I was shooting 9mm at the indoor range today and I shot some factory ammo and they were very clean. (115 grain Remington Disintegrators +P).
Then I shot some handloaded 125 grain lead SWCs (Penn Bullets) loaded with 4.1 grains of Bullseye. I shot a mag full and looked around and I had smoked up the whole range.
I'm glad I wasn't using Unique!!!

Ok What target powders are cleaner burning than Bullseye.

Most of the smoke comes from the lube on the lead bullets. You will not find many fast burning powders that burn much cleaner than Bullseye.

You don't list the OAL for your reloads, so not sure what pressure you are running with the 4.1 gr loading.

It's the lube on the bullets not the powder.

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Still Running Against the Wind

?

Fans? Fans? There are supposed to be fans in an indoor range?? It was hot and humid in there and I couldn't detect a draft at all. This place was built about 15 years ago and I'm sure they had SOME kind of codes in place then... maybe....hope so

Correction, the charges were each weighed at 4.2 grains and the OAL was 1.056. Perhaps a little tight. I'm going to make them more like 1.10 next time, I think.

I guess there's a trade off going to cast bullets. But at least they are more available and cheaper than jacketed.

Yup. I have loaded identical rounds, just switching the bullet from
jacketed to a SWC and Bonzo! Smokezilla! 10 grains of Unique in
the 44 magnum is a high pressure load and burns the powder rather well.
The lube that Oregon Trail uses is smoky. Other than that I have no complaints.

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Nemo

As you increase your OAL (which reduces the bullet seating depth) it will reduce your peak pressure, so you may need to up your powder charge.

..."Tune" in next week,...same Bat time...same Bat Channel!

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Rather be outdoors

That's correct!

If you don't like that smoke, don't even think about shooting a blackpowder revolver.

When I shoot my garand with cast bullets & homemade lube it smokes so much my friend acuses me of loading it with black powder.

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S&W Accumulator

It would seem that in the last 100 years or so somebody would come up with lube that isn't smoky.

Not too likely it was the powder but most likely was the lube. Bullseye isn't that smokely and neither is Unique. I've been using both since the '70s.

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Stu

Most reloaders use way too much lube...........
but you can't do any thing about the factory bullets unless you want to heat them up and wipe them down which is a waste of time to reduce the smoke, since it will still be there with the lube that they use, I would think, even if you removed some.

Nothing wrong with Bullseye, it is just the lube, some thing you just have to put up with.
Sort of like the smell you get at the race track with burning rubber and gas. You might even get to like it...............

I love the smell of gunpowder in the morning! It's just that visibility at the range was getting pretty hazy.

The lube was the hard blue stuff in a groove. It could probably a lot worse..... beeswax, lard and some Alox.

Try WST and you will see less smoke.

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The American dream is alive

Some of the guys at castboolits.com seem to be having good results powdercoating lead bullets.

Too much trouble for what you get.

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S&W Accumulator

That is why I cast and lube my own boolits. White Label Lube's Carnauba Red lube is a lot less smokey and less soot than most lubes. Commercial casters, use a cheap lube designed to stay in the lube grooves during shipment. It is not designed to actually be a better lube.

That has been done for years. Bullet mfg's seem to care more about how the lube stays put in shipping and ease of application than smoke. I would do the same if I were in that business. Customers want lube that looks great, does not come off when touched in a 90F room and stays in place when seating. The idea that lube can contribute as much to accuracy as powder charge or that it may smoke is advanced cast reloading and too many just want something that goes bang. Good, accurate lubes can be made for 1/4 the cost of retail as well but lube cost is a small part of the manufacturing process and lube application a much larger one.

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Front sight and squeeze

(off subject)

You want HAZY...................

Come to Reno and look around, we feel like Custer !!

Major fires all around us and we cant even see the hills around town. Air warning is RED.

Ok I vented.............

Have fun shooting.

I am surprised you are allowed to shoot lead indoors. Can not do that here. I do not shoot at ab indoor range but all the ranges around here require you buy their lead free ammo.

Gee almost getting like California.

"Living may cause cancer and eventual death"

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Still Running Against the Wind

Some indoor ranges around here let you shoot anything you like.
Some (Gander Mt. as a local example) do not allow handloads.
The range I prefer has a vent system that feels like you are in a NASA wind tunnel.
Smoke does NOT get in your eyes.
The main problem with this is that the paper targets never completely stop moving.
I just divide all my group sizes by 2

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Nemo