Purchasing Hard Cast Bullets,Need Help

[pistolairo]

I agree with most of you on the fact it's fit rather than hardness. However you have to understand that relationship if you have to fine tune a situation. I got a hold of a bullet maker and he helped me understand that fit is the most important of the two. He often has customers that want a harder bullet than what they have to fox leading problems. Ofter it's a mix of sizing correctness and powder burn rate. Never considered any of this prior to this thread.

So with all of the knowledge I have acquired as a result of asking a very stupid question, as I look back.

I am going to load the Hunters Supply 158 gr hard cast lead bullets in my 38 spl and 357 mags. I think that fit is far more important than hardness. I can send them on their way in the 38 spl at around 850'/sec and the 357 mag at 1150'/sec. and they will do a good job. Look for leading and adjust.

I am not going to load the Speer GD 158 gr in the 38 spl. If I want to use a jacketed HP I will drop down to a 140 to 125 grain bullet for ensured expansion. I will use the 158 gr Gold Dots in the 357 mag.

I have been investigating the burn rates of different powders. Something I never thought of before. I always just looked at the recipes in the cook book and went for it. After analyzing the burn rates I am starting to understand how one can control some of the variables in hand loading. I seems that most of the requirements of powders for the 9mm,38 spl,357 mag, 45 auto run in the top 1/4 of the fast burn rates. So if you have a short barrel vs a long barrel you might look for a faster burninn rate in the powder. I always went with what I had on hand & didn't understand the needs of the pistol & projectile I was using.
So now I am starting to appreciate the art of "Hand Loading" when understanding how to control & change the undesirable results.

Well I have a lot to digest and I really want to thank everyone for their help.

 

[BruceM]

Hardness has little to do with leading whereas the proper fit everything to do with it.

Roger that!!

This notion requiring hardness/velocity matching has gained a lot of traction the last few years, mostly based on a document written by of couple of fellows on the left coast. However, if you look at this document, you see that it states that overly hard cast bullets "can[ or may] cause excessive leading". Note that it does not say "WILL CAUSE EXCESSIVE LEADING". These folks are highly educated individuals and I submit that the verbiage is the way it is for a reason. In technical documents, words have specific meanings and those who develop and write these said documents understand this.

BHN 10 bullets will be just fine IF the bullets are sized and lubricated correctly and your gun has no hidden issues such as a rough or copper fouled bore, barrel groove diameter to cylinder throat dimension mismatches. Even Marlin Microgroove rifling can be be an issue with cast bullets. In the case of the Microgroove rifling, I have doubts about BHN 10 alloy bullets having sufficient structural strength be be engraved correctly at rifle velocities though conventional style rifling should not present a problem out to 1,600 FPS. Stating a hardness is a left handed way of alluding to alloy strength. It is commonly used jargon used by cast bullet shooters by the way.

As far as things being complicated, follow the K.I.S.S axiom when dealing with cast bullets. Know this, cast bullets can be unnecessarily hard but almost invariably never too hard PROVIDED said bullets are both sized and lubricated correctly. Worry a lot less about matching BHN numbers to velocity and control what you can control most easily-size and lubrication.

Size is absolute king.

Bruce

P.S.

An absolutely priceless reference resource is the now long out of print NRA Cast Bullet handbook and any attached supplements. Expend some energy if possible and try to locate a copy. It's written by the NRA's Technical Committee and has as much and probably more detailed information than either the Lyman or RCBS Cast Bullet Manuals.

 

[686forme]

10 BNH isn't too bad but I would keep them below 1000 FPS. 158g bullet is great for .38 Special. I've loaded bunches of them using 4.0 grains of 231. Nice target load.

 

[photobiker]

Buy them and run with it. I'm shooting BHN 12 bullets in front of 3.3 gr of HP-38 and shooting 1" groups at 30 feet on a rest through a 6" barrel.