NO LEADING with Trail Boss

[longranger]

Trail Boss is an excellant powder for it's intended use.Not going to get top velocities with any cartridge.If you want a very pleasant powder that meters well and has a nice pressure curve.Leading is definately a bullet issue and not a powder issue.
Trail Boss is suitable for just about any cartridge,just not high performance.
IMR's web site has a guide for determining start and max loads.
1. Detrermine seating depth of the bullet and mark the outside of the case.
2. Fill the case with Trail Boss to that line,dump into scale and weigh,that is your maximum charge.
3. Divide the maximum charge by .7 ,that is your starting load.

I have done this with 32.Win. Spec. with a faily soft cast bullet and the results have been excellant.
Trail Boss is also the powder of choice for subsonic .308 Win. loads.
These loadings are for the not so well known 1:10,20" 308 barrels on some specialized Rem.700's.Special Ops have developed a very quiet load with T/B and big heavy bullets 190gr plus,Lapua makes special bullets for this purpose.They are getting Whisper performance with conventional cartridges.The idea is to shoot B/G's from 200-350 yds. with the report of the rifle not or barely detectable.These rifles are shooting sub M.O.A. groups @ 300 yds. with Trail Boss,a very useful powder indeed.

 

[ScottJ]

That whisper quiet .308 is interesting. Wonder how far the POI is off from say conventional Fed. Match.

Also wonder if it would cycle the action of a M1-A.

 

[Rule3]

Well, you don't get free powder do you? Buy some lead, or take it off of your neighbor's car tires! They will notice the bounce, have the wheels rebalanced and you will be good to go with a constant supply of free lead!

A little imagination goes a long way!

Sure, I can mine the range berms in the sub tropic jungle. bring my dirty lead home. Clean it, melt it in the 100* garage. Make Boolits after buying all the equipment or I can get on the phone and have 500 delivered in 3 days for $35.
As before, can't get wheel weights in Fl. It's a haz mat issue and they need to be picked up by certified Haz matters, just like oil.
No thanks. I like it better when you send me some.

 

[ScottJ]

As before, can't get wheel weights in Fl. It's a haz mat issue and they need to be picked up by certified Haz matters, just like oil.

Gaah! This has come to FL already?

I need to get out and buy some more buckets of weights. I get them for $25 a 5 gallon bucket and have three waiting for me to get around to smelting.

 

[Skip Sackett]

So far as your comment that there is never any reason to make your own lube, this simply is not true. When I obtained the Saeco formula from an old Saeco factory rep. the company had been out of business for quite a few years.

Okay, Alk,

Made half a batch. Used green coloring to keep it in the spirit. 8oz Beeswax, 8oz Petroleum Jelly (I cheated and got the stuff that "The Dollar Store" had) and about 2oz STP Oil Treatment, all by weight, not volume.

I have to admit this, that stuff is slick, no two ways about it. Hopefully, it will stick to the bullets!

All kidding aside, I had my moulds from the previous go around and I used to have a real time getting my previous lube out of those tubes. This stuff just slid out, very little effort. So, it will be a week or so until I have anything to try this on, unless things change. If they do or in about a week, look for another thread discussing this lube.

The half batch made two sticks, solid, 1" in diameter by 12" long. It is expensive compared to the less than $2 per tube from White Label, but, we will see how it works. What I should try it in is my Sig P226 in 9mm! I have NEVER had a 9mm that wouldn't lead the barrel from stem to stern! .355" to .358", nothing has worked in them. Guess this will be a good test!

 

[TSQUARED]

I, like I'm sure many of you, disdain the chore of scrubbing bores when I get home from a range session. I have been reloading for almost 40 years, and have multiple molds and lubes. I had tried plated bullets, they work, but at a cost. I have gas-check molds also. Again, they work, but at a cost. I have tried liquid and cookie-cutter lubes. Lousy. I have tried all the powders I can think of. I have about 120 lbs of wheel weights, and always wanted to cast them into a good SWC load for 38 special. A friend, who is a gun smith, said he liked trail boss, and had no leading. So I tried 3.0 grains behind a Lee 150 grain plain base SWC. 50 rounds fired in each gun, Yep, NO leading. At all. I'm ecstatic. Gonna try it now in 9mm for my third Generation Smiths, but if this is the only one that works I'm still happy. I think the ultimate test will be my security six. It collects lead even if you don't take it out of the range bag! lol The load I just described was shot from 2 and 4 inch model 64's, and four inch 10's, heavy and tapered barrel.

I doubt that can use Trail Boss in 9mm loads and obtain sgnificant velocities. Leading is related to bullet velocity and lead bullets in 9mm at 900+fps tend to lead the bore. Trail Boss is my favorite powder for the old staright waqlled black powder cases such as 38 special, 44 Special and even 45ACP revolver loads with lead or plated bullets.