So much for this leading myth

[ArchAngelCD]

As a kid, my grandfather had a pint jar half full of mercury. We used to pour a puddle in our palm and play with it. I'm now 83 and still know how to tie my shoes.

I think we all played with mercury, it was just plain fun!

 

[stansdds]

Mercury is not absorbed through the skin, but is absorbed through the intestines.

 

[johngalt]

The first time I shot swaged lead in my new Colt Python I got terrible leading. Switched to hard cast and plated for a while. Just shot some swaged lead again today. After a couple passes with the bore snake it is squeaky clean. Maybe it needed a little breakin? It's all good now.

 

[Forrest r]

The worst leading I've ever delt with was shooting thunderbolts in an old 5-screw k22. These streaks of lead came out of the barrel when I ran a tight patch down it.

I do use a harder bullet in the rifles, a 14bhn alloy when using high velocity loads. The harder alloy is needed to keep the lead bullet from stripping when the nose of the bullet is in the lands.

A clean barrel/308w

An antimonial wash forms in the barrel but comes out easily with a couple passes with a brush and hoppe's #9.

 

[max503]

As a kid, my grandfather had a pint jar half full of mercury. We used to pour a puddle in our palm and play with it. I'm now 83 and still know how to tie my shoes.

I grew up near the asbestos capitol of Illinois. We walked on mounds of it. I'm approaching 70 and can still tie my shoes, too.

 

[mike campbell]

I plade with <Ercury when i wuz a kid an i growd up to bee a industreel sinetist. Im still pritty sharp but i ware slippers and a bib now.

 

[BillBro]

Several have written that their worst leading seemed to be early on in their cast adventure, do you think that the leading, in whatever amount, is or can be worse when the gun is first fired with cast bullets?
I had a very similar experience but now my guns show very little to no leading and if they do it seems easier to remove.

This weekend I shot close to 300 44mags, all cast, and about 100 were close to 1250fps and still very little leading

 

[IrishFritz]

Elmer Keith thought 1-16 tin only a "hard" alloy. There is a concern about barrel constriction caused by thread crush causing leading ahead of the barrel forcing cone, particularly in Ruger single actions; but if your cylinder forcing cones are a hair over bore diameter and your bullets are sized to the forcing cones and the barrel is straight end to end then leading at normal handgun velocities should not be a problem. Hard bullets may be a waste of alloy metal and too hard bullets may be too brittle. You do have to love the pinned and recessed Smiths though. Irish

 

[stansdds]

I plade with <Ercury when i wuz a kid an i growd up to bee a industreel sinetist. Im still pritty sharp but i ware slippers and a bib now.

ROTFLMAO! That made my day!

 

[shil]

You must talk to some rather young revolver shooters that don't want to shoot lead bullets.

I'm frankly surprised that you even FOUND a YOUNG revolver shooter.

 

[GypsmJim]

Where are you finding real lead wheel weights? I thought they were replaced by the p/c alloy junk years ago.

As I recall my state outlawed lead about 10 years ago. I used to go to my local tire shop and give the "kids" a large pizza in return for a 5 gallon quantity of WWs. When the law changed I went to several other shops, but now I had to pay. It was still only pennies a pound.

I don't know if its nationwide. There still may be some states that have not outlawed them. Regardless, they can be had on EBay, although the current pricing is quite high.

 

[BillBro]

There are a few I see who are yunguns but as I said, Ive had people of varying ages say that. Maybe theyre all just lazy?

 

[dbell54]

As I recall my state outlawed lead about 10 years ago. I used to go to my local tire shop and give the "kids" a large pizza in return for a 5 gallon quantity of WWs. When the law changed I went to several other shops, but now I had to pay. It was still only pennies a pound.

I don't know if its nationwide. There still may be some states that have not outlawed them. Regardless, they can be had on EBay, although the current pricing is quite high.

I take it you were forward-thinking enough to have acquired a lifetime supply while the getting was good. Smart!

 

[BillBro]

Hardness is way - way - way overated .

Fit beats hardness every time .

A small (undersized) hard cast bullet will lead the bore every time .

I size correctly and use an alloy with a BHN of 8.5 (40 to 1 lead - tin) in 38 special , 357 magnum and 41 magnum ...

It ain't the hardness that counts (in handguns) it's the fit !

Gary

^^^^^THIS^^^^^

 

[Nevada Ed]

Lead bullets can get down to some pretty slow fps and still exit a revolver barrel.

In my J frame snub nose my LOWEST chrony speed on a 148 HBwc was 545fps.
My slowest 158 gr lead RN bullet did 505fps and hit my paper target.

With a six (6) inch barrel my slowest 148 HBwc did 648fps
and a 158 Swc lead bullet from Sutter, did 686fps and exited the barrel.

I will add that I do try to match factory fps for my target ammo, to try to prevent any problems
but is is nice to know that a light load or an error on your part, might still
exit your barrel, if just one, hopefully.