lead bullets in .357?

kyotekiller25

kyotekiller25

Well-known member
I was given a box of 500 158g Laser Cast bullets. I figured I would load them up in my taurus tracker 357 mag for plinking.

I have never loaded these kind of bullets and wanted to make sure I did it right the first time.

I have been using Hornady XTP's 125 and 158 with H110 with ok results.

With the 158 xtp's I was using 15-16g of H110. Can I use H110 with the lead bullets and at what velocity should I try to keep them at?? Do they foul the barrel pretty bad??

Dont really wanna buy any other powder if I dont have to.

If I can use H110 where would be a good place to start?

Thanks
 
kyotekiller25

I would NOT use H110 with the 158 lasercasts. My speer manual lists a 158 grain lead bullet as follows:

5.5 grains of Unique Powder to start for 970 FPS
6 grains of Unique MAX LoAD at 1034

If you push lead bullets without a gas check too fast you will lead the crap out of your barrel.

If you don't have a loading manual I strongly suggest getting one.

Good Luck
 
I shot cast bullets in my Python for a while. I got serious lead fouling, even at .38 Spl. velocities (900 fps).
I got tired of scrubbing the forcing cone with solvent and a wire brush right quick, personally, and went back to jacketed bullets.
The Lyman cast bullet handbook does list .357 Mag. 158 gr. cast (Linotype) loads using H-110:
Min. 13.0 gr. @ 1115 fps.
Max. 18.3 gr. @ 1460 fps. (40,100 CUP)
That's out of a 4" barrel with a CCI 550 primer.

I couldn't ever get near that kind of velocities without major lead fouling, but maybe you'll have better luck. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused1.gif

Edit: It may be worth your while to read this:

Cast Bullet info

Apparently, removing copper fouling before shooting lead bullets will pay off big. Maybe that was the cause of my bad experience.
 
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I've shot a crap load of led bullets, but keep them well under 1000fps, useing bullseye and load them in a 38spl, have't had any leading problems, but you gotta keep'm slowed down. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grinning-smiley-003.gif
 
IF the bullets you received are not the proper size it will lead your barrel quite quickly.

Proper size you ask. If your barrel is .357 you probably need a .358 or .359 sized lead bullet.

If the throats in each chamber are smaller than the groove dia of the barrel it will most likely always lead the barrel.

Undersized bullets 'slip' around in the barrel when fired and don't creat a good seal, causing leading. Easiest way I know to explain it.

the lube on the bullets is probably not very good either, and that will contribute to leading.

shoot them at moderate velocity, 1100fps or less and you may not get any leading.

if you get leading, get a 'chorboy' copper scrubb pad, cut a few strands off of it, wrap it around a mop and clean out the barrel, about 3-4 passes and it will be lead free.
 
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if you get leading, get a 'chorboy' copper scrubb pad, cut a few strands off of it, wrap it around a mop and clean out the barrel, about 3-4 passes and it will be lead free.



Well, if you shoot a cylinder full of jacketed bullets at the end of the day it will get the lead out of everything but the forcing cone. That saves a lot of scrubbing.
 
+1, 204Dude said.

Keep the velocity way down.

I shot thousands of the Lyman 158g with the gas check at 1200 fps (15g of 2400) and still got a lot of lead in the barrel.

Some lead bullets are a lot softer than others....buyer beware!
 
Quote:
+1, 204Dude said.

Keep the velocity way down.

I shot thousands of the Lyman 158g with the gas check at 1200 fps (15g of 2400) and still got a lot of lead in the barrel.

Some lead bullets are a lot softer than others....buyer beware!



+2

Cast are my number 1 bullets for my 38/357 loads, but a charge of 5 grains or so of Unique is my usual powder. Too many good jacketed bullets out there for you to bother pushing lead bullets very fast. Way easy to lead a barrel and a way bother cleaning it out. Use lead for the light stuff. Besides, it's more fun to shoot anyway.
 
5.2 grains of accurate #5 is my load with that exact bullet. You won't have
much leading with the oregon trails and your barrel will live 4x longer with
lead than jacketed.
 
LSWC bullets is all I shot in 357's for the first 30 years that I reloaded. I used Unique most of the time, sometimes 2400. A 158gr. LSWC at 1100 fps is "big medicine".
 
I likewise use H-110 for my copper jacketed 125 grain Hornady bullets in 357 mag. However, I only load lead cast bullets in 38 special using a different powder (IMR 7625)and shoot the 38 special rounds in my 357 mag for plinking. I have never seen H-110 powder listed for use with lead cast bullets in 357 mag.

I also cast my own lead bullets. The best thing I found to minimize lead fowling is to completely coat the lead cast bullets with Lee Liquid Alox. After they dry, dust them with powdered mica so they are not sticky. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grinning-smiley-003.gif

If you want to shoot lead cast bullets in 357 mag, slow them way down using a different powder than H-110, and just expect to deal with more lead fowling than shooting 38 specials.
 
The idea of cleaning out the lead buildup by shooting jacketed bullets is actually a bit dangerous. Yes, it will clean the lead out, but at pressures that should scare you. I happened to do that, years ago, with a 4" S&W 629, after shooting a bunch of cast bullets. My 180 gr. hollow point, which normally runs 1489 fps...went through the chronograph at over 2100 fps!!! I concluded two things right there: S&W handguns are stronger than many people give credit, and that I'm never going to do that again!
 
From just a little history of shooting .357 cal bullets I found that the typical cast lead bullet will lead badly no matter what the bore diameter is if you crank them up. But hardcast bullets with gas checks and a correct fit can be fired up. I've shot them at over 2100 fps in my .357 max carbine no problems. Laser cast without gas checks probably get you to 1000 maybe a touch more before they cause problems. H110/WW296 is probably not the best choice for cast bullets as generally those powders are for max loads and high end performance.
 
Barrel quality makes a lot of difference in leading. If its rough, it will lead and foul like crazy, and lead bullets don't smooth it much, if any. A rough handgun barrel would be a good candidate for fire lapping. For bullets w/o gas checks, I rarely run them over 1100 fps, and titegroup is one of my favorite propellants.
 
Quote:
Barrel quality makes a lot of difference in leading. If its rough, it will lead and foul like crazy, and lead bullets don't smooth it much, if any. A rough handgun barrel would be a good candidate for fire lapping. For bullets w/o gas checks, I rarely run them over 1100 fps, and titegroup is one of my favorite propellants.



Yep...the only reason I could run the gaschecked bullets up so fast was the Shilen barrel...like a mirror inside.
 
So are these Laser cast gas checked?? I have no idea.

The box says 158g SWC BB .358" diameter.

I got some data from a guy for the 158g lasers and H110 starting at 13g and maxing out at around 15.5g

I'll probly just load them up at 13g and be done with it. I dont need them going fast or creating problems as there just for plinking anyways. I just cant find any powder around here right now so I woudl like to use my existing can of H110.

I'll load some up here in a few days and let you all know how it goes.

Thanks.
 


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