What fps range can be used when reloading BHN 12 158gr LSWC in 38 special or 357 magnum?

[Rclark]

In .44 Magnum, I was testing 12 BNH 240g SWCs (standard wax lube in the grooves) out to 1300fps with no significant leading. I stopped there as really 1200fps was as fast as I wanted to go. General loads in my .44 Magnum revolvers is a 1100fps load. That said, if you aren't getting leading at 1100fps, then you can easily push past that in 'that' revolver. All revolvers are different.... And when you start seeing signs of leading you can back off . No harm no foul when testing! Just a little elbow grease at times .

As for the bullet fit, it should ALWAYS match the throat(s) in the cylinder. Then the throats should be at least .001 over the size of the bore. Never less (why we sometimes have to open up the throats with a reamer). The bore should have no major constrictions (why sometimes we have to firelap the bore). If these conditions are met, you have a good chance of no leading regardless of the bullet hardness (up to a point).

As for pressure, the pressure should be enough to cause the bullet to 'bump up' for a tight fit in the bore. That's why 'hard' bullets sometimes will lead the barrel and softer ones do not. On the other hand if the bullet is to soft for the pressure-velocity, it could 'skid' in the barrel as it is forced to rotate via the rifling in the barrel and cause leading. A bullet that doesn't bump up or is to small will cause the hot gasses to go 'around' the bullet and vaporize the lead leaving deposits.

It's a game, but if all conditions are met, leading is a non issue no matter what fancy lube (or not) used. All I shoot is plain o' lead bullets with the 'wax' (red or blue) in the lube grooves. My two and 1/2 cents.

And then some people just shoot jacketed and miss out on the game entirely .

 

[BrassMagnet]

MP moulds makes the same bullet as Missouri Bullets sells, so I also cast that bullet. Going to try to Hi-Tek coat them, this winter.

View attachment 31563

I have cast for a very long time. Most of my pistol bullets have been conventionally lubed, usually with Magma Blue. Conventional wisdom says under 1400 fps. Most of my rifle bullets have also been conventionally lubed, usually with NRA formula, Tac-1, or Tac-x. Conventional wisdom says under 2000 - 2200 fps.

I have seen many claims that powder coated and hi-tek coated bullets can go much faster. So I set up to do both,

I shoot both plain based and gas checked bullets. Coating after gas checking is a problem for powder coated because it is thicker than hi-tek.

One of my buddies that shoots bench rest wanted to try some of my bullets in his 221 Fireball. It doesn't shoot well at all until velocities exceed 2600 fps. He had no clue what to expect from cast 22 bullets, so he started real low and worked up carefully. At 2600 fps the groups started tightening up with the powder coats and showed promise. My hi-tek was an absolute fail! I couldn't control the temperature well enough with a roaster-toaster oven. My hi-tek coating was flaking off. I could tell it was overheated because the color changed. The powder coating was less demanding and he just cleaned the hi-tek off and powder coated them for more testing. I believe he was over 2700 fps when he ran out of my cast 22 bullets.
I reluctantly agreed to loan him my NOE Mould so he could cast his own and weight sort them like he does with match jacketed bullets. After more than a year without mailing the Mould, I just had a new one sent to him.