about shooting lead in my NM RBH .357 i've heard that when a lead bullet gets up to 1200fps it will start stripping lead off in the riflings. im thinking of getting a bullet mold an melting old wheel weights down and useing them would it be to soft? how fast could i shoot them? also i've heard people say hard cast or gas checked whats that mean? is there a lead bullet around that i can shoot at high volocitys? a guy i know uses lazer cast lead he says you can shoot them at 1800fps how bad is cleaning up after shootin lead is it hard to get out barrel.

 

[flatgate]

I shoot "hard cast" bullets from Montana Bullet Works over in Billings.

I sling their 335 grain, gas checked .45 cal. version at 1575 fps out of the barrel of my Freedom Arms .454. No "leading" issues. I clean the gun after each day's shooting.

flatgate

 

[contender]

Welcome to the Forum, (again.)
You can get all those answers on another good forum at; www.castboolits.com
Many folks shoot lead at velocities above 1200 w/o lead stripping off. It has to do with a proper sized boolit, a proper lube, and hardness of the lead. If you use w/w's for lead, make SURE you remove any zinc or others BEFORE you try & melt them. W/W makes pretty good boolits for most pistol calibers.
It's not too hard, or complicated. Just do some studying before you jump in. You may find a whole new dimension to hunting here.

 

[Nowata]

Ask lot's of questions and jump right in shootin' lead. For deer hunting I changed over to lead(.44mag. 260gr. WFNGC), leaves 2 really big holes. Another source of info is Beartooth Bullets, made in Idaho, also Loadswap.com for reloading info.
There will be a little bit of a learning curve, learn BHN and GC. makes a difference in what bullet and how fast it is pushed.

 

[Hugh]

Welcome to the Ruger Forum.

Not anywhere near expert, so I have to look a lot of stuff up. Here's an explanation about gas checked bullets.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gas_check

 

[TRanger]

Contender gave good advice directing you to www.castboolits.com. I shoot nothing but lead in my sixguns these days. Properly cast, they work fine at magnum velocities. Casting is a lot of fun. I think you'll enjoy it.

 

[glenkans]

I shoot blackhawks a lot and especially an old model 357 that I had since i was 17 yrs. old (I'm 59 now) I don't remember shooting any jacketed bullets through it but I probably did when I was a kid.It's all I ever need for everything in Kansas and I'm silly for buying all those larger guns that kick more and have bigger holes in the barrel.All kidding aside , cast bullets will work for you if you take the time and learn some things about speed and metal compos. One thing I might stress is to find out your bore diameter and cylinder dimensions. Without these measurements, you're in the dark and don't know where to start.Try some semi-wadcutters and when they work well for you ,look for a HP mould after you have your feet wet.Best of luck,Glen

 

[WESHOOT2]

www.PennBullets.com

www.buffalobore.com

www.castperformance.com

Think OAL for your cylinder.....

 

[Crazy Carl]

If the bullet is the correct size, the hardness is correct & a good lube used, you'll have no problems.

I shoot 210gr LSW/Keiths at 1350fps outta my .41Mag BH & no leading.

I will load up & try out some stout lead loads for my .357 BH & Rossi 92. Will deffo try some 170/180gr loads & probably some 200gr loads.

 

[sbyrd]

[No message]

 

[woodsy]

Hey guys! They changed their web address. It is now:
http://castboolits.gunloads.com/

 

[sbyrd]

sorry it took so long to respond my computer to a crap on me and just got it fixed thanks for the advice i'll put it to use

 

[sbyrd]

now i guess it wants to make the same post 3 times

 

[sbyrd]

now i guess it wants to make the same post 3 times

 

[sbyrd]

this computer sucks!! short of sluggin the barrel how can i find bore size can i use caliper in in of barrel would this give a good measurment a friend told mme to just use .358 cast bullets do you want them over sized a bit. :?:

 

[Crazy Carl]

.358's a safe bet, tho your gun might shoot .357 or .359 a tad better.

 

[sbyrd]

thank you i'll try .358 first see how they shoot just buy 100 to start with and if they do well i'll get 1000.

thanks for all your advice
Scott

 

[Iron Mike Golf]

I have shot the Speer LSWC pinkers with minor leading out of my 6.5 inch NM BH.

I cast Lyman 385429 and SAECO 383, sized to .358, lubed with Carnauba Red. Those shoot great with no leading.

 

[dougader]

I've used the Lee tumble-lube bullets in a GP100, a S&W 64 and now an OM Blackhawk. Its the 158 grain SWC TL bullet, lubed with liquid Alox, and loaded as-dropped. These were cast with straight wheel weights, air cooled. No leading that I've ever noticed, but i keep velocity down to about 900 fps.

The ONE problem I did have, though, is that chamber spec's are a lot tighter on the Old Model Blackhawk and some of the loaded rounds would not chamber. I figure I'll need to size the bullets to shoot in that gun... or, you could run the rounds through a Lee factory crimp die in a pinch. But that could very well mess with accuracy, swaging a loaded bullet down like that.

It was only 10 rounds out of 100, and I just wanted to shoot them out of the cases so I can reload the brass with something more appropriate to the OM BH. So I just removed the decapping pin from my carbide size die, lubed up the cases and ran the loaded rounds through. Worked like a champ, but I won't make this a standard practice.

 

[6GUNSONLY]

I just cast these up this afternoon. 358429, the 173 gr. Keith bullet. They are plain-base design (no gascheck). I cast them from wheelweights with a little 50/50 solder added to add a little hardness. I size them .359. Shoot them in two flattop .357s, and two S&Ws, a model 66 and a model 27. Leading is not a problem.

I rarely shoot anything but cast bullets in my revolvers. Only jacketed pistol bullets around here are for my two Browning Hi-Powers, and those are just in case of a zombie apocalypse. :wink:

 

[Tommy Kelly]

I shoot straight wheelweights in my bullets. I got a couple of lee moulds and cast my own. I'm just getting started but have turned out some great shooting bullets at home. I try to but tumble lube molds and make up my own lube. I am running around a nickle per shot out of my 38's making my own bullets the primers are the most expensive part of my rounds. The lee molds are very forgiving and cast great bullets fast. A 359 bullet doesn't take much lead at all so the lead goes a long way for 38's but when I cast my 475 bullets they eat up a lot of lead fast. I enjoy casting my own bullets.