I bought a box of 50 Winchester .44 special 240 GR. lead flat nose, Cowboy Action Loads. I shot some in my M24 3” barrel today. The first five or six rounds were tight on target at fifteen yards. The next few rounds were in a more lose pattern. By the time I had shot half the box, the pattern was erratic and I had some tumblers. I stopped and checked the gun. The barrel was fouled with lead. More lead in the barrel than I have ever seen. I’m thinking it’s the gun so I shot the rest in my Bulldog .44 and got the same result. Both guns were fired from a bench rest and both started with clean barrels. When I cast and reload my own I never experience leading like this. I think I’ll stick to reloading. At least now, I have 50 more pieces of brass. Have any of you had similar problems with this ammo?

Thanks for the warning. I have some but haven't shot any of them yet. Guess I'll stick with the Berrys.

I had a bunch of the federal 246 grain lead bullet rounds. Was going to shoot them in a buddies 44 mag and didn't want to lead up his bbl. Took a small artists paint brush and painted the bore riding section of the bullet with lee alox. Fifty rounds later no leading. So I'll probably do the same with the ww cowboy loads. Frank

Most "white box" Winchester ammo I've fired is filthy(regardless of caliber). I stay away for that reason alone.

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Go big or stay home

I found that ammo to be about the dirtiest I have ever fired. I shot a box in a 696 and by the time I finished the gun looked like it was blued.

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John. SWCA #1586

Someone gave me a box of the Winchester Cowboy Loads some years back and I did shoot them in a SASS Match without any noticeable excess leading. I was shooting them in 45LC caliber, not .44. Other than that one box I usually shoot my own reloads.

The ONLY thing I did notice is that they were pretty WIMPY loads. For CAS I do not load anywhere close to the max, and they were even milder than mine.

Chief38

Sounds like they sold you some garbage.

I have always found my shots to go downhill after the first , too. sometimes I wish I had just taken a few shots and come back another day .but that's just me .