Leading

[vossman]

Been shooting Missouri Bullets 38 caliber 158gn LSWC over 4 grains of W231 out of a 6 inch revolver. Pretty soft load but really accurate. Been getting lead buildup in the first inch or so of the barrel after about 200 rds.
Do I need to push the bullet faster to stop the leading or??????
Advice is appreciated.

V

[Zombie Steve]

Most likely a sizing issue. Skidding into the lands, if you will. If you're getting leading with a light load, pushing faster will only make things worse. If it's only in the first inch of barrel, it's not a lube issue.

You have a micrometer? I generally do well with .358" 158 grain lswc's that I cast... anything under that, and it's a mess. Best thing to do is slug your bore and all the chambers. You need to be a thousandth over bore size, and you want to ensure your chamber mouths aren't sizing down the bullet before it gets to the forcing cone.


In the mean time, meet your new friend:

http://c4.soap.com/images/products/p/sns/sns-020_1.jpg

[sellersm]

+1 to what Zombie said. More than 1 revolver has been known to have a chamber or two that varies in size, as well as other parts...

[ray1970]

Just about any lead bullet I have ever shot leaves a little leading in the first inch or so of the barrel. Especially after a couple hundred rounds. I always just thought that was kind of normal.

[vossman]

Zombie Steve, what is slugging a barrel? I have a mic, will YouTube how to measure and post what I find.

[Great-Kazoo]

Zombie Steve, what is slugging a barrel? I have a mic, will YouTube how to measure and post what I find.

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?75944-Slugging-a-barrel-How

http://benchrest.com/showthread.php?59538-Slugging-a-barrel

http://video.search.yahoo.com/search/video?p=what+is+slugging+a+barrel+bullet

[Zombie Steve]

Just about any lead bullet I have ever shot leaves a little leading in the first inch or so of the barrel. Especially after a couple hundred rounds. I always just thought that was kind of normal.

It always seems I'll get little flakes on the patch when I go to clean it, but if you start with a clean barrel, and the bullets fit right, you won't see any build-up in the bore... or at least what's there comes out with the first patch or two.

All too often people blame the hardness of the bullet for leading. While it's an important factor to match hardness to the speeds you are working with, most companies selling lead bullets are quenching or heat treating and they are plenty hard... like linotype hard. Missouri Bullet is saying that one is .358" diameter and 18 brinell. Remember - back in Elmer Keith's day, a brinell hardness of 12 was considered "hard cast".


Enough of that rant. If you're in the springs, shoot me a pm and we'll figure it all out. I have some softer bullets we can shove down the barrel.

If not, make sure you are using case lube (or something similar) before you start trying to mash a slug down your bore. Also, before you start, make sure you don't have a 5-groove barrel like an old Smith I used to have. Impossible to measure / high spots don't line up.

[vossman]

I may give you a call. I'll look through my bullets and see what they are.